Hoe, hoe, hoe!

I got this new hoe. It is called a 'scuffle hoe', I think. Or maybe it is a 'stirrup' hoe. Whatever, it is wonderful!

It is just great for those little weeds that grow in patches and have shallow roots, like dollar weed. I hate that stuff. I scuffled a whole big flowerbed this afternoon with it, and it took about 10 minutes. I would have been on my hands and knees for hours before.

Also, I got a new shovel. It is a short handled shovel, just perfect for me. It came in handy for moving the red 'Sevilliana' rose that I have been threatening to move for 3 years. It was growning under a pecan tree, and just did not get enough sun to be pretty

She really does look like this picture, and she does it all year long. She will have about 3 weeks in winter (like now), when she won't be blooming, but the rest of the year, she will be in full swing. This is a marvelous rose, and a shame that more people don't know about it.

My friend Janet has 'Sevilliana' growing just like this picture, in front of a wood fence. It is gorgeous.

This rose is very easily rooted, too.

I got my rose moved, and a rock rose (Pavonia) moved as well. AND about 15 of those PITBackside primrose jasmine bushes dug out and thrown away! I have one that is about 15' square! It only blooms once a year, and I don't have enough room to be wasting it on something that takes up so much room and gives up so little beauty.

Around here, it better bloom. If it doesn't bloom, it better have beautiful foliage.

I planted some bulbs, lilies, and some seeds. Mustard for the kitchen, lettuce to replenish what we are using at a record rate, radishes because I love them, and a few carrots. I plant carrots because I feel guilty if I don't. Carrots are healthy, and I should be growing them, or so it seems. I have a hard time growing them, as our soil is that old black gumbo clay. But still, I have to try. Silly, I know.

I threw out poppy seeds too. California poppies that I couldn't resist at WalMart. I know it is probably late, but that is o.k. They might bloom. I would bet on it.

The only thing about that scuffle hoe is that I sliced off parts of some of my caladiums that I put in last year. They are just as pretty and healthy as they can be. I am looking forward to seeing them again, come warm weather. Caladiums are something that I have learned cannot be rushed. I have tried planting them earlier in pots, but it makes no difference. They need it warm, NIGHT and DAY, for caladiums to be pretty. Like zinnia; they like it hot!

Sometimes the garden is ART.

This is a favorite garden. I don't know the gardener, only that she is an elderly lady.

As far as I know, she does all her gardening herself. I have never seen anyone there to help her. AND....I have never seen a weed in her garden. Her space is immaculate!

This is the first time I have know her to grow zinnias in that space. She usually has beautiful RED poppies there. It is a wonderful sight to see!

I see this garden on most of my travels from home, unless I go to water's edge, which is the opposite direction. The garden is a lovely gift for all of us, and the gardener is truely an artist.

A different kind of weekend

Last Monday, we had a little cold snap blow in. I mean BLOW- hard! I was surprised, as I had not bothered to check the weather for a few days. The weather is so nice, I guess I didn't want to think about winter approaching.

Anyway, something happened to my internet service. I didn't have any! This is a bad thing, as far as I am concerned. I called, a man came to check it, and it came back on for a few hours, but then died late Thursday, or early Friday. No internet all weekend.........Oh, yes, and the computer crashed on Tuesday, and I lost EVERYTHING!!! I did finally get it to take the recovery discs, and it is up and running (knock on wood). I have purchased a flash drive thingie to put stuff on in case it goes down again. It is a terrible shock to not even have an address in your computer! And I will save everybodies addresses so I can at least contact them.............this is a trauma!

It was a very productive weekend. I gathered stuff to throw away. I pruned and trimmed, weeded and cleaned, piled all the trimmings in the bed of the truck, and we hauled it all to the dump. I found a galvanized chicken waterer that someone had discarded, and brought it home to plant 'hens and chicks' in the part where the birds get water. It will be a cute planter.

I have gathered seeds and spent many hours packaging them, labeling them, and sorting them into catagories. I am considering what to do with all the seeds I already have..........I have way too many already. I cannot NOT save them tho; I have to find someone who will want them, someone who will use them. The older seeds, I mean, and probably most of the new ones too.

I planted seeds of poppies and larkspurs, calendulas, snapdragons, and sweet peas. I am anxious to know what kind of sweet peas I will have this year, as I have not purchased any sweet pea seeds. I saved all that I planted from vines grown last year. They were all beautiful pastels, except for a few brilliant RED blooms. I would like to have more of those RED blossoms.

Likewise with the calendulas. I saved all the calendula seeds that I planted. Last year, they were a nice mix of yellow and orange blooms of varying sizes. I hope they are the same this year. They are very pretty, and last well into the end of April. I love to plant my green bean vines behind the existing calendulas. The green foliage of the bean vines is a great background for the yellow and orange blooms. Calendulas don't have the prettiest foliage.

My snapdragons are all going to be 'Rockets' this year. Tall, and bright! I planted a lot of snapdragon seeds, putting a lot in one spot or another. I want them to really show off!

The biggest showoffs will be the poppies, if they grow at all. Last year, I had only one poppy plant! I planted lots and lots of seeds, but for some reason, they didn't grow. The one plant I had was magnificent however, and bloomed for about 6 weeks. It was covered with bright RED blooms, and nothing is cheerier in the garden than a big RED poppy. Especially when it is kind of cold still...........

The Hyacinth Bean vines are full of pink, purple and white blooms, and dark, shiney, purple beans! Some of the seed pods are ready to pull, and I have about a half gallon of pods now. I should triple that amount before they are all harvested. Enough for me and several of my closest friends. This is one of my favorite things to do in fall- harvest the seeds for next years hyacinth bean vines.

I planted Byzantine gladiolus. They should be spectacular next spring too- I planted a hundred of them! I wish they would bloom with the crocosmia. THAT would be a sight!

I have allium and freesia to plant, but I will wait for cooler weather and cooler soil before I put them in the ground. I have not decided about planting daffodils. I want to know if mine drowned before I make that decision, I guess. I am going to be heartbroken if my daffs drowned.

We carried 4 big old boxes of good junk to the lady who is having the fund-raising garage sale for her niece's medical expenses. I was sure glad someone was happy to take that stuff. I have lots more to take to her.

The internet might should have stayed gone just a little while longer.