Busy

I didn't have time to get out my craft project today.
But I was out later after the sun went down.  My honey was watering the garden and afterwards we went searching for veggies that were ready and this is what we found so far.

The bell peppers are doing nicely.

We also have Jalapeno and Chile peppers growing and the cucumbers keep turning up bigger!

We also have two Cherry Tomato plants in pots that have been putting out daily, as well as five bigger tomato plants, both in pots and out in the garden.

The ones in the garden are very big and the fruits should start to ripen soon.

I also took some pictures of the lights around the flowers as well as a picture of one of the fairies that I have sitting amongst them.

I thought these mushroom lights would add a little whimsy to the garden, seeing as we have so many gnomes and fairies scattered about!

             The rose bush has begun to bloom again after its last pruning and the spraying seems to have kept most of the bugs away for now.

This girl sparkles like crazy in the sunlight!

The wind damage from the last storm was worse than I thought and I am so glad that no one was out on the sidewalk in front of the house.

We have a tree out there in front that must have gotten its lowest limb split in the storm the other night, but it was the wind today that brought it down, right on the sidewalk!

The temperatures for the next ten days are supposed to be nice and we have something of a chance of rain tonight, which is good because it saves us a little on the water bill!

 Earlier I was reading in Southern Living magazine about putting down moss in place of grass for a yard and I have to say that I like the look of the moss.

There was definitely a more natural look to it than just your every day, cookie cutter yard in the suburbs.

Dare I say, it looked enchanting!

I have some house plans tucked away that I was tinkering with and reading that article just gave me some inspiration for the landscaping that had been vexing me for awhile.

But the garden is doing extremely well considering the high temperatures and lack of rain we've had lately and it definitely keeps me busy.

We also have a family of skunks instead of just the young couple.

We noticed the baby and mother go scurrying away from my roses and back behind the big shed last week.

I have been constantly going behind the small shed to make sure that the hole that a critter dug to get under has remained covered.

I had to bury two medium sized river stones in the hole to make sure that the critter couldn't get under, though it keeps trying.

That is all for today, but the end of the week and the weekend should provide for more post worthy happenings.

Have a good night all!

Storms

There were some wicked storms last night with heavy winds.  A lot of people had wind damage and tree limbs everywhere.  I can't really complain, we've been needing rain because the ground had become so dry and people's crops have been dying from the heat.
It is an issue on every farmer or gardener's mind right now.

The tomatoes in pots were unfortunately blown over due to being so top heavy, but the ones in the garden are bigger and better looking than ever!

I had done some pruning to a few of my plants a few days before the storms rolled in, but I had to go back out this afternoon and spray for the beetles, they wasted no time hopping back onto my roses.

There is new growth on both of the butterfly bushes and I have noticed more little butterflies hovering around lately, along with dragon flies.

I'll be out tomorrow, taking pictures, doing some feeding for the butterfly bushes and more food spikes for the roses, since the local wildlife carried the last one off!
I had placed a food spike behind my white rose bush and came out the next day to find it had been dug up,although I didn't think critters went after plant food.  It definitely had me stumped!

I have a crafting project that I have been working on lately since I have more free time, so I will post pictures of that as well.

That is my story for tonight, have a good night all!

The Bloomin' Growth

I have been outside in the garden for the majority of the morning today, transplanting the one rose bush that was placed to closely farther to the right hand end of the flower garden.
It looks weepy now, which I expect, but I am hoping that it rebounds in about a week.
I also used Jobe's Organic rose food spikes today, so we will see how well they do.


The big, pink rosebush is crawling with new growth after the trimming I gave it last week.

I have also been doing more reading up on roses and their care. I can never  have enough information as far as my hobbies go!

I have found books that I can either go pick up at the store or order online.

One of which is a big, hard cover edition titled, The Ultimate Rose Book by Tommy Cairns.

This book has been out for a bit, but its funny how sometimes, you never know about these things until you get a hobby or develop an interest.

The book also covers 1,500 varieties of roses, so I am leaning heavily towards it at the moment.

The red rose is doing so well right now that there is barely anything for me to do and the color is just so rich right now! 

I have slowed up on the water for now while the temperature is not so unforgiving.

I had checked the soil and it was still thoroughly saturated from the previous watering, so I will wait before doing it again and try to avoid stem or root rot.

As for the soil around here, it is in need of more amending for better drainage.

The soil is mostly comprised of top soil, which is like concrete when dry and like chunky soup when wet.

 I have been using Perlite to help with drainage for the plants in the ground as well as the few I do have in a large pot.

You can find perlite at your local gardening center or greenhouse.

The dwarf butterfly bush in all its lavender hued glory!

I love the tiny flowers that bloom on this bush and both bushes have a heavenly fragrance, I couldn't be more pleased with them.

The white bloom of the tri-colored butterfly bush.

The smaller, white roses are popping out all over the right side of the flower garden!

I couldn't help but notice Mom's cute little bush back behind the big shed was exploding with pink.

Since the leaning pine tree was taken down, that area gets better sun throughout the day and the plants have been happier for it outside of the blistering heat last week that I don't believe anything liked.

Now I just have to dote on the transplant a little bit and that is about all there is for me as far as the flowers go.

We are getting cucumbers in the veggie garden and there are cantaloupes, watermelon, and pumpkins in those patches if memory serves me right.

That is all I have for this post, or at least until I get my crafting going or the plants explode with color!

Have a "bloomin" good day everyone!

Heat Wave

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a good holiday this past week.
There isn't a lot for me to write about at the moment thanks to the heat wave we have all been experiencing.
The only news on the garden is that we have erected a canopy over the veggie garden to keep the sun's rays from frying everything into oblivion.
Between that and my quest to end the beetles, its just maintenance right now on the gardening front.

I'm bringing a few of my painting projects indoors tonight to work on them.
I usually stay out in the sun room for that, but again, its just been too hot.

I have been looking at mediums to use for the card making and came across a friend's thread elsewhere, talking about  Mod Podge.
I haven't used it myself, but from what was being said, its pretty sticky stuff so I'm not sure if it would be worth fooling with.
As of late, the most I have done with glue is putting some tacky glue to a gnome's broken hat top.

I need to also look at a good sewing machine.  The two that are tucked away out in the backroom are small and would not be up to some of the tasks that I am looking to accomplish.
JoAnn's Fabrics had some nice filmy silk prints and such on sale and I am thinking of making a blouse.

Back to the painting, I will be working on the Halloween fairy again and getting as much of her wings covered on the inside as I can.

We are supposed to get a break from the unholy heat on Sunday, so I will be feeding some plants that day and take advantage of the milder temperature!

Have a great weekend!