Playing In the Dirt

there are not too many things i love to do more than gardening. i love being outside. i love being surrounded by beautiful growing things. i love watching the transformation from bare to lush. i love the feel of working in the dirt. (i hate wearing gloves, so i will never have pretty nails. i had them once... for my wedding. i wanted the traditional hands and rings photo.) i love coming in at night tired and dirty. and i am by no means a workaholic. you should see my house right now. but if it's nice outside, there's where i want to be. 
besides the beds, i've been filling every pot i can find with flowers or herbs. they are a little easier to control and maintain, especially if you have a dry season. 

pots have been filled with pansies....

'penny mickey' violas...
 

cats and kittens (or hens and chicks)....

and 'contessa burgandy bicolor' ivy geraniums.

i planted my three patio urns with spikes, bacopa and 'aloha purple sky' calibrachoa (my new favorite flower). i love how full it is and it grows like crazy. i'm anxious to see how it does throughout the season. 

the hanging basket, which i got for $5 at a yard sale (which i think was actually part of a light fixture), is planted with 'lanai upright purple mosaic' verbena and proven winners 'supertunia bordeaux' petunias.

the large pots at either side of the side door have spike plants, 'vintage mix' stock, 'sophistica antique shades' petunias, 'blush' euphorbia, and 'blackie' sweet potatoe vine.

i bought this galvinized metal carrier(?) at a flea market last year for $3, and had been just using it to hold garden tools, etc.

this spring i decided to plant it with 'dahlinova lisa white' dahlias and 'plum vein' calibrachoa.

i have to tell you a bacopa story. i could never remember whether it was pronounced 'bacopa' or 'bocapa'.  so one year we were at ashcombes, one of my sisters (i think it was jan) said..."you know deb"...(and the rest is sung to barry manilow's song copa cabana)..."at ba-co-pa, co-pa ca-ba-na, the hottest spot north of ha-va-na."   
i still have to sing that song every single time i see that flower, but now i pronounce it correctly.

Getting in Shape

i was afraid i'd have to forgo gardening this spring because of my hip surgery, but the flower beds look better than they ever have. thank you, Lord.
some then and now shots....

 april 5

may 13

i love these pink diascia. they are considered perennials in the south, but not here. however, we had such a mild winter this year that they came up by themselves this spring.

before weeding and cleaning...

and after.

this one has a long way to go, but it's a start.

some of the other beds...

more to come. sorry.

"Are You Going To Scarborough Fair?"

"parsley...

sage, rosemary....

and thyme...

remember me to one who lives there, for he once was a true love of mine."

do you sing to your plants? you really should, you know.

Where There's a Will....

the only thing that bothered me about the timing of my hip replacement surgery, was that i wouldn't be able to work on my flower beds. the main post surgery rule:  no 90 degree or greater bending of the hip. that meant no bending over and pulling weeds. 
i was sitting on my patio one day contemplating this. there had to be a way. i joked with my husband about the scene from the movie "honey, i shrunk the kids" where the dad rigged up a sling for himself, on a long arm that suspended him over the yard so he could look for his children with risking stepping on them. i asked gary if he could rig up such a contraption for me to weed. we laughed. 
but that got me to thinking. could i lay on something and weed? and i spied this little darlin'. 

it's nothing fancy and sorely needs a coat of paint, but this has become my most valuable gardening tool.  it is very solid and strong, and the perfect size and height to support my torso with my legs straight out behind me resting on the ground. i can lay comfortably and dig with my hand shovel and pull weeds to my heart's content. okay, you can stop laughing now. i'm serious. i'll probably weed like this for the rest of my life. it's much easier than bending over, it doesn't hurt the back. it's better than kneeling, no knee pain. i can weed for a longer period of time without getting tired. it allowed me to do this, three weeks after hip surgery, with no ill effects. 

 

okay, i might look a little funny in action, but you know, i don't care. :)

Papillo Glaucus or How I Spent My Fourth of July

If I am accurate in my search, that is the name of this stunning little creature...better known as the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. She was kind enough to spend about half an hour flitting around my liatris, allowing me ample time to set up a tripod, sit at our picnic table and leisurely enjoy capturing her antics. I took almost 30 pictures and only had to delete one. Other than cropping one for the closeup, these are straight out of the camera. I am more than pleased. I'm sure a professional could find need for improvement, but as a very very amateur photographer, I'm having so much fun. (using Canon 20D and 70-300 f/4 IS USM zoom lens)