Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Overgrown gardens, more rain, heat and humidity

Good evening everyone ~ This morning I took some photos of our overgrown spaces, and then headed out to work on them. I worked in the secret garden area with the weed wacker,  the tree saw and the pole cutter. It looks better but there is still more that needs doing. 

I also did a load of laundry, got it hung on the lines to dry and what does it do before too much time goes by, rains. So the laundry has been super rinsed more than once and will get even more rinsing from the way it looks outside.

It was 84 and felt like it was 100 and I was sweating buckets, drinking my Gatorade as I worked. If the weather co-operates, I’ll be back out there again tomorrow morning working another area. Doing it in stages gets it done without killing me. I’m thankful we only have 1/4 of an acre. I have wished for acreage, but not anymore, at least not to have to control.

The pathway material in and around the main garden is roll roofing, the cheaper variety and it lasted about 5 years before getting cracked up and now grass is coming up in the paths. It’s not a priority right now to replace it so I’ll just use my weedwacker to take care of  the renegades.

This is the path on the west side of the garden. I can hardly believe how bad this is. Where is the dang path?

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Along the front.

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This is the front patio looking west to the main garden. Where is the path? The patio and concrete benches need pressure cleaning.

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This is the path off the patio.

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Another smaller path just in front of the little fencing almost gone.

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This is the front path, sidewalk and street to the left.

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Here is my shed’s garden. I did weedwack on the left side this morning, so that the rock border now shows up. I just need to weed the path to St. Francis.

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I just went out and took a couple of pictures this evening. Below is the after of the scene above, except that I need to still weed the path.

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Here is the secret garden looking east towards my shed. The ‘catrium’ is to the right.

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Here we have a blue peavine blossom.  I love this color.

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Spiderworts blooms all year long and are a favorite.

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This is a rain battered spray of tiny orchids.

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This is a bloom from my climbing Maman Cochet.

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This is Louis Philippe against the bark of the Norfolk pine tree.

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Here are some shots of the sky this evening. Rain heavy clouds.

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Thank you all for your kind comments about my watercolors.

Remember that we all have talents. They are gifts from our Creator. Go with your creative flow, feel free, and enjoy the process. Life is a gift, savor every moment.

That’s it for now. I’m starting to feel ready to get horizontal to read before sleep.

Tomorrow is another day.

Hugs ~ FlowerLady Lorraine

18 comments:

Lynn said...

You have been busy today. Your pathways look so nice. I’ve hear Epson salts will discourage weeds in pathways ~ worth a try. Your iron work and St. Francis statue are lovely. That’s what I love about working in the yard. You can see the beauty revealed and know it will last for awhile. Nothing like housework ~ I swear the minute you turn around it’s there to do again. Twice rinsed rain watered laundry is wonderful ~ thrice rinsed is another story. Happy evening.

Rebecca said...

I so understand the battle with weeds, but honestly....there's something about the full, wild look that I like, too. (Not sure what that says about me!)

Nancy J said...

That is a lot of work, and the photos of the clouds, WOW !! Love the dark contrast above the trees. We have had clouds like that here, but too much rain to try and take any photos. Fond greetings, Jean.

Karen said...

Oh, you had a busy day! I've left laundry on the line many times, too, and though I love rain rinsing, it's still nice to have it finally dry, lol.

I can only imagine what the type of growth you have in your gardens must be like, living in WI we only experience exponential plant growth for a few weeks at best and then it wanes. Soon snow will be blocking my paths just as verdant foliage is blocking yours.

I loved seeing your watercolors, they are just beautiful. You have so much talent and we're very lucky you share it with all of us. Wonderful.

Cassundry said...

You have a lovely garden.

Sunray Gardens said...

Lovely blooms. The load of work paid off for your wonderful paths.

Cher Sunray Gardens

Leslie Kimel said...

I really like your lush, romantic gardening style! The "after" pictures look great!

HolleyGarden said...

What a difference in the before and after!!! You have been working hard! It's amazing how fast the garden can get out of hand. Of course, with your climate, I guess it really wants to revert back to a tropical forest!

Anonymous said...

It's a lot of work, isn't it? But if you are like me it feels good to dig in the dirt.

I'm hoping for a better year next year. At least we've been able to keep some things alive this year, things to build on for the following year, and the blessing of dirt. Hugs, Ilene

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Lorraine, thank you once again for allowing me to visit your garden.
A lot of work was done - take care.
Working in the garden is my passion but at the moment everything does not look like I want it to.

Skeeter said...

We had so much rain in August that the weeds popped up even through heavily mulched gardens. I am so glad I spent so much time with mulching everything this year. If not for the mulch, I would have had a nothing but weed gardens when I returned from being away 3 weeks. We are a bit lucky as the humidity has left us, well, for now anyway. I must get the mildew off the front porch, chairs and some other fixtures around here. We have had the windows open the past 3 days and loving the fresh air in the house. Hopefully, you shall have those milder temps soon…

Liz said...

Hello! Your photos make me miss living in tropical climates! So much green! Everything up here is dead and dry, we've had .04 inches of rain in the last 55 days! Your peavine blossom reminds me of the deep blue morning glories my mom grows- that color can't be imitated outside of nature!

I finally took the time to look at your "Creations" blog, and I am blown away by your talent! The beauty of your crochet roses and your incredible handiwork is...wow. I wish I had taken a look over there sooner. Thanks again for all your sweet comments on my blog, and keep creating!

Anonymous said...

You greenery loves all that humidity.. even if you do not.

Leanne said...

Good job done
Beautiful photos of the clouds - cloud watching is a wonderful thing to do.

GRACE PETERSON said...

Someday Lorraine, I want to see your garden in person. I just love all of the nooks and crannies. All your cool decorations and pots and how you use them. You've got an amazing plant assortment and so many of them are unfamiliar to me because of our different climates. Love!!!

I know what you mean about when you were younger you wanted more property but as we get older and have to pace ourselves, we're glad we don't have more to tend. It's so true.

You're such an inspiration to me, girlfriend. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

sweetbay said...

With all of the rain you've had no wonder everything is growing so much! Ugh I know what you mean about 85 feeling like 100 -- that's typical August weather for us here. Your flowers are beautiful!

Also, congratulations on your anniversary, and I love your watercolors!

Andrea said...

FlowerLady, sometimes when reading blogs from temperate climes, i get envious because their winter automatically cleans the overgrown plants. In our case, many of our plants stay there perennially if we will not do something. That is my problem too, because i usually don't have much time to stay in the province to tend the plants. During our dry season though, those ferns dry up and recover again in the dry season. It looks like our skies look the same these days.

tina said...

How nice to have a secret garden. I do hope it cools down for you soon. 84 is not so bad but I bet the humidity was kicking in.