Happy Holidays!

I hope this post finds everyone well, happy and enjoying the season. I got a jump start on spring this year and already have a large portion of the garden cleaned up and ready for the new growing season. The parts I haven’t cleaned were still blooming at the time. I started way behind this year because of the back surgery I had in February. I’m hoping next year is going to be a much better year for me and the garden. It’s really been neglected the past two years, but if the good Lord is willing I plan on whipping it back into shape next year. I’m looking forward to filling some empty spots where shrubs have died and adding a lot of annuals. Meanwhile, Mother Nature has already sent me a spring bloom in the middle of winter to keep me encouraged. Check out ‘CHRISTabel’ blooming in the picture above. Kind of appropriate don’t you think? Since CHRISTmas will be here in a week. This little beauty has been around since 1934 and the world is a prettier place because of it. I have several irises from the 1930's and I would love to expand my collection. Happy Holidays, Ya’ll!

Happy Blogiversary To Me...

Today is the 4 year blogiversary of ‘Our Eden’ and really, the garden is also four years old this month. My gosh… how my world has changed over these four years. I guess we never really know what life has in store for us, do we?

No doubt the people that read this blog regularly, have noticed my absence the past few months and it’s been a sporadic thing over the past two years. While I don’t care to go into detail about what was happening I’ve been using my absence the last couple of months to attempt to heal physically and emotionally. I’m still not quite there yet, but things seem to get a tiny bit better with every month that passes.

Don’t give up on me and the blog just yet. :-) I’m hoping that next spring will be a much better time for me and that the joy I once got from toiling in the soil will return to me full force. I have some new ideas for the garden, but for now I need to use this time to heal. Maybe between now and then I might even get in another post or two. :0) I just wanted all of you to know how much I appreciate the support you've give the blog over the past four years even in my times of absence. Thank you!

Rain! Precious, precious rain...

It has rained pretty much all week long and I couldn’t be happier! The garden was hanging on by a thread. I’ve lost so many plants the past two growing season it’s not even funny. Things in the garden were looking so ratty and haggard. But look at it now, so lush and green. And besides, I’m about ready to start re-doing some things anyway.

Even the grass is starting to fill back in some. All the St. Augustine was lost to the heat last year. Honestly, it’s really pretty but I don’t care what kind of grass I have as long as it’s green.

Hope this short post finds you well and happy. Happy gardening and many blessings sent your way!

Have a Good 4th!

I suppose this pre 4th of July post should have really been done in red, white and blue, but I just didn’t think ahead. Oh well, I hope you have a festive holiday anyway. I'm looking forward to three days off, a little trip away from home and some time for quiet contemplation. I did all the end of the week chores earlier this week so I am free to roam around this weekend. I’m hoping to get some really good pictures to post on my new photography blog while I’m away. For the shots I want to capture I really need a specific filter that I don’t have, but I’m going to see how well I can do without it. Wish me luck. Hey, nothing ventured nothing gained, right? Why don’t we take a look at what’s blooming in the garden?

The first flowers always catch my eye when I’m out in the garden. I love Flame Lilies and each year the stand continues to get larger, I’m enjoying the extra blooms this year. They’ve done really well.

The PeeGee in the back garden is loaded with blooms too. The ones planted on the side of the house haven’t done as well because I didn’t realize the watering system wasn’t working. They didn’t get enough water to produce blooms this year.

‘Ellen Bosanquet’ was given to me by a very good friend and she is really putting on a show despite the drought. The two photos below were taken just minutes apart. Isn’t it amazing how the shift in the afternoon light happens so quickly?

‘Stargazer’ smells absolutely delicious right now… I was walking around the garden yesterday and I could hardly wait to stick my nose in it and take a sniff. I really wish these guys would take off and spread like crazy, but alas they’ve always been well behaved.

These little tattered coneflowers are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I love the simplicity of the flower design. That’s also why I love Black-eyed Susans. This little stand came up from seed two years ago and this year I see many more seedlings sprouting. I’m going to leave them alone and let them spread. Within the next three years I should have a patch about 8 feet long and they are going to be spectacular in bloom.

I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday spent with the ones you love most. Watch out for those short fused firecrackers!

"Nothing can dim the light which shines from within."
— Maya Angelou

A Visitor in the Garden

Hello everybody! I came home this past Tuesday to find a surprise waiting for me in the garden. I usually make a loop around the garden if it’s not terribly hot to see what going on in it. I noticed a small movement out of the corner of my eye and as I turned to see what it was I was VERY surprised to find this guy.

He’s about half grown and didn’t seem to mind me taking pictures of him at all. I was able to get within about five feet of him, but I didn’t dare to get any closer. I live in the middle of a large, heavily populated subdivision in the business district of my town. I also have a chain link fence all the way around the garden so I have no idea how this little rabbit found his way to my garden. I don’t know how long he plans to stay but I put out a bowl of water for him and scattered a few baby carrots. From all appearances though, he must be gone already.

In other news we finally got some much needed rain and the grass is beginning to turn a nice green shade again. Unfortunately, I had another little episode with my back late Tuesday night and now I’m hesitant to get out there and cut the grass. I spent two days in bed and it seems to be well on its way to healing. It put a damper on my weekend plans, but I’m hoping to be back in the pink and pushing the lawn mower by the middle of the week. I had started a new exercise program twice a day and I’m afraid it may have been too much too soon. BTW I had just gone to my back surgeon that day and he released me because I was absolutely pain free. Ain’t that a kick in the pants? This not the same area where I had the surgery, it’s the disk below it. In the future I will know not to push myself so hard. Lesson learned… Hope you all have a good day, I see an afternoon nap in mine. I’m exhausted from dreaming all night long, but since it was about loved ones I’m not going to complain too much. I’m always amazed at how real dreams can feel, sometimes I wonder if we don’t actually meet spiritually in some other place rather than dream..

How Bout This Heat?

The heat has been absolutely horrible lately here in central Alabama. I’ve been doing what I can to stay out of it. The lawn is burnt to a crisp and the garden isn’t fairing much better. I have a drip system installed, but it’s just no match for the 100° temps we’ve been having. With the water bill already in excess of a hundred dollars due to practically no rain I refuse to pour more water into the flower beds. If what I have isn’t strong enough to survive the summers here I will replace it with something stronger when it dies. Some of the Daylilies are hanging on by a meager thread. Dead foliage is mounding up around the base of the plants and some have just mere sprigs of living foliage. I started cleaning up the dead leaves around the base until it occurred to me it could be helping retain the moisture in the soil. So I decided to leave it for now, even though it doesn’t look very pretty. I should probably add more mulch to the garden, but right now I can’t seem to keep the squirrels from scratching it out of the beds. To the casual observer the garden looks fantastic, but I see all the things that need attention. Meanwhile, the ‘Kwanso’ daylilies are plugging right on along.

This is our second summer of no rain and excessive heat in June. I lost a lot of plants last year. In an effort to stay cool and still be outdoors I’ve been traveling around and taking pictures in areas exposed to less sun. While it’s been so hot in the garden I’ve been turning my attention to my other blogs. If you haven’t visited, check them out. The links are in the upper left hand corner of the garden blog. The picture below was taken last week on my little excursion to the bamboo forest here in Prattville. The little frog is such a stereo type chilling on the lily pad. I hope this post finds you well and finding moments of refuge from the heat and the drought.