Activity Around the Bird Bath

Well the air is really cooling down here and it's obvious that fall is making its way into our garden. Every thing is starting to look a little weathered and all the leaves are starting to fall. There was a lot of activity around the birdbath this morning so I though I would catch a couple of shots of it from the bathroom window. I have a good view from there. I expect this guys is thirsty from munching on Jamie's Tulip bulbs. I didn't see him doing it, but he had a guilty look on his face earlier. Speaking of bulbs Jamie and I have 355 of them to plant sometime soon. I bought them yesterday, Daffodils, Tulips, Dutch Iris, Hyacinth and Calla Lily.

Thirsty Squirrel

Here is a wren, I think he is trying to decide if it's too cool to get his feet wet this morning.

Wren

Here's another squirrel no doubt busy hiding an acorn he's found from the giant oak next door. With all those acorns laying around they have no excuse for munching on our bulbs and ginger plants.

Hiding a Treasure

My mother always told me whenever you see cardinals it's a sure sign that cooler weather is on the way. So I expect the temperatures will be staying down from this point on. I guess we'll see.

Cardinal

This one has just been busy digging around our Walking Irises. I would be willing to bet he's the same one that's been mulching on our ginger plants. Ginger is suppose to be good for an upset tummy. Maybe he's been eating it to stop a belly ache from eating our other bulbs.

The Destroyer

Night Shot PicturesWith Infrared

Well today was pretty much an uneventful day in the Garden. I took a break today and spent most of the afternoon researching plants online and looking for that perfect new species for the yard. I was going along just fine and I was blocked by the site. Since I'm not a subscriber I'm only allowed so many searches per day. I suppose I should just become a member.

Jamie and I have been playing with the Night Shot on the camera and here are some of the better pictures.

Yellow Canna in Leaves

Grandmother's Rose

Yellow Canna

This Past Weekend

Well, the weekend has come and gone. I managed to relax and take it easy a little bit. I did get out in the yard and rake the fallen leaves up. We still need several bags of shredded leaves to mulch the new bed we've been working on. I was able to mulch enough leaves to cover about one third of the Tropical section. Our neighbor has told us that when he gets his back yard vacuumed we are welcome to the leaves. I sure was hoping he would get it done this weekend, but he never got around to it. I'm not a patient person so I'm just about ready to hop the fence and rake them myself. I wouldn't be in such a hurry but we have friends from out of town stopping by Wednesday and I just feel the bed would look better if it was completed. They certainly will not care that it isn't done. They are both gardeners and very creative ones at that. I took some pictures of the the few things that are still in bloom.

This is one of three Blackeye Susan that were given to us as a gift. One of Jamie's co-workers wanted to share part of her garden with us and this is one of the plants she sent. When I was just a little boy I would stand on the old wooden bridges on the local dirt roads and drop the head of these flowers in the water. I would watch them spin like little helicopters down to the creek and then they would float away. To this day I instantly think of that when ever I see them. I don't know which particular species it is.

'Blackeye Susan'

The 'Bloodflower' Asclepias curassavica is making a come back. It's the host plant for Monarch Butterflies and let me tell you. Those fat little caterpillars feasted on this stuff. That's okay though because we watched the entire process as they became butterflies and even captured it with pictures. It was absolutely fascinating to watch.

'Scarlett Milkweed'

This is one of my garden treasures. I don't know the name or I guess I should say cultivar of this rose. I only know that it is very old and I mean the actual plant. My grandmother had it for years and years. When she passed I transplanted it before her home was sold. It's one of three plants I took from her yard. I almost lost it last year, but it's making a come back. I couldn't even begin to describe the color to you. The photo doesn't do it justice.

'Grandmother's Rose'

This is Canna Lily Canna x generalis 'Futurity Yellow'. I've had it for several years and this past summer it got divided into four sections and planted in the new bed under the Tulip Poplar. I was told it wouldn't do very well there, but it seems to be thriving. The Poplar bed is one of four new beds Jamie and I put in this year. It still looks pretty empty because most of what was planted in it is still in the ground sleeping. I'll be sure to post plenty of picture of it and the other beds next spring. It is just impossible for me to document everything we've done this past Summer. It's just simply too much. I'm just going to have to make a big effort to keep this blog up to date from this point further. I'll try my very best, though my schedule is hectic.

'Futurity Yellow'

The New Tropical and Woodland bed is a work in progress. I'll try to post some picture to show exactly where we are with it some time this week. I did add four new plants to it this afternoon, but since I'm only posting pictures of the actual blooms in our yard you will just have to wait. Just like me.

The New Bed Started 10/20/07

This is the new bed we started this past weekend. The bed is completely cut out and is approximately 15o feet long. It still needs to be mulched and more plants need to be added. By next Summer we hope to have the Tropical section filled with Bananas, Cannas, and various other lush greenery and sub-tropical plants. We already have four varieties of Banana and five varieties of Canna planted as well as two Gold Bar Grasses and a Century Plant.

The Future Site of the Tropical Bed

This corner will be the transtion area from the Tropical Bed to the Woodland Bed. I collect large rocks and they are scattered all over the garden. The one in this picture will not remain. It's a gift Jamie and I picked up for a friend of ours. We had to take our friend Jimmy with us to pick it up. We drove 300 miles to get it and it took three full grown men to pick it up.

The Transition Corner

This is the first section of the Woodland Bed. I call it that because we will be placing plants in there that thrive in shaded areas. We are really shooting for a natural looking area of sorts but still have some color. Right now there are Rhododendrons, Oleander and Pachysandra planted there. I want to add Encore Azaleas next spring. I couldn't find any this fall.

Part I of the Woodland Bed

This is the second section of the Woodland Bed. It gets more sun so we will have to take that into account when choosing plants for the area. I'm sure we will come up with something.

Part II of the Woodland Bed

This bed still has a trememdous amount of work to be done, but you will get to watch as it comes to life. I can hardly wait.

In The Beginning

Before we get started I want to take time to thank Karen for this idea, it was her blog that inspired me to create this one.

Now to begin… I first moved into this house in May of 1995. I searched for what seemed like forever to find the perfect home. For years I had lived in a fourteen by forty-eight foot mobile home. My little trailer served its purpose well, but the time had come to venture forward and find something with more space and a yard in which I could create my dream garden. The first year was spent tearing out the old flower beds in the front of the house. They were filled with Holley bushes that had been planted nearly thirty years earlier. This was no small task. Having no way to pull them from the ground meant the only option was to dig them up. Sometime in the very early seventies river rock had been used as mulch in the bed. Over the years the rock had migrated down almost fourteen inches into the ground. This made digging an almost impossible task. After about a week of hard work my diligence paid off and the old shrubs found their way to the curb to be picked up by the trash truck. The next week was spent building rectangular boxes from landscape timbers. I purchased Yaupon Hollies and Pygmy Barberries to fill the new beds along with a small leaf redbud and a couple of Nandina. With the addition of some Liriope muscari or border grass a few weeks later my front bed was complete. It was now time to turn my attention to the lawn. Every afternoon for two months I got out in the yard and hand pulled every single weed. I did it in ten foot by ten foot sections until I had completed the entire yard. That summer and the next spring the lawn looked absolutely fabulous. People walking down the street would stop when they saw me in the yard and tell me the house hadn’t looked that good in years. I was feeling a sense of accomplishment and my hard work was indeed showing. Below you will find some before and after pictures of the house.

This is a picture of the house when it was purchased in 1995.

Front View of House

This is a picture of the house about a year later taken after a little painting and re-doing the flower bed.

Phase II

This is the house and front yard as it looks now. Due to disease the Dutch Elm and Black Walnut had to come down and have since been replaced with a Cutleaf Japanese Maple and two Dogwoods.

Current Picture 2007

This is a picture showing the back of the house and the back yard. Once again, taken in 1995.

Rear of House with Back Porch

Now you get a little peak into the back yard. Work has been done since this picture was taken. I'll be certain to share it with you as I can get it posted.

Post Re-construction 2007

The First Post on the New Site

So this is the first blog, I’m so glad you are here. I guess that I should mention my name is Randy and I’m the creator of this blog. Throughout the post you’ll hear me refer to we, us and our, in doing this I’m including my partner and best friend, Jamie. He will seldom if ever make post or comments on this site because he is simply too busy working full time and going to school full time in a tremendous effort to ensure a secure future and more comfortable life for the two of us. This by no means diminishes the fact that he is equally responsible for the beauty that’s being created in our humble back yard. As the days, weeks and years progress I hope you will enjoy the transformation. Please come back as often as you like and if you see anything that peaks your interest please send us a note. We would love to hear from you.