It’s All About My Gardens

For days now I have been digging up weeds, planting patio stones and rumble rocks. Not to mention the fence sections.

If you keep scrolling down you will read all about my ditch digging adventures.

Well, now I think everything is done…for the time being.

In the front, I’m already thinking ahead to next year when I will take the bleeding hearts and put them in the back garden. Also, the wrought iron “pyramid” in the front will probably go in the back also. The phlox and bee balm are overtaking the front and I will let them fill in the middle next year.

Because of plant over-achieving, you can’t see the morning glory and moon vine trying to see the light of day around the pyramid. And those poor mums! They survived the winter, but the bleeding hearts are blocking them.

The ornamental peppers are going to be spectacular!

The entire front garden

Mums behind the bleeding hearts

There are vines growing back there, but hardly visible 

Ornamental peppers

In the back, the garden to the right of the patio is looking pretty good. The coleus will be very nice once it gets a little bigger. There were originally three plants, but one didn’t make it. I think it got stepped on by a four legged one recent night.

On the left of the patio, is probably my best effort. It’s very sparse right now, but I’m thinking more about next year at this point. I have some butterfly weed seeds I want to plant this fall for next year, but I’m not sure just where. I have to do some research on full sun/partial sun/shade requirements for certain plants to be named later. I’d like to grow some spiky things along the fence. Perennial of course.

Just roses and sunflowers for now

Everything needs to grow...except the hosta. Coleus, mums and sedum will get there

AND lest we forget the deck planters, they are doing nicely, also. The railing planters have begonia, vinca, and upright fuchsia (gartenmeister). Last but not least, the tomato plants are nothing short of spectacular.

Deck planters

That’s it from my gardens…for the time being.

Gramma the Ditch Digger – Part III

Yup. I dug the same damned ditch…again…so I could plant patio stones. Now, some people have a rock garden. Not me. I plant stones.

I decided to put the patio stones on end in an attempt to block the roots from the adjoining garden from invading my garden. One look at the garden next door and you can understand why. In Gramma the Ditch Digger – Part I (which did not have Part I in the title) I thought I would use 10” flashing. Then, at a depth of 6-8” or so I ran into lots of buried stone rubble. I filled in the ditch and I thought that was the end. NOT SO!

I’m full of brilliant ideas. This one was to re-dig the ditch (it would be easier the second time around) and stand patio stones on end. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to my sons, Paul and Andy, for coming over with wheelbarrows to transport the stones from my car, in front of my condo, to the back garden. I had 9 patio stones and 19 rumble stones (for edging). I could have carried them myself, but it would have taken a long time, about a dozen trips and I’m not up to that.

I also bought decorative metal fence-like sections to further indicate where one garden ended and the other one began.

Planting Stones

Almost Done

Add the fence. Click on the photo...the fence is quite lovely

Once all the stones were planted I decided to try a little experiment. I had read a post on Facebook (one of those local garden places) that you could grow a whole new rose bush by taking a healthy cane, put it into a potato and plant the whole shebang and you would have a new rose bush. What did I have to lose except two potatoes. So I did it. As I was panting the first rose stuck into a potato I realized the potato had eyes. Will I grow two new rose bushes or will I be digging potatoes in the fall?

These are roses now. Will there be potatoes in the fall?

Hahahahahaha! I can’t stop laughing at myself!

Gramma the Ditch Digger – Part II

I’m MAD (that is most likely certifiable). I’m ANGRY (at the contractor who built this place). I’m DISAPPOINTED (in myself).

As you read in Part I (although “Part I” was never part of the title) I was digging a ditch in order to stick in some 10” flashing to a depth of 8” in order to stop the roots from my neighbor’s garden from invading my garden space.

At a depth of 6” there is nothing but rocks, chunks of concrete and other solid construction rubble. It became so difficult to continue digging I threw in the towel…or dirt in this case. I filled in my magnificent ditch.

I proceeded to turn over the rest of the soil and weed out all the over-grown grasses…including some remaining mint and lily of the valley.

I’m not done. I am now thinking I will take patio stones (12x12) and stand them upright along the root line…sunk to a depth of 6”. The soil has all been dug and will be easy to re-trench just enough to sink the flat stones. I’m going to stop those roots!

So now I have to buy more edging bricks to match the other side, and patio flats. The area needs to be leveled and the shepherds crooks put back along with the hanging plants. I’m thinking I will also put down some of that “weed killer” stuff that stops weeds from re-growing. I used it in the front last year and it started working this year. Better late than never.

Now, what do I want to plant? For one thing I will start with butterfly weed. Beyond that I don’t have many ideas. I already have two rose bushes and I might try to start a couple more by taking canes from these, putting them into a potato and planting the whole thing. It’s supposed to make new plants.

My career as a ditch digger is over.

So this is my work space...all my tools.

The results so far. Lots more to do.

I need to wait a few days until my credit card billing cycle recycles. I need more stuff and I need to charge it but I have reached my self-imposed limit for this month.

Gramma the Ditch Digger

When my two boys were young and talking about what they would do for work when they grew up, I told them I didn’t care if they were ditch diggers as long as they were the best ditch diggers.

Well it seems it’s me who is now a ditch digger and I’m doing the best I can…considering. (My boys by the way turned out to be excellent mechanics) It seems the back garden area, and probably the entire back lawn is filled with rubble and construction debris under the soil. After digging down about 6 inches I am encountering a lot of rocks (mostly what I call rotten sandstone) and chunks of concrete.

You can see that chunk of concrete and the small rocks next to it.

I’m digging this ditch so I can line one face of it with metal flashing to keep the roots of mint, ivy, lily of the valley and raspberry canes in the garden next door out of my garden. And so I dig. I don’t have far to go from here to there, but I need to go down at least 8”, leaving 2” at the top above ground. It may take me a while, but I’ll get there!

Almost done in length, but it's the depth that's tough.

Then there is another problem that has to be fixed. Last spring the drainage system for the back of my building had to be flushed. I was having a problem with water percolating up out of the ground around the sleeve of my downspout. In the winter I would have a geyser of ice coming out of the sleeve. This past winter I believe it was responsible for the concrete pad for my a/c compressor to crack corner-to-corner and the compressor to tilt in the direction of the downspout. When the pipes were flushed, the workers told me that from my drain to the storm drain there was one section of pipe that had a bend in it. My request to have the pipe fixed was turned down.

Now the new compressor is installed and I can see that the soil is unstable. Something has to be done, because I am not the one who is going to pay to have my compressor re-leveled every spring! Fix the pipe (which means digging up the lawn) or baffle the area around the pipe so that percolating water and ice cannot affect the soil. There is a hole in the ground around the sleeve, caused by the upsurge of water and ice, as you can see in this photo.

There's the hole around the drain sleeve.

On a happier note, the new garden on the other side of the walk is doing quite well. I’ve planted coleus where the ornamental peppers were before the landscapers chopped them off. Also I have planted some new mums. They were part of the mums I have in the front and came apart when I moved them. Let’s see if they take. The sedum is looking good and the hosta is really outdoing itself. I thinned them out this spring and it seems the more room I give them the bigger they grow.

Coming along.

There’s more to come from Gramma the Ditch Digger, so stay tuned.

From eBay to FB

This is the table and chair that I bought. The chair was the subject of my inquiry on eBay.

This past Saturday I picked up an antique school desk and chair at two different tag sales.  I was curious as to how much the chair was worth so I Googled “antique school chair” and was presented with many choices…one of which turned out to be eBay. I found the exact chair, but it had been painted turquoise (ugh) and was valued at $25. Pretty good since I had only paid $2 for my find…and mine had the original finish and was well used.

A couple of days later, on my FB Home page is a posting from eBay wanting to know if I was still interested in this item, and showed a picture of the chair. I almost fell off my chair! I was really, really futsed! How did they know it was me and how were they able to find my FB page?

The only explanation is that they have a way of tracking inquiries. I find that an invasion of my privacy. What do you think? I will think twice about going out onto eBay again.

I Don't Know What To Title This

If you are thinking of retiring and living the life of ease...read on. You may change your mind.

I had so many things I was going to do today. When I got up, I decided I didn't want to do anything. And, so began my day of doing nothing... as described below.

I've been retired for, hmmmm, let me see...it's been 13 years. From the very first day I didn't know how I ever had time to work! I'm blessed with family and friends that keep me hopping. I'm not complaining...well, maybe I'm whining a little...oh, no I'm not. Since the beginning of May I have been flat out and it won't stop until week after next. Then, I have a whole week with nothing scheduled/planned and I intend it to stay that way. The last activities will be a 22 mile bike ride on the Nashua River bike trail on Friday, followed on the next day by covering the store, Tell Me A Story, so Christie can work a tag sale at her daughters' school.

My gardens (small though they may be) have been neglected. Today I decided to finish one side of my back garden after I went to Home Depot to buy a new pot for my peace lily in the living room. I saw on Facebook that the Scantic church was having a tag sale. Oh, good. I'll swing by and see if I can find a sturdy bench for my patio tomatoes on the deck. What the heck, Scantic is only 6.5 miles in the opposite direction of Home Depot.

On the way, I stop at a tag sale on Steele Rd. Nah. Nothing here. I'm also looking for a kid’s wagon to haul stones in. At the church I see a bench that turns out to be an original school desk...complete with the hole for the ink well and 'gutter' for pencils. If the lady had said $20 I would not have been surprised. She said $2. I could hardly contain myself. "I'll take it," I croaked, and paid her before she changed her mind.

There was a jewelry vendor there whose display, right out in the full sun, was about to go up in smoke. They had a shallow (1") case with some kind of cloth inside to display some jewelry and it had a glass lid. The items inside were so hot you couldn't touch them. I told them how, when I was a kid, I had burned holes in my brother's new jeans with the suns rays through a magnifying glass, and that their display was about to go up in flames. They immediately propped open the case and I was on my way. 

Now I'm giddy and heading back toward Home Depot and here's another tag sale. Would you believe I found a chair that went with the desk? In less than two miles. Price for the chair...another $2. I can hardly breathe. The bottom of the chair is stamped "Allen Chair Corp., West Concord, MA, 4-14". I have not researched it yet, but I will try. There is nothing on the underside of the desk.

Desk and chair. You can see the peace lily that needs to be repotted.

Back on Steele Rd., I stopped at the same tag sale not recognizing it as the one I stopped at first. Well...I was coming from the other direction...it looked different.

On Post Office Rd I see another tag sale. Would I be lucky enough to find a wagon...haha...maybe for $2? Not to be, but I did find a sturdy (I hope) knee-high table for the tomatoes. This table was $3. I had paid only $2 each for an antique schoolroom desk and chair and I pay $3 for this piece of…whatever!

This is the $3 black table that I hope to put the potted tomatoes on.
I need to lift the tomatoes up to catch more sun.

I finally got to Home Depot and bought the clay pot for the peace lily.

My travels took me, probably, 16 miles instead of 4 miles...but it was oh so worth it.

Now…I'm not done. I still have a back garden to line with stone bricks and a plant to repot.

My front garden...over achieving and will be so beautiful when the bee balm and phlox blossom.

The back garden I've just started working on.

This mass of corruption will look a lot different after I get through with it! From the downspout out to the edge and to the right is all mine. My neighbor has their own mess which I will try to conceal. 

 After a much-needed shower, I finally sat down with my iPad and promptly fell asleep.

So much for a day of doing nothing!

A Conversation With Maya

I went to visit my granddaughter and great granddaughter today. 

While Jess was busy making out her grocery list, I was having a talk with Maya. She would chortle and I would respond as if she was telling me a story. So we spent a lot of time talking, chuckling, squeaking, chortling, and making an assortment of baby noises and crazy great gramma talk.

This continued through Maya's bath and on up to her room where Jess dressed her. At one point in our conversation, I said to Maya, "I want your first words to be 'you are so beautiful, gramma.'" Maya's expression immediately went dead-pan, and she just looked at me.

Jess and I cracked up! Maya's expression was saying, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking." 

When she is able to really talk, we will revisit this issue!