Summer Gardening and a Surprise!

Hi everyone! Sorry I’ve been absent for the past month but life and summer has kept me busy. We’ve been busy planting in our field area that we had cleared just before snow flew in January. My business suddenly decided to breath life back into itself and I got the idea in my head that after a decade I should redesign my website. Do you have any idea how challenging it is to wrap your head around a computer program after a decade? And with menopause? Yes I ask for a lot but it’s all good!

Summer has been bountiful as far as plant life goes thanks to the great amount of rain we received this spring. This is one of my favorite flowering plants called Sneezeweed. It’s the first to bloom in the spring and the last to die back in the fall. Best part is it decided for the first time this year to add some yellows flowers to the arrangement.

I also love Hydrangea, every variety, and I have to say I love this incrediball Hydrangea. It doesn’t flop from heavy heads and if you deadhead the flowers it’ll make more. I planted up this little garden two years ago and my dwarf boxwood hedge is coming in nicely. Another two years and we should have a real hedge.

 

 

Incrediball Hydrangea

 

 

Blue Endless Summer, except they need to include a disclaimer with this shrub, it doesn't really bloom all summer!

 

Limelight Hydrangea

The heads on the limelight get as big as my head and they turn the most incredible green in the fall.

 

 

This is a type of Hydrangea Paniculata f. grandiflora and I love all the ferns just above him along the top of the wall. We get tons of ferns that will suddenly jump up around here and Mister Man keeps mowing them down only to have them jump right back up. He isn’t trying to mow the ferns just the grass but the ferns are literally everywhere!

 

 

My best friend Deb, yes even the same name, and I have been talking a great deal about gardening and Hydrangea and with my birthday coming up soon she surprised me with an amazing gift clear from Seattle Washington! Two huge Viburnum and a Let’s dance starlight purple hydrangea. The Viburnum are planted and staked since I’m going to grow these two as trees and my new Hydrangea went into a new garden I just started that will be nothing but Hydrangea. I personally don’t think you can ever have to many Hydrangea.

 

I don’t know what it is about olive trees but I have a slight fascination with them so I picked up two small plants early this spring and imagine my surprise when they actually grew olives!

 

Yep, they grew olives, black olives that are ripening! This is very exciting for me and I don’t even like olives….lol.

 

As for this guy he’s been loving his life of hiking, swimming although he doesn’t actually swim he’s more of a wader and finding mud. I snapped this picture the other morning after his hike and he was panting on his side.

 

So that’s what I’ve been up to a life of gardening and work and loving being outdoors. I hope all of you have been enjoying your summer and I’m going to try and get caught up with you all.

 

Enjoy your Labor Day!

XXX

~Debra~