A visit to past blog posts - Astilbe, Butterfly Bush, Gladiola, Red Shrimp Plant, Coleus

Look what just started blooming at Setters Run. My butterfly bush! It has really gotten big and will attract lots of bees and butterflies. I wrote about my butterfly garden on this blog site dated 7/9/11. I’m very happy with the way this garden turned out.

I posted a blog on 10/16/11 about the Astilbes that I had planted. Well, they have finally started to show some color. It took a while. They looked pretty weak last year but now they are getting bigger and brighter. I hope they will continue on this path of lovely beauty. Great shade plant by the way.

On April 16 of this year I talked about volunteering at Smith Gilbert Gardens on my Facebook page. We were planting Coleus that day and after work we were able to bring some of the extras home. Here is where I planted mine. This is Grandmother Worleys old wash tub. We set it in the front of the house by the tree swing. I think it looks great.

Remember when I posted photos of the Golden Shrimp Plant on my 7/26/11 blog? I knew the plant wouldn’t last through the winter but I loved it anyway. They don’t like the temperature to get below 55 degrees in the winter and that’s more like South Florida weather where my sister lives. I found some Red Shrimp Plants and added them to my butterfly garden in 2012. Low and behold, they came back this year! Boy, was I surprised.

I also found a bag of 6 coral Gladiola bulbs at Big Lots for a dollar and really never expected much out of them. I am so happy I planted them where I did. The coral flowers match the Encore Azalea bushes we planted in the front. They are beautiful flowers.

How do you make a black wire gate look better? Put some planter boxes on them and fill them with flowers. I used wire to hang the baskets on the gate and they seem to be happy there.




It’s too nice to be inside any longer. I’ll visit with you again soon but for now there's planting, trimming and weeding to do.

Today at Setters Run- Aphids, Gall Mite, Hostas, Squash

I picked these right out of the yard for an event we had this morning. I couldn’t buy anything more beautiful.

photo credit: CK Worley

Just took this one a few minutes ago. I love hostas! Don’t they look great lining the sidewalk in front of the house?

photo credit: CK Worley

I noticed these bumps on my oak tree leaves. We called our friend Mr. Smith who owns Smith Tree Service which has been in business for over 50 years.

photo credit: CK Worley

He said that the tree had aphid insects on them (or gall) and that these aphids suck the moister out of the leaves where they hatch and this causes the bumps. Then the bumps dry out and turn brown causing the leaves to fall off. He said this occurred because we had two relatively warm winters. They don’t only hatch on oaks but other plants. We walked around and found some on our aucuba and ivy leaves as well. There isn’t anything to do about it but wait for a cold winter and that will take care of them. These aphids damage the appearance of the tree but won’t kill it.

Let's end on a happier note - Squash anyone !

photo credit: CK Worley

Daylily

A daylily is beautiful for one day and that's where the name came from. There are many stalks and buds on each plant so you can have many flowers in a clump. They normally bloom in the spring and fall but since we’ve had such cool weather this year they are all blooming now. If you are afraid to plant flowers in the yard I’d suggest you start with a daylily. They are easy to grow and are drought tolerant. Remember that most day lilies grow best in full sun. After a year or two you can start separating them. Many people are familiar with the orange or yellow color but there are a variety of colors to choose from. Here are only a few that I have in my yard. Enjoy.

photo credit: CK Worley

Miss Amelia: photo credit: CK Worley

Siloam Betty Barnes: photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

Heavenly Dragon Fire: photo credit: CK Worley

Chance Encounter: photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

How to pot plants- Birthday idea

I potted an herb garden for my friend's birthday. Once I chose the pot I wanted to use, the first thing I did was put an opened coffee filter into the bottom. This prevents soil from leaking out of the bottom of the pot but allows the water (much like the water in a coffee maker) to get through.



Next ~ I saved the packing peanuts from various boxes I received in the mail and filled the bottom of the pot with them. This creates excellent drainage and reuses something that most people throw away.



Now for some good quality soil and some Soil Moist which reduces the need to water by up to 50%. This is great for people who work out of town or like to go on short trips. This way she won’t have to worry about coming home to dried out plants.



I always, always use Espoma products whenever possible. I added some organic Garden Tone which will continually feed the plants. Did I mention that I love Espoma products?



So here we have it, a green pepper plant, Oregano, Dill, Chives and Basil. I’m saving the little plastic pots to use for indoor sowing later on.

Next I wrapped a ribbon around it, put it on a dolly and trucked it over to Tanya’s house. Happy Birthday Tanya!

See what's blooming now- Apple tree, Gardenias, Quince Tree

I just wanted to show you what is blooming in the yard this week. First our quince tree which is deciduous. You can see from the flowers that it belongs to the rose family. I love the bright orange color. It’s a beautiful tree.



Next our gardenias are in bloom. The fragrance is lovely. We have gardenia bushes and some that look like trees that are 6 feet tall. They are evergreens.



We had a great time at the Atlanta Food and Wine festival with friends Doug and Cate. Cate writes the very popular blog Tailgating Guru (ttp://tailgatingguru.blogspot.com)
Thursday nights activities were held at JCT Kitchen and the theme was tailgate style. We got to sample lots of good food and even tasted Moonshine. Not too bad.



Outside in the bar area they had lovely apple trees that where strictly pruned to look like this. I thought they were pretty cool.





At the bottom of this apple tree sat a tiny little birds egg. The train was going by and the breeze was perfect and we had the best company. It was a great night for us but the festival will carry on without us through the rest of the weekend.





One last thing. My husband gave me this gardening apron for Mothers day so I thought I’d show it off. I love it!