Remember……..

……..this…….?

                         

                After today,it looks like ……….

……….this……

  ………….and this……………

The gravel,leading to lake,is larger rock on a layer of small,pea sized gravel.

Even though the weather has turned cooler,it has been slow going.

As the pathway is widened,the gardens, on each side, have been weeded and thinned out.

I like the cleaner look.

Plants (Agapanthus,Farfugium,variegated Flax Lily,etc.) have been divided,transplanted,or just tossed out.

Some were just not working,anymore.

Some were planted when TheTree was there,and they just could not handle the almost full sun that now exists in the garden.

The rock border has been reworked.Now,it sits on a layer of gravel.

Hopefully,that should stop the erosion from the upper garden.

Pots of annuals for pops of color.

And a new seating area has been added.

But……

there is still much to be done……

There’s always one more thing…………..

Garden Reno………

One of the after effects of the kitchen renovation,was the garden and its pathways,

to say the least,

were left a mess.

Everything had settled.

Dirt covered everything.

Now that the weather is much cooler in the mornings,it was time to get out there and re-do everything.

The pathways, which I had put in after TheTree went down, were never quite right.

It was difficult to maneuver the garden wagon through the pathways.

The garden hose kept getting caught on everything.

Plants included.

Plus,there was still some grass that needed mowing.

I hate mowing!

Soooo,

working slowly……

baby steps

I have started….

Still to be done…..

Drainage, in the garden, is important here.So everything has to slope towards the lake.

And there is quite a difference,in height,between the house/pool area and the lake.

So,I need to have “levels.”

But the water run off from the gardens needs to filter through gravel.Or rocks.Or plants.

The above photo shows a rock/gravel drain-pathway to the lake.No chemical fertilizers are used at TheGreatWall,but I do tend to have an erosion problem.Because there is quite a slope in the yard,the gravel pathways slow down the erosion problem.

…..and when this is all complete there should be NO grass left in the back yard….

Nothing to mow!

I hate to mow!

Thanking the gardening Gods for cooler weather!

What is this…..?

Edited to add:This blog will be moving.Stay tuned.

It’s been at least a year since I have meandered thru the far back corner of the yard.All of the house construction has taken up my attention.

Today,I thought I should,at least,give it a glance.Even if just to see how bad it had gotten back there.

It was bad!

But I found this growing…..

Close to 6 feet tall…

What is it?

The leaves and the “flowers”….

The branches and trunk are red…..

It is growing along the bank of the lake.The ground stays damp most of the time.

Any ideas as to what it is?

Should I let it grow?

Or should I rip it out?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Signs of Autumn………….

1). Football is back!

      The Bucs…..no comment….

      The USF Bulls finally won one….

      The Gators…..oh yeah!

                   Though I am a USF Bull,my money went to Gainesville,with Erich,the Younger

 

2). Every morning,I can feel the start of Autumn.

             It seems cooler.

                          ……Or else I’m living in a dream world…..and I’m pretty good at that…..

3). The veggie garden is in full Fall mode…..

 

The first Roma tomatoes……

The Kale is growing…..

4). Though I’m not much in to seasonal decorating

except for Christmas-

oh,Hell.Yes I’m into seasonal decorating

                  the front entryway has been decorated….

 

When Autumn seems to be in the air,I do it.

Maybe because it reminds me of when I lived in New England.

….And I was always good at pretend….

Photo bomb by the flamingo….

Crotons just scream Fall,don’t they?

 

5). An arrangement from the garden,with Fall blooms…..

Pine Cone Ginger,Vitex,Plumbago,Hyssop,Sweet Almond in an antique blue Mason jar

 

6). The urge to make Butternut Squash Soup……

 so easy to make,and so dee-lish!

7). The cats are loving the return to cooler weather…..

……..Maybe,I spoke too soon……

What are ya gonna do?

When Hillsborough County finally goes to these?

took ‘em long enough…..

……and leaves ya with  3 of these?…..

Covered with paint,and held together with duct tape……

yep,I use them for painting stuff on…..don’t judge…..

If you’re like me,you think,”those would make great gardening containers…”

Drill some holes in the bottom with a spade bit.

Line the bottom with weed blocker.

Fill ‘em up with good soil.

Pot ‘em up with broccolli starters,and some lettuce seeds.

Recycle!

 

….yep,that’s how I roll…..

Bees!!!!

….on the Vitex…..                                                                                                                                     

Vitex agnus-castus

that I’m trying to train to grow into a tree….

…not feeling too successful at that,so I'll probably just let it grow as a large shrub…

and a moth…ID?

….on the Sweet Almond Bush….

Aloysia virgata

 ….also trying to train into a tree….

….doing much better as a tree…

potted on the left is native Wild Olive,Osmanthus americanus

on the right is an orange and white plumeria cutting

…. photo bomb by a wasp….

and just because…..

:: peace ::

Where were you……

…..when the world stopped turning?

 

I will always remember where I was….

I remember what I was wearing.

Turquoise shirt with white crop pants.

 

I was still working in the surgery scheduling office at Tampa General Hospital.

 

Someone came into the office and said that a plane had crashed into a building in New York City.

 

…..Little did we know…..

 

…….and it was on the Today Show.

 

Little did we know…..

 

I had a question about a certain doctor’s surgery schedule,so I wandered into the doctor’s lounge to ask him about it.As we looked up at the giant flat screen TV,on the wall,the second plane hit the second Tower.

 

 

 

We looked at each other and said,

”What the fuck was that?Did you see that?”

 

……Little did we know…….

Interesting Website for birdwatchers……

I found this website,through The Back Ten Feet’s Facebook page…..

Interesting in that it has birds moving south,

already…..

Could it be an early,harsh winter for us Southern gardeners?

Check it out……

 

What I have found interesting,

this summer,

is very few Caroline Wrens,

an incredible number of Cardinals and Blue Jays.

And the number of Pileated Woodpeckers has dropped off.

Though I have changed nothing in the birdfeeders.

After an absence of a few years,I have noticed more Swallow Tailed Kites this year.

And,though I hear the Red Shouldered Hawks,I haven’t had any land in the garden,as in previous years.Though I have had an abundance of aggressive squirrels.

The Marsh Rabbits have been in abundance.Actually,they seem to be quite unafraid of me.

 

You notice anything?

Is this a freak of nature?

A natural occurrence?

Global warming?

Thoughts…..?

The Fall Vaggie Garden~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know,I know…

I really,really need to do something about this…..

I can’t believe I let it get this bad…

 

…..but I had an interruption….

 

It was Me!!!!!!

 

Emma!!!!

 

I turned just turned

….. three!!!!!

 

Can you believe it?

 

I used to look like this….

 

 

but this is me now….

 

I’m a big girl.

 

I go to school ….

 

….and everything…..

 

 

I got a swing set from my MeMe and Boppa

(They live in West Palm Beach,not at TheGreatWallofLutz)

I love the slide!

 

and I got bubbles!!!

 

 

 

 

and a cake!

with candles!!!

 

It was the best birthday ever!

 

 

Now,Gramma….

….you really need to think about that mess in your veggie garden…….

 

Just sayin’,Gramma…..

 

I’m working on it,Emma…..

 

Edited to add: Gramma,it’s “BaBa” not Boppa….

                         Sorry,Emma……………..

Sometimes………….

The stars align….

 

….or I take my time and remember to focus the camera….

 

Whatever it is,

 

….sometimes ….

notice I said sometimes

 

the photos come out perfect…..

It’s better to be lucky than good…..