A Gardener in Progress

Thankful.

2009-11-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those people who peeks out the curtain every morning to see what the weather is like. Lately it's been the same thing every morning, rainy and dark. What a beautiful surprise I had this morning when I looked out and saw the pink skies from the sunrise.

The sun cast a pink glow over everything.

I loved how it illuminated the trees from behind.

It was difficult to capture Mt. Rainier during the sunrise because of the lighting, but the lower foothills of the Cascades were visible.

It's always surprising how fast the sky changes while the sun is rising. I stood in the front yard to soak in the pink glow, it was amazing.

About 2 hours later you could see all the snow on Mt. Rainier. Just breathtaking!

How thankful I am to be able to take the time to enjoy this beauty!

It was never completely clear of clouds this morning, but it was bright and dry. So bright that the Littlest Gardener brought me her bathing suit to put on her and was quite upset that it wasn't as warm as it looked.
I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving that will be celebrating tomorrow. We'll not only be celebrating Thanksgiving, but my nephew's first birthday. I am so lucky that my whole family will be there, including my sister and her family from Idaho.

Getting the pond ready for winter.

2009-11-23T07:32:00.000-08:00

I'd been waiting for the rain to let up so I could get the pond ready for winter before it looks like this here:

Since it stopped for a very short while yesterday I knew I had to finally "take the plunge" into the very cold water and get the cleanup done. Thankfully the only part of me that had to go in the water were my hands and arms, but I really was hoping for at least a sunny day to do this job. Living in Zone 8 I'm pretty lucky that there isn't a lot I need to do, but there are basic things that are important for any pond owner to do before the cold and freezing weather is here.

*Earlier in the season (about a month ago) I added Crystal Pond which is a natural enzyme to help breakdown any sludge at the bottom of the pond.

*An important thing to know, if you have fish, is to stop feeding them when the weather cools down below 50 degrees. The fish cannot digest the food and it becomes toxic to them.

*I always scoop as many fallen leaves out that I can with my net. By now most of what's going to fall in has already done so, I rarely have to net it out until next fall. When the neighbors had a large leaf Maple tree I would put bird netting over the pond in the fall to prevent so many from falling in and making such a mess.

*I also give my filter, which is a simple pump inside a biological filter, a good cleaning using the hose.

Before it's cleaned you can see all the sludge that collects in and on the filter.

After I take it apart and spray all the parts clean with the hose.

*I remove the annual plants that have either been killed by the first frost, or will be, so that I don't have to try to fish them out of the bottom when they sink.

*I cut back any of the perennial plants that are dying back and any of the lily pads that I can reach as well. All those pads and plants will sink to the bottom and contribute to the "sludge" at the bottom.

Before netting the pond and cutting back the plants it still looks pretty good, but all it will take is one hard freeze and they will all turn to mush. It's not much fun trying to work on the pond when it's freezing cold.

*I leave my filter and pump running all winter. It's rare that our pond freezes more than a few inches (enough to support the weight of our 12 pound dog which insists on scaring me by walking across it). The waterfall running is enough to keep the ice open and to provide oxygen for the fish.

*Some people just use an air stone to help the fish with oxygen. Other people use pond heaters to help keep the ice open. I'm very lucky not to need to do either.

*I notice as the temperatures get cooler that string algae can become a problem and I have to be sure to scrub the waterfall occasionally during the winter with a special brush that I found for cleaning birdbaths.

Ready for the winter.

These are the steps I follow each year about mid fall when it starts to cool down. I find that it's an easy process that takes me an hour or two at most. I've had very good luck with not loosing many fish over the winter and never have had any problems loosing plants as long as they are hardy in our zone. The only downside are very numb hands at the end of the job.

When Spring is closer I'll share how I get my pond ready for Spring and Summer.

Fertilizer Friday - November 20th.

2009-11-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that we're this far into November already. We've had a very wet and windy November so far in the Seattle area. Trying to get outside to do much of anything is difficult unless you want to be soaked and windblown while out there. I found that we are quite a bit above our normal November rainfall already. Our average for the whole month is 3.4 inches. As of a couple of days ago we are at 5.16 inches and believe me it's rained a lot more since that last measurement. There are rivers on flood watch, luckily we don't live near any, but I always feel bad when I watch the news and see all these homes that flood. Not everyone can afford to just move and really have a rough time during our rainy season. The wind has also been awful. We've had windstorm after windstorm this week. Ever since the big windstorm in 2006 people around here get very nervous. During the storm in 2006 we lost a lot of shingles from our roof, which led to ceiling leaks and blue tarps on our roof for the rest of the winter until the roofing companies finally had time to replace our roof.
Now for something much better than our weather, flowers! It's Fertilizer Friday which is hosted by Tootsie Time every week.

Oxalis crassipes 'Rosea' is too cold to open right now, but once the day warms a little all these pink buds will open. It normally blooms most of the year.

I feel bad that poor Rose 'Don Juan' gets forgotten about most of the summer, but this fall he's definitely calling out to us with these beautiful rosebuds.

Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyos) has recovered since the raccoon "attack" last week. There are several new flowers. I've noticed it reseeds in my pond and have a couple new ones coming up.

I know I've show Kaffir Lily 'Fenland Daybreak' (Schizostylis) a lot lately, but it's just so pretty I can't help it.

Phygelius or Cape Fuchsia 'Croftway Coral Princess' is still sharing some blooms.

Some of the planters on the deck that are adding a little life to the yard. The Meyer Lemon tree (on the left) is just waiting outside until it's cools down and then I'll bring it in. This will be my first year trying to overwinter it.

One of the fall planters that the Littlest Gardener helped me with.

And last is this funny little Primrose that was already blooming. I think the slugs have already found the leaves, but so far the flower has survived their late night munching. I love these little surprises this time of year.

I hope you'll visit Tootsie to see what else is blooming around the world, inside and outside.

The pond in November.

2009-11-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

After two nights of lots of wind and rain the sun tried to peak out a bit yesterday while I took my November pond pictures. It's been fun looking back at these recently to see some of what's changed since last winter. I did a little more rearranging yesterday with the heucheras. They are so much fun to mix and match colors. Of course as I dug a new planting spot I already dug into bulbs that I just planted, I don't think I damaged them, but it did remind me of why I usually don't have many return.

I can't believe how big the Pickerel Weed got. It supposed to be hardy in our zone, if it survives I'll have to divide it and give it an even bigger pot.

Geranium 'Wargrave Pink' at the front of the pond is blooming a little more. I have lots of these that have self seeded through the yard, but this is the only one blooming now.

A view through the Japanese Blood Grass (Imperata cylindrica) 'Red Baron'. I can't wait for it to spread around. It's got new growth coming up now after I divided it in half when I bought it. I usually check plants when I buy them to see if they can be divided or have more than one plant in the container.

Looking through the fuchsia magellanica by the pond. The hummingbirds have rediscovered it like they do every fall.

This year I didn't get the seedheads cut back on the Ligularia 'Othello' and now I'm really glad I didn't. Not only are they neat looking, but the birds have been eating them.

One of the visitors resting on the fence. We had lots of Chickadees, Bushtits and Juncos come to the pond in the mornings.

I wonder if December's pond pictures will have snow or ice in them?

The Blues in my Garden.

2009-11-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

Kiki from Awake with Charm and Spirit has invited bloggers to share the essence of blue in their home and garden and to share what it means to them. I was surprised as I went through my pictures of the past year at just how much blue I have in my garden. Not only in flowers, but in planters, birdhouses, birdbath and even the color of our house. Since I was very young I always remember my favorite color being blue. The first time my parents let me choose the color of my bedroom I asked for a light blue. My first car was blue, as a matter of fact the next few were blue as well. As I got older green found it's way into the top along with blue as my favorite colors.

Spanish Bluebells

Blue is supposed to be a calm color. I think that it does go with my personality most of the time.

Navelwort 'Starry Eyes' (Omphalodes cappadocica)

I love how blue flowers pop out against the green leaves on plants around them.

Blue star on the gate to the backyard.

Stellar's Jays are anything but calm. They are one of the noisiest birds in our garden.

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virnginica) were a surprise return for me this year.

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' grows well without any special treatment.

I know some people use the word blue to describe feeling sad. To me it doesn't feel like a sad color. There are so many shades of it and I think the paler the blue the calmer it feels to me.

Bachelor Buttons 'Blue Boy' (Cenataurea cyanus) are very close to true blue.

A blue birdbath in the middle of a flower bed seems to make everything standout around it. Even in winter when the plants are gone it adds a nice bright spot on a gray day.

Veronica spicata 'Sunny Border Blue'

Hydrangea 'Endless Summer' was new for me this year.

Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' one of my favorite old fashioned shrubs. Hydrangeas are definitely one of my favorites.

Blueberries are so delicious right off the bush. Blue apparently rarely appears naturally in foods other than blueberries and plums.

This was such a fun post to do, and it could've easily been three times longer if I didn't stop myself. Maybe later this winter I'll do a part two.

I hope you will also join in and do an "Essence of Blue" post and visit Kiki and see what she and others see and feel about the color of blue!

November Bloom Day 2009.

2009-11-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

As I was putting this post together for November Bloom Day I was realizing that this is already my 11th one. I started in January and I had Pansies, primroses and Hellebores in bloom then. If I can manage to have some blooms in December that means I would have found blooms outside every month this year.

Here's what's blooming now. Most are looking a bit weathered but at least they are blooming at all.

Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue' still has quite a few buds on this plant. This is the only one blooming and probably the latest I remember having them in bloom.

Of course there are lots of newly planted Pansies and Violas blooming.

Hydrangea 'Endless Summer' had one last fresh bloom, although I think the freezing temperatures the other night made the petals very transparent looking.

Penstemon 'Raven' as well as a few other Penstemons are blooming or have buds on them.

Ladies Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) for some strange reason is blooming. This is the only one in bloom though.

The unknown pink rose has it's final bloom. Other roses with buds are: 'Kimberlina', 'Iceberg' and the Flower Carpet rose. I'm crossing my fingers they get a chance to bloom.

This Dahlia looked great the day before the freeze, now it's looking a little disheveled.

Another Dahlia that still is doing pretty good, several open flowers on this one too. There a couple other Dahlias finishing up blooming too.

Also in bloom are the hardy Fuchsias, Abelias, a few Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber), Snapdragons, Water Hawthorn and a few geraniums. I've also got buds on at least one of the Hellebores (H. orientalis) which don't usually bloom for another couple of months.
Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what she and other gardeners have blooming now.

My favorite visitor.

2009-11-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

We've been seeing the cutest little wren visiting our yard. Of course I can't be sure it's the same one, but by the places I keep seeing it, I think it might be. This is a Bewick's Wren and seems to be as friendly as the Chickadees. I usually see it from inside where it hops around in the Japanese Maple and in our porch. It's very inquisitive and checks out every inch of the front porch.

Here you can not only see that I need to clean the cobwebs in this corner, but that the Wren just sat and looked at me before hopping off to the window shutters and then along the top of the window.

Jumping from branch to branch in the Japanese Maple, it was getting dark and I had a hard time with the lighting.

Even cute from the back. :)

Sitting on a branch with the last of the red leaves, he wouldn't stay still for long to let me stay in focus.

Another daily ritual is him going in and out of this birdhouse. I see him doing this all the time. In he hops, and then seconds later out he flies.

Maybe checking out a place for Spring? I guess he heard the birdhouses get claimed early in our yard.

In yesterday's post I said something about the possible snow we were supposed to have. This is what we woke up to on our grass this morning. I think it's mostly frozen hail. The birdbaths did have a layer of ice on them too. None of the plants look like they were damaged and the forecast doesn't call for anymore freezing temperatures for the rest of the week.

The birds were all back out at the feeders this morning, but the wren must be sleeping in.

Fertilizer Friday - Friday the 13th.

2009-11-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

The month of November is quickly going by and I'm happy that I do still have some blooms outside. The last couple of days the sun returned and we had beautiful blue skies and mild temperatures. I've noticed that however many long rainy and gray days we have around here, as soon as the sun returns I forget just how sick of the rain I was. It's like the sun cancels out all the feelings of laziness and grumpiness and infuses me with energy. Today, though it was back to rain with the chance of a little snow tonight. The news is already getting excited about the possible snow and has reporters stationed around different areas each hoping they are the first to see the first snowflake. I'm not sure if that's how the news is everywhere, but here they sure do get excited when even the slightest change in weather is predicted.
While the sun was out I was able to get some leaves raked in the front yard and pulled up the dead Zinnias and cut some perennials back. While I was out there I found these flowers blooming.

The Kaffir Lily (Schizostylis) 'Fenland Daybreak' that I recently planted is just so pretty. I planted it where we can see it from inside and it's such a nice cheerful color.

My fall planter is still doing well. We still haven't had a frost so the Calibrachoa is going crazy with flowers.

The giant Lacecap Hydrangea had a fresh bloom recently which just pops against the dark purple older flowers.

Dahlias are luckily still doing great. I was planning to dig and divide the tubers this fall. I usually leave them, but I'd like to spread them to some other areas too. I found some great information on digging and storing dahlia tubers. Click here to read about how from the Snohomish County Dahlia Society.

The 'Iceberg' Rose always looks great against a blue sky. You can see that the two new buds are both pink.

A big favorite this year is the Variegated Wallflower (Erysimum). No signs of slowing down at all.

One of my favorite shrubs is Daphne x transatlantica 'Summer Ice'. It's been in bloom for many months and still has more buds. It's foliage is just beautiful and is evergreen. I know some Daphnes are temperamental, but I have never had any problems with this one in the 4 years I've had it.

Erodium 'Flore Pleno' is so cute to me. I have this in a little terra cota pot near the pond.

I have a few more flowers blooming that I'm saving for Bloom Day on the 15th if they are still around after the "possible snow".

Fertilizer Friday is hosted by Tootsie at Tootsie Time every Friday. Visit her to join in or see what else is blooming.

Fall workout/cleanup!

2009-11-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

Who needs to go to the "Y" to exercise when you've got the fall clean up to do? We got quite a bit of the backyard finished yesterday. By the time the side yard and front yard are done I'll be ready for a marathon!
The girls didn't have school yesterday or today because of a teacher work day and Veterans Day, so we went out early before the rain returned and got right to work.

This side of the pond area has had a major overhaul in the last couple of months. I've been doing a lot of rearranging of plants. I moved over this baby Dogwood (Cornus florida) from where it was planted too close to the apple tree. As my daughter Sweet Pea said, "this area needed some height." The neighbors on the other side of the fence limbed and thinned their Cedar trees way up and now there is finally space for a tree. I'm not done planting yet, but off to a good start.

Earlier this summer I found this very sad fuchsia 'Aurea' under overgrown hostas, it had one tiny withered stem left. I nursed it in a container all summer and finally put it back in the ground where it has room to grow. If you notice, it's even got a flower bud on it now.

Try to ignore the horrible fence that needs to be replaced, that is one of the first things on our to do list for spring. I've been adding and rearranging plants here too. One small tree that is new here is Juniper 'Gold Cone' which I'll show more in a later post.

Looking down the path was a solid sea of leaves and needles. I love seeing it all clean again. On the right side of the arbor I moved over Clematis 'Nelly Moser'. She never really liked her old spot and I only had one bloom this summer. I hope she likes it better here.

Another change was moving this birdhouse to this corner of the yard. The hellebores in this area are putting out a lot of new growth.

The entrance to the side yard which still needs more cleaning, but at least it's clean on this side of the gate. The Corsican hellebore on the left was a seedling from a friend years ago, now it's got seedlings popping up around it.

Heading back down the path to the area where nothing grows under the big Pine tree. I've read a lot about Epimediums and have decided they just might grow here. I've planted lots of Crocus bulbs and will be sprinkling more Columbine seeds here soon.

Looking back through the arbor towards the pond. The raccoons made a mess of it again, they tore up the lily pads and Water Hawthorne. They seem to get a little worse this time of year, but so far the fish are smarter than them.

Hopefully I'll get to the rest of the yard this week and then I can enjoy watching all the birds that have been in the yard from inside with a cup of hot chocolate!
I also want to add a big Thank You to the Veterans that have served our country!

Good thing they don't have calories!

2009-11-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

There are days I walk through my garden and think about some of the names that varieties of different plants are given. Some have been named after people - some famous and some not, a place, a color or even a rock band. I have to say some of my favorites are named after food and drinks. Maybe because while I'm gardening I rarely want to stop and take the time to eat. Instead I can imagine how delicious some of these things are and not take in any of the fattening calories. It's probably good I don't have anything named peanut butter and chocolate, or pizza or french fries because those would be much more difficult to pass up!

If Julia Child (rose above) lived here she could really put together a gourmet meal for us with some of the food and drinks that have plants named after them in my garden.

Luckily none of these will make your hips bigger.

Heuchera 'Marmalade' can be used in everything from main courses to desserts.

Heuchera 'Berry Smoothie' with some fresh strawberries and blueberries from the garden sounds pretty healthy.

Heuchera 'Ginger Ale' might help if you eat too much to make you feel better.

Heuchera 'Pistache' (the tree from which Pistachios come from) to snack on while you wait for your meal.

Pansy 'Lemon Fizzleberry' sounds like a fun drink to have with the girls. Lemons, raspberries and a little Sprite sounds like the ingredients that could be in it.

Pansy 'Sorbet Orange Duet' to cleanse the palate between courses.

Other favorite names like Pansy 'Ultra Baron Merlot', Heuchera 'Caramel', Heuchera 'Black Currant', Heuchera 'Key Lime Pie' or Heuchera 'Beaujolais'. It seems that the Heucheras really have some of the best names in honor of edibles. I wonder if that's why I'm so attracted to them? All this time I thought it was because of the colorful foliage!

Seed Swap Sunday.

2009-11-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late getting my post up today for Sunday's seed swap hosted by the Dirt Princess. My seeds for this week are Red Breadseed poppies. I actually got these seeds through a swap with someone I met through Garden Web Cottage Gardens forum back in January.

(click on the Seed Swap photo to see who else is swapping)

They were so easy to grow. I just sprinkled them around in a nice sunny area and before long they were growing.

Breadseed Poppy (Papaver somiferum)

I grew my Poppies with Larkspur and Salvias and they looked so pretty together. The seedheads from the poppies were just as interesting as the flowers and I left them all summer until I was ready to collect the seeds.

Let me know if you'd like to swap (or even just would like some without a swap) and email me your address using my contact me link in my sidebar. Click on the seed swap link above to find out who else has seeds to swap.

Fertilizer Friday - November flowers.

2009-11-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe it's already time for Fertilizer Friday again. It's getting more difficult to find flowers outside, but I did manage. Most are past their prime but still are a welcome sight now that it's November. As for the indoor plants, I've been very good and have remembered to fertilize the African Violets and have one in bloom, but I'll save those for a day when there aren't anymore flowers to show from outside. I've also added an indoor ornamental pepper plant to my houseplant responsibilities.
I'm glad I didn't wait until today to take these pictures. We had quite the storm last night complete with thunder, lightening, wind, rain and enough hail to make it look like it had snowed. It was all enough to knock every last leaf from many of the trees and really beat up the remaining flowers.

Cleome 'Rose Queen' on it's last blooms. I'm leaving the last blooms to go to seed.

Fuchsia magellanica is absolutely covered in flowers and buds still. This and the rest of my hardy fuchsias will probably bloom for another month. Last year they bloomed until the first big snow.

Lots of Pansies are blooming.

My pretty hanging Fuchsia that has been blooming since May. I admit I only fertilized it a couple of times and yet it's still blooming. I moved it from the front porch a month ago and just hung it in the side yard where I forgot about it until these flowers caught my eye.

Abelias are full of flowers. I have several different types throughout the front yard. They stay semi-evergreen in the winter and will bloom for awhile still.

Rose 'Kimberlina' has a quite a few new buds. Most of the roses seem to be about finished, although I was surprised to see that it looks like 'Abraham Darby' might bloom again. I was watching a local gardening show with Ciscoe Morris and he explained that all the rose hips need to be pruned from the roses now. I was planning to leave them for winter interest, and can't seem to find any information as to why they should be removed before winter other than removing ones with blackspot.

Flower Carpet Rose got beat up by the rain and wind but there are quite a few buds that are still wanting to open.

Now I hope you'll visit Tootsie Time who hosts Fertilizer Friday each week to see what's blooming around the rest of the world indoors and outdoors.

Promises, promises.

2009-11-05T07:33:00.000-08:00

I've been noticing that my garden is already making promises to me. As I work to cleanup and cutback perennials and rake leaves I see signs of new flowers to come already. The Grape hyacinth foliage is sprouting to remind me not to dig there as I search for an empty spot for bulbs. Foxglove seedlings are nice and sturdy, and should be ready to bloom early next summer. Verbena bonariensis and other perennials are getting nice seed heads that will sprinkle new plants throughout the garden. Buds are setting on many of my spring flowering shrubs like the Lilacs and Winter Daphne.

My Pieris japonica 'Purity' is full of flower buds that will open to show beautiful white flowers in spring.

The Camellia Japonicas are developing lots of buds as well.

Rhododendrons are getting their flowers set so we can enjoy the gorgeous reds and purples they share in spring.

Hellebores (Helleborus orientalis) have new growth coming up already and I even see flower buds in some of them, which does actually seem a little early. The Corsican Hellebores (Helleborus corsicus) are beginning to form flower buds as well.

I've finished planting my bulbs and have made the squirrels promise they won't dig them up. So far they are keeping it, although they wouldn't put anything in writing. I kept a promise to myself that I would get those bulbs planted this fall and I don't want them interfering with my vision of pretty groupings of tulips, crocuses and alliums in spring.

It's these promises from the garden that will get me through the months of winter. I just hope that we don't have a winter that will cause any of my plants to break their promise.

Happy to see the sun!

2009-11-03T15:36:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful fall today we had today. We haven't a whole day of sun for awhile now and what a mood lifter it was. A friend and I had a fun day wandering through a nursery where we noticed most of their plants had been "put away" for the winter already. When I returned home I took a walk around the yard to see how the plants were looking. Some of the trees are really still holding onto their leaves. The cherry tree has finally changed to yellows and oranges, but the apple tree still has green leaves and a few red apples hanging on. I've decided the last apples can be for the birds, and they are enjoying them.
I know November isn't an enjoyable month for many gardeners, but really the colors around here are still looking pretty. We still haven't had frost and I see that the lows this week are still in the 40's, so the remaining flowers and buds still have a chance to bloom.

The Japanese Maple was shining in the sun.

Hardy fuchsia 'Queen Esther' continues to bloom.

I don't think I ever really paid that much attention to the Snowball bush (Viburnum) in the fall before. It's coloring is so pretty, and really stands out. I usually just admire this shrub in the spring when it's covered in it's white snowball shaped flowers.

Sarcococcoa berries are still hanging on from the spring. I guess the birds like the leftover blueberries and currants better than these. This evergreen shrub does really well in the shade and in the winter gets sweet smelling white flowers.

I see something in our yard that actually likes the cooler weather. It's the Water Hawthorne (Aponogeton distachyos). It actually goes dormant in the summer and begins to bloom again when the temperatures are in the 50's. Usually fall and early spring is when the surface of the pond will be covered with these pretty white flowers. It's hardy to zone 6, and grows in deep water like a water lily. I've mentioned before that it supposed to have a vanilla scent, maybe I'll be able to check that this fall.

The pond and the surrounding plants look bright and happy with the sun shining on them.

I mentioned that I was at a nursery earlier today, I was pretty good and only bought a few things. One of which is this Kaffir Lily (Schizostylis) 'Fenland Daybreak'. It's supposed to bloom July through fall. Of course my friend and I couldn't pass up something that looks this pretty now.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another sunny day, which means I get outside and plant my newest additions.

Honest Scrap - 10 experiences that made me the gardener I am.

2009-11-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Lynn of Best in Bloom Today to tell about 7 things you don't know about me, then Janie from An Obsessive/Compulsive plant collector tagged me for Honest Scrap, then Noelle from Plant Tips and Guidelines for the Desert Garden tagged me as well. It's not that I didn't want to do this, but more about trying to think of 7, now 10 interesting things about me.

I decided I would try to make it garden related and share some of the experiences that formed me into the type of gardener I've become.

The 10 experiences formed me into the type of gardener I am:

1. When I was 4 our family moved from Washington state to Southern California. The first memory of our backyard I have was of a large tree stump surrounded by lots of grass. My sister and I used that stump as our stage to sing on. Looking back I realized how important having a place for kids to play outside was. That stump made us use our imagination and even though I remember there being a swing set, the tree stump is what I clearly remember the most.

2. The next house I remember living in was in Sherman Oaks, California. I think I remember it most because of the front yard. We had a huge Walnut tree that my sister and I would use the shells from to make sailboats. We would sail them down the gutter on rainy days. We had many large palm trees surrounded by white cinder block walls that served as our make believe horse stable. Another place to use our imaginations, we spent most of our free time outside playing.

In Southern California, I can still smell the geraniums that grew in this planter.

3. When I was in fourth grade we moved again, this time to St. Louis, Missouri for a year. There I remember a whole different type of outdoors. I remember seeing rabbits and snakes in our yard. A friend and I once found a nest of baby rabbits and before we knew better we petted them. Once we learned that we shouldn't touch baby animals we worried that the mother wouldn't come back. Here I learned about wildlife and the respect we need to have for it.

4. One year later our family moved back to Washington state to stay to a city about 15 miles north of Seattle. Here is where I remember my Mom really having the time to spend making our garden pretty. We had raspberries, an apple tree and a pear tree that came with our yard. She spent hours on the weekends weeding, edging, spreading compost, pruning and planting flowers. This part of being outside didn't appeal to me as a kid. I do remember her letting me help choose flowers and giving me my own space for a vegetable garden. That part seemed much more fun than the chores. Now I know that the chores need to be done so we can enjoy the fun parts of gardening. Too bad I didn't realize that then, and wouldn't have complained so much when my parents asked me to help outside.

5. My grandparents lived in Canada, just a couple of hours from where we lived. They always had lots of space to garden in. I enjoyed listening to them talk about all the things growing in their gardens. I remember my Poppa had a greenhouse and that our Nana sent coffee grounds, egg shells and other kitchen scraps to him to use in his compost pile. They had flowers and vegetables growing there. They had a creek running through their yard too where we would catch frogs. Maybe that's where my dream of having water in my garden came from.

A picture I took of my Nana with some of her roses.

6. For several years after high school I lived in different apartments with friends. Then socializing was much more important than gardening, but I do remember even then trying to grow houseplants. I think I actually had some luck with them and even bought some houseplant books and plant fertilizer to see if I could make them look healthier.

7. When I finally had an apartment with a balcony I couldn't wait to try growing my own flowers. I had window boxes and containers lining every spare inch of the small balcony. Unfortunately it was mostly shade and I didn't really know the difference between many plants then. I experimented with different types of plants until after several years I discovered what would grow there.

8. Once my husband and I were married we rented a very tiny house in Seattle with a tiny little yard. The owner had spent a lot of time on the garden and it showed. There I mostly tended to her irises, roses and camellias. I remember that being the first place I hung up a bird feeder and was amazed at how many birds visited. I saw hummingbirds and Northern Flickers there for the first time. I don't think I had really taken the time before that to notice birds in the garden. I bought a book on birds so I could look up what our visitors were. This is where I discovered how much I wanted birds to visit my yard.

9. While I was working as a visiting nurse and traveling around the city of Seattle I learned about another wonderful part of gardening. Sharing what you grow and what you know. Patients and their families would share seeds, produce and flowers with me. Some shared their own love of gardening by pointing out favorite plants. I remember one of my patients showing me a favorite of her's, Pulmonaria. I kept that plant in mind until I had my own garden to plant it in. Now certain plants remind me of those patients.

Pulmonaria

10. Moving into our home 10 years ago is when the world of gardening really opened up to me. Now it was our garden and we could do whatever we wanted with it, and we have! Learning to create flower beds, lay paths, dig ponds, plant trees and flowers. Here I've tried to use all the things I learned in my experiences listed above to create the important parts of gardening. A place to imagine, experiment, learn and share.

Now I'm supposed to name 10 blogs, but I know many people have either been tagged or choose not to participate in memes. If you want to share 10 things about yourself consider yourself tagged and I'd love to learn more about you.

End of month view October 2009 and Happy Halloween.

2009-10-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

I decided to start taking an end of the month view last month. Probably the main difference this month is that the leaves have started falling, and things are beginning to look bare. Maybe next month the leaves will be raked, and I might even tell you that the bulbs were planted below it!

In this picture you can see the strange way the Japanese Maple 'Orido Nishiki' is changing and loosing it's leaves. The lowest branches still have the variegated leaves in their usual summer colors. Below though it's easy to see that many of the top leaves have fallen and buried plants.

The leaves on the ground are still pretty and colorful.

They mix with the leaves of our other Japanese Maple and Dogwood. I wish they would stay looking this pretty, but soon they will be dry and brown.

Some of the pretty leaves still on the tree.

This is Heuchera 'Caramel' that I planted towards the end of summer. It's lost most of it's caramel coloring. I'm not sure if that's normal or not. I sure hope it returns to it's other coloring. Does it make you think of caramel apples, a favorite at Halloween?

One of our ghosts blowing in the wind. It was very windy while I was taking pictures and almost every leaf was blown off the Dogwood today.

Princess Gracie, who thinks she is Queen, even begrudgingly wore her costume for about 10 minutes this morning to say "Happy Halloween!" I'm not normally someone who dresses her dog and my husband says he won't be seen with a dog in a costume, but it's fun to try it on her each year. She's a good sport about it.

Tonight the girls will go trick-or-treating as Cinderella (Littlest Gardener) and a pageant queen (Sweet Pea). We don't usually get many trick-or-treaters on our street so I always make sure to buy candy I like, I'd hate for it to go to waste! :)

Fertilizer Friday - Bright spots in my day.

2009-10-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

While most of the flowers in my garden are just finishing up, I did manage to find some fresh looking flowers. They are especially nice to see since aside from a few dry hours a couple of days ago, we're back to rain and more rain. After seeing so many beautiful flowers blooming inside other bloggers home this past winter, I've decided that this fall and winter I'll be trying more indoors here too. Normally I'm not very good with indoor plants, they usually die from too little or too much watering. I've already begun fertilizing my African Violets and I noticed how much healthier they looked almost right away, even better I've seen that one is forming flower buds. I've started one Amaryllis so far and found a Christmas Cactus to try too. Hopefully this will be my year for them to bloom and add some color inside.
For now I'll share what is blooming outside:

Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' decided to give me one last fresh flower while the rest are fading into their pretty fall coloring.

Dahlia 'Pretty Lady' has quite a few more buds opening, and I hope they get a chance to finish blooming.

One of the Zinnias 'California Giants'. There are quite a few others blooming as well.

This Dahlia is actually a very deep burgundy color that never shows very well in pictures.

Clematis 'Josephine' is still hanging onto her flowers too. The more the blooms open the "frillier" they become.

Some of the many Pansies I've been planting. These are in my window boxes and are called 'Skyline Copperfield'. They really vary quite a bit in color, some have much more yellow in them.

One of my very favorites that has been on my blog many times is Verbena bonariensis. I think this may be it's last time in bloom until next year. Most have gone to seed and now the birds are enjoying them.

Visit Tootsie at Tootsie Time to see what else is blooming this Fertilizer Friday.

Fall Color in the Puget Sound area.

2009-10-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

I've been patiently waiting for my favorite Japanese Maple to finish changing into it's most beautiful fall colors. It seems to start overnight and then quickly turn golden yellow right before the leaves begin falling. I noticed this year that the Japanese Maples in my yard seemed to change in sections. One part would be red while the lower branches were still covered in bright green leaves. I'm not sure if it is caused by weather or the amount of sun they got, but it does seem strange this year.

In order to get a picture of the top of the tree I actually had to go to the front yard to take the picture. You can see just how tall this unknown Japanese Maple is here. Our home is a one story and the tree goes far above the roof line. I think because this part of the tree gets the most sun the top leaves turn this beautiful orange color. The bright red leaves to the left are from Japanese Maple 'Orido Nishiki'.

I was able to get most of the tree in this picture in the backyard. It practically glows with all the golden leaves.

The trunks and branches of this tree are covered in lichen and moss which adds to its beauty. The leaves on this part of the tree are a rusty yellow.

I love the yellow ceiling in this part of the yard. The branches are just thick with leaves.

And now the leaves are slowly falling to reveal the first blue sky I've seen here in days. Soon our deck will be covered in leaves, and the sweeping and raking will begin.

To visit Dave at The Home Garden click on the Fall Color Project picture above to see Fall in Dave's garden and all over the world.

Just as the garden slows down, the birds return.

2009-10-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Our yard has been very busy lately with birds visiting and looking for food or a quick bath. I always seem to notice a big increase in bird activity here in very early spring and again in fall. I really look forward to these visitors as things slow down in the garden. One big reason I got into gardening was trying to find a way to attract different types of birds to our yard. I've got all different types of feeders throughout the front and backyard. Sometimes it's hard to keep focused on what I'm doing inside because of all the action taking place just outside the windows.

The Robins haven't been around for awhile, but they seem to come back to use the pond as a drinking spot. I love how they sit and rest on the fence while they decide what they're going to do first. Pond or birdbath?

This day it was a quick dip in the birdbath.

Dark-eyed Juncos are our most common visitor. They are always somewhere in the front or backyard. This little guy sat on the peak of the garage roof calling out for the longest time.

Stellar's Jays can be heard long before they're seen around here. They try to hang off the smallest of feeders trying to decide which has the best food. This one usually ends up being their favorite and they don't mind sharing it with the squirrels, even though I wish the squirrels wouldn't use it.

I thought this Crow looked kind of spooky posing on our neighbors antenna. There are hundreds that fly over our neighborhood every evening to where they roost at night. It's a little eerie to see that many birds flocking together at once. I told my oldest daughter that a group of Crows is called a "murder of Crows". She was just fascinated by that term.

This feeder has been the one emptying the quickest. The Black-capped Chickadees and Nuthatches fly back and forth from our Dogwood tree taking seeds.

I had grown these 'Mammoth' Sunflowers for the birds. When it fell over from the weight of the flower head I pulled it out and put it near another feeder. I saw this squirrel taking chunks of the seed head running back and forth to bury his treasures. After he finished with it, the birds joined in to take the seeds he left behind.

Other regular visitors here now are: House Finches, Northern Flickers, Bewick's Wrens, Sparrows and Rufous Hummingbirds. Most of these visitors will be here all fall and winter. I always enjoy the life they bring to the yard once most of the garden is in hibernation until spring.

This is why I call it therapy.

2009-10-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days that I woke up feeling crabby, wanting to sleep in but my youngest daughter deciding she was ready to get up hours before my body wanted to. The sky was gray and and my mood matched it. I decided that since it was at least not raining I'd go out and start some of the fall cleanup that I've not been able to do. Once the yard waste and our side yard were overflowing with branches and plant debris it was time to come in.
A little later I decided that I'd just go outside and take some pictures. I noticed some things that I hadn't noticed while I'd been cleaning up. The more I took the time to look around, the better I started to feel.

Noticing the neat color changes on the new Ninebark (Physocarpus) 'Coppertina' was the first thing that caught my eye.

Not far from it was the Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechola macra) 'All Gold' that I noticed was taking on this purplish-red color.

I saw that the Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchaud' had a flower blooming on it.

Looking down our path I realized that the leaves that had fallen at the far end actually looked pretty from here, not as annoying as they seemed when I looked out our bedroom window this morning and saw them from another angle.

I took the time to look up at our large Japanese Maple to see how much of had already turned yellow.

Then birds started landing in the Mountain Ash behind our yard to call to each other about the berries. As the Robins enjoyed their feast other birds came to our yard to eat from the feeders.

The smiling face of our Woodland fairy made me feel happy that she looked just perfect against the Pine tree bark. A tree that usually drives me crazy this time of year with all the needles it drops everywhere. Looking at how pretty the bark is, made me like this tree again.

And the reward of seeing that the Oriental Poppy 'Princess Victoria Louise' that I transplanted during the heat of the summer and then never remembered to water, actually is still alive. Even better was that the place I moved her from I accidentally left roots behind, which also have new growth coming up.

I realized after taking the time to see the rewards the garden gave back to me on a day I started out in a bad mood, I suddenly felt happier and refreshed. This is my therapy and this is why I need my garden and why it's worth all the work. And I'm sure the ice cream sundae helped some too :)

Fertilizer Friday - Still going.

2009-10-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

It's not as easy as it was a month ago to find a lot of flowers blooming. Nothing new is blooming now but there seem to be certain plants that just don't want to give up and continue to put out new flowers. Roses, Fuchsias (both annuals and hardy type), Dahlias, Zinnias, Cosmos and Red Valerian are all still going strong. Other plants like Verbena bonariensis and Cleome are finishing up and I'm leaving them so I can save seeds from them.

A fuchsia in one of the planters. They look so pretty covered in raindrops.

Geranium 'Rozanne', which was a recent addition, has quite a few new buds. I can't believe it took me so long to discover this plant!

Zinnia 'Green Envy' is becoming a little more yellow now.

Cosmos 'Sensation' show no sign of stopping blooming. The plants are huge and can't support their own weight anymore.

The unknown pink rose. I noticed a trail of pink petals on the way to school this morning. I think my oldest daughter must have sprinkled them as she walked to school.

I saw that this Dahlia has just started reblooming. It ended up getting covered by one of the huge Cosmos. Now that the Cosmos has flopped over this Dahlia is getting more sun and blooming once again.

I'm going to chance it again and not dig up the Dahlia tubers. I planted these a year or so ago and even after our very cold and wet fall and winter they still all came back.

I don't even remember planting this white one. I tend to plant pink Dahlias so I was surprised to find this one blooming this summer. There are a couple of other Dahlias blooming as well, but I'll save their pictures for another day.

Fertilizer Friday is hosted by Tootsie every week. Visit her to join in or see what else is blooming inside or outside other gardeners homes. It's going to be a fun challenge to see what I can find blooming outside each week.

It's Fall for the Fairies.

2009-10-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

I just never know for sure goes on in my garden when I'm not looking. Tools disappear, seeds sprout where I didn't plant them or plants that I thought were dying suddenly appear to be coming back to life. Are there garden fairies at work?

I noticed these mushrooms in our grass yesterday. They look like a miniature mushroom forest, perfect for fairies to hide in.

I'm not sure if this would be considered a fairy ring, but it is interesting to see they are growing in a circle. Celtic folklore says fairy rings are created by fairies dancing at night. It's kind of fun to imagine that fairies were dancing in our yard.

Maybe they wore dresses made of fuchsia flowers?

I know fairies just might be living in our garden. We've see signs of them. Sweet Pea has built them several homes throughout the backyard. This is part of the village she made for them under the Japanese Maple tree. We noticed that fall has come to the fairy village.

The leaves on their tree have turned a brilliant orange.

They've emptied out their plant pots. Cedar needles and leaves have covered the ground.

They've been collecting acorns and chestnuts too. Sweet Pea said they use the nut halves as cooking pots. I hope the squirrels don't discover them, or perhaps the fairies took them from the squirrels?

I'd love to wake up one morning and find that instead of dancing, the fairies planted all my bulbs and cleaned up all the Cedar needles. Then I know I'd believe in them!

An apple a day brings Woody for a visit.

2009-10-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Not all that long ago I had an unusual visitor (as you can read more about in this post). I was really surprised to have seen a Pileated Woodpecker in our yard. In the 10 years we've lived here I had only seen one other one years ago during the snow. Well, this morning it looks like Woodette's male friend decided to have a taste of one of our apples. I've seen finches eating apples in the tree, but this is the first Woodpecker. When I first saw him he was alone, then a Stellar's Jay tried to join him in his feast. The Jay was quickly shooed away.

This first picture was through the dining room window. It was so foggy out that I couldn't get a clear picture.

Then I quietly stepped out through the sliding doors to take a few more pictures. He was so busy with the apple he didn't seem to notice Sweet Pea or I standing there watching him.

Trying to get a little closer to capture his coloring I quietly walked across the gravel path in bare feet. Still didn't seem to mind or notice me getting closer.

You can see his vibrant red coloring here.

A bit of the juicy apple hanging from his beak.

As I got closer I could actually see him swallow the chunks of apple. That was pretty cool to see.

Here you can really see his "mustache" which is how the males are distinguished from the females. That was as close as I got, then he flew off.

He landed in our neighbor's tree to have an insect or two for dessert then flew off into the fog.

I'm glad that Sweet Pea got to see him. She couldn't believe how big he was. I hope he keeps coming back for his apple a day in the top of our tree.

The pond in October.

2009-10-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

First of all, I have a question. Do they make levels for cameras? The kind with the bubble that needs to be centered so that you know your picture won't be tilted? I took these pictures three times trying to not tilt my camera and each time I downloaded them they were crooked.
Oh well...

Here's how the pond is looking mid October:

The Pickerel Weed still has a few blooms on it. I haven't grown it before this summer, so I guess I'll cut it all back when it's done blooming. I've scooped out the Water Lettuce and Water hyacinth since they were turning yellow. I know the first frost will turn them black and they quickly sink into the pond.

I stood up and angled the camera down here. I've cleaned the filter a couple of times recently and added Crystal Pond (a natural enzyme that breaks down the sludge in the bottom of the pond) and the water has really cleared. The fish are still very active, swimming around the edges looking for bugs and algae.

I planted some 'Pandora's Box' Pansies in the planter behind the angel. I think next year I will turn this planter into a mini bog garden. It dries out so quickly and I can't keep it watered enough. My plan is to remove the dirt. Line it with pond liner. Poke holes in the bottom, then layer gravel over the holes. Then I'll replace the soil. It'll be fun to try growing a few new types of plants there.

Looking back from the other side through the Japanese Blood Grass. I can't wait until it fills in this area a bit more. It already looks pretty as the wind blows through it.

I think by the November post there will be few if any lily pads left and not much going on inside the pond.

Distracted by red.

2009-10-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Since I was home with a sick girl (nothing serious though) today, I thought it was going to be the day I got my bulbs planted. I had it all planned out. After yesterday's downpours that left me stuck inside I was determined to get them in the ground today. The rain was falling so hard for most of yesterday that our gutters were like waterfalls as they couldn't drain fast enough. It really didn't make me want to get soaked doing one of my least favorite fall duties.
When I went outside today I noticed I had a lot of cleanup to do before any bulbs could be planted. So I started raking and cutting and yanking plants. Not long after I was mostly finished with the cleanup, our neighbor decided to do some tree pruning high up in his Cedar trees, right next an area that I was working and planning to plant in. This didn't seem like the safest time, I decided, to get them planted. A good excuse to put off that job just another day or so.
Instead I grabbed the camera to get some garden pictures, and I noticed a theme with what I was photographing, red!

A few 'Great Wall of China' tomatoes are still coming.

Here is one of the strawberries from the Ornamental Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) plants I shared in a recent post.

Japanese Maple 'Orido Nishiki' is flaming red at the top, but the lower branches still have quite a bit of green.

The apple tree, or ghost tree as we are calling it now, has some red apples still hanging on.

Oakleaf hydrangea 'Snow Queen' leaves are slowly changing.

The blueberry bushes are really changing quickly, 'Jersey' is the one that is the most red still.

Climbing rose 'Don Juan' decided that October is a good time to bloom again. It's in a place I don't always see and I was surprised to find a couple of flowers on it today.

I'm going to try to get those bulbs planted in the next couple of days, unless something else distracts me from them.