Jun 30, 2013

Butterfly Garden in The Making


Quite accidentally I have made a butterfly/bee garden.  I can't for the life of me remember where I got the little lavender flower that spreads like wildfire.  Maybe from my Mama's yard. Does anyone know what this flower is? Is it a wildflower?

I can tell you this, the butterflies and bees race to see who can get there first and it is a frantic pace.  They love it so much.
Chuck and I went flower shopping and I now am putting in four Butterfly Bushes of different colors, Bee Balm, Cone Flowers yellow daylilies were added to the already blooming assortment of daylilies.  This garden has lots of daylilies, and Irises.  I also have a St John's Wort, it is a beautiful plant and I can't wait to see it bloom. I found some beautiful red cupped flowers, can't remember the names but the hummingbirds will love them.

Come take a walk with me and see the butterflies.

Jun 26, 2013

Strawberry Patch & Wild Critter

Well take a good look...Some critter ate them I don't know which critter
bird, deer, rabbit, ?


Jun 22, 2013

Nutsedge and the Strawberry Patch: Part One


This picture is of the second round of nutsedge that came along after plants were coming up and blooming, early June.

This little raised bed has grown some very good lettuces but I wanted a strawberry bed.  I have to tell you that our garden spot is now just full of, what we in the South call nut grass, but in reality it is not a grass at all.  Nutsedge is what it is called. To read more about this pain in my side click HERE for information from Clemson Cooperative Extension
I remember helping my Grandma pull the mess from some of her garden as a child.  I can still hear her voice saying, "Now, honey you have to get the entire root what we call a nut or it will come back."  She was so sweet. You do have to get the entire root system to at least get rid of it for a time.

This is how the bed looked after I pulled tons of nutsedge out of my raised bed at 
planting time. May 2013
If you look closely you can see the little strawberry plants poking their heads up through the straw.


Better picture for you to see them popping up


I purchased some plants from Stark Bros Nursery 
Surecrop
Earliglo
&
Tribute
Can't wait to see how well they do here.

The first row and a half is the EarliGlo Variety

EarliGlo Strawberry
 photo credit
The next row is
Surecrop
Surecrop Strawberry 
photo credit
 
The last row and a half is Tribute
Tribute Strawberry
 photo credit


 I can find no one that will tell you how to easily get rid of the nuisance. I only see ways in which to control it.
We do not have our vegetable garden this year and I miss it. My mama spent many an hour in the past weeding and pulling that mess out of the garden.  I thank her for her hot back breaking weeding. We decided that the nutsedge could have it this year and next year we will place our vegetable garden in another location.

You may recall that our land was plagued with sandspurs. If you don't know what that is then you are a very lucky person. Click HERE to read about that mess.
The garden spot still has some of that along with the nutsedge...whew!


sandspurs

 Chuck sprayed diligently and with time we have gotten rid of it in our lawn. We planted lots of grass seeds and that has helped to keep it out of our lawn.

I love to use pine straw as a mulch.  In the past I have used wood chip mulch but am prone to go back to pine straw.  We do have a great supplier of this and that is a good and convenient. Next post will have pictures of the blooms which I find to be so pretty.  Then the Strawberries themselves....Oh and guess what?  As I type this the bed is again full of nutsedge...I'm not gonna let it get the best of me ... no I won't...



This is in the flower bed located behind the strawberries. The Stella De Ora Daylilies are great they bloom so long and are so pretty. I have Iris, and other varieties of daylilies along with the lavender blue flower that the butterfiles, and bees just love. Oh I have some butterfly pictures this will be a post too.

Strawberries to be continued.....

Have a great weekend!


Dolly   





Jun 17, 2013

Hibiscus House Pink Climbing Roses


I really like these roses. I don't know their name but they are really pretty.  They don't bloom much I think maybe twice a year, but their beauty is worth keeping them around. The bush itself doesn't have particularly sharp thorns and for that I am thankful.

Jun 13, 2013

Wonderful Craft Swap

Michelle
of
 Michelle's Little Piece of Heaven Blog


Was the Hostess for the Craft Swap!
  We had a month to make and send to our craft partner something that we have made. What a fun idea! 
I received my box and was as excited as if it were Christmas morning.
Thank you Michelle for this Great Craft Swap.

My craft partner is Michele Scaife.
She made and sent me the most beautiful hand-worked items! I have pictures below to show but they just don't do the quilting and stitches justice. It is hard sometimes to capture how something looks.
She is so very talented. If you get the chance go over to dolly's designs blog and check out her quilting videos, located on the left bottom sidebar.
 of 
  Do you want to know what she sent to me?
Oh my goodness what is in this box?

Look at the pretty fabric! What is it?  Something is wrapped up inside!  
More excitement!

Isn't this pretty? This intricate crochet is beautiful.
Michele this reminds me of the handwork my grandmother used to do.





Oh WoW!  Look at this! It is absolutely beautiful.  The design, the ribbon, the stitching!

I am speechless now.  Hard to believe that but true, this is so pretty.





Wait there is something else wrapped up in the box.  
Look what it is!
Oh how precious, a Window Sill Angel.

She is in the window Michele.
I thank you Michelle for your Craft Swap, and the joy that is has brought to me! 
Thank you Michele for your wonderful, thoughtful gifts! They,
 mean more to me than you know.  I'll end this post with the words of the little angel in the windowsill.

"I'm a Window Sill Angel,
Your reminder to pray.
Have you told Jesus
That you love Him today?
      The Scaife Family









Jun 5, 2013

Hibiscus House Roses


Years ago my sister gave me a little rose. She had the rose draping on her fence and it was just breathtaking. 
I have been blessed to have carried rooted pieces of that same rose since 1989 to three more homes.


HOUSE AND GARDENS