Friday, February 8, 2013

Silly Me....

I had the past two days off I did not put a single plant in the ground.. Something had dawned on me.  I don't HAVE to put them in the ground.  All this time, I had been rushing to put plants in the ground or they would just die.....as a result, I probably put plants in that were not optimal....so what did I decide to do, 

Get more plants and not put them in the ground....the two days off suddenly got a whole lot easier.

Yesterday it rained....if you are like me..you have a husband who eyeballs you (or at least I think he is)  Cause rain means I can clean the house..which I have completely ignored (cleaning the house..not my husband's eyes) the last month..but it poured down..so I cleaned....

While cleaning I noticed that the back porch was horrible looking.  With the spring approaching, I wanted to opens windows and curtains and let the sun shine...only to find a mess...




This would be pretty if it wasn't full of gardening stuff


Shovels, tools screen and other stuff beyond these curtains.... these are usually closed but I wanted to see sunshine.




Messy messy messy..so I opted to clean it and bring out the powerwasher to clean the mildew and mud....I was completely covered in mud last night....big mistake






All the plants required convenient storage.






 The library window looked nicer though


Basset hound who drinks out of the pool

This table blocked a window from the living room to the garden

Word of advice...don't have deciduous trees on an upslope near a pool... see the ones in the corner by the chairs..those are going....

worked into the evening trying to powerwash...it was an exercise in futility..it was a muddy mess...I see why outdoor showers are popular...

After all that, today I thought I would visit the nursery that was closing...lucky me, they were open a few more weeks....I told myself to plant what I had before getting more....but WHY?  The nursery is only open for two or three more weeks and I have all year to plant things....and everything costs a dollar......87 cents for 1 gallons and 1.87 for 3 gallons.   7 gallons are five dollars and 15 gallons (these are full grown trees that you need a crane are 10 dollars...so off to the nursery.

The nursery has to be 15 acres or more.   You have to drive through the rows...you could never walk it.  Azaleas

I just wanted to give you an idea of how large.  Do you see that building....that is the halfway point of the nursery.  Everything costs $1!

Anise...the trees were well overdue to be put in the ground...I saw full grown trees coming out of one gallon pots (they rooted to the ground.


Camellias, Pittosporums, hydras, sago, sweet olive


Crepe myrtles...yes they are that huge,,,,those are three gallons they are in.



Well I made three trips and, also donated 10 camellias to a local museum, who was having a camellia festival (The boys and I volunteer there too)

After that I tried to finish the back porch...it does look much better...even my son said it looked nice....coming from a teenage boy, that is an accomplishment.
Put the ferns that were cooking the greenhouse back there.





Much better

Pollen still on the screen where I abandoned the power washing

It isn't fancy but it is much nicer...need something on the wall..like a clock or art work or something

The take, camellias, sky pencils, junipers, azaleas, big daddy hydrangeas, sweet olive..and bottle brush.  I tried to get stuff that I felt would be gone....Will go again.  The nursery let me have some of the "holders" so I can set them on the ground without having to prop them up


Dinnerplate dahlias are surfacing...do they need bigger pots?


PS The manager of the nursery said that coffee grounds work unbelievable on plants...he implied that it acted like a insecticide.  Now, I drink cuban coffee...so I would hate to think what would happen to an insect that ate that!

9 comments:

LTB said...

Love it...and thanks again for the ones you picked out for me. I've named the sweet olive 'Janie".

Cerberus German shepherds said...

Awww...thanks Tammy.

Jean Campbell said...

Dahlias are surfacing -- generally plants don't need repotting until roots are starting to grow out the drainage holes of the pot. By that time it should be time to plant out in the garden.

Cerberus German shepherds said...

Thanks, Nell. I think the last fear of frost date is Feb 28. The greenhouse is starting to be vacated because things are starting to cook in there...all but the tropicals are tolerating it.

HolleyGarden said...

I am a little sad that a plant nursery is going out of business (hope it's not due to poor sales) but you are getting some wonderfully fantastic unbelievable deals! Wish I lived nearby! I think you are being very smart in going to get the plants you need instead of waiting to put them all in the ground first. By that time, some plants that you wanted might be gone.

Cerberus German shepherds said...

It's part of a bigger company, they are just closing down that dept.

Unknown said...

Looks like a lot of work for the pool. There are tools that could help you remove the leaves out of the pool faster and effectively. Leaves from the pool are usual complaint of homeowners, but there are many ways available for you to get rid of them. Do your best because it's worth the effort. Good luck!

Hettie Calhoun @Aquos Pools

Unknown said...

That’s the challenge that every homeowner needs to face when their swimming pool is surrounded with trees. You should expect that there will always be fallen leaves around the area. It’s really a hard work especially during the fall season. But if you really want to keep your swimming pool clean, getting those leaves out of the pool really won’t matter. :)

Floy Melton @ Orlando Pools by Design

Cerberus German shepherds said...

Are we relation? My name before marrying was Melton.