December 1, 2011

Keep The Kids Home

Another day another sign. To see more, visit Lesley at signs, signs

Note to Self:
Remind the kids to stay out of the park! 

November 17, 2011

My First Time

My first time to participate in Lesley's signs, signs.


This is the sign in front of a haunted house not far from my house. It's in a 1920s school building that's next to a church and a graveyard. The school was used as a morgue after an influenza epidemic in 1929 left many people dead. Mysteriously, the deceased bodies disappeared and zombies took over the building and continue to live there today. 

The official hair stylist for the zombies is also my hair stylist. This fact both fascinates and frightens me! 
  

November 8, 2011

The Pinhead and Her Fungus

I've been referred to as a pinhead before, but never has it been more apparent than in this photo of my shadow. Here I am with my big body and little head flanked on both sides by a couple of mysterious-looking fungi. I know nothing about mushrooms/fungi, so maybe someone can identify them for me.  

Here are some close up shots. I'm really curious about them. They're even bigger now than when I took the pictures.

The bucket garden has been put to rest for the winter. Gardening this way was both fun and successful and I'll do it again next year. I grew tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers and 3 different kinds of pumpkins. Will add a couple additional buckets next year.

Not many blooms left this time of year.
This is about all I have left for color and they've
 been moved to the back of the house for the winter
along with all the other containers.

The pretty colored leaves are gone, too,
but the big, brown Oak leaves hang around forever.

The Coo-Coo Kid is still a big part of my life.
He talks about working on his blog,
but wants to include YouTube videos.
Trust me...the videos are not about gardening:)
We're still debating the issue.
He makes me HAPPY!


September 10, 2011

Try To Remember.....

"Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh so mellow
Try to remember that kind of September
When grass was green and grain so yellow....

A September day at Kimberly's Point with my mother.
Bless her!

Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a young and callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh."
Try to Remember, Lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

A random fellow at Riverside Park.
He used his wheelchair to reach the water.
Bless him!    


Remembering 10 years later....
9/11 World Trade Center Memorial
Green Bay, WI 


 

September 6, 2011

Pumpkin Pleasure

Who knew I'd be the recipient of so much pleasure attained simply by growing pumpkins. My blogger friend, Julie, gave me the idea of growing vegetables in 5-gallon buckets. You can find Julie and all her good ideas in Florida at A Succulent Life

There are three different kinds of pumpkins; Super Freak Goosebumps, Connecticut Field and Rockafellow. We'll be cutting them from the vine before the first frost, which will be soon. Each bucket needed a couple gallons of water a day because of the hot summer we experienced, but it was worth the effort.

My bucket garden also included Early Girl tomatoes, 3 kinds of peppers, Iznik cucumbers and Shiny Boy watermelons. Everything was delicious although the 4 watermelons haven't been harvested yet. I've been tapping and listening for a dull sound, but not hearing it. The spot where the melon touches the ground is turning white/yellow, so maybe we're getting close.

The buckets are white and printed with
these words in green & gold:
Green Bay Packers
Super Bowl
XLV
Champions

No wonder my bucket garden was a success!






 

August 20, 2011

It's Been So Long......

It's been so long since my last post that I barely remember the process and can't think of anything clever or amazing to share (not that I ever did), so I shall just jump in with something. That something is the first bloom on my Morning Glory 'Flying Saucers'. The vine covers an old bench that sits in the front yard and is one of the first things I see when stumbling into the kitchen for my morning coffee.

The Morning Glories started out with seeds planted in a container on May 22. Also planted Moonflowers, Star Gladiolus, Iron Cross Shamrocks and lettuce in containers.

It probably wasn't ideal to plant Star Gladiolus in a container, but it worked better than anticipated and produced about 3 dozen blooms. This was the first. The first bloom on any plant is always my favorite.

The Iron Cross Shamrock has been a container favorite this summer. The green clover-like foliage with purple cross-shaped markings intrigues me and the pink flowers are pretty. This "good luck plant" will be in my garden again next summer.

Back in early June, Debbie, passed along to me a flat of Oxalis plants. I forgot to ask her the name of them, but judging by the bright pink flowers they might be 'Rosea'.  Because she was generous in sharing so many plants I was able to give some to my gardening neighbors. Thanks, Deb! My plan is to surprise her with some of my Iron Cross Shamrocks next spring. Of course, it won't be a surprise if she reads this. 

Are you in the mood for wine? Then you're sure to enjoy this Oxalis 'Charmed Wine' as much as I do. They're really much prettier than how they appear in this photo. The photos are from earlier in the summer and the plants are bigger now and very impressive with the burgundy foliage and delicate white flowers. They are drought tolerant and require no deadheading which makes them a true Proven Winner. I bought them in 4" pots back in April at a greenhouse and grew them as houseplants until late in May. Plant stand, courtesy of neighborhood yard sale - $1.00.

The container grown lettuce has been eaten and I'm still waiting for a flower on the Moonflower vine. The book The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton turned me on to wanting my own plant.

Hey, it feels good to be back in blogland. Be looking for me to visit you soon. I've been having trouble leaving comments on some blogs where I used to comment on a regular basis. I need to check that out and get it corrected. Or maybe I'm just out of the club!


May 11, 2011

The Heart Of Mayflower Greenhouse....Gone!

The heart and soul of Mayflower Greenhouse died on May 7. When Jan Wos moved to this area from Poland, he bought a very small greenhouse and, as stated on the website, he transformed it into a garden center that combines old world European charm with zestful creativity. He will be missed by family and friends from around the world.

Back in early April my friend, Debbie, and I took a "Fun With Succulents" class lead by Jan. In addition to being smart and creative, he had a great sense of humor and it was my pleasure to be part of the group that evening.

These photos are from that night. I don't usually include this many in a post, but am making an exception today.

An example of Jan's creativity.


Color everywhere at Mayflower. 
Plants and containers.



 




 

My very delightful friend, Debbie.
She knows more about gardening
than I can ever dream to know.

An important aspect of a garden center
is the accessibility of wagons. 
How else does a gardener transport all
of his/her plant loot to the car?  

Memories of Jan Wos will make people smile.
That's a good thing!

May 1, 2011

Slow To Grow

The growing season here in Zone 4 has gotten off to a slow start, but that doesn't mean I've lost hope. There are a few lovelies making pretty in the yard in spite of the weather.

These are a beautiful white crocus known as 'Jeanne d'Arc'. They are supposed to have a pencil-thin purple line running up from the base, but even with a magnifying glass I don't see it. I planted the bulbs (or are they corns?) last fall and I'm thrilled to see them bloom for the first time.

Glory-of-the-Snow is an early bloomer that appears not long after the Snowdrops. The blue flowers are star-shaped with glistening white centers. The plants are only about 6-8 inches tall and require very little attention. Deer and rodents do not find them to be tasty.


I've lost track of the name of these daffodils. Mount Hood, maybe? Or Ice Follies? Very pretty, no matter the name.

These yellow daffs I recognize, Dutch Master. They were planted in 2005. All of my spring bulbs would benefit from some fertilizing. Should they be fertilized after flowering or in the fall? I am careful about not cutting away the foliage until it's turned yellow.

One of the smallest daffodils grown is the Tete-A-Tete, the flower stems are only about 3 inches tall. Planted nearby but not in the photo is another hardy spring flower that's not yet blooming, Muscari armeniacum. They are a small grape hyacinth with a height of 6-8 inches. Would be really pretty if they bloomed together, but they don't and so I enjoy them one at a time.

The critters must have been hungry because they feasted on some of the Asiatic lilies, Cote d' Azur, that had just started to show new growth. Last summer these plants stood tall in the garden and had pretty pink flowers. I've not seen any rabbits this spring, but we do have a pair of Mallards hanging around, so maybe they are the culprits.

I know a lot about eating rhubarb, but not much about growing it. Our neighbor gave us a couple of transplants last year. It survived the winter, so that's a good thing.

This Mourning Dove was sitting on our deck railing wishing it would stop raining. Cool fact that I found at http://www.birds.cornell.edu. "Mourning Doves feed their nestlings crop milk or "pigeon milk" which is secreted by the crop lining. This is an extremely nutritious food with more protein and fat than is found in either cow or human milk. Crop milk, which is regurgitated by both adults, is the exclusive food of hatchlings for three days, after which it is gradually replaced by a diet of seeds."