Would you like to see our garden?

One of the things I've learned from living in a place where we truly experience four true seasons is that by the end of winter, I'm desperate for color.  After the gray days of winter, I long for bright colors.  As soon as we have our last frost, I'm planting annuals and prepping for my perennials to come up.  Then, we wait...

By July, we have those bright colors we've been waiting for...

My day lily fence...

We have daylilies acting as a little fence between our yard and the neighbor's yard.

Self-seeded petunias...

We have a profusion of petunias...interestingly I planted only a few...these babies self-seeded from last year.

Aren't these beautiful?

We have gorgeous Asiatic lilies.



We have seven of these...

Look at our hanging planters...aren't they pretty?

Butterfly approved...the ultimate garden seal.

One of our two apple trees.  We didn't know they were apple trees until our third year here.  Improved irrigation did the trick.

And the view off our deck is still fabulous.  We keep hearing that they're going to build something horrible like retail there, but for now, we're oh so grateful that they haven't.

The view off our deck...geraniums are a nice pop of color, aren't they?
We get a lot of birds at the bird feeders, too.  The cats love that!

We have lots more going on, but these pictures give you a good idea of how busy our yard is keeping us.  Definitely some serious productivity going on here!

Rain Gutter Planter

My beloved Superman was home on leave for two and a half weeks and we have some wonderful pictures of that time that I'll be sharing later this week.  In the meantime, I have a quick and easy garden project to share with you.

The flowers wish I had done this project last week.  They'll look better in a few days.

It is so easy.  All you need is a length of plastic/vinyl rain gutter (I got ours from Home Depot) with the anchors and endcaps. 

I guessed how many anchors I'd need, based on the length of the gutter and
the anticipated weight of the dirt and plants when wet.  (50" warranted 4 anchors.)

Put it all together and attach it to a flat, vertical surface.  I attached our to the deck railing with a screw in each anchor.  (Depending upon your plant selections, you will need to decide whether or not you will need to drill drainage holes.) 

The finished planter in place with a drip line ready to go.

Fill it with dirt and add your plants.  Ta da!

The finished project!  I love how it turned out.

That is it...you are done.  Now, at this point, I have to tell you that my children thought this was a stupid idea until it was actually done.  Then, in the high praise of the teen-aged language, they conceded:  "Mom, we kind of thought this was a stupid idea, but now that you finished it, it really looks good!"

So, if you're willing to face teen-aged scorn, I urge you to give this garden project a try.  You won't be disappointed.

Coming Out of Hibernation

Growing up in the Southern California year-round sunshine, it never occurred to me that I would be a hibernator. Moving to a place with a real winter, complete with gray days and freezing temperatures, has taught me that I do, in fact, hibernate.

Winter began early last year...we had real snow on the ground in October. Winter kept a firm grip on the land for six long months. We didn't see crocuses until the end of March and the tulips have just this week begun to bloom. Finally, the snows gave way to rain and freezing temperatures stopped being part of the weather forecast. The grass has really started to grow (and so have the weeds!)

As it held on to the land, so did winter seem to have a firm grip on me. Just like the flowers are stretching and reaching form the sun, I find myself waking from the deep hibernation of a long winter. The sun shone so brightly today...the blue sky so crisp. I felt my blood warming up as I threw open the windows before heading out to work in yard.

Now I sit here a bit sun-kissed, a bit sore from using muscles that took a winter break and keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow will be another beautiful day...after all, I have flowers to plant!

Isn't it amazing what a little sunshine can do?

Fertilzer Friday - a cold wind comes...

Friday again?  Already?  Where does the time go?  This time of year, the time seems to speed up.  We're still working in the yard, but already looking ahead to the holidays.  The weatherman says we'll have freezing temperatures for a few nights beginning Saturday and I'm thrilled.  (Terrible, aren't I?)  

We harvested our final two zucchini today and those plants will soon be in the compost pile.  Valiant blew out our sprinklers yesterday and we've removed the dogs Lixit.  No more water outside.  Even though it is Fertilizer Friday, I'm not fertilizing anything!   Quite the contrary, in fact.   I've been pulling up my potted petunias and am bringing the geraniums and gerbera daisies in for the winter.  We're pruning trees and bushes and generally getting the yard ready for "bed".  We're almost there...some more pruning, burying some tulip bulbs and we're done.  Then, finally, we'll be ready to move indoors and I, for one, am ready!

In the meantime, Mother Nature gave us a little "fall color" show in our own backyard....

All the fall colors in one tree/bush...isn't it lovely?  I have been putting off pruning it because I think it is so pretty.  This week, however, this pretty little tree will get a much needed haircut and begin looking like a tree again.

Oh, and here is my "pumpkin tree" update.  It is really hanging from a tree.

 
Too funny, isn't it?

Our little pumpkin is now 5" in diameter.  With the weather changing this week, I don't suppose it will ripen, but it is just trying so hard that we're hard-pressed to interfere.

Our yard is pretty much done for this year, but it isn't that way in other places.  In places like Southern California, they're finally relaxing a bit as the heat abates and the blooms start to emerge again.  The stress from trying to keep things alive during oppressive temperatures gives way to enjoyment of balmy temperatures and cooler mornings.  When I lived there, fall would bring fresh blooms on my Peter Pans (Lily of the Nile/Agapanthis) and the anticipation of my Amaryllis blooming in time to paint my yard red for Christmas.  My Night Blooming Jasmine would be keeping the yard fragrant and my Impatiens would be happily enjoying the cooler weather.  My Bird of Paradise would be flaunting their feathers and it would feel like gardening season had just begun.  Different climates, different plants. 

Head over to Tootsie's place to take the weekly garden tour.  It is always inspiring and sometimes humbling!  (Did you see those topiaries she featured last week?  They were amazing!)

Fertilizer Friday - We're almost through...

We're almost through here...the growing season is pretty much over. The sprinklers are off now...in fact, as I'm typing this on Thursday evening, we've enjoyed a day of rain in Eastern Washington with more rain predicted for the weekend.  Before I know it, it will be time to blow them out and just off  the water to the yard for the season.

I can't believe the first week of October is already finished.  The time seems to go so quickly.  February rolls in with its winter winds and I'm chomping at the bit to get my garden going, longing for the vibrant colors of spring and summer.  By the end of September, however, I'm tired.  I've fretted over those same vibrant flowers, worried about the health of my vegetables, and generally expended tons of mental and physical energy in caring for the outside of our home.  I secretly rejoice when the weather calls "game over".  Still, here we are in the first week of October and no hard freeze has hit.  I spent a number of hours in the yard Wednesday.  The lawn is loving the mild weather and so I'm still mowing.   I finally decided to rip out the tomato plants.  While I had roughly 100 tomatoes on the vine, the slugs were taking advantage of the weather and enjoying them at unprecedented rates.  Not only that, but we just weren't getting the weather they need to ripen.  (I did save 20+, but between black moldy looking stuff and slugs, the rest were goners.)    In the meantime, there are still interesting things to see in our yard.

The fairies seem to be moving in.  Doesn't this look like a fairy village?

These tiny little white flies come every year at this time.  They're all over the neighborhood.

Our pumpkin plant sent its vines up a tree and then crossed into another tree.  We have tiny little pumpkins in our trees!   I know they won't ripen for us this year...so sad, but I think it is so silly that they're in the tree.

Oh, and our zucchini continue to be confused...they're blooming again.

Sam is still enjoying the garden.  (Buttercup says that the plant Sam is eating is catnip, but I couldn't say...I just know it comes up everywhere!)

There you have it!  I think this is it for the Nagle5 garden this year.  We've got enough rain the forecast that I'm going to have to take advantage of the occasional sunny day to get the zucchini out of the ground...and the spring bulbs planted.  That's okay though...I'm ready to come inside for winter.

It is Fertilizer Friday (sans fertilizer!), so head over to Tootsie's to see what is going on in gardens that aren't winding down...lots of them aren't and it is wonderful to see those tropical flowers as we get ready for winter here.  (Tootsie herself is featuring some absolutely amazing photos of the Mosaiculture International Gardens in Montreal ...you'll be stunned, I promise.)

"Clearance" is my favorite price!

This time of year, our local (and, I assume, your local) Home Depot starts to clear out a lot of the plants they brought in for spring and early summer gardeners.  I always try to pick up a few perennials as well as some screaming deals on annual color to help me get through the end of summer, into fall. (Maybe I'll even get some seeds out of these, but don't tell Home Depot as I've noticed more and more plants say "propagation forbidden".)  

Yesterday I made my annual plant run and came up with these:

$3.50 a planter!  (I bought two.)   I'll trim up some of the dead leaves, fertilize them and keep them watered and have some beautiful hanging planters til the end of September. 

These were $1.50 each. (3 plants to a planter - I bought 3.)

These were only $0.75 each (!):

Begonias (I bought 2) -

Gerbera Daisies (I bought 2) -

Dianthus (I bought 4 - they're perennials.)-

These mums were $1.50 each - I bought 3.

I'll get them into the ground tonight...I'm so excited.

Fertilizer Friday - Evening Edition!

Phew!  Fertilizer Friday already - where does the time go? What a busy day...I Skyped with Superman this morning, the last of our kittens has now been fixed, my back was adjusted by my amazing chiropractor, and I even managed to go to lunch with a bunch of the ladies in my neighborhood.  Still, it wasn't dark when I got back from picking up the kitten from the vet, so I headed outside with my camera to show you some of our mid-summer garden progress.

Look at this lily.  I got these bulbs on clearance from Home Depot last year and really had no idea what would come up.  This bloom is already four days old and it has been HOT here...still, it is gorgeous, isn't it?

My neighbor gave me this plant.  I can't remember what it is called, but I keep moving the pot around to see where it will shine in my garden.  The reddish leaves make it stand-out amongst the rest of the greenery.

The zucchini and pumpkin plants are doing well, too.  They're actually loving the heat...we just harvested 3 zucchini last week.

The koi love it when I add water to the pond...too bad they won't pose for pictures!

The apple tree is bearing so much fruit, now I have to figure out how to save it from the birds!

Even the tomatoes are getting into the act.

Finally, these orange day lilies have been blooming beautifully...see?

There you have it...the Nagle5 garden Mid-summer 2010.  What is going on in your world these days?

What a Difference a Day (and modern drugs) Makes!!

I woke up feeling much better than yesterday; a phenomena I attribute fully to the power of Doxycycline and ibuprofin.  (Sorry about the whining post.)  Regardless of the reason for my improved health, I am grateful.  Grateful enough that I'm combining two posts into one and joining both Shoot Me (23 of 52)...

...and Fertilizer Friday with this post.
 

The days here, like in so many parts of the country, have been unseasonably HOT and my potted plants have needed some tender loving care.  The sun is HOT, however, hot enough that I've been forced to drag out my sun hat, which doesn't stay on well, but does shade my face.

As you can see, I'm still under the weather and feeling tired, but being outside feels fantastic, even with the hot sun.

My garden makes me smile and I love spending time in it.  If you had told me give years ago that I would be a budding gardener, I would have said you were crazy and yet, I love it.  It is so gratifying.

Here is a glimpse of the back of my house as viewed from the backyard.  When we bought the house, the deck was uncovered and bare.  There were overgrown bushes everywhere and we didn't even know that was an apple tree.  (It didn't produce fruit for the first two years we lived here.)  Look at it now!  Covered deck looking out onto a gorgeous garden.  Superman and I did it all, with the help of our children, the donations of plants from generous neighbors, oh, and five 8 yard dumpsters stuffed full of ripped up, overgrown, plants.  I love how it has all come together.

These  lily-type plants with little purple flowers were gifts from a neighbor who was desperate to get rid of some.  You just separate them the way you do day lilies and plant the sections. They grow so quickly, they already need to be thinned.  The petunias in the hanging pots were wintered over in my dearly departed greenhouse.    (The silly lights are Buttercup's under deck lights, but something chewed through the wire last winter, so I have to get them fixed.)

Sorry for the horrible picture, but this is our koi pond.  I don't even remember what was here before...I don't think anything other than overgrown bushes, but maybe Superman will remember better than I.  It has a waterfall that burbles all the time.  I love the sound of the water feature.  Since two of our koi were roughly 2 feet long, we found new homes for them and only have two little ones in the pond these days.

Not part of the view, but still amazing are these Asiatic lilies...look how many we have!  The pink color has faded, but they're still gorgeous.  (Doesn't the football add that little something?  Yes, this yard gets used!)

Superman, look at the day lilies we transplanted last year...we put them along the fence to add some no maintenance color and they are doing so well.  They obviously love this strip of fence because they don't look like stragglers, do they?

Oh, and look at our squash...they obviously have no problem with the lasagna gardening technique I used to plant them.

So, there you have it, my garden tour for this week.  All these plans make for a beautiful view out my window as I sit at my computer.  I love sitting down here, listening to the waterfall and looking out at the fruits of my/our labors.  Head over to Tootsie's to see what everyone else is up to.  Oh, and don't forget to join in the fun at Forever in Blue Jeans...get yourself in the picture.  You won't regret it.  (Three more and I'll be halfway through!)

Catching Up...

Sometimes I think life passes at the speed of light.  Blink and you miss it.  I've been so busy lately, I find that I don't have any time to sit at the computer.  The kids and I sat down over the weekend and discussed how overwhelmed we're all feeling and decided on a few things we're going to try to alleviate the situation and make us feel more in charge of our lives.  Finger's crossed that we have a good week.

In the meantime, I thought I'd catch you up with a few things we've had going on:

A few weeks ago, I polled you all regarding the disposition of all my unused scrapbooking stuff.  You all gave me so much to think about and think about it I did.  After much consideration, I decided to decide in September.  My goal is to get some scrapbooking done this summer, but if I haven't gotten any scrapbooking done by September, all my unused paper, a bunch of unused punches, and various other stuff will be a) shipped to my sister if she still wants them or b) donated to Goodwill.  

I had the opportunity to take my kids to the Silver Mountain Resort indoor water park on the 4th of June.  It was an awesome deal worked for our homeschooling group.  At $10 per person, it was worth the drive.  They had a blast, especially because the cool, rainy weather hadn't abated in days and they were romping around in bathing suits. 


After weeks of rainy weather, leaky roofs (water was dripping off a light fixture - no, I am not joking!), and sprinkler issues, I think I've finally begun to get a handle on caring for the house and yard while homeschooling.  Sometimes it is just getting back to the basics, which for us means routine, that makes the difference between productivity and aimless wandering.  Lawns get mowed every Monday (weather permitting), weeding happens three times a week, the filter for the koi pond gets cleaned out once a week, and  plants get fertilized weekly (a Tootsie tip!).  Oh, and my dear old dad got my weed whacker working well (pretty good alliteration, wasn't it?), so that is one less arm cramp.

19-year old Charming is desperately looking for an apartment.  It's been a month since he graduated from Whitworth and he's very clear on the fact that he doesn't want to live at home to expedite paying off his student loans.  He does have a job and a plan, so he's just got to find a place to call "home".  He's very clearly an independent adult and is chafing at living at home, so while I think it may be short-sighted, I truly understand his decision. 

Superman's been away from home for five months now and none of it has been easy.  One of the casualties has been our schooling schedule.  It feels like we settle into a rhythm and something new and disruptive enters our lives (greenhouse disasters, leaky roofs, baby animals, returning family members, etc.), so we've decided to keep schooling through summer for math, writing, typing, grammar, and spelling.  We're also investigating science curriculum.  Does anyone use one they love?  We've looked at Thinkwell, CyberEd/Plato, Fascinating Biology, and Discovery Education Science.  I'm struggling to pick one and would love to know what you all have done.  (Buttercup is entering 6th grade and Valiant is entering 9th grade.)

All the animals are healthy, and all the cats/kittens are getting along fine.  We haven't had any "introducing a new pet" difficulties, thank goodness.  

So, there you have it...a few of the things we've been working on the past few weeks.  It doesn't sound like a lot, but I have to tell you, it keeps me busy!  This week, I'll be showing you some home-made English Muffins, a clever anti-dog gate, and other exciting projects I've been working on.   Thanks for hanging in there...I really appreciate it.

Fertilizer Friday...Rainy Week Edition

In our region of the world, our last freeze date is supposed to be May 15th.  Unfortunately, we got a surprise late freeze last week and people had some serious damage.  Fortunately, my plants did fine...we covered them for the night and they were fine in the morning.  Since then we've had a few days of warm weather followed by gentle rain for the past few days.  The plants have loved it.  I am so excited that my garden is doing so well.  It makes my heart smile to see all these plants I started from seed. 




Tomatoes and peppers from seed.  Why did I say both?  Because I can't tell which is which, so I don't know if the picture I took is of a pepper or a tomato (but I think it is a tomato).

The squash patch...this is where I did the lasagna gardening and just put my not-quite-done compost material on the dirt, mixed it around a bit, and called it good enough.  The pumpkins and zucchini seem to be fine with it.

My broccoli and lettuce are doing well in the actual garden space.  I have two watermelons that survived the drama of the spring, but I'm thinking I lost my last surviving cantaloupe. 

My verbena and cosmos and even my petunias are doing well, too.  Did I mention that Tootsie taught me how to harvest my own petunia seeds.  (White seemed the most prevalent last fall, so I have a lot of white petunias this year!)  I'm just so excited to see them all.

Fertilizer Friday is the time to share our gardens...our triumphs and our failures.  Tootsie's encouragement and all the other bloggers who jump in each week have definitely made me enjoy my garden and gardening so much more.  Head over to Tootsie's and see what is going on around the gardening world...it is always inspiring.