I’ve wanted a Japanese Maple for a long time. I love their shape, their size, and the fact that their lacy foliage often turns a brilliant color in the fall. An empty spot in a small bed beside our screened porch steps became the home to my new Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum ‘orangeola.’ I chose…
My main perennial bed has been pretty since spring. I’ve shared that we’ve killed our lawn in hopes of ridding it of pesky Bermuda grass and I’m realizing that any flower bed looks better when surrounded by lush green grass instead of dead brown grass. Regardless, this bed provides infinite pleasure to me. Lantana is…
It’s been hot. Really hot. It’s the time of year where pots, even large ones, need to be watered twice a day. I have two coco-lined planters that I just can’t keep from drying out when the temperatures are in the 90’s day after day. A few years ago my friend, Miss Char from Grace…
I worked really hard yesterday to finish my mulching. There’s one more area in our yard that needs mulch, but it can wait for now. The garden is now mulched with leaves and straw. The straw is leftover from when our yard was planted last summer after our driveway construction. I’m glad that we raked…
In my yard, I try to let no organic matter go to waste. What am I talking about do you ask? Read on! 1. Save Your Leaves In the fall I save every single leaf that I rake. I load them onto tarps and drag them to their hiding spot behind my shed. Do you…
It’s been a crazy week here and it’s only Wednesday. We’re doing state testing at school which makes for a stressful few weeks for both students and teachers. I volunteered to host a retirement party next week. When I think I might prepare for it, I’m not sure. Adding to this, my tennis team has…
One more garden day post for this year! The first house we toured last Tuesday is just out of town, down a long, winding road. As the crow flies, it’s very close to the James River. We were directed down a landscaped path that leads from the house to the mailbox. We had to wait…
It’s been a week since garden day and I’ve admittedly poured over the pictures that I took time and again. If you missed my first garden day post, you can find it here. This home is on the same street as the home I featured in the post above. The owners were going to move…
I inherited this unidentified plant from my grandmother many years ago and have only witnessed its bloom twice. It froze a few years ago and almost died, but it has made a come back and is rewarding me this year with two blooms. Its not the most attractive hanging plant, but its blooms make it…
Tuesday was a beautiful day for Garden Day in Lynchburg. This year’s tour featured four homes and one garden. Each was fabulous in its own way. Today I will share my favorite of the five spots we toured. Luckily, this was our last stop on the tour, so we unintentionally saved the best for last….
Did you know that when a fern first emerges in the spring it is called a fiddlehead? You can tell from the picture why an immature frond is known as a fiddlehead. Look again. Fiddleheads are a spring delicacy in many areas of the country. People steam them, eat them in salads, or pickle them. …
One of the things that my life science students learn about is the four phyla of plants: moss, ferns, conifers, and flowering plants. It’s hard for many of the students to imagine that trees like Oaks and Maples bloom. The Red Maple in my yard is currently blooming, so I had to capture pictures to…