Green House

The next step in building a green house is to decide what kind of base we need.

 We eliminated cement since a good one must be done by an expert, which we are not.  A bad one would be hard to remove if we got rid of the green house.

Other choices are small gravel over landscape fabric, just heavy duty landscape fabric,  landscape fabric topped by wood chips, or well-built wooden foundation.

Commercial green houses, which have to be quite large, often use landscape fabric or just bare soil.  The advantage of the wooden one is its sturdiness and solid foundation.

Well, this is what we have now. The weather is bad and we may wait a bit on the start.

Green House

I mentioned earlier that we were planning to buy a small green house, partly to store all the flowers that winter in our basement and partly for my husband to grow plants in the spring.  The obstacle was the large dogwood occupying the spot where the green house would have shelter from the wind, and water and electricity.  Commitment for a green house came when we cut the tree down.



The work has started.  We will

remove  the large nandinas near

the house. They have huge roots.  

The old azaleas in the foreground

will have to moved toward the yard. 

 Much work!

The size we have chosen is 8x8

from Lowe's.  Its cost is about $1300.

 

When the space is clear, we will

have to prepare a base.

Poinsettias

This poinsettia was very big and pretty last Christmas.  Ater several neglected months in our garage,  my husband set it in a corner of a rather shady flower bed for the summer.  It surprisingly survived.

 We are now directed to give it 12-14 hours of darkness from now till December if we want it to bloom.  It goes outside on warm days and then stays in a dark corner of the garage at night.  This obviously does not live up to greenhouse standards

 We will see what happens.  If it does well, we will give it a more elegant place next summer.

Vintage Miniature Rose

This pretty little rose was given to us by a friend.  I think it had been in his family before he obtained it. 

Another interesting part of the picture is the thorny evil-looking stem on the right.  It is part of a rose that dates back before the Civil War when it arrived from Scotland.  It was given to us along with the pretty little rose.

 You can see why this Scottish rose survived in America.  Not even the hungriest goat or other grazer would chew on it.

 More about this immigrant rose later.

Bluebirds Again

Usually we don't see bluebirds at this time

of the year. 

Today these two dropped by

on their travels. 

 Perhaps they are checking

out a house for their return in February.

Chickens

Perhaps the title should be too many chickens.  The bazaar-purchased chicken joins a previously established hen and chickens growing in a hen flower pot.  Perhaps a bit bizaare?  Or tacky?  Not really.  They are tucked away in an inconspicuous corner.

Wild Aster

This aster is basically wild, identified as one of the the most common flowers in the area of the Great Smokies.  It is sometimes not welcome in gardens because it is quite vigorous and tall.  But on the other hand, a clump of these flowers is beautiful in the fall.  It grows 5-6 feet tall.  My neighbor has a large clump of these in the corner of her yard.  They are beautiful and eye-catching.  Often this flower is allowed to languish off to the side to ensure that it doesn't take over the flower bed.  It can, however, be brought under control without too big a struggle.  It is a passalong plant--an under-appreciated one.

Christmas Gifts

My children have to look for something interesting for Christmas.  They found these interesting bird feeders and glass balls for my flower bed. 

Surprisingly the glass balls have survived two summers of use. 

I got the feeders last Christmas but put off using them until a bear destroyed our big feeder recently.  It turned out that the squirrels didn't climb the new feeders and the bear hasn't found them yet and the birds love them.

Well, I hate to add this news.  Last night the bear or bears carried off the two feeders in the lower left picture.

A little good news.  My husband just found one feeder--only a little worse for wear.  One is still missing.  I'll search before any more leaves fall.  I'll have to let the birds go hungry for a while.

No Greenhouse

These pictures show why it is hard to raise certain plants without a greenhouse.  They have already retired to the basement because of the threat of an early frost. Our partially finished basement no longer can hold my plants, even if I get rid of a few each year.

 I have been talking about buying a greenhouse with the proceeds of previous plant sales.  A nice 8x12 one at Lowe's costs about $2400, rather a tidy sum.
Another problem with a greenhouse is that it takes a lot of work.  If we had one, we would try to raise vegetable plants early in the spring.  Actually, my husband would end up with most of the work.

 But the  real thing that makes me hesitate is having to cut down the large dogwood tree next to my back door and patio.  It occupies the only really good place for a greenhouse.  It is sheltered and has a supply of electricity and water nearby.

Birthday Boy

October 14 was our grandson Alex's first birthday.  I  couldn't resist showing this picture of Alex and his mother Ginny.  I added the close-up of Birthday Boy since he had a haircut the next week and lost his curls.



Fall Planting

My husband planted eight cabbage and brocoli plants a couple of weeks ago in front of a lily row.  We sprayed and tried to outdo the critters large and small who would attack the plants.  The plants are all gone now.  Rabbits, probably.  I don't think the deer would waste their time with such little plants

The one little plant on the left was the last to survive.  It was gone the next day.

Plant Sale

People ask me if I plan to have the plant sale the weekend after Mother's Day that I have had for around ten years.   I re-use old flower pots and use woods dirt and garden soil.  By not having to buy these things, I manage to sell perennials super cheap.  I just put the potted plants in the edge of our woods and forget about them for the winter.  Some die, but most survive.  

 I have a large number of repeat customers who start calling in March to see what my plans are for the year. 

I just dig plants out of my flower beds during the year, especially things that  have overstayed their welcome.  I'll probably have maybe 400 potted flowers.  I will dig others and sell them without pots when the time comes.  Many of the plants I have are passalong plants I got from my mother and other acquaintances. 

Last year I made a thousand dollars, which as usual I will spend on my flowers and for garden ornaments like trellises and fountains.  These pictures show that I do plan to have a plant sale next year.

Carrion Cactus

The carrion cactus I mentioned earlier is blooming now.  The blossoms do look like starfish, but the most unusual thing about the plant gives it its name.  It smells like rotten meat.  This fact explains all the blowflies which seem to appear from nowhere when the foul-smelling plant opens up.  It is definitely not a house plant.

Beauty Berry

To begin with, I need to give this shrub its proper name.  I have called it beauty bush, but Wild Flowers of North Carolina correctly calls it beauy berry, or Callicarpa americana Linnaeus. 

 It has small insignificant blossoms early in the year, followed by the beautiful berries for which it is named. 

 It is a passalong plant, not often seen in plant stores.  The good thing about it is that the colorful berries remain around for most of the winter.

Lemon Lily

This flower is confused this year.  It is a lemon lily, called that because it strongly and distinctly smells of lemon.  It usually blooms in early summer, but this year it is blooming in October.

 I got this plant from my mother who got it from some one else.  It is not as commonly shared as other lilies because it does not spread rapidly.

Passalong Chrysanthemums

The garden departments are full of colorful chrysanthemums at this time of year.  It seems that these flowers are meant only for a couple of months of beauty with little hope of long life in the garden.

This passalong mum lives on and on in flower beds and is passed from generation to generation and friend to friend.  It starts with white blossoms with yellow centers in late summer.   It is really beautiful in big clumps, and it grows with virtually no help.

When cold weather comes, it turns this pretty shade of pink.

Afternoon Visitors to Trimont Trail

These visitors came by about five o'clock in the afternoon two days ago, looking for food. They are standing in the driveway across the street, trying to eat some of the little decorative crabapples on the ground.  There are usually some apples on the trees across the street, but this spring's late frost killed them.  There are acorns, but not as many as usual. The next day these bears stopped traffic up the street by settling in the top of an oak tree.

(pictures as usual by my husband Tom)



View from My Living Room Window

It is a pleasure to look out the picture in my living room. These pictures were taken from inside the house.  The pink angel trumpet is dominant.



Angel Trumpets Again

Most of my angel trumpets are fairly late blooming again this year.  About six weeks ago one bloomed.  I had set it out in late April, and it escaped the late frost by being in a sheltered place. 

This pink one looks great except where some bugs and a heavy rain wreaked havoc with its leaves.  I need to spray more, but the tender leaves really attract food seekers.  It is not just slugs.  I need to do some research.

Some yellow ones are ready to bloom also.

The Kitchen Sink and the Trellis

The other day I found a heavy metal trellis and bench on sale at Lowe's for 75% off, only $40.00.  I am happy to have a bench here and there to rest while I work outside. 

 My husband retrieved a kitchen sink full of ajuga that had been at my mother's.  He put it under the bench far enough back not to tickle the ankles of anyone sitting on the bench.  The sink covers the bare ground and by next summer the ajuga will have spread all around. 

I plan to put vines soon to grow on the trellis.  Another trellis has chocolate vine and jasmine starting to cover it.  Others have clematis.  Next to the sink I am trying to start some creeping cedar.

 Later purchase:  Today I bought a climbing hydrangea for the trellis, which should cover the whole thing by next year.  The label says it will send out shoots 60 to 80 feet long.  I feel sure my husband will use his pruners on those.

Ground Cedar



Notice the spores that spring up at this time of the year.



Ground cedar or creeping cedar or ground pine is a wild green groundcover.  The kind in the picture is I think Lycopodium digitatum.  It is supposed to look like a  wolf's foot.  My mother recently died and the large patch at her house will likely become overgrown or be bulldozed away.  It is the only large growth I have seen.  Some say it is common, but others say it is rarely found in our part of North Carolina.  I do know it is difficult to transplant.  I have tried several times with no success.  This year I am moving large clumps with the hope it will not notice the new soil.  It likes the edge of woods with a touch of moisture and some soil enriched over the years.  I tried to weed eat part of the patch so tall weeds would not overshadow the pretty growth.  I didn't get that done this year.



Garden Misplanting

I admired the pretty yellow blossoms on a prickly pear and planted some in my backyard.  What I didn't reckon on was the fact that I couldn't weed in or around the clump.  Grass stubbornly moved in. Little stickers even attacked my leather gloves and made them beyond repair.  Occasionally one got in my finger and stubbornly refused to give up its position. 

The answer became obvious.  I put on my heaviest long pants and a thick jacket and some old leather gloves and got my shovel and wheelbarrow.  I dumped the whole clump in my burning pile and said "Good riddance!"

Difficult Flower Beds



These two ferns are in pots and have to go to the basement
 for the winter.  The hostas are also in pots and stay outside.



I tried a few years ago to make some attractive square flower beds around the bases of the maple trees near the street in front of my house. 

The next year I tried to remedy the persistent, relentless root invasion by putting a layer of plastic under the skimpy soil around the trees. 

 Last year I gave up and started inserting potted plants around the  trees, disguising them with rocks and pine straw and whatever else I found.  Some I just left exposed.





The two begonias have to
 go to the basement each winter.
 I have had them several years.



The hostas seem to do well in their pots year around.




Perennial Ageratum

As summer ends, another reliable and attractive plant brightens up the garden.  It is the perennial ageratum, filled with puffy blue flowers. 

 Mine this year are a bit tall.  I should have pinched them back earlier in the summer. 

It occasionally sets a foot out in the path, but it is easily removed and should not be considered really invasive.  It does spread enough to be shared with the neighbors. 

 The blue flowers hang around until frost, and the plant returns in early summer.  It is another passalong plant.  I have not seen one in a nursery.

Muscari

Some one gave me these two varieties of late summer bloomers.  They also have the advantage of being pretty and green most of the year. 

I don't think the giver called them muscari, but I don't remember what name they used.  Perhaps lilyturf.  They are cousins to the striped liriope plant.  They are really a great addition to the garden as a border or to fill in little empty spots between taller plants. 

 They spread nicely, not really viciously.  They stick to their own clump and just get bigger.