Some of my new best friends

We have lift off

Love Hate Relationship

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), smallest species of the onion family 'Alleaceae.' The word "Chive" derived from the French word"cive," which was derived from the Latin word for onion "cepa." It is a herbaceous plant, and has insect repelling properties-Japanese beetle. It attracts bees, and contains vitamin C + A, and traces of calcium + iron.
Such a delicate color, balancing their little puff heads atop long pale green straw shaped stems.
I planted them next to the patio, so I could run out and snip them as I need them. I planted them in that bottomless container, in the hope that I will be able to keep them from traveling to far. I have delt with these darlings before, so I am prepared.

Veggie Update

In the veggie garden are: Sun flowers in the corners, Marigolds on the sides (just a few), sweet peas on the far left, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, beets, radishes (like crazy), cucumbers didn't work-some seed+ plants wilted, maybe too cold, scallions, red onions, leeks, pepper plants look almost as small as when I put them in. All plants were started as seeds, and I'm not sure I mixed the soil/fertilizer/peat, well enough.
As you can see in the top photo, there is a Maple tree shading some of the garden, right over head. We trimmed some branches this week end past. There is a large Maple as well, on the opposite side doing the same job. It's not on our lot, it's an empty lot, and I am very tempted to go over and trim it.
At the rate the veggies are growing, we will be having a Fall Harvest.
Please excuse the "text box" in the center photo.

Another Sunday Outing

Saw this interesting choice of outdoor decor at the Allen Town Art Festival this weekend. Allen Town is a historic and eclectic community on the west end of Buffalo, NY. People come from all over the country to sell their wares. Paintings, crafts, hand made jewelry, leather goods, ceramics, and garden decor, from wrought iron trellis, to bird baths, were some of the items displayed.

Meet my new friends

I don't know what happened, one minute I was just strolling along, and the next I knew, I was putting them in the car. I had to find good places for them, so I asked them to stand in two rows for identification. I then seperated them by sun and shade, a couple couldn't make up their minds. So here we are as follows, from left to right, back row first.

shade Deutschland Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii) White
sun Coreopsis 'Full Moon'
sun Dwarf Russian Sage (Perovskia) 'Little Spike'
shade Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla)
sun Clematis 'Hagley Hybrid'

Front row:
pt.sun Charm pisifera 'Iceberg' Comefer
shade Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum hispiulum)
sun Oriental oregano 'Amethyst Falls'
pt.sun Foxglove (Digitalis x mertonensis)
sun Heather Allegro (Calluna valgaris)

It's been a week since my last post. I've been pouting. I was denied access to a garden blog site, but I don't remember submitting to it. They didn't say why, only the usual requirements. Is not my subject content garden-like enough? Should I be using Latin names for my plants? I took Latin in high school, I guess I could. Would it make my content more interesting? My language isn't colorful. Is my composition not interesting enough? Boring? Dull? Should I be posting exotic places I've traveled? I'd like to save those for the winter, we have a long winter. Are my graphics not pretty enough, to pretty? I don't know.....
Anyway, over the week end, we took some little people to the Penn Dixie quarry. It was named after the company that owned it. A dry millions of years old ocean bed, provides much fun for kids with axes and hammers. We took away plenty of dirt, and trilobite fossils. Click on the photo to see it better, if you feel the need.

Mail Order

This is how I received my mail order plants from DIRECTGARDENING.COM I ordered
2 Daylillies Purple D'Oro
2 Hosta.Regal Blue
2 Hydrangea Trees
2 Japanese Lily
10 Iris, Eye of Tiger Dutch
2 Monk's Cap Purple

Free:
1 Stella D'Oro Daylilly
4 Flowering Shamrock

I hope that "Instruction book" they included, has plenty of instructions, because I've never planted bare root plants before. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

In Living Color

Finely starting to see the fruits of my labor, or partly my labor, mostly it goes to the "scapers."
That's a blurry Weigela, and a Lupine "Gallery Blue"

Just a word of thanks.....

Just a word of thanks for all of your encouraging words, on my new house journey. I sooo miss my plantings at my old home, and I'm impatient to get back to an ample garden. I know it will take time, and I should take the time to enjoy the time in the doing, and I am. But, I miss my peonies, and my heirloom roses, I miss the forsythia, and the tulips of my old place. Plants will become familiar, and become old friends sooner then I think. I'm glad I have all of you to travel along with me. Keep blogging, even if you don't think anyone is watching, they are.

Window box

This is the view from my computer room. My husband built a beautiful window box, that expands across the front widow of my house. There are three plastic bins inside the box that are easy for me to remove for planting. He attached tiny hoses in holes of the removable bins, which drain into corresponding holes drilled into the bottom of the box. Under the box are three globe box woods. After our gray northern winter, in our new house, it's a colorful view. It's finely starting to feel like our home.

A drop in the perennial bucket

Today I went to the "candy store," oh you know what I mean, that garden center with the prettier, bigger, and more unusual plants ($$$). I bought 18 plants. I went to http://www.lockwoodsgreenhouses.com I got everybody into the ground. It looks like a drop in the bucket.
We even had time to get the deer fencing put up around the veggie bins. I attached tree branches every which way across the top, to try to keep the birds out. I saw it on a British blog.

Patio step

Now all I need is an awning, a grill, and some furniture, for this project anyway.

Just an observation

Today I'm pretty pleased with myself. I've been a little under the weather, (no pun intended), but I am rallying. My newly planted trees are bug free, and blooming nicely. My little starter seeds are all in the ground and trying to recover from transplant shock. Those poor little Cosmos are actually getting their feet dug in. Nature is truly amazing.
My husband is working on what little lawn area I have left him, he's a lawn guy, married to a garden girl. Oh well.......

Beds begun

I know this doesn't look like much now, and it might not look like much later. These are Cosmos
seedling. Either the deer will step on them, or some other disaster will befall them, like my husband draging the garden hose over them. I am being hopeful.

Beds waiting

This is my shade bedding, with a pea gravel path. It's very Zen, but difficult for draging a wheel barrel around.

I've purchased a couple Dusty Millers, A Blue Angel Aquiegia, and a couple Silver Scrolls Heuchera. They're going right there at that point on the left.

Phase One Completed

All professional work is completed. Beds, plantings, boulders,stone path, patio, pea gravel path and garden shed, are completed. The veggie beds, still have to be filled. I caught some kids with "light sabers," playing in there yesterday. I'd better fill it, and fence it soon, before it becomes the neighborhood playground. Now all I have to do is fill the perennial and annual beds, and pay the bill.

The stepping stone side is the sunny side, and the shed side is the shady side. I'm going to need some help with selections, so if anyone wants to make a contribution of ideas, have at it.

The Back Forty

Some of the trees lining my neighbor's pool. Beautiful Blue stone from Pennsylvania.

I think the patio is going to bigger then I originally thought.

Moving Along

This lot was not our first choice, I said, " I'd like not to have a lot with the electrical boxes, as a prominent landscape feature." Fine, they said.

We had to pick a different lot, because we added 6ft. to the floor plan. Manholes and electrical boxes are only a couple of my landscaping challenges.

I was at work, while these gentlemen pondered where exactly, and how they were going to place my 2 raised beds. Some serious thinking, looks to me.