Choice Morsels

  Greetings! It's been quite dry here for several weeks, so I've not been mowing. But today---a good chance some rain is predicted, so I mowed today---though, not a complete mow.  More a spot mow where grass was long and still green. Where it's dry I left it alone. Everyday, I'm picking fat blackberries and putting them in a container in a freezer. I have making fresh blackberry jam in mind.   Today's Garden Pics: First up, my "monster" Hardy Hibiscus. This plant is over 8 feet tall---uncommonly tall for the breed, which normally runs only 3 to 4 feet in height max. It's been tall like this ever since I first sprouted it's seed and planted 4 years ago and it consistently comes back this height every year. I keep it tied to a pole and staked on 3 sides to keep it upright. It's gorgeous when it comes into bloom, which will be soon. Also it and the Pampas Grass next to it make a fantastic natural fence between us and our neighbors l...

Wednesday Garden Photos! Today I have a two views of some of my garden beds to show you: First my Hosta Lily and Ivy bed that runs along the shady north side of my house. These particular Hosta's are called "Giant Hosta's" because they grow into a wider spread then most----but they're not the largest Hosta you can get. There is a huge type. Mine are in bloom right now---3 foot stalks lined with pale lavender blossoms. Strictly an outside display flower. Not for cutting. The green stuff between the blooming Hosta's is a type of ivy for outdoors. It looks nice, but can be invasive. I have to use the hedge shears on it a couple times a year. This bed runs between the A/C unit and the back porch. The trellis you see at the far end of the picture has a red climbing rose on it, something I put in last spring. It's pretty carefree. I just snip the ends finished blooming. The next picture below is the bed that runs along the landscape block wall we p...

The Garden of Pics of the Day  are a couple views of my flower beds and a shot of my tomato plant laden with tomatoes. First up, my front flower bed: This is what people see when they park in the driveway or pass the house. It's a corner bed, triangle shaped. You can see my large pot sitting on the stump that once was a pine tree. This is the pot that has the little blue ceramic cat in it and also has the creek stones I brought back from Indiana. This bed faces east and just gets morning sun.  I took this photo around noon, which is why it's so bright.   Next, a view of the flower beds on the opposite of the driveway from the front bed: You can see the gravel parking space we built below. In the foreground is one of my Rubeckia plants full of blossoms. My house is on the left, the neighbors on the right. In the background you can see a very tall, leafy plant with grassy pampas behind it. That tall thing is my Hardy Hibiscus, which is j...

  The Garden Pics of the Day I have for you are a couple from my front flower bed.  This bed is nestled in the corner space between the sidewalk and the driveway. It's not immediately in the corner--we laid in about 9 or 10 pavement blocks many years ago, filling in a wider walking space directly in the corner, so the bed extends 5 or 6 feet out from those blocks, running the length of the sidewalk to the corner, around 10 or 12 feet probably.  Even though this bed is at the east front end of the house, there's not entry way here. Just the garage and the bedroom bay window. (The narrow end of the house faces the street.) The front door is actuall on the long, southside of the house, down the longer section of sidewalk after you turn the corner, so it's actually size at a glance is misleading.  All my windows face either east, south and west sides of the house. The north side is a solid wall, which is good, since if a window were the...