Hosta Hangouts. .

So I mentioned last week that we had been in the middle of wheat harvest. .

We don't help with harvest. .but Jeremy's people grow and harvest wheat for a living. .as well as my family. .and all my boys have grown up working and loving harvest! This year Devin got to shine on the combine. .it's his 3rd year to drive it-but the 1st that was completely on his own. Because it is also his first year to be able to drive anywhere by himself. .I have been provoked to wait up on him each night until he gets home.

The other night I chose to look around on Pinterest for a bit after my studying was done. .I saw this amazing hosta plant. HOSTA's I have always been able to grow without problems. .and this year, several are finally mature and are making my flower bed look GREAT! They really make a great addition to my north flower bed.

north garden. .the end that needs more plants!
Wish I had thought to take a photo of the end that has great hosta activity and flowers!

So I found myself looking this hosta up. .and ended up browsing through hostasdirect.com

They had so many different varieties. .at great prices.

Which, led me to some late night shopping!

(They also had plants other than hostas. .but hostas were what I was in the market for.)

I ordered 4 new ones. .and received them a few days after I ordered. The root systems were great. .and they have transplanted well, despite the fact that it is June in Kansas!! I wanted to document for myself, which variety is where. .so that is the reason for my post today!

Here is the section of the garden near my bedroom window. .

Prairie Moon is the lime green hosta to the east or left hand side of this photo. I have mostly dark green or bluish hostas. .so I am excited about this pop of color.

Apparently, the starts they send are what they sell to wholesalers who then pot them up and grow them for a bit before selling! I thought they were really nice starts! They already have new little leaves appearing. It will be 16 inches tall by 31 inches wide at maturity.

THIS is the hosta that had caught my eye in the photo depicting it's mature form.

It's called Bridal Falls. .and it has a great wavy leaf with green on green colors. I bought a bigger starter plant vs the small starters that I ordered the others in. .and I can't wait to see how it matures!!

It will be 28 inches tall by 48 inches wide at maturity.

I have always wanted to do little or mini hostas--since they have become their own "thing" in the world of gardening. But I have always been afraid that they would get dwarfed and wouldn't look right or thrive. I bit the bullet anyway and ordered one to see. I have always loved this variety-called "Praying hands." It has such a unique shape of leaf. .

It was the 2011 "hosta of the year" and will get about 18 inches tall and 16 inches wide.

 I also chose another hosta variety called Victory. .I like the green leaf with yellow.

It was the hosta of the year in 2015 and will get to be 33 inches tall by 48 inches wide. .Classified as a giant variety.

I thought and thought about a container I could stick them in for the summer, while deciding whether to put them in the ground. .(some people overwinter hostas in pots. .I haven't tried it yet. .but I am considering it!)

I came up with this self watering planter that Cami planted with a leftover-repotted Foxtail fern and a couple of petunias. You see that they fit absolutely perfectly in there. .and they just happen to be fairly well shaded on this covered deck.

Victory will likely outgrow my pot by the end of the summer.  .but you can see, the leaves were pretty tiny yet. .so I will take the chance.

That planter is stationed behind this picnic table. .

But I couldn't resist adding this photo of the cool succulents that I found a few weeks ago. .These will overwinter in the greenhouse or my north sunny sitting room. .I hope to do some cuttings this winter. Due to the intense hot Kansas sun on the west side of my house-even under the covered deck. .not many plants do well without twice a day water. .something I am not able or willing to do!! But THESE. .make fabulous planters full of interesting texture and color. .for only a couple waterings per week!! I'm so glad that succulents have been the recent craze! It means a lot of interesting choices!

 

That's it for today!! I hope to be back soon with more happenings and the current goings-on around the yard!! We also have an incredible experience coming soon that will involve our whole family. .

Stay tuned!!

April showers DO produce May flowers!

Happy spring!!

The last time I posted. .It was early in the spring. .but there was already a lot going on in the gardens!

There is still a lot going on there. I wanted to give a little tour!

I have some fun family pictures uploaded. .so hopefully it won't be much longer till I can post those too. .some exciting things have been happening around here!!

On Mother's Day. .later in the evening, after the whole crew left for a short excursion. .

I enjoyed sitting right here. .

listening to the pond and birds. .

I just can't believe how beautiful the flowers are. .

The honeysuckle's intoxicating scent filled the heavy air of evening. .

What a relaxing and perfect ending to the day!

I was amazed at God's detail in our world.

It is always good to be reminded of how amazing He is. .

And how much He has blessed us by giving us so much beauty to enjoy in the midst of the cares of this world!

And the chance to just BE STILL and allow myself to be impressed with my surroundings was JUST what this curly headed chica needed!

I was in the mood for sassy this year. .

So red and purples went into the self watering deck planters.

Cami made the stepping stone a few weeks ago. .It's a butterfly, if you were having trouble identifying that!

I don't typically do Gerbera daisies well. .

But they've been in the pots 3 weeks. .and they are still blooming and look happy!!

If I can remember to get some fertilizer to them, they may last for another few!!

For years I wondered if this pond would ever looked like it belonged in the yard. .And after much trial and error, it seems to be coming along. The yellow water irises were part of my aunt and uncles pond before they moved to Oregon. They were quite showy!! I also figured out that these salvia bushes can take the heat. .AND multiply!! They are already twice as big as they were last year! There is a little bit of gallardia hiding in the middle too, it has just started to bloom in the last day or two. The green clump in the middle will be Mexican hats it looks like. .they self seeded. .I haven't seen one bloom for a couple years now, so apparently the seeds are hardy!

Last week I saw a hummer on the penstemon. .I was pretty excited to see him there. .I haven't seen him for about 5 days now, so I figure he went on to town where there is more going on. He fed on a number of the plants around here. .but never the feeder that I witnessed. .Maybe one day, I will have a habitat that will keep them around for the whole summer!

A look up toward the deck where the planters are.

I have this pink peony and one that is more of a crimson. .This one doesn't smell much. .but the blooms are crazy amazing!! I have been looking for a white fragrant one with a pink center this year. .but no avail yet!

The orange honeysuckle that has never thrived seems to be coming out of it's 10 year shell!! It has climbed up onto the metal bedframe clear to the roof line. .

It doesn't smell, but it sure is pretty!!

The hummer sure did enjoy it too!

The other plants near it are ones that I got from high country garden last year, hoping to find something that will do the intense west afternoon sunshine!! So far, so good!

I discovered two of these little dudes growing. .Oriental poppies that I started from seed last summer. .I popped them in the ground right before the first frost last year. .and forgot about them. .Because seriously, they were about 3 inches tall with about 6 leaves on them! I was so excited to see them coming up. This one now has a big fat bud on it. .I can hardly wait to see what color it turns out to be!!

GonSS. .

These little puppies are from your garden!! I always forget the name. .

But I sure do like them. And last week, I even saw them for sale in a nursery in Topeka!! They get very little attention, and lots of the intense sun. .But they have survived and are doing well! THANKS for sharing them!!

Here is my answer to west afternoon sun, a deck that needs summer flowers, and an inability to water them enough to keep them alive!!

SUCCULENTS!!

I have kept these pots alive for a couple years now. .and move them into the greenhouse for the winter. Due to an oversight on our part, we let it get too cold in the greenhouse one night. .and several of them froze. .but, many of them were preserved, and I have just taken other cuttings to add into the pots!! I can now have some added interest. .and only  have to water them a few times per week! The potted purple fountain grass is a new experiment. .I will see if they can flourish in a pot with very little water too.

This little clematis has existed for years. .but never got more than 2 feet tall. Last spring I had to move it to another location, and it ended up on the north side of the house. .It is going to town. It is now as tall as the 6 foot trellis and has a number of blooms on it. YAY!

Here is the bed on the north side of the house. The hostas are getting big. .and I am hoping to get some blooms this summer as well-so far it has just really been foliage. Cami and I had the day at home by ourselves on Saturday, so I moved the pitcher pump water feature (you can see it way at the back in front of the post). .I just moved it about 3 feet over. .but it radically changed the view from the back. .and the appeal of the feature! I will have to get pictures and post them soon!

This is the memory garden. The Blue atlas cedar looks pathetic. .but it has new growth on nearly all of it. .so I want to give it some more time to see if it recovers from the winter burn or not. I hate to see it go! All the daylilies I planted in there are living. .so the colors should dramatically improve in a year or two. The tulips there looked great. .and really, there has been a little color ever since that. .so it is changing like it was designed to. Cami and I put some seeds in there. .and some of them are sprouting. .it's hard to see them, because the weeds sprout at the same rate!!

Big clump of iris from a friend. We enjoyed several bouquets of those!

The pampas grass is already taking off. I will be excited when they occlude the view of the dead car lot! And the asparagus patch is looking good for it's first year. I was sure that most of those roots in the big-box store package were dead. .but they just remained dormant from last June until now. .Looks like we will have about 12 plants as they continue to grow. Enough to eat AND share. And maybe pickle. .if you haven't purchased pickled asparagus to eat. .you are missing out!

Some blue flax that reseeds itself into the little corner garden!

And the Red Texas Yucca has four stems starting! The other three plants have some as well. .These blooms will last throughout much of the summer. .I found some miniature ones last week. .and planted them by the walkway up to the house near the pond where it is hot and dry! I think they will do well!

I was so enthralled with my aunt's Dutch iris last year, that I ordered some bulbs for my yard. .I don't know why I never knew about these before!! They were beautiful!! I'll be excited for them to multiply and treat us to many more blooms in the summers to come!

I'm so glad to live in a location with amazing blue skies. .

And changing seasons!

Be back soon with some pictures of my other passion. .

My family!!

A Tisket, A Tasket. .

So far, the weekend has been a great opportunity to slow our pace a little bit, and catch a needed breath of fresh air!! The weather has been perfect!! The sea of larkspur is in full glory!! We caught sight of a tiny little male ruby throated hummingbird devouring the pollen Friday. .we have seen glimpses of hummers for several weeks now, but hadn't gotten close enough to see them. I have only seen one at a time. .so there may only be one around, and it may be different ones as they fly north! I was able to really see this guy with the binoculars, but just couldn't get close enough to get a photo. .you'll just have to take my word that he was C-U-T-E!! 

The girls are getting big. .and finally don't look so horrid!! Yesterday we let them out of the cage in the morning. .and after seeing that the cats weren't too interested in them anymore. .let them run around all day long!!

They stay busy, busy. .picking through the weeds. .they also enjoy sitting all together as a group in the shade, napping!!

I got most of my containers filled up this past week. .and was glad to have gotten my funnel planters loaded up again!! I chose an asparagus fern and a black eyed susan vine. 

The purple water iris bloomed last week (thanks Becky!) and the water lily has more than one bloom at a time already! The fish are re-trained to come swimmin' at the sound of our voices. .they are fun to watch, especially when they eat!!

And the front succulent garden has filled in well. Everything seems so much larger than life as compared to last year. .so I can't wait to see how much everything grows over the 

summer!

The veggie garden is doing well. .Here is our potato crop. .Yukon gold and Red Norland. 

Behind the potatos, along the fence are 2 Crimson Red rhubarb plants, ready to be made into a pie. .2 red lathum raspberry bushes (one with some berries even) and 2 Navaho thornless blackberry bushes.  The tomatoes are to the right side of the photo. .but aren't large enough to see really well.

The brick planter has garlic (a new crop for us). .and to the right of that are beets, peppers, broccoli; and in front of it are more peppers, basil (self seeded from last year) carrots, and lettuce mixes. I have seeded in melons and cukes, and put some squash seeds and gourd seeds in the greenhouse to sprout.  You can see to the right lower corner, the spiky green grass looking plant. .my old nemesis. .the Johnson grass!! That area still needs some cardboard mulch to go down, and hopefully the melons will crawl out onto the mulched down middle as it smothers the grass (HOPEFULLY) 

In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to share one of my favorite passages from the Bible. .

Mainly, because this woman they are speaking of in the passage. .

is someone whom I would really like to emulate in my life. .

and strive to become someday!! 

Proverbs 31:10-30

¹⁰ 

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?

    She is more precious than rubies.

Her husband can trust her,

    and she will greatly enrich his life.

¹² 

She brings him good, not harm,

    all the days of her life.

This weekend the Silver lace vine got a face lift  using jute to tie up the stragglers. The memory garden is across the sidewalk from this vine.

She finds wool and flax

    and busily spins it.

¹⁴ 

She is like a merchant’s ship,

    bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵ 

She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household

    and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

She goes to inspect a field and buys it;

    with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She is energetic and strong,

    a hard worker.

The hollyhocks are just starting, and amazingly. .there are three different colors blooming side by side in the front garden bed. Not too often can I shoot their photo with nice looking leaves too!!

She makes sure her dealings are profitable;

    her lamp burns late into the night.

¹⁹ 

Her hands are busy spinning thread,

    her fingers twisting fiber.

²⁰ 

She extends a helping hand to the poor

    and opens her arms to the needy.

²¹ 

She has no fear of winter for her household,

    for everyone has warm clothes.

She makes her own bedspreads.

    She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. 

The Mexican hat has self seeded, as has the gray headed coneflowers planted last spring from High Country Gardens. .The buds are formed, and I can hardly WAIT for their colors to pop. .you can bet I'll be posting their pondside display!!

Her husband is well known at the city gates,

    where he sits with the other civic leaders.

She makes belted linen garments

    and sashes to sell to the merchants.

She is clothed with strength and dignity,

    and she laughs without fear of the future.

Such a vivid purple of the larkspur next to the passed along penstemon plant from my friend Pat!

When she speaks, her words are wise,

    and she gives instructions with kindness.

 

She carefully watches everything in her household

    and suffers nothing from laziness.

The zip line got another overhaul last weekend by my dear hubby!!  Now even Cami can climb the ladder to get on if the handles are close!

 Her children stand and bless her.
    Her husband praises her:
 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
    but you surpass them all!”

The red hot pokers bloomed. I was slightly disappointed in the length of their blooms, but they bloomed long enough that the hummer was sighted on them too!

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
    but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
 Reward her for all she has done.
    Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

HAHAHA! Can you just imagine the gossip?

Happy Mother's Day!!

A little over a week, and I will be the mom of TWO high school kids. .stay tuned!!

Succulent Garden Project

With all the activities around our house. .there hasn't been much time for gardening, let alone blogging.

I mentioned last week, that Missy and I found some fun things on our antiquing trip. .and I was finally able to work on my project late last week.

One of the vendors at the flea market was selling little succulent plants. .all different kinds. Some were really unusual. .to us anyway.

Succulents..for you non-gardening folk. .

are plants that are easily sustained with little water. .

They also love heat. .

Think Desert Plants

The guy had his succulents all fixed up in different antique vessels. .creating small and interesting tabletop gardens. As our inner wheels started turning. .Miss and I started selecting the ones we liked.

On my list for the day, was to find two small succulents to put in the terra cotta pots with wire cages that you see above. But. .with all the choices. .I COULDN'T stop at JUST two plants!! When I got home that night, I looked around and found that I had THREE antique angel food cake pans. .one from my grandma. .one from J's grandma. .and one that came in a box of stuff I won at an auction. .

Perfect vessel for a tabletop succulent garden!

Watch and see!!

Thursday night was the first chance available to work some creativity.

I put a little cypress mulch at the bottom of all of the containers. .to take up space and create some drainage area.

Then I arranged my new jewels on top of the mulch. .changing their placement around the pan until I was satisfied. Finally. .I added pea gravel around the little plants. .not adding any more soil. .just rock.

Of course, I ended up with a few more plants than I could fit in my containers. .so I scavenged for a few more. The above succulent was too big for my tube pan. .but it looks really cool in this little white gravy bowl in my kitchen window. And the 4 year old plants he had for sale looked REALLY cool. .like little trees!! My plant is 2 years old.

The wire planter turned out good too!! I moved my shamrock out of the north kitchen window and put this there. You might notice (I didn't until the other day) that the back plant in the left pot has a bud on the top of it. I think it is some type of living stone. .like the ones I planted outside. It will have a peach bloom on it very soon. .like in the next couple days!

Finally. .My favorite arrangement. .

was the one in the tube pan!!

Aren't they the coolest little guys EVER??

Now, once a week, I'll give the plants each a little drink. .and they should just do great!!

Plants weren't the only things I came away with. .

I found this adorable little red kitchen cart at the antique mall to bring home. .and it turns out. .it was JUST the place for my little succulent gardens!

Now is a great time to try making one for yourself. .

All the nurseries and plant sellers have different and cool succulents ready to go at this time of the year.

Let your imagination run

W-I-L-D

and enjoy

your

CREATIVE

side!!

Have a great week!

Be blessed. .

and stop back

SOON!