Garden Pic Wednesday: My Oakland Holly & Dwarf Iris

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Couple months ago, this Oakland Holy was in a pot; now it's in the ground. It's just in front of where the Cedar tree we had cut down previously was. The stump grinder guy from the tree cutting company very kindly used his machine to dig a hole for me just for the Holly.
It seems happy enough. It's blooming. I guess it has berries year round. 



I saw these Dwarf Iris at the Commissary last week and just had to have them. 
 They were only $3 for the pot and it has 6 bulbs in it. What a great deal! I intend to plant them among my miniature Daffodils in the the back bed, where they can naturalize that area together.




Last, I have a collage photo of my most recent project: repainting my range hood!
I just finished painting it today and it came out beautifully. The exhaust fan itself is in excellent condition. Even the bulb is the original from 27 years ago, because I use it so seldom. It's just the exterior that looked crummy. It got crummy looking because when I was younger, I didn't know stuff, like not using steel wool pads for cleaning such things, because the steel wool compromises the paint, letting in moisture, so it rusts.


This is a cheap way to fix up a rusty range hood, but the prep is fairly arduous. The hood has to be thoroughly degreased and sanded. That took the most time. Then everything has to be taped & draped. That takes the second most time. Because of the paint odor, doing it at a time of year when you can have the windows open to air it out is a necessity.
And you can't use just any spray paint. I chose a high heat black semi-gloss for the job. It's the sort of paint used on grills. The painting part is the easiest.
I'm pretty pleased with it and it will look good with the new oven, once it's in.

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