How much is too much?

My dad died two weeks ago and since then I’ve really been evaluating my life and it seems the one question that keeps popping in my mind over and over again in every aspect of my existence is “How much is too much?” How much inconsideration should you take from a friend? How much money is too much to spend on luxury items? How much weight loss is too much weight loss? How much should you deny your heart its true desire? How much alcohol is too much alcohol***… LMAO The list goes on and on. Last weekend I stood in the garden and I took a look around and that was the question I pondered to myself. How much garden is too much garden?

***Note to readers*** Weeding is sooooooooooooooooo much more pleasant after a Bloody Mary or two in the early evening!

I decided it was time to start making some changes. At a time when most people are busy planting things I’ve been busy digging them up. I’ve been busting my butt removing plants from the garden. Some of those shrubs and plants have been there for 4 years now and have a huge root ball. It’s been hard work but it’s long overdue. It took me two days to get one of them out. So far I’m pleased with my progress I just really hate throwing away so many plants. It seems like such a waste… I contacted my local master gardener’s office offering to donate the plants. I figured they could divide them up and repot them to sell in their annual plant show. I never got a response from my email though. I stay so busy I only have specific days and times to devote to the garden so I have to do the work then. I can’t put it off in hopes of finding a solution for the wasted plants. I thought of shipping them out to other gardening friends but postage is just too costly. See! There we go again. How much money is too much to spend to keep from wasting it by throwing away plants? LOL

At least the birds are happy. There seems to be a lot more in the back yard this year than usual and they seem particularly comfortable with me for some reason. They stay very close to me turning their little heads sideways watching me and listening to me grunt as I struggle to get my chores done. They pretend to be interested in me, but I know they’re only in it for the worms. Every time I pull something out they are guaranteed a full belly from all the earthworms I uncover. I took you a few pictures of the plants that are trying to justify their space in the garden right now. I hope you enjoy them.

'Robleg"

'Amelia Rose' Azalea

'Alba Plena'

'Ice Wings'

'Zephirine Drouhin'

'Trouper Orange'

'Alba' Italian Jasmine

'Rosea' Chocolate Vine

'Lutea'

I hope this post finds you all doing well and enjoying spring.

*** A little update, the Master Gardeners are taking the plants. Yay!***

A Walk With Old Faithful

I have two cameras. My newest is the Sony DSC-H50/B and the second one is the great grandfather to the new one an old DSC-F717. I love my old camera and I only pull it out every now and then to take photos with it. The LCD screen is failing and it will no longer charge unless the battery is attached to an external battery charger. I decided to drag it out and walk around the garden a little while, just for old time’s sake. When I got the H50 nothing you could have ever said would have convinced me it could take the photos that its grandfather does, now I can look at the pictures and see a noticeable difference in the color. The H50 has better color, but it still can’t stop a bird in flight like the 717.

Jamie got the windowsill containers planted for the summer. We generally go for the bright colored flowers, but this year we decided to do something a little different. I think Jamie did a fantastic job and I think these will stand up to the full sun a little better.

My grandmother’s old rose bush seems to be happy where it is and it’s sporting its first bloom of the season. I have no idea how old this rose it, but my grandmother got it from her mother when she was married in 1931. When she passed and her house was sold I dug it up and moved it to my home.

This is a new Dahlia we added to the garden this year, ‘Sumatra’.

Variegated Solomon’s Seal

'Crimson Queen' and Bridal Wreath

'Miss Saigon'

This is a wonderful old Iris that I’m just tickled to have newly planted in our garden. It was given to us last fall by a very generous reader that wishes to remain anonymous. We planted them on both sides of the patio sidewalk; I get to enjoy them every morning. The color is even better than I thought and I just love it!

Some May Blooms For You

The Last of the house repairs have been completed and all is starting to return to normal around our home. We still need to repaint the shutters; doors and trim work and also pressure wash the bricks to remove some of the tar left from flying shingles. I don’t really consider that repairs, it’s more like maintenance. Everything needed a new coat of paint anyway; I had just commented to someone that the shutters were starting to look a little faded. What a relief to be done with all that.

We’ve been steadily sticking things here and there in the garden and the beds are starting to fill up some. Either this Sunday afternoon or next weekend we are going to start getting the mulch replaced in the beds. I know we are running a little behind with that, but we had planted a bunch of seeds and I wanted to give them a chance to come up before we spread it all out. After a tremendous amount of floundering around, we decided to go with small pine bark. I like it because it’s a dark color, it’s cheap and hopefully it will improve the soil as it breaks down. Everything is going to look so much better once all that is done.

Friday night we are headed a hundred miles south of here to spend the weekend with our dear friend Carol. She’s a total garden junky just like the two of us and it should be a lot of fun. We will no doubt hit all the local nurseries. Yay! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I hope you enjoy the flower pictures below.

This is one of the new spirea we got the past weekend at Petals From the Past. Isn’t it beautiful?

'Anthony Waterer'

Jamie’s ‘Nikko Blue’ hydrangea is doing very well in its new spot. I think we did good when we decided to put it there.

'Nikko Blue'

Here is the other spirea we got this past weekend.

'Little Princess'

We also added another lantana to the mix. I noticed this week that none of the others are blooming right now and I don’t know why, they just stopped.

'Denholm'

Plumbago 'Hardy Blue'

'Red Velvet'

'Double Decker'

We decided to build our collection of roses back up. I recently tossed a bunch of hybrids two years ago because of black spot. Seeing Phillip’s posts on his roses have inspired us to give it another try, but this time we are using old fashion and antique roses. I hope we do well with them…

'Dortmund'

'Red Rum'

'Red Hot Poker'

'Sound of Silence'

I’m guessing this is some variety of crinum that Carol gave us. Her home is a wonderful old farm house that is fast approaching or has recently passed 100 years old and I suspect these have been there about the same length of time.

'Warm Igloo'

'Aztec Gold'

'Regency Dandy'