christmas cactus

After seeing buds on my friend Jenny's cactus the other day, I came home and inspected mine. Sure enough- there are some tiny buds starting to pop out! I am excited about this because it will be the first time I get to see this particular plant bloom.



It (like so many things we will using and enjoying for years to come) was here when we bought the house, and has been doing quite nicely in the spot in my kitchen window where I found it. I have had bad luck with these in the past, so I just left it there and it has been happy. I don't know what color the flowers will be, so I am looking forward to the surprise!

backyard biology

The kids and I found a Golden Garden Spider in the back yard today, next to the deck stairs. She is very large and her web is several feet across. We looked around online and learned that she will probably be making an egg sac soon, so we are going to be checking in to see if we can catch any of the action.



We also learned that this spider is also called a Writing Spider, because of the zigzag pattern down the center of the web- which might be for strength, camouflage, or to attract insects. They eat lots of garden pests and are a wonderful ally in the garden. They are not poisonous to humans, although they could bite if someone really messed with them, which would result in minor discomfort and redness to the area.



We have been trying to look up every new bug or critter we come across in the yard, so that we will be able to identify them by name when we see them again. It is always good to know whether an insect or spider can be potentially harmful too, so everyone will know which ones to avoid.

A couple of interesting pages we came across today:
Argiope aurantia (Yellow Garden Spider) on Wikipedia
another Argiope aurantia page, with a photo of an egg sac
Arachnology (the study of spiders) on Wikipedia

i can't help myself

It is nearly impossible for me to cut back my houseplants without sticking the cuttings in water. It matters not if I actually need any more plants- I just can't bring myself to throw them away. Maybe it is the pure fascination of watching them form roots before my very eyes- such an amazing display of growth. It also just seems like such a waste of a potential plant! And this particular plant is just really beautiful to me. I love the purple on the back side of the leaves.



So anyway, anyone local want this nicely rooted bunch of Zebrina Pendula cuttings? There's more where these came from... I also have a jade plant that is in need of a trim soon.

ladybugs

We planted two tomato plants a month or so ago, and they are doing really well... except for the aphids we found all over them this week.



So, Jason stopped by Cofer's yesterday and picked up a small army of ladybugs, conveniently packaged in a plastic container. Since aphids are a lady bug's favorite food, we are hoping they can help us out.









We want to protect our quickly growing plants without chemical insecticides, so that the tomatoes will be naturally delicious!





For some fun facts about ladybugs click here, or here.

from our friday

[cleaned out the small bed by the front walk]


[helper #1]


[helper #2]


[front door sign by Hazel]


[handmade decorations by Hazel & Daisy]


[flaming cake]


[blowing out the candles]

from our thursday

[it rained today]


[a lot.]


[and Jason turned 34. This picture isn't from today, but I hardly saw him at all. And even though he seems to despise his birthday more every year, and gets incredibly a wee bit crabby whenever anyone mentions it, I still love him completely and look forward to sharing another year of our lives together.]

from our tuesday

[reading books in the morning sunshine]


[first bouquet of peonies]


[first blooms on the jasmine]


[a bunch of plant cuttings finally potted]

trellis

I came up with a solution for my runaway Jasmine plant, and I am very pleased with how it turned out.


I started by screwing a spiral anchor (like you use for a dog tie out) into the ground at the base of the plant. I thought this would be a good way to secure the bottom of the trellis, and we had this and never really used it- I love when I can finish projects with things we already have around the house! Then I drilled holes and put in screw eyes along the top and side of my space. I then strung plastic coated clothesline from the top down to the base, and tied each piece so that the line was fairly snug. I finished by tying some more line from the side screw eyes over to the furthest vertical line, twisting around each of the vertical lines as I went. It looked sort of like a spider web when I was finished.



Then I pulled all the vines down and untangled everything. I cut away any dead stuff and trimmed a few of the super long pieces down.


Then I attached the vines to the trellis wires with twist ties, all with the closures on the back side of the trellis where I can reach them easily to remove them once the vines have taken hold. Voila! I am so happy with how it turned out, and am looking forward to watching it fill in as the summer progresses.

Before:


After:

what i did on wednesday

It is really so good that we turn the computer off one day a week. I am able to get so much done! This area was full of weeds and tree leaves. I started pulling a few while Lyle was playing outside in the morning, and I just did not want to stop. Then I took the girls and dropped them off with my friend Sarah before Lyle's nap time, came home and put him to bed so I could finish. Working in the yard like this is so relaxing and gives me such a sense of accomplishment. (What's that? You wonder if I get the same feeling from laundry and picking up clutter around the house? Come on. That's just not normal.)

Once again, I'm not sure what all of this is yet, but I am still enjoying taking care of it all. And I am familiar enough with weeding to know when something should be pulled out and when it shouldn't, so I don't think I've killed anything good yet.

What I DO know in this bed are:


Columbine


Azalea, Phlox, some sort of Lily in the back there and a Rose bush on the right side of this photo.

Not sure on these:


I want to say Sweet William but I think that's wrong.


Mums in front? Some kind of Lily in back?


I feel like I should know this one too but it's not coming to me. I am SO rusty! It's been too long since I was around plants.


******


And I didn't do this yesterday, but I wanted to show off my work from a few days ago. I am hoping to finish before the weekend. This is the door to the apartment downstairs, and the stepping stones that were outside were uneven and had a lot of space between them. Not so good if you are using a walker to get around. But we wanted PawPaw to be able to get outside for some fresh air, so we decided to move the stones together and try to even everything out. The first 6 turned out really well! It's hard work but I want to get it done so he can be enjoying the beautiful spring weather. I'll post another photo when it is finished.

yard update

Here are some pictures of what we are seeing in the yard right now.



Pink Dogwoods!! There are two of these in the front yard, and we didn't realize they were pink- what a lovely surprise! The white ones are beautiful too but the pink are just so gorgeous. I think they will lighten up some when they are fully open- right now they look almost red.



In the back the apple trees are getting really full of blossoms. The bees are super busy doing their work up there too- it's fun to watch.





Flowers- we've got loads of pansies still doing very well- Pat had them in pots all around the house and they are so cheerful.



There are also a few tulips- not many but so beautiful. It is all I can do to keep Stella from picking them though- they are SO tempting to her.



Lenten Roses- these have been in bloom for a while now but are still hanging in there.



Just a couple of Iris already blooming- there will be lots more soon.



The peonies are getting taller! I am really excited about these, they are one flower that I remember so vividly from our yard when I was growing up.



Phlox in the back by our little fish pond.

And a few that I do not know the names of- (I can't find the paper I wrote all the names on!! It got misplaced in the move!) if you know them I'd love it if you'd post a comment and tell us. One of my goals is to learn all the names and even label most of the many plants and flowers so the kids can learn them too.





Thanks for the help, Sarah! After a little research (Oh, how I love the internet...) I know these are Virginia Bluebells, and a hybrid Verbena.


******
And now- I need some advice from the experienced gardeners out there. We have a Star Jasmine (I think!) in the back at one corner of the deck. It has climbed up the post but much of the plant is drooping down and climbing up itself, making sort of a jumble. I'd love to put up some sort of trellis across the back side of the deck so that it can spread out and wind it's way up. It is just one plant by the looks of it, but it is getting quite large.







The deck is almost 9 feet from the ground on that end, and the only trellises I saw at the store were 6 feet. So I need to build something. I am thinking about using string and eye hooks to make a grid for the plant to climb, because it will almost disappear once the vines fill it in. If anyone has experience with Jasmine or with making a trellis out of string, I'd love it if you would leave a comment for me. Thanks!