Saturday afternoon accomplishment

A while back, I bought this potting table/shelf, unassembled. Here it is as it came out of the box:

Those metal pieces with the curly cues are cast iron: heavy! Using nothing but my own two hands and a pliers, I assembled it, and here it is all put together:

Pretty, isn't it? In the garage, I have an unassembled rocking chair made in the same line--same kind of wood and leaf-pattern metal. I'm fired up now to put that together.

Here is the shelf with stuff in it, being used for the purpose for which I built it:

And here is a shot of the sitting area:

Een gezellig hoekje. Although I must admit I swept the area vigorously, as the shady side of the deck has a tendency to get a bit spidery. When the spiders are swept away, then it's a pleasant place to sit.

Meanwhile

Not this past weekend, but the weekend before, I went back to Hi Hoe Nursery to get more Veronica Miffy Brute, to help fill in the sand and dirt steps on the west side of our house. The ones I bought earlier are doing well and spreading, but just not very fast, so I stuck a few more in to help the cause along.

Of course, I couldn't just buy what I went there for, and I came home with more plants, including these hostas, which I planted between the blueberry bushes because that's a fairly shady spot. I told my dad we should take the blueberries out, as they have not thrived there, but they do have a few berries, so he says to wait at least until the berries are done.

I also bought the fern on the left. The fern on the right planted itself. It's what my aunt calls "a volunteer."

These little plants were so pretty, I bought them for my deck, even though I had used up my pots, and I had to go buy new pots just for them. They are called Blue Ageratum.

And these, with their trumpet-shaped flowers, were vaunted as appealing to hummingbirds, so I bought them and a pot for them, too. The blooms suffered a bit from the fact that these sat in their starter pots for a week before I transplanted them to this big pot. They are called Nicotiana, which makes me wonder if that word is related to "nicotine," and if this plant is related to tobacco. Sure enough. I just looked on Wikipedia, and this is tobacco. The information "stick" said that all parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested, but I don't plan to eat it, or to smoke it either. Just grow it.

And I bought this little fern-type fellow for this little pot. The daisy-type of flower I put in it previously died. I think there was insufficient drainage from the pot and the soil stayed too moist. I put some small rocks in the bottom of the pot this time. There is no drainage hole in it. This plant also suffered from sitting in the starter pot for a week before I transplanted it, plus the starter pot fell over on its side. So we'll see if it recovers or if I'll have to try a third time to find something for this pot.

Ladybug II

It's hard to evaluate the success of the ladybug experiment so far, as it's only day two, I guess. I put them out Saturday night, and here they are on Sunday morning. They had crawled up the trellis from the ground.

Some were wandering into the plant. The picture below shows both two ladybugs, but also how sorry-looking many of the honeysuckle leaves are. Even if the aphids disappear, the damage they did will be irreversible for this season, anyway.

Below is a shoot with a particularly gross infestation. Shortly after I took this picture I cut off this shoot and threw it in a bucket of water to drown the aphids. I hope aphids are drownable. I just couldn't stand to leave them there.

A few ladybugs had already wandered over to nearby plants, like these two on these lavender blooms.

Today there are fewer ladybugs in the honeysuckle (I didn't take a picture), but still some. Well, the long-term idea is that even if many of the ladybugs do fly away, some will leave behind eggs, and ladybug larvae eat even more aphids than ladybugs. They're not as attractive, however.

Any of the pictures on my blog you can view bigger by clicking on the picture; then use your browser's "back" button to come back to the blog.

Ladybug, ladybug

My honeysuckle, shown below in a picture from last summer, I discovered is full of aphids. So today I went to Bakerview Nursery and bought a container of ladybugs.

The instructions said to keep the closed container in the refrigerator until use and to release the ladybugs under the plant that's infested in the early evening--first having sprinkled the ground with water.

The guys at the nursery said if you open it during the day, they'll just fly away. The instructions said that they don't fly at night, but they will be attracted to the moisture you've prepared, and they'll apparently crawl around getting a drink and generally checking things out. Many will fly away in the morning. Hopefully, some will stick around and snack on aphids. Also, hopefully, some will lay eggs, which will hatch and the larvae will also eat aphids. It can take a few weeks to be fully effective.

I hope it works. The trouble with sprays to kill aphids is that they usually say to spray the leaves front and back, like you can stand there turning every leaf on a very full plant front and back. Also, I don't like to get bug spray on my fingers, and I don't want to breathe it. 

But ladybugs, if they stick around, will be motivated by hunger and appetite to seek out and eat the aphids. We'll see if it works.

A single ladybug is kind of pretty, but a container about the size of a tupperware dish full of them is not as attractive. The lid had lots of air holes, and lots of lady bugs were clinging to the bottom of the lid, so when you looked at it you were seeing the underside of the insects, with many twitchy little insect legs in evidence. I wet the soil under the honeysuckle, then carefully took off the lid and scattered them on the soil. Many were still clinging to the lid and dish, so I left them there, too, so the bugs could crawl out at their own pace.

Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home!
Your house is on fire; your children will burn.

That's version I know (another version). But I want my ladybugs to think of this honeysuckle plant as their home and not fly away anywhere else.

Here's what's next

All at once!

Blooms of many colors

The first bloom on my portulaca was pink.

The second bloom was yellow.

And now the third bloom is white.

What next?

Not a prince, but I rescued him (maybe)

I saw movement in my "pond" today and discovered a frog swimming in it. I'm not sure if he jumped in or hatched there.

I couldn't be sure, but it looked as though the frog was trying to climb out of the pond but was unable to do so. I scooped him up in a bucket of water, and first I carefully dumped him out on the lawn. Then I thought, it's a long way to the creek, and since the weather is warmer, what if he dries out on the way? So I scooped up some more water and actually caught and plopped him back into the bucket and brought him down by the creek. I carefully dumped him out there, within a foot of the water.

He's in the picture below, in the lower half, center; this is him in the grass by the creek.

Bon voyage, grenouille!
 
I need to clean the pond out and put up our Belgian water feature (mannekin pis). Then the pond will no longer be suitable for amphibian life forms.

Can it be?

What is that outside? It . . . it can't be . . . It is! . . . It's . . . it's sunshine!

And they said it couldn't happen here.

First fuchsia blooms

The autumnal-leaved fuchsias have produced their first blooms. Hooray!

Some are still in bud.

Hose caddy

Saturday I bought this hose caddy, so that I can reel the garden hose into it, instead of having it sit in a heap on the deck. I bought one with a cover, so it also provides a place to put a coffee cup.

On top is a piece of petrified wood, for weight to hold the lid down.

Weighed down by beauty

This begonia is falling sideways under its own weight. I feel like I should prune it back to encourage it to grow straighter.

But these blooms are so beautiful I can bring myself to cut them off. The plant will just have to tumble sideways until these blooms fade.

Resting place.

I found a table for this little pot. It's too small to just sit on the ground or on the retaining wall by its lonesome. It needed a small surface to sit on.

Of many colors

I was intrigued to see a yellow flower had come out on this plant, as an earlier blossom was red, or pink. Apparently the same plant can bloom in different colors. That seems an unusual quality to me.

Happiness is a warm puppy

Yesterday, when I was outside sweeping and fussing around on my deck, I left my dog inside, where he could stay warm and dry.

Someday when the the pavement is warm and dry, I'll have him out with me and he can lie on the sun-baked stone. But until then he'll be happier on  the couch.

Too much reading makes you goofy

Tonight I have been reading The Liars' Club, by Mary Karr.


It's too good a book. Ms. Karr is so good at re-creating what it's like to be a little girl in a home with alcoholic, brawling parents, and a mother with mental illness that I find myself feeling sad and anxious, as if I am in the same situation.

In reality, I haven't been a little girl in several decades. And my parents were (and remain) two of the finest people you'd ever want to meet. And they gave me a loving, stable upbringing.

The upside of the book is the resiliency of all the characters. I benefit from having read Mary Karr's third memoir, Lit, before reading The Liars' Club, so I know how things turned out for her in the long run: better than you might expect, although victories not easily achieved; much pain along the way.



But in The Liars' Club you have to admire the bravery of the little girl Mary and her older sister, Lecia, for surviving, for taking care of each other and even of their mother, and for having the will to keep moving on through life.

There's a third memoir, in the middle, called Cherry, that I suppose I'll also read eventually. I may need a little break first.

The title of my post comes from a conversation my mom and I sometimes have. Like me, my mom has always read a lot. Or I should say, I am like my mom in being one who reads a lot. Anyway, she tells me that her mom used to tell her, "You shouldn't read so much. You'll get goofy." I always respond, "Well, Mom . . ." It's one of our favorite jokes.

Deck shots

I swept my deck today, which was an all-day job. It was necessary since all the planting I did previously left potting soil scattered all over the place.

Moved the planters and moved them back in new ways.

This three-tiered thing, below, was actually labeled as a cake display or serving device. I guess you could put three round cakes on it, but I put three potted plants.

The rain didn't help me get the work done, but it didn't stop me, either. It was a Washington rain, small drops in the air, not a downpour.

Now I'm tired.

Got 'er done

The last of the plants are planted. I was a little discouraged at lunch time because a light rain was falling, but then it cleared up and the sun came out. I went outside and brought dirt from the dirt pile in a wheelbarrow, then added a couple bags of potting soil. The soil level was still too low, so I drove to Rite-Aid a minute and bought some more potting soil. Got these beauties planted and added the ornament I use in one pot.

Then I wheeled away the wheelbarrow, put the shovel back where I found it, took a big garbage bag full of the little pots all the plants came in, their plastic i.d. tags, empty potting soil bags, and other miscellaneous junk to the garbage can in the garage, and felt the deck was tidied up.

While I was tidying, I stopped by my car and took out a lot of trash and empty water bottles. The car is still very dirty, but at least it's not full of trash.

I also refilled our bird feeders.

Having fed and walked my dog, I'm waiting for my own supper to heat up, and then I'm going to mix a gin and tonic and have a sundowner out on my deck and enjoy looking at the fruits of my hard work.

I still have a ways to go to get the deck where I want it: sweeping it clean, putting together the furniture I've bought, emptying and cleaning the pond, and setting up the mannekin pis, but for today I've put in a good effort.

Two others

I also planted small plants in these two little fleur-de-lis pots. I bought the rectangular pot last year and saw a small square version of it this year. I found the same annual for the rectangular one that I had last year, a succulent flowering plant called portulaca:

My California sister might want to note that portulaca is hardy and grows well in hot, dry conditions. It likes full sun.

Below is a cute little plant, the name of which I can't recall, and I'm too lazy to go outside and pull the tag out of the pot to find out. Anyway it has cute yellow, daisy-like blooms against dark green foliage:

Planting frenzy

Yesterday, Saturday, I made it a goal to get a lot of planting done that I've been trying to accomplish for weeks but unable to do because every weekend kept being rainy. So I sat on the deck (on a folded towel, as the deck was rather cold and damp), surrounded myself with baby plants and the pots to plant them in, and planted away. Here was the scene before me:

I added some of the new potted plants to the groups of pots already on the deck. I try to buy plants that are fragrant. The smaller pots in this picture have the new plants. Perhaps I should have bought larger pots, but I was kind of guessing when I picked up the pots. Anyway, new are a pot of eucalyptus (with round leaves), two wallflowers (the red and yellow flowers), aromatica something-or-other (the purple flowers), and a small succulent, the tag of which I seem to have lost, so I don't know what kind of plant it is:

I think I need to buy some little tables or stands to put some pots on, rather than having them all just sit on the ground in a clump. We need some visual variety. By the way, I had pansies in a lovely pot in on top of the little table in the above picture a couple weeks ago--you can even see it in a recent blog post. Well I was out there with my faithful canine companion, who was tethered with a long leash to a post. He was wandering gently around, dragging that tether when suddenly he saw another dog. He ran to the end of his tether, snapping it tight, dragging it through pots and whatnot, the little table tipped over and the pot of pansies broke. Very annoying.

The table top looks a little dull above. What happened there was I had been using a small brush to brush some green mold off some of the terra cotta pots. My little great nieces visited and found that brush infused with green slime and "painted" the surface of the table with it. I need to clean it off, but I also need a clean brush.

On the left of the below group, the lemon balm is newly planted, and on the right, a lotus vine, which is supposed to get blooms:

The front pot in the below group was newly planted yesterday, which is a plant called Cuban oregano:

The tag for the Cuban oregano adds in parentheses, "ornamental," which I suppose means that as oregano goes, it's not very tasty. I once put just ordinary oregano in my herb barrel, but it tried to take over the whole planter. I had to keep pulling up large amounts of it to keep my other herbs from getting swamped.

Now all I have left to do is the two big barrels in which I put creeping jenny and impatiens, both of which are waiting to go in. They are new, replacement, pots, so I have to haul some dirt in a wheelbarrow to fill the bottom half. I don't see any point in using potting soil for the depths that the plants won't reach. I hope to get that done this afternoon. Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day (at last) while today is a bit overcast, but I'm hoping it doesn't actually rain today.

Rose trellis

Last weekend, I went to the Farmers' Day Parade in Lynden. I attended by visiting a friend on Front Street and watching from her porch. I brought my camera with me, but forgot about it and didn't take any pictures of the parade at all. However, afterwards, walking back to my car, I saw this rose trellis on the side of a house. I don't know who lives there, but the gray wall, white shutters and trellis, green foliage, and red blooms all formed such a pretty scene that I took a picture.

Table

Today I bought this table at Grandiflora. It was on sale. I like how the legs have metal that looks like branches and leaves. It's a little uneven. I need to find a small object of the right thickness to put under one foot to keep it form wobbling.

Bacopa, begonia, fuchsia, and marigold

Planted these two begonias, with some pale blue bacopa on the sides. I could have been more generous with the bacopa, I guess. I bought these all a week ago. In the past I have planted lobelia with the begonias. I like lobelia, but I've had bad luck with it. It always dies about half way through the summer. Usually, what happens is there are a couple hot days when, due to just feeling too tired after work, the plants don't get watered. Some of them get droopy, but when I do water them they recover. But the lobelia just up and die. The bacopa can take more of my not so benign neglect.

I like to get brilliant red begonias. I saw from the tags that those I bought this year are the same as the ones I had last year: "Go-go scarlet." How's that for a color?

Below are four pots of fuchsia. I have four hanging pots of fuchsia every year. I used to buy well-started pots, but they were expensive, usually $20 a pot. So a few years ago I bought these hanging pots, with a metal underframe but a woven twig exterior (which by the way every year I think, This may be the last year I can use these because they look like they might fall apart--but they haven't quite fallen apart yet), and fuchsia starts to put in them. Every spring Haggen has fuchsia starts for a dollar each. The baskets were about $10 each, if I recall correctly, when I bought them some years ago. So a total cost year one of $52-$56 and each year since then of $12-$16 versus a total cost of $80.

Come to think of it, I think I bought these fuchsias last week at Hi Hoe. But anyway, this evening I sat down on a folded towel on the deck in front of these four pots and the box full of starters and put four each into each pot. When I got to the third pot, I realized I had only bought three each for each pot. Oops. So I filled three pots. I had three other fuchsias, of a different type and color, I think for the barrel where I later chose the "autumnale" fuchsias. So I put those three into the fourth pot. So when they do eventually flower, one of them will look different from the other three. Oh, well. They'll all be pretty, I trust, and uniformity is not a higher virtue than beauty.

The downside of this economical way of getting fuchsia pots is that the starts take weeks to grow out over the edges and to bloom. When I bought the expensive, well-started ones, they were abundant and blooming from the time I brought them home. Tonight, after I planted and fertilized them, I cut them all back a bit, hoping that will make them fuller. They looked a bit scrawny. So here's hoping they grow lush and lovely.

It's kind of a dark picture. I don't like to use the flash, because I think it changes the colors of things.

And I put this marigold plant into the middle of my herb barrel as a slug deterrent. Marigolds are pretty, but they're not fragrant.

I like the word "fragrant." The word "smell" can have good or bad connotations, and the word "odor" tends (in my mind) to range from neutral to negative. "Aroma" is a good thing, but I associate with food and coffee. "Fragrant" sounds like flowers, perfume, or incense.

Speaking of coffee, when I came indoors that aroma was pervasive because I had made a pot of coffee before dinner. To walk into the house and smell coffee is gezellig.

Planting progress

I got a late start this afternoon, but I planted this calla lily and surrounding fuchsias before having to come in and feed the dog, who was making his wants known. I will now have to walk him, but then I hope to do some more planting.

These fuchsias have colored leaves. They were called "autumnal" something. I didn't end up with a pot that had the flower name in it. I'll try googling. Maybe this is it.

It is a cool day out, almost autumnal in feel. Fortunately, I know it's only May and the warm weather will return. We seem to have some kind of storm system on the West Coast the last few days. Wednesday started out beautiful, then rain and crazy winds, and ever since it's been varying many times a day--cold, warm, sunny, rainy.

My sister down in California seems to be having cold weather that corresponds to ours. Sometimes our weather is similar, even though we are 1,000 miles apart. Similar meaning, trending warmer or colder, but of course it's usually warmer down there than up here.

Correct plant name

Correction: The groundcover I planted is called Veronica "Miffy Brute." Strange name. Pretty plant.

Out on the west side

Along the side of the house, where there are steps, I planted some ground cover. I hope it works. It is supposed to spread and create a "mat."

I chose a variety that seemed to be called "Veronica," followed by two other words, one of which was "blue." It has blue flowers. I hope it does spread and both crowd out weeds and also look pretty.

Right outside my kitchen window, I planted two French lavender. Although it is not hardy enough to survive even a mild Western Washington winter, I buy some of these every year because they smell so good. The idea here is, if they thrive, every evening when the zephyr blows gently through my open window, it will waft in the lovely fragrance of this lavender. How romantic is that?

I first bought this kind of lavender a couple years ago. I was at Hi Hoe Nursery with my sister-in-law, and she had picked up a starter plant. I was not attracted by its looks, so I didn't take one. Then, while she was talking to me, my sister-in-law gestured with the hand holding the little lavender. Even that small movement sent the sweet smell over to me a couple feet away. I was so enchanted that I bought some for myself and have done so each year since. This year I bought these two to plant in the ground by the window, and two others for pots on my deck.

Getting started

Local folk wisdom is that after Mother's Day you're safe from the danger of frost. Mother's Day was pretty early in May this year, but I went on my plant-shopping spree almost a week later.

I'm getting started on the great work of the summer deck. Here are lots of little starter plants in flats, waiting to be transplanted into their containers, plus some of said containers.

I have some of the pots placed where I want them. I still have new furniture that needs to be put together. It won't be all green plastic chairs anymore.

As the saying goes, sometimes you have to stop and smell the dirt:

Actually, a moment earlier, he put his little paw in the container and dug a scrape or two, but I didn't get a picture of it.