Champion Daylilies

Last weekend, a Groupon special caught my eye.  There is apparently a daylily hybridizer within 5 minutes of my house, with hundreds of beautiful varieties.

We had yellow daylilies that the builders planted the beds of our first house.  They were basic yellow, single blooms, and they multiplied like crazy.  I even dug some up and planted them for my neighbor when I was 7+ months pregnant with Buddy, and my friend, who professes to have a brown thumb, has not killed them yet.

So, I saw the Groupon ($12 for 3 plants), saw the convenient address, perused the website, and decided the offer could not be resisted.  The kids and I headed over yesterday.  The "farm" is on just an acre, but wow, the grower has maximized his space.  He has a big backyard, several rows of potted plants, and the path that leads to that area is lined with other perennials.  It was all I could do to stick to my plan.

Mr. Schumaker was friendly and helpful.  He asked if I had grown daylilies before.  And then, he totally made our day when he asked Bear her favorite color and told her she could have a plant for herself if she could pick it up.  She did. :)

So what varieties did we bring home?

Bear's Bela Lugosi

Betty Woods

Peach Magnolia

Grey Witch with creeping phlox from the front yard added in (and the little bed that the kids and I dug and put together for it.)

Here are photos from the Champion Daylilies site that show what the flowers will look like when they bloom, if I don't kill them!!!  I love how each of the leaves looks distinct... for example, the peach magnolia has bushier leaves.  The downside to daylilies is that each bloom lasts only a day, but at least they have multiple blooms.  They are just best enjoyed outside.

Think Spring

It got colder again today.  A front came through last night and took away our warm Spring-like weather.  Nonetheless, I can't help but be encouraged by the renewal and new growth in my yard.

Little Buddy stepped on tulip #3.  Maybe it will grow and bloom next year.  I planted these a few weeks ago.

Last weeks yard project: white flowers are "candytuft",  I can't wait for the purple pansies to take off.  The carpet of creeeping phlox on the left is compliments of the previous owners.

Anyone know what this could be? I am guessing daisies or black eyed susans or something, I don't know.

These mini pansies, aka johnny jump ups, were growing in our grass, so I dug them up and put them in the flower bed. 

mystery lillies... I hope they are pretty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tackle it Tuesday: Grouch Edition

I'm pretty sure the purpose of the whole "Tackle It Tuesday" meme is to encourage you in the day-to-day stuff of life and the big accomplishments.  I'm tired and crabby right now, so consider this your warning.

On Sunday night, during a heavenly trip to the grocery store without kids, I rescued two 99 cent 3 inch pots with mums in them.  Bear had been begging for more flowers, and she was so excited when I brought them home.  It did not matter to her that the yellow and pink (er, brown) flowers were shriveling up.  They were beautiful to her.  It didn't matter to me either.  You see, in a past season of life I had flower beds.  Not pots on the third floor balcony of an apartment building.  There is a difference, and the amount of enjoyment cultivated, especially with a toddler undertow and an almost five year old who are both eager to "help," yeah... you get the picture.


I didn't take before pictures.  I just didn't, but I am probably the only person who would have spent 99 cents on dead-looking flowers. (In my defense, the plants were still very green).  However, they had new buds coming, and in my aforementioned former season of life, I learned that pinching off the dead buds will encourage new growth if the plants still have life in them.  And I am cheap... I am not spending $10 on flowers that are sure to die in this Hades-like heat in September. (It's in the 90's here just south of Hotlanta.)

Anyhow, this day of tackles started out well.... freshly brewed Starbucks coffee at home, Pumpkin spice creamer and sugar to taste, and I even threw a chicken in the crock pot after smothering it in delectable seasonings.  See?  I'm ready for Fall.

Fast forward a couple of hours.  Some Mommy decided it would be fun to take her kiddos out of the balcony to do a little "gardening" in the sun before it's too hot.  News flash: at 11:30 a.m. it is too hot to enjoy being outside.  So, I lifted one pot of dead summer flowers out of their decorative urn.  Discovered the urn was full of stagnating water.  I tried to dump water into one of the other pots, dumped too fast, and created a mini mud cascade down to the neighbors railing below. Crap. How neighborly of me.  So I threw on some jeans to go apologize, writing a note of apology for the mess I shared first, figuring they were not home.  I think I wrote the wrong apartment # on the note, but they know who I and my elephants are.  I mean, if someone had dumped muddy water on my balcony, I would not have been happy.  Not that the idiots who smoke their cigars and cigarrettes two floors down care that they are poisoning my air.

We we returned upstairs, and I vowed not to be defeated.  Buddy fell of sissy's bike and got back on at least 5 times.  At least he was mostly occupied.  Bear did a good job fetching water from the well, I mean bathroom faucet.  (I hope she turned it off all the way).  I asked her to pinch off the old buds, she did about 5 of the 40 and decided to go back inside.  Helping a crabby mommy is no fun.  By this time I was not enjoying being around myself, either.

Ok, so I cut off old dead flower stems from the remains of our summer flowers, and pulled others out of the pots I planned to re-use immediately.  I transplanted the mums and pinched off the dead blooms that Bear left and the plants don't look half bad.  But then I still had to sweep up the mess, because when you live on the third floor it's not good manners to sweep your dirt onto your neighbors' railings/balcony below....  Did I mention it is hot here?

So, pardon my grumpiness, but what would have been a fun project to share with the kids in my old yard was a frustrating chore here.  My flowers do look like they will be happier in their new home than they were in the grocery store's reject cart, in a week or maybe even less, I should have some fresh blooms to enjoy.  The kiddos will be able to pick them to their hearts' content because mums rebloom. (As long as little Buddy does not yank the whole plants out of the pots.)  Next year I'm just going to spend $50 on big beautiful flowers that don't require work other than watering them. (Um, not really.  It's against my frugal genes.) Next year I plan to be in a new season of life, including living in a house with a yard where gardening is much more fun, even in the heat.  (I think the heat bounces off the building and makes it feelworse than it really is.)

to post or not to post?

I think I've posted pictures of my glads, asiatic lilies, and callas for the past 2 years. Well, they are back, taller than ever, or in the case of the callas, thicker than ever. My stargazers that I bought really cheap at wal-mart last year are also on their way.

I love bulbs and all plants similar. Especially summer-blooming ones so far, because just when it's getting hot enough that I don't really feel like planting new things to withstand the heat, they come back and tell me that past years' efforts were worth the investment of time. One of my asiatic lily stalks has over TEN buds on it!!!!! I have a feeling I'll be staking that one back!

My camera is downstairs, so I'm not posting the pics right now, but I am wide awake after falling asleep with my little girl at bedtime... and waking up right at 11:30.

Should I post pics of the same types of flowers you've seen on here in years past?

sleepless in Nashville

Yep, that's me. I slept a good solid 3-4 hours before Buddy awoke from his sleep for a 3 a.m. diaper change and bottle. I'm glad I appreciated his big sister's sleeping through the night when I had the chance, because he is not so consistent so far. After 30 minutes of tossing and turning, I came upstairs. I turned the monitor on only to hear him crying in stereo... so now he isrocking in his swing, finally asleep, while I am still sleepless. I love the swing that was a hand-me-down from his older cousins. It reclines, so his neck does not roll forward. He seems to like it, too.

Yesterday was warm enough to go outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine. Bear helped me plant echinacea roots, shasta daisy seeds, and my butterfly bush. And some cherry tomato plants. The last 2 were gifts from Tech Mom and Dad. Thankfully, they did not die in the last week. Now to keep them alive outside.

My hill is still a far cry away from being my butterfly garden, but it's nice to have things growing on it. The forsythia and creeping phlox are doing well, and the butterfly bush is about 15 feet back, 3 feet up from the wall... just down the hill from the water spicket. It's by itself right now, but I figure since its from a fast-growing family in full sun, it won't be long before it expands. I planted some of the echinacea (coneflowers- pinkish purple-daisies) between the forsythia and the phlox, so that when the phlox blossoms fade, there might be some color popping out of the slope. 4 roots were $5 at the superstore, so I planted one up next to the patio and bay window, one by the mailbox, and two above the phlox (aka thrift, here in the South). I also planted a couple of gladiola bulbs that I had pulled up last fall and did not give away... this should extend the bloom time of my firecracker red glads a bit.

Oh, when I dropped my hostess packet/order back off at gina's, I was pleased to see that contrary to her belief that she has a brown thumb, she has not killed her day lillies, hosta, OR her calla lillies which I transplanted from my flowerbed last May. My callas are not directly under the gutter spout like hers are, so they are not poking through quite as tall yet. Anyway, it's always nice when perennials are in fact perennials.

If you have ever wondered if you should by the $20 rose bushes from the catalogs or fancy nursery, my answer is "no." Wal-mart has them for $6. They might not be as big, but give them a year or so of TLC, and nobody will know the difference. By TLC I mean pruning them back every so often to encourage bushing versus growing a few long straggly stems with leaves just at the top. If you cut some to enjoy inside during the summer, you save your hubby money at the florist or wherever he gets flowers for you (or you get them for yourself), and you naturally tend your rose bushes a bit better. I plan to swing by my local coffee shop for a fresh batch of grounds for gardeners (free used coffee grounds) soon. Last year I put the bag in the basket of our stroller and pushed it uphill... that's not gonna happen this year with both kiddos on the stroller. Buddy weighs a lot more now than he did last April in my belly.

Hubby is off today, and I am trying to convince him that it's worth attempting to take the whole family to the free Sara Groves concert at our church tonight. Well, he's sleeping at the moment. Our church has monitors in the hallway, so even if we have to leave the auditorium, we might still be able to enjoy the show. I suppose I should find a babysitter. But I don't want anyone to see my house in it's normal state, and that would mean I have to clean up for the babysitter. What a travesty. anyway, if you live near Franklin, TN and need something to do, tonight is a great chance to get out for some inspiring and worshipful music!

I don't feel like taking pictures of my mundane chores for Tackle It Tuesday, so here's the visual update on my flowerbeds:

salvia, impatiens, irises, scabiosa, columbine, clematis, stargazer lillies, acidanthera, sea pink...
not all blooming at once

gold glow rose and soon-to-be firecracker red gladiola (it's taller than my 2 1/2 year old!)

pink calla lillies- 1st blooms of 2008

asiatic lily buds, holly bush, hosta buds in background

Wouldn't you agree that these pics are better than photos of laundry? I did save a neat picture for tomorrow's Wordless Wednesday post... unless I get a better shot before then.

We came home from Memphis today, and of course the addict had to see what's new in my flowerbed. Yes, almost immediately.....

"Gold Glow" rose bush

(5/9)

...not bad for $5 at Wal-mart. There are at least 3 more buds in addition to the bloom. In the first photo, I believe the blanketflower (gaillardia) seeds I planted have resulted in what I hope will be one plant (the thing growing to the left). The Blue Girl Rose is running behind this one. It doesn't get the sun quite as early in the day. No buds on that one yet, but the leaves are coming in. I read that it doesn't tolerate the extreme heat quite as much, but hopefully the spot I chose for it is not too shady!

I baked tilapia and sauteed yellow squash for dinner tonight. I love sales on fresh seafood at Publix! If my dishes would just do themselves, I would be a very happy girl. We went for a walk with Bear, who asked for the stroller, but around the halfway point decided she wanted to run free. She only wiped out on the sidewalk a couple of times.

Guess what these are?

(I am not referring to the pieces of mulch. Look closely.)

hint: a couple of weeks ago, I stated I did not think they were coming back this year.
I watered their location anyway, since I read that they like to be kept moist and not dry out.

And now I do the happy dance! Perhaps I should wait until they actually bloom.

the little purple tulip that could

As I've mentioned previously, most of the tulips which actually came up this Spring were the ivory ones from the batch. I'm guessing purple is a more difficult color to grow, because I haven't seen many out... lots of red, pink, and yellows, but no purple.

Well, I think I've had a total of 3 or 4 purple tulips actually bloom the Spring...
here is the most recent. I love how the ivory "siblings" tower over it.

Progressive Tackle: Flowerbed around the mailbox

This tackle began over 3 weeks ago, when hubby sprayed grass and weed killer around the base of my mailbox per my request. Ok, nagging.

The weed/grass killer did not quite do the trick, so I sprayed straight white vinegar on it about a week ago. This past Saturday, after yet more begging, hubby tilled the patch using his Mom & Dad's Mantis:


So this morning, as the sun peeked out, y'all know I became rather stir crazy. I had to give Bear a bath to get her finger paint off of both of her forearms and hands. I did not wash her hair, knowing full well that we would be headed outside and another bath would be inevitable.

First I donned my trusty garden gloves which were a stocking stuffer from my parents at Christmas. Next, I dumped a previously purchased bag of compost over the area and roughed it up with a hand cultivator (rake-looking hand tool, for the non-gardeners). I pulled out clumps of grass/roots as I could, using the weed poker tool thingy (long pointy tool with two short fork-like prongs on the ends). I also chucked rocks onto the sidewalk as I encountered them.

Yesterday, a dear woman at our church who had taken us young Moms under her wing decorated our Mom's fellowship with flowers (along with the decorating coordinator for next year, I believe). I was able to take 11 impatien plants home, and they were the first flowers to be put into the flowerbed. I lined the street and driveway with them. Next, I dug up 3 of the acidanthera bulbs that I planted a few weeks ago. I had decided I did not like where they were placed. So I transplanted them to a new home around the mailbox, and planted the remaining 5 bulbs nearby. I also transplanted 4 or 5 daffodil bulbs, with greenery still attached to feed the bulbs with sunlight. I hope they take well. They were at LEAST 2 inches in diameter!!!! After the daffodils, I planted the iris rhizomes which a neighbor had dug up from her flowerbed well over a week ago.

By this point, Bear had grown tired of being outside and was not listening to anything I said. She picked off all the pansy flowers (thankfully they'll rebloom).

She kept playing hide and seek by running to the back patio. She refused to obey when I asked her to clean up her chalk that she had dumped all over the sidewalk. I tried a time out on the front porch, where her reflection occupied her for a bit. She finally helped me pick up the chalk, but then she refused to carry the box back to the garage where it belonged. So I stuck her inside the house, cleaned up as much of my mess as I could, and went inside to deal with a hungry little Bear. I put some Dora chicken noodle soup to simmer on the stove, then convinced Bear to help me water the newly planted flowers. I'm not sure if any of the water from her watering can made it to the flowerbed, but she was happy to "help", and stayed out of my way.

After lunch, Bear took another bath and got ready for nap time. I turned on her piano music CD (Jim Brickman), and she settled right down.

So back outside I went. I had one last little task. Well, three tasks, I guess. First, I planted some cosmos seeds in between the irises. I marked the seed locations with wooden toothpicks. Next, I planted a row of shasta daisy seeds along the sidewalk. I marked those with toothpicks as well. FINALLY, I sprinkled the remaining top soil (which I had mixed in with every plant, bulb, and rhizome I planted) over the flowerbed, mixed a final batch of fertilizer into my watering can, and watered my newly planted bed. The only thing left to do is mulch. If the HOA complains that it's not mulched yet, I'll ask them when they plan to have the landscapers mulch the front entrance to our neighborhood.

I really hope the irises are not planted too deep, and all the vinegar is out of the soil by now. It would be a shame to kill my plants after all this hard work. Hopefully the almost 80 lbs I added of compost and top soil will make up for any bad dirt.

The highlight of my day? While I was outside with Bear, a neighbor stopped by and asked if I wanted anything from her husband's deli across town. She gave me a few options, and I chose.
As I was planting the seeds after lunch (if Dora chicken noodle soup counts as a valid lunch, anyway), enjoying not having a toddler under foot, she returned with my order.... a chicken caesar wrap in a Spinach tortilla and a mango smoothie. I asked how much I owed her. "Nothing. You're our best neighbor." Now that's a way to make a pregnant woman cry. And I did not even have to share my smoothie with Bear!!!

Here comes Spring!

Tulips... either the purple ones are harder to grow, or tastier to the rodents,
because only 2 bloomed. (Unless I gave most of them to my sis-the bag was mixed.)

L-R: Black eyed susans & sedum from Gramma's yard, tulips from costco last fall
& shrubs planted by builder

chrysanthemum, ? (maybe calla lily or asiatic lily?), acidanthera spikes, hosta

sedum planted by my mom shortly after bear was born

another hosta, more tulips (and daffodils that never bloomed), and if you look closely you can see a couple of asiatic lily plants sprouting up in the background... they are only about 1 inch tall, but they look like really tight clusters of grass, or kind of like the "hen & chick" plants you see in rock gardens.

gladiola spikes hiding behind the boxwood

Daffodil fronds ( I will probably cut them back a little bit to trim them up, but I want the bulbs to get fed so they will bloom again next year, so I'm in no rush.), gold glow rose bush, more gladiola spikes.

I can't believe some of you are expecting SNOW this weekend! It's supposed to cool off some here, but hopefully we'll be able to get the bed around the mailbox & the veggie patch tilled. (Naughty me, not waiting on an answer from the management. I already killed the grass. Besides, a friend gave me some iris from her yard that need to get into the ground.)

April showers bring May flowers

Does anyone else remember that saying? Well, it's April and we already have some flowers. The daffodils are almost gone already, but the pansies and tulips are blooming. Plus, my late-spring/summer plants(gladioli, asiatic lilies, day lilies, sedum, hostas, black-eyed susans, acidantherea (peacock orchid, but it's really related to the glads) are popping through, except for the Calla lillies. I really hope they come back. They bloomed last year, but considering they are one of the flowers that aren't guaranteed to last the winter, I supposed I should be grateful for what I got. Some of the blanketflower seeds appear to have taken well, too. Thankfully, the HOA rules don't say anything about flowerbeds from what I could tell (and the president told me that I didn't need permission to extend my bed like I did last fall when I asked him about it a couple of days ago), though the rules do mention shrubs, bushes and trees. I did e-mail the management company to double check to make sure it's ok to put a flower bed around my mailbox, and that I don't have to remove the rose bushes I planted. That sounds extreme, but the verbiage in the rules makes it sound like that's what necessary, so I'm just covering my bases.

I let Bear pick one tulip today, and she helped herself to a second.

have seeds (or bulbs)... must plant
(and dreams of what's to come....)


It seems that seeds and bulbs burn a hole in my pocket faster than money. okay, as fast as cash.
I found some acidanthera bulbs at wal-mart, and couldn't resist... I probably should have waited another month to plant them, since they are supposed to be late summer bloomers. But since when have i been a patient person?

A few days ago, I planted some seeds for gaillardia aristata, which should look something like this if they come up:


i had originally planned to just fertilize some of my flowers with the free grounds from starbucks, but then the neighbor girls got so excited about helping me, i just had to let them. ;) they certainly saved me from having to squat so much.

of course, we currently have a couple of these daffodils
in bloom, with more coming.

Tulips like these are on their way:

I'm hoping these firecracker gladiolas and asiatic lillies will come up again, or at least the bulbs that I lifted last fall and plan to re-plant in a month or two (if i can wait that long). We're in zone 6b, so even non-perennial bulbs sometimes survive the winter, but it's a matter of luck:


The black-eyed susans from Gramma's farm in WI are showing signs of life
(not this much... another old pic),

as are my mums, which baby bear was watering in this pic from last fall:

I'll have to continue this virtual tour of what I'm looking forward to for this growing season, as I just received word that Baby Bear's big girl bed is coming from Grandaddy and GranWendy's house, and between the mountains of laundry and the mess in her room, I am not ready. :)

growing before my eyes...

yes, baby bear is growing before my eyes. but today i decided to water the daffodil bulbs i transplanted a couple of weeks ago. plus, a few more had sprung up in the back, and i decided to put them in a pot of dirt and see if they'll bloom for me. the bulbs are pretty tiny, so i'm not holding my breath, but i have this pretty urn/flower pot thing that held the birdseed packets at our wedding, and the only things its held recently are baby bear's rocks. anyway, i decided to mix some multi-purpose plant food in with the water (yes, i wore gloves to keep the chemicals off my skin). and i decided to water the whole bed and the transplanted daffodils under the birch tree. i didn't feel like connecting the hose, dragging it out, etc., so it meant at least 10 trips to the faucet and back. the daffodils were also peeking through the ground at the biltmore, but none had bloomed yet. there was a really pretty purple flower that looked like a miniature iris... unfortunately i did not see it in the conservatory, where many plants were labeled.

anyway, i could swear some of my previously sprouted daffodil and tulip bulbs looked higher and i know for a fact a few more pushed their way through the mulch so i could see them in the 30 minutes i spent outside. there's a grand total of 16 tulips sprouting... out of 30-ish tulip bulbs planted. (if i remember correctly).

hello, my pseudonym is a wandering heart, and i am obsessed with my flower bed. my hubby wishes i'd take half as much care inside. but hey, he'll have clean gym shorts and khakis for work when he gets home, so he can't complain too much. today, anyway.

heavenly sunshine and good clean dirt

it's 47 degrees here right now. sunny, clear blue skies with some fluffly clouds. in addition to the bulbs that have peeked through after being planted last fall, some old daffodil bulbs were poking though the grass underneath our bay window. i decided that this would be the year to move them. while underneath a bay window sounds like the perfect place for flowers, it's not when there's no flower bed there. the fronds get mowed with the grass, which makes it difficult for the bulbs to get the nutrients they need to bloom again the next year. anyway, there appeared to be 9 or 10 narrow leaves poking through the ground, so I grabbed my spades and knee pad and dug them out. the bulbs are pretty small, but you never know... maybe, just maybe they are big enough to actually bloom along with the others... as long as we don't get a deep freeze to stunt their growth.

i moved them under the birch tree, which is one place i didn't plant bulbs last fall. i covered them with extra starbucks soil (more coffee grounds than dirt) from my handy-dandy earth-pots, which tech dad handed down to me and will house my cherry tomatoes and whatever else i decide on when spring comes, and replace the mulch that i had cleared out of the way. i should probably go sprinkle some grass seed over the disturbed spots from which i uprooted them.

i thought about taking pictures, but i felt like i might be jinxing myself.

anyway, even if the transplant is not successful, i got some fresh air whie baby bear napped. and i didn't spend more money on bulbs. now to take care of some of the indoor chores i've been neglecting. maybe it will help if i crack open the windows and let some fresh air in along with the sunshine...

I need professional help.

(with photography, that is. )

I stepped outside in the warm-ish drizzle to check the mail, and notice my garden's first crocus bud peeking out through the mulch. So of course, because of the odd fascination I have with capturing my meager flowerbeds' life processes, I present to you the next additions to my garden "family." Perhaps I'll get better at using the macro feature on my new camera, but these were the best shots I could capture today.

The spikes had surfaced last week, but I hesitated to photograph them for fear they could have been a stray clump of grass.

See the yellow tip of the bud, at the base of the green grass-like spikes? That's a crocus on its way...


Then I peered around the corner and found a few daffodil spikes shooting up in the flower bed extension I added last fall:



They COULD be tulips, but they look like daffodils to me. Time will tell. Let's hope they actually bloom, and the rest of the bulbs do too.

Welcome to a glimpse of the Southern USA, where contrary to what the calendar may indicate, Spring comes in February.