Gray winter days

I am not a winter person. I don't like cold weather and I find snow very beautiful in movies, not when you have to live with it.

I don't like the naked trees and the gray sky. I don't like the empty flower beds and the absence of butterflies. I deeply dislike getting up when it is still dark. Well, I have to admit 2 good things about winter: no mowing the lawn and lots of leaves to compost. Even though the leaves are available on fall, the trees drop them because of winter. Let's give credit to this ugly season.

Cold winter is like root beer, if you don't grow up with, you don't appreciate. At least this is my experience with Brazilians. You will not find a single one who likes that yucky soda and one who is not miserable during the cold season. Well, maybe one or two nut ones. But we are just spoiled with the perfect weather and the most delicious soda pop made out of guarana fruits (at least that's what the industry makes us believe).

Cold days are good to stay home, drink tea and sew, but after a few days, I am ready to put on my shorts and go outside. Well, I will have to wait until April (I wish I was a bear...).

November temperatures were very mild giving the plants a few extra days to grow and bear fruits, for the happiness and satisfaction of the gardener in charge.

The hydrangeas are starting to get ready for the cold. Raking all the pine needle available in my garden will be a nice chore when it is not so cold.

I wish I had planted more broccoli. The 2 plants I have are looking very nice. I need to remember this next year.

Cress. First time I planted and it is so easy to take care and delicious! And looks good and green when very few things are still in good shape!

My snow peas are also very healthy and full of flowers. I hope they survive our 70% chance of snow tomorrow.

Have a good weekend!

Still gardening

This beginning of fall has been very nice and the mild temperatures are making the gardening season long. The plants may be ready to rest but there are always so many things to do in the garden. The gardener here is not yet ready to rest.

We decided to remove the hackberry tree, as every year it gets attacked by aphids that secret a sweet dew that drips all over plants, play set, stones and the new built deck. The sweet dew is substrate for a black fungus and everything becomes dark and gooey under the tree. Last year I had to drain my small pound and move my fish to my neighbor's pond. This year I cut some branches and the pound was spared. I feel sorry to remove this big tree, but the black soot is just disgusting and it is killing my plants.

We are cutting 1 tree and planting 3.

My family is enjoying lettuce, corn salad and spinach from the garden. My boys love the crisp leaves and I am so proud of Gabriel for eating salad with just salt and olive oil. He doesn't need to be tricked by sweet and fattening dressings.



My new tree, a week ago.

Corn salad. Still planting the seeds my husband brought from Germany 2 years ago.

I hope we have never have to put down another tree. Dealing with the branches is hard. Besides, we have plenty of firewood.

Lettuce. Fresh and crispy.
This is how my new tree looks like today. It has beautiful red leaves.

Hiking with Marcy and PG

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and we especially enjoy those kind of days after a few days of rain and cold weather. Our friend Silvia called us to see if we wanted to go for a short hike with her and her dog Marcy. Sure, it was a perfect day for a hike.

We didn't know about this short trail just 1 mile away from our house. Too bad there are to sidewalks and we can't walk to there.

Gabriel had so much fun playing with the dogs.

Marcy loved to fetch and Gabriel made the poor 10 year old dog very tired.

Now, trying to get all the energetic beings still for a picture. Good enough.

raspberries

From the garden. A single pear and a hand full of raspberries. It is the first year and hopefully the plants will produce more than this next year. This is the beauty of growing things.

Garden rainbow

It is almost fall and most of the vegetables I planted during the summer are still producing. I got disappointed with tomatoes, last year I got so many tomatoes but this year they got so many diseases and died half way through summer. But I am harvesting several other vegetables was not able to grow last year.

I am excited with all the eggplants I am getting. Last year I had lots of problems with flea beetles eating their leaves but now I am armed with neem oil and the flea beetles gone. I am getting eggplants in different shapes and colors and the grown ups in this house love them! Eggplant parmigiana,babaganush, grilled or just stir fried with lots of garlic.

Finally I am getting beets. I haven't been very lucky with them but this time I got it. We are also eating the leaves, they are delicious stir fried with olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar.

And here is the new pond dweller, Sir Joseph Banks. It was a tadpole my friend Kay bought me a few months ago and now, look at him.

And the proof fall is around. Sedum blooming beautifully. I don't know the name of this variety, apparently I have 2 different types. Sedum is a though plant, propagates very easily and brings color to the garden when everything else is done for the year (unless you buy mom, which I don't). Definitively I am planting more of them next year.

Feeding the hungry

My friend is traveling and Gabriel is taking care of her bunny. He loves chase the poor thing. He pets and talks to Honey Bunny as if he was his dog.

On our way back, we stop at the horses and feed them too.

It takes a lot of food to feed a horse.

Oh! It is hard work!

I don't know what is more fun: feeding or gathering the food...

Garden

The white greenhouse, back in February

And today. The plastic didn't last. I planted hyacinth beans (Lablab purpureus) because the frame was quite an eye sore for the neighbors.

Self seeding Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi). The flea beetles love the leaves and the plant looks very bad until the orange 'lanterns' appear. I heard it is edible but I am not sure I want to try.

Garden

It feels summer is almost over. Maybe because school will start in a few days, my tomato plants are practically dead and the flowers of the Rudbeckias turned into seeds that are delighting golden finches.

It was a good summer, we had lots of rain and the plants appreciated. We worked a lot in the garden and my husband finished the deck around the pool and ended it with a beautiful moon gate. It was a nice surprise.

The zinnias are starting to show the silver color of mildew on the leaves. I am enjoying the bright and warm colors of the zinnia Lilliput.

My white greenhouse is now support for the hyacinth beans.

Still enjoying the eggplants. I had a lot of problems with flee beetles. You can see the the small holes they make and the leaves look like a fine lace. Problem solved spraying a bit of Pyola, an organic insecticide.

I already started the fall vegetable garden and it looks like I will get a nice crop of beets. I will miss the hot and humid summer days but I am excited about fall.

Vegetable garden

I had a long day gardening today. The boys (dog included) took the boat to the lake and the weather was so nice, it was a perfect day to pull weeds, fertilize the plants, mulch and harvest some vegetables.

suhyo cucumber

egg plant

butternut squash

acorn squash

We are getting lots of rain this year and I couldn't wish for a better irrigation schedule. Not much watering but in the other hand, lots of weeding.

We are getting lots of veggies. Zucchini, squash, tomato, cucumber and today we ate our first egg plant. Soon we will have enough okra and green beans for a meal. And I am already sowing things for the fall garden!

Happy halloween!

I have been spending the hot and humid days of summer gardening. We have been getting lots of rain! There is so much to do! I finally planted a few seedlings and weeding seems endless!

And look what I found! I have a couple of volunteer pumpkin plants and I got 3 big and beautiful pumpkins. I wonder if they will last until November...

Family

My parents, my sister, her husband and kid came all the way to Tennessee to spend some time with me and my boys.

We had a lot of fun grilling and hanging out

And my son got to play with his only cousin.

PG got some love too.

And the Gabriel's aunt was in charge of sun scream.

We also went to Las Vegas and California and everybody had fun!

About the weather

 

 

It has been raining here almost non-stop since Saturday (we got a short break yesterday). I am not complaining, the plants like it and considering the drought the past years, the rain is most welcome. 

Staying inside and trying to get ready for my family's visit. Painting walls, moving things around and organizing. My parents are very neat and they don't feel comfortable if things are a mess. But my sister and her husband couldn't care less.

I wrapped in fabric a couple of canvas I bought for my son to paint and hung them. The chest of drawers I got for 2 dollars at a yard sale and I painted my favorite green. My neighbor Susan made me the flower vase. I love it. She does wonderful ceramic and I was very happy when she gave me this one when she came by to get the lamb's ear I gave her. I wonder if she wants more...

This corner looks neat and clean. Many more to go...       

Though days

Some days are better than others... U2

Last Thursday, I startled the birds nested under the deck and I felt very bad because I don't think they were ready to leave the nest. The birds ended up on a tree and the parents got very upset with a squirrel that was around. Oh! Why did I have to check the nest? 

My son and his friend were getting wild, they ended up with sand in their eyes. Mysteriously! Nobody threw sand, it magically hit their eyes. Washing and crying, at least crying is good to get rid of the sand.

Husband was leaving town.

My father was considering cancelling his trip to Knoxville because of the flu in Mexico. He has a connection in Huston, was his reasoning. I think I was way too sarcastic with him and the conversation didn't go very well. I know where my hypochondriac genes come from.

 We went to eat at Captain D's. Gabriel loves fish but that restaurant has the greasiest food ever. The food took forever, they made a mistake and our order was cancelled. I promised never go back there again.

Then I realised I needed to fill tax return in Brazil, just a couple of hours before the deadline. The good thing is it is really easy to fill online. I mean, if you are using a PC. Tax form ready and I tried to send it electronically but it didn't work! As my husband would say, 'Welcome to Mac world!'. I searched the web and found the solution, at least Mac people seam to be nice and helpful. 

         

But is so comforting to see how much Gabriel loves his dog. PG gets kisses and hugs all the time. At least someone is getting his love! 

 

And the poppies are blooming! Big and deep red flowers! It is the first time I see these flowers and I think it was well worth all the trouble germinating the seeds and waiting a whole year for the plant to grow. Well, the last days were not that though!

  

 

Have a good week!

My Versailles

I talk to my mom in Brazil about twice a week. When she calls me, chances are I am in the garden, which she calls 'Versailles', just to make fun of me. I know, based on the time I spend gardening, mine should be something close to the famous French garden, at least in terms of weed-free flower beds and organization, but one have to take into account all the time I spend looking, enjoying and thinking what is the next most needed task.

Yesterday, my friend Denise called me from Chicago, she knows about my mom's joke and she asked me to post some pictures of my 'Versailles'. Then this morning I was talking with my in-laws and I told them I would post pictures.

Here they are.

Lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina), yellow iris (not blooming yet) and wallflower (Cheiranthus allioni)


Hostas are coming back, some are growing fast others not so much.

Daffodils flowers are already gone but I need to wait until the leaves turn yellow to cut them. I already planted snow in the summer (Cerastium tomentosum) but they are so small and only the label is seen. Behind are the shasta daisies. They grow well here and all the plants you see came from a poor root-bound 1-gallon plant I bought for 1 dollar. The tulips are past their best, but still looking good. The plants on the left side are Penstemon (not blooming yet).


Columbine (Aquillegia x hybrida). I started them from seed last year and they didn't look very happy until this year, when they put out these beautiful, colorful and intricate flowers.

The irises are also doing very well this year.

Allison were also started from seed last year and they looked pitfull until now.

Pink (Dianthus plumarius) are very showy. On the left are Coreopsis (not blooming yet).

I thought the clematis I planted to climb the arch was dead. I am glad I didn't pull it.

There are so many more plants doing well and about to bloom! More pictures soon.

My garden is not weed-free and there are always something to be done, it is a work in progress, it challenges me and it makes me very happy. I really love gardening!