The First Day of Spring?

 

 

    Is it really the first day of spring?  You could have fooled me!  A little warmer to-day, but still snow on the ground.  Will this winter ever end???

 

          I did notice an Iris or two popping up through the snow.  There is still a three foot pile of snow by my front door.  And even better news!  Back to the 20's next week!

 

        Seeds have been planted indoors a week or so ago.  Rosemary has survived coming in for the winter and can't wait to be back outside.  It actually flowered for most of the winter.  I have never seem it flower outside.

          Seedlings started popping up this week.  Better Boy and Sweet 100 Tomatoes, Dill, Purple and Green Basil, Cilantro, and Peppers.  I also started my Dahlia tubers and they were up within a few days.

                                                                                       
          My geraniums were planted up from the garage and are already going to flower.

 



          And this is my Meyer Lemon that I said anyone could grow.  Last week the leaves started turning yellow and fell off.  I think it was too close to the door and it burnt.  It had about 50 flower buds on it, but most have fallen off.  I think it hates the winter almost as much as I do!  Lets hope it's almost over.

Christmas Lights

 

 

    This is the time of the year that I turn over my gardens to my husband for his display of Christmas Lights.

 

 

    He usually starts putting up lights in mid November.  This year he took a few days off from work to get a head start.  The lights go on around December 1st.

 

    The larger trees out front are strung with dozens of light sets.  There is a 15 foot Arborvitae that stands to the left of the front door, that is lit from top to bottom.
 





 

 

     He does a truly amazing job!  And when the grandchildren see it, it's worth all the hard work.

 

        



 

 

Meyer Lemon

 

 

My Meyer Lemon from Logees in Danielson, Conn.  I bought this plant this spring.  It had a few small lemons on it which have since grown large enough to use.  I'm trying to decide what to make.  Maybe a Lemon Meringue Pie?!

 

 

    They recommend keeping it in an 8 inch pot.  I need to use a clay pot to keep it on the dry side.  There is nothing like the fragrance of the flowers in winter to keep you going till you can get back outside again.  I noticed that there was almost always a clump of flowers flowering all spring and their smell filled the room!  I put the plant outside for the summer, but I saw little new growth and most of the small lemons just fell off because of the heat.  Looks like this plant will not be going out next year.



September Blooms

    Not much left flowering in the garden at this time of the year.  The dahlias look great!  Will pull the tubers before the first hard frost.

    The sedum Autumn Joy is so large it is falling over.  I have two large clumps of this, which need to be divided next year.

 

  

 

    I get so tired of trying to write this blog when nothing seems to work as it should!  This is my second attempt at it and as you can see, it won't let me enlarge my pictures now.  This is a chrysanthemumI bought this year.  Hopefully it's hardy, but not likely.

 

   

    The last of the tall Phlox.  This bloomed for alot longer than it normally does.  Maybe it enjoyed all that disgusting heat, I sure didn't! 

 

 

    The last of the tomatoes.  They were great tasting this year.  I think I will skip the Beefsteak tomatoes next year and just plant Betterboy's.  First time in years that I grew them from seed.

 

    More trouble with this blog, but maybe it will turn out alright when I finish!  If I finish!  This was our summer project that we did inside as the heat was too much to work outside.  This project was our toughest yet, but with the help of u tube you can learn anything!! 

 



Krauter Vesuvius Flowering Plum is Fruiting!

 

 

    Yesterday, I was finally getting to yardwork, when I noticed purple fruit under my plum tree.  I actually stepped on one in bare feet, so I knew how ripe they were.  I have never seen more than one or two fruits at a time on this tree, and now there are too many to count!  I decided to eat one and could not believe the flavor!  So sweet with a very tart skin!  Then I thought maybe I should have checked to see if they were edible before I ate it.  The tree is a Krauter Vesuvius Flowering Plum, an ornamental, they say rarely fruits.

 

 

 

   

    When I went online to check this out, most said this tree rarely fruits, purely ornamental.  Well, I know mine is fruiting!  They are about an inch and a half in size and very unblemished, until the birds find them!  Of all the sites I checked, only one said they were poisonous.  Others said they eat them and some even make jelly.  I would like to pick them so we don't step all over them and it would be nice to be able to eat them.  In all the research I did about this tree, I did see that it isn't a long lasting tree, only about 20 years or so, and I'm sure mine is atleast 15 years old.  I think I'll take better care of this tree, because it is a truely beautiful tree all season long.

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Real Yard

    Because of the heat this summer, alot of weeding and other chores have gotten behind.  I'm in the "I can't wait for fall mode" and not really interested in yard work.  Here is a look at some of the things I should have taken care of.  To the far right is a Hibiscus.

 



 

   This plant has been eaten by tiny green caterpillars for three years now.  I guess I can't use the excuse of the heat anymore.  They must over winter in the soil and should be treated with a systemic to get rid of them.  It doesn't seem to affect the flowers though.

 

 

    Another job waiting, to remove this Dwarf Alberta Spruce that I stupidly planted last fall.  There are two of them and they will be way too big for this spot.  I am running out of room in this yard for larger shrubs.

 

 





    A lovely red Sedum, notice the three leaf plant nestled within it!  I need to pull quite a bit of this poison ivy throughout the yard.

 

 

    Another messy corner.  I need to take out this old composter and clean up this back corner of the yard.  Maybe a good place for the Alberta Spruces?

 

 

 

 

 

 

    On the bright side,  my first tomato.  Unfortunately, I had to wait till August 8th to pick it! (Happy Birthday Dad!)

Is This Heat Wave Really Over!!

    After seven days of over 90 degrees,  I am finally out in the yard again!  It has been too hot to get out and weed and now I am trying to catch up with yard chores.  Alot of annuals have stopped flowering, but with a little deadheading and water they should start again.  I don't have the usual color that I normally have.



        My Bee Balm was over 5 feet tall this year.  You should see it now after it was hit by a few downpours.  All broken and on the ground.



    My red Impatients are still growing, but with very few flowers.  This is an experiment to see if they will get the blight they had last year.  By this time last year they were all dead.  Most nurseries did not sell them and suggested Begonias instead.

    These Daylilies looked good after all the heat, but not alot of flowers.  I will be pulling all the dead leaves out of them shortly.  One of the drawbacks to Daylilies.

    A Lace Cap Hydrangea, looking okay as long as I got out to water it every day.  These seem to need alot of water.  A better picture would have showed how the flowers change color as they mature.  They start out more pink and change to purple as they age.  It looks like two different plants mixed together.

    Tomatoes on the vine waiting to ripen.  Late July and still waiting.  I should have planted cherry tomatoes to have while we wait.

            Sedums are doing well with this heat.  I have pink, red, and yellow.  They seem to enjoy the heat, alot more than I do.  The dewpoint is up again after a day or two and I am back in the house with the air conditioner on.  This summer has been unbearable and I am looking forward to the fall.  If I wanted heat like this, I would live in Florida, not Massachusetts!!!