Muscle in the garden

While I was planting the veggie garden (two weeks late!), my DH was commiting this carnage in the walking garden. Some dead stuff, volunteer wild fruit trees, and lots of weeds were taken out. You can also see mock orange trimmings,if you look closely. Hurrah! It's great to have some muscle on your side in the garden.

Green Thumb Sunday iris mania continues

This is one of the pink irises that are blooming this year - 'Prissy Miss' or 'Sunday Chimes' or Cherub's Smile' - I am not sure, but I sure do love it! I am already planning and plotting about where to move irises to put colors together better for next year.

Thornbird???

ok, I was poking around, looking at irises online, and have found what I think is the unique and ugly iris I posted about a few days ago, here is a pic from Schreiner's website, see what you think of this ecru and lavendar 'beauty' -



Here is the description from the online catalog:
Note Thornbird's dark violet horns extending an inch or more from the beards. Like talons, they create an appealing contrast to the flower's delicate shadings. These ecru and greenish tan shades are lighter in the standards and darker in the falls. A prolific bloomer, Thornbird often yields more than one stem per rhizome.

hmm, maybe not. They aren't really alike, I guess. I'll keep looking. I looked at mine, the standards- the top three petals (and I'm new to iris terms, so bear with me)- are a kind of blah peach color, the bottom petals - the falls - are a depressed yellow, w/ brown/lavendar-y shading. The beard is some type of orange stubble rising from a lavendar/purple base ?? all in all, not my favorite combo. If anyone really knows what this is, let me know! It must have a better name than 'ugly duckling' which is what I have christened it.

Mango Salsa

ok, a break in the iris coverage!
I had some mango salsa at a Mexican restaurant, and then found a recipe:

· 1 mango - peeled, seeded and chopped
· 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
· 1 green onion, chopped
· 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
· 1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, finely chopped (use half for a milder kick)
· 2 tablespoons lime juice
· 1 tablespoon lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, mix mango, red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and lemon juice. Cover, and allow to sit at least 30 minutes before serving.

This is yummy!

Unknown and Ugly- Green Thumb Sunday

I'm not sure where this iris came from. I know when I bought it the color on the package was not like this, or I would not have bought it. Alkaline soil? Mislabeled iris? who knows? If anyone has a guess on what this one is called, please let me know. I am calling it 'Ugly Duckling'. I keep hoping it will bloom and be beautiful, instead of just plain ole' weird.

Iris beauty

This is 'Champagne Elegance', the first year it has bloomed in my garden. I love it!!!
Then, this one bloomed:

And I like it even better. Now if I could just decipher my notes to figure out it's name, I am making up a name and calling it 'cheesecake'.

white bleeding heart for Green Thumb Sunday

I love this little plant, it pops up in the spring and is so beautiful, then disappears for another year.

planting that dry bed

I know this doesn't look like much, but I will try and take a picture later when the hens and chicks and sedum have taken hold and they are looking fabulous! ( I hope). It's a good feeling to think of a small project and get it done.

this time I'm a Canna!

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

Well, I guess it is a woman's perogative to change her mind/flower.

hens and chicks to the rescue

As I was out weeding a neighboring bed this morning, I looked at this empty bed and thought, what can I put here? It is a dry area, bone dry. Then I decided I could move some dragon’s blood sedum there, and it would look good.



As I was headed in, my neighbor offered me some hens and chicks! Just the thing for that spot that doesn’t get enough water to grow much else!

Green Thumb Sunday

I was out looking for those elusive pheasants and took a pic of our Japanese Maple, it has just leafed out and I love it! It is beautiful to see out of my kitchen window, too.

Interview meme

Well, the Sassy One (http://www.thesassylime.blogspot.com/) interviewed me, here are her questions and my answers:

1 - how did you come by your love of gardening?
It has just grown over the years; I really love flowers, the colors and the forms, the surprises when I walk out in the yard. I love knowing the names of plants, and knowing how to grow them. …
2 - how is parenting different the second time around?
What do you like about being a grandma?
Most of the time it is a lot mellower.. I feel more ‘on top’ of things and can not be so rushed about things. That’s just most of the time, mind you. Being ‘Grandma’ is great- probably because my grandkids are so wonderful and clever and cute and…
3 - outline a typical day in the life of Muum for us:
Let me tell you about today. I got up late, about 6:30 a.m., because I hadn’t slept well in the night. Showered and helped little sis get out the door.
Went to work till noon, then went plant shopping and to the library on the way home. I got some herbs for our herb pots and some other irresistible plants for the yard.
Came home, took a nap and read the funnies. Got up and worked on laundry and other household chores. Did some paper work, watered plants. Talked on the phone to several of my kids. Greeted little sis when she came home from school, and worked on the laundry some more.
Made dinner, and tried (again) to get a photo of the pair of pheasants that I hear and see in the back yard almost daily. The rest of the day is almost as hum drum as what I’ve already written -enough!
4 - did your kids turn out the way you thought they would?
Way better! Seeing you all make great choices and stay faithful to the gospel makes me happy everyday.
5 - If you were to eat your favorite meal (no concern for cost or calories), what would it be? include dessert, of course!
H mm, this is tough. I like so many foods… Grilled salmon from Timber mine, with a great green salad (no iceberg lettuce allowed), and some gooey chocolatey thing for dessert. Milk to drink, of course. Or maybe popeye and mashed potatoes??? Oh! Pizza! Pretty much any kind…(I guess you said meal, not meals…)


DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW MEME
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

White Iris and herbs

The irises have begun! First are the white ones, which are lovely, I'd say. Some people think irises are too oldfashioned, too common. That may be true, but they sure are elegant, they come in so many colors, and they are so reliable. All good qualities in a perennial.

Also, just a peek at my current project, I am making herb pots for my daughters and me.

mystery mini tulip?

These little guys pop up around the garden. Any body know what they are? I love the color!