Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
It has been pretty dry here lately. It just rained this morning, which is good, but up until that, we haven’t had any substantial rainfall in quite some time. I have been watching many plants wilt because of the dryness. The neighbors are getting used to the guy with no shirt standing out front with a hose in his hand.
I have had a few goals. One of them was to finish the rhododendron line across the front of the property. I have been looking at Home Depot for rhododendrons, but none can be found…anywhere. I guess they are a Spring time seller. I actually had to dig up and few that were already planted on the property and the ones I planted earlier in the season to finish the row. It’s done now, so that’s good.
I also wanted to plant some sort of a perimeter around the patio area near the basement doors. I decided to go with the Blue Prince Holly that I have been buying (it’s the only thing left), along with some that I planted earlier on. Earlier in the season, I had no plan and I was just sticking these things in the dirt. Now, at least I have a plan.
I did make a nice discovery yesterday. For a few months, I have been dismayed at the price of mulch around here. I used to pay $20 per yard at the other house. Here, these crooks are charging about $50 per yard. I need to get some of what they are smoking. It’s funny because when I call somewhere for a price, I always sense a little hesitancy in their voices as they tell me how much they charge. They know what they are doing.
I called the local hardware store and found out they sold mulch by the bag. They had 3lb bags of pine mulch for $4.49 per bag. I didn’t think that was too bad, since I just paid almost $5 per bag at Home Depot for that dyed junk. I stopped by the store and picked up 10 bags. That’s 30 cubic feet (a little over a yard) for about $45. I beat the system, you see. Now, I can go back and get 10 bags at a time only when I need them.
The mulch is very important, not only to me and my mulch addiction, but for the plants as well. The whole reason for the plants wilting is because the ground wasn’t holding in any of the moisture. I kept watering them, but the sunshine was just too strong. Now, since I mulched and gave each plant a nice soaking, I think the plants will grow nicely.
Blue Prince Holly planted for a hedge line.
The holly bushes really don’t need any mulch because the grass is nice and moist in the back yard.
Speaking of grass, I don’t know how I did it, but the back and side lawns are like a nice thick green carpet. I now mow the lawn on the highest level the mower will go and I think it made a difference. I also overseeded with the Vigoro Contractor’s Mix, so there is some good warm weather seed in there. The reason I mow with the higher setting now is because the grass I planted holds most of the water it absorbs in its leaves. If you mow too low, you are actually cutting off all that water. Also, a short mow exposes the dirt so it gets baked and weeds start to grow. Mowing at a higher level will give you a greener lawn.
Here, check it out…
Hand in grass showing height of mowing.
See, I’m not making this stuff up. Now, if I could just get rid of the brown crispy grass in the front and replace it with this stuff, I will be in good shape. The seed is down, so a bit more rainfall should do it.
Related posts
Posted in Home Improvement, Landscaping | No Comments »
Saturday, July 19th, 2008
Well, well, well…guess what I found.
Today, I decided to venture outside into the wall of humidity to dig up and re-plant some rhododendrons. We had a few here and there that needed to make their way up the hill for a nice rhododendron line in the front. I think it will look very nice, come Spring.
Anyway, enough about that. Upon digging my second hole for the rhododendron, I discovered about four while oval things sitting approximately six inches beneath the dirt. I thought they were bird eggs. I left them there and went inside to tell Laura about my find. I knew she would get up and research what they were for me. She enjoys that kind of stuff.
I went back outside and took a few pictures of these things and then covered them back up. I had a feeling they weren’t bird eggs, but turtle eggs. I planted all the rhododendrons and then went back inside.
After I showed Laura all the sweat on my face, she revealed to me that I had just stumbled across Black Rat Snake Eggs. For photos of these creatures, click the link above. For photos of Black Rat Snake Eggs, look below…
Good thing I covered these eggs back up. I did have a strange feeling something was peering out from the woods…straight at me…
Related posts
Posted in Animals | No Comments »
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
I think so much of myself, don’t I? Just look at that title.
As I was wondering around outside today, sweating, I decided to take some more photos of the flowers on the property. You may already have seen some of these, but others are new. I know this because we just planted them.
On the same day I bought the Rhododendrons in the post below, Laura decided to put some flowers in the shopping cart. I usually don’t go down the flower isle, but then again, I am boring.
Here is what she picked out.
This is a Stargazer Lily. I believe we may already have a few, but there is no harm in getting more.
This is somesort of a cream Lily. I asked Laura what the name of it was, but she couldn’t remember. Please feel free to inform us.
This is Sage. I am told that it spreads to make a nice ground cover. I hope so, because there is a lot of ground.
That’s all of the new flowers. Now on to the existing ones.
This is Baily’s Gold. From what I gather, this is a nice spreading flower as well and is really easy to keep. I think I am going to split up the existing ones and disperse them around the area.
Here are some more Iris. These are light purple though and a bit more delicate looking than the other Iris.
Again, the showcase Lupine that sits at the edge of the sidewalk. This really is a facinating flower. It has been fun watching it mature.
There is no shortage of Roses around. This is just a small sample of some pink Roses and red Roses. They really are beautiful.
Related posts
Posted in Gardening | 2 Comments »
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
Every time I visit either Lowe’s or Home Depot, I try to go into the nursery to grab a few shrubs. I can always find a use for shrubs, I just wish they were free. That would be wild.
I need about 50 Rhododendrons. I would like to line the entire wooded area up front as well as both sides of the driveway. I love the look of fully grown Rhododendrons. They are great cover and have wonderful flowers.
I remember one house down in Yonkers that I did some work at years ago. It was owned by an old (rich) dude. He had everything looking just perfect. There were huge Rhododendrons, Japanese Yew, Hemlock and all the rest. It was so green and so was I, with envy. I still have the image in my mind and that’s what I would like to have one day.
But for now, I will have to do with small Rhododendrons to start.
I bought three of these during my last trip to Home Depot.
This is one of the areas I would like to line. When the plants grow larger, they will hang over the rocks and all I will have to do is push the mower under the plants. I know, I am too slick.
Related posts
Posted in Gardening, Landscaping | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
I finally finished raking the leaves. There were a lot of them. I can’t say I liked doing this particular job for many reasons. One reason I didn’t care for this activity would be that it wasn’t much fun, with the presence of gnats coming in at a strong second. Apparently, gnats live in old leaves. When you rake them, instinct tells them to swarm around the closest face they can find. That would be mine. They flew in my eyes, in my ears and one even made it into my mouth. I hope the neighbor didn’t see me staggering across the front yard gagging while trying to force the artifact from the back of my throat. Laugh…go ahead.
This is a section of the back yard that is right up against the woods. It has a cute little area you can sit and read, “Gone With the Wind” (Joe, that’s for you).
This is just a random shot looking up the side yard. I guess I wanted to show that the grass actually is getting green. I go out and talk to it every day.
Joe, here’s that little area again. Don’t worry, I am going to put nice plants in there for you.
Now, this is a small garden area that is right next to the driveway. I am guessing it may have been a vegetable garden in the past. I decided to replant the Iris from way up on the hill in the front, split them and put them along the driveway. I think they will multiply and fill in nicely. I also am transplanting some other plants (that I can’t quite identify) as a second row. Then, I am going to get some Boxwood as a third row and make it reaaal nice.
This is looking up towards the road, from the house. Yes, I raked all that out. I plan on getting some more Rhododendrons and scattering them around in this area, to fill it in.
Yes, we have the first bloomed Iris. Isn’t she pretty? I really like Iris because they are so easy to take care of.
A quick shot of a Rhododendron in partial bloom.
Just a shot looking down at the house.
Ahh, the mailbox again. I know you can’t get enough of this. These are the plants I was talking about above. I have no idea what they are, but I took them from the hillside and placed some of them around the mailbox. If you know what they are, please let me know. Thank you.
It’s like we are having a mini “Azalea Festival.” Check this one out showing its colors. Man, I sure hope this is an Azalea.
And finally, this is the front sidewalk. I even raked out behind the bushes in the front.
I don’t think I am going to have to endure this much raking again. I plan on getting a back-pack blower to keep things in check. It should be easier next time.
I’m outty.
Related posts
Posted in Gardening, Home Improvement, Landscaping, Spring | 7 Comments »
