Memorial day

We went to the beach to see the kids. They are so adorable.



On the roof of one of the churches down at the shore were solar panels. All the houses down there should take advantage of the solar panels.


Coneflower


Phlox


Delphinium is super bushy now!


This lily is almost to my shoulder which doesn't say much for me.


Rose buds


I saw this big bunny and baby bunny sniffing around my veggies.


The zucchini plants have flowers now.


Edamame


Brussel sprouts have really sprouted overnight! No pun intended. kekeke


My potato vine has purple flowers.


The carrots that survived are doing well.


Peony

Peonies on Craig's List

I put an ad on Craig's list asking if anyone would be willing to part with their *mature* peony plants and wouldn't mind splitting them. (Doing this can traumatize them for 1-2 years and won't bloom). I found a lady who was actually selling her plants about 45 minutes from our house. We went there this morning and brought home this baby! This lady had huge mature tall plants of all kinds covering her property. I wish I had brought my camera because her property was filled with everything under the sun! Everything grew so nicely there.

This plant is about 4 feet tall and wide. She showed me where I could split them and make 20 plants out of it easily. *NOTE* This not a good time to do this to peonies, but we took a chance. They just might not bloom next year, but it's a very established plant so it should be okay as long as I take care of it this summer.



She also threw in some Siberian Irises which are amazing as a group. I can't wait to see these next year when they triple in size.

Klehm's Song Sparrow

In the special gardening issue of Martha Stewart Living, she featured her enormous peony "garden" (more like a farm). She got bare root peonies from this place. Generally, I'm pretty skeptical about everything that is featured in her magazines. Granted, some of the photos are gorgeous, but I've caught her on a few occasions where she'll say something that is incorrect which makes me question her knowledge. Like this show she did with Aidan Quinn about ORGANIC GARDENING and then said "and we can add foam balls to the soil". Anyway, I thought I would see what the fuss is all about.

Roy Klehm; owner of Klehm's Song Sparrow and some of his partners have some really beautiful peonies. Not only do I want to mass in color, but I'd like to select certain plants that are special and not usually seen in my area.

This peony has caught my "special attention".
Coral Supreme -



Another pretty one. Abalone Pearl

I'm a proud mama!

Painting: Day 2

It turned out to be a beautiful day today. I'm away from home, but Keith was sweet enough to send me pictures so I could blog about them.

The kitchen got some touching up with some more spackle and sanding. Then it was painted again.

Peony Watch: Day 3

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...

Peony Watch: Day 2

This peony ("Kansas") is such a beautiful color. I want to get more of these.






My herb box is really doing well. I can't believe these were little seedlings just a few weeks ago.


The geraniums are blooming in my window box. It's so adorable.


In other news, the kitchen has been a long, painful process. Keith and his dad have been spending the last 5-6 weeks spackling and sanding. It's really come a long way. Notice the corners that meet the ceiling are really smooth now.







We should be able to start painting soon! I just want it to be done already! Send me "complete kitchen" vibes!

Hump Day Gardening

The North side of our house which faces our good neighbors was lookin' a little wrecked due to the rain, erosion and gosh darn f*&$%*# squirrels who are stealing my daffodils! I wanted to plant some shade plants and perennials, so I wouldn't have to do much in following years. I also thought about the bloom time for each, so that there would always be something there each season. I walk pass this area 20 times a day, so I hate when it's in disarray.

Shade area: (from left to right) "Lollipop" tree, yellow petunia (annual), "bridal veil" Astilbe, purple petunias, Polemonium (Stair way to Heaven), Daffodils, Coral Bells with Muscari in front, daffodils, Hosta with petunias mixed in. My neighbor was nice enough to allow me to take cuttings of her hosta.


Sun to Part Sun Area: (left to right) "Shirley Temple" Peony, daffodils, Myosotis (Forget-Me-Nots), daffodils, 2 red Knock Out Roses with daffodils in the middle, more petunias in the mix, Mums (not shown). I also left room at the end of the Peony to plant some Pink Tulips that I have in mind for next Spring.


Closeup:
Here's what the Astilbe looks like. It's supposed to be good shade perennial and ground cover.


Shirley Temple Peony


Stairway to Heavn - This plant is really cool to the touch and will have little lavendar flowers on it.


Knock-Out Rose - This is the *hot new* thing for roses. They have 1 large bloom at the beginning AND end of summer and all throughout the summer. They grow "bushier" too unlike hybrid tea roses.

Love. Thy name is Paeonia.

One of my peonies ('Kansas') is ready to bloom! Here she is this morning around 8:30 AM.



Here she is again later this evening beginning to unravel with its beauty!



Here is the entire plant. It has 3-4 buds and is an earlier bloomer than my other peonies.



Just as a reminder:
- fertilize with 5-10-10 in early spring and again mid-season when stems are 2-3" tall and add a few cups of fireplace ash.
- remove blooms as soon as they fade, so they don't waste energy producing seed which will affect next year's growth.
- water deeply and mulch during hot summer months.