Giving Thanks with Pinecones

Here's a little story on how I used two large bags of pinecones, from my friend Diane, for my Thanksgiving décor.

The table turned out beautiful.  I think it's the first time since Tyler has been born that he hasn't been sick at Thanksgiving.  It's also the first time since his birth where I've felt like I've had it together enough to plan my table setting in advance.  I always had elaborate setups prior to being a mom.  I tucked a few handfuls of pinecones into the garland to help fill it out.

My mom donated a roll of burlap for the project, which is the backdrop for the centerpiece.  The three lanterns in the middle are a score from my spring trip to Ikea.  The florals are a garland from The White Hare in St. Peters that I looped around the lanterns in a large S pattern and then fluffed out to make it look like each one was completely encircled.

Extra pinecones ended up in three areas.

The wire basket by my front entry is all decked out for the rest of the season!

A lovely sunflower bowl on my living room side table is a keeper of pinecones as well.  Also wanted to point out my lamp and turkey combo.  The lamp is a semi-recent purchase from Target.  It has a hollow bottom.  My turkey was already sitting on the table, and I thought it would be interesting to put it inside the lamp.  The illumination in the evening is very pretty.

Not shown, I took whatever was left and edged the potted mums flanking the entry stairs.  Every last one was put to good use.

Sleepy Gardens

As October draws to a close, the gardens are starting to pull up their covers for a long, winter nap. This is, hands down, my favorite time of year. The colors are spectacular, and the cooler weather makes me more energetic.  On the other hand, no other time of year is more appropriate for sitting around on a Sunday morning snuggled up in my PJs with a cup of hot cocoa.  I still have some mulching to do, a job that's been waiting for two weeks or more. 

We had a warm spell last weekend that prevented me from tucking the rest of my gardens in.  It seems the yellow jackets are immensely drawn to my scent, my voice, my appearance... something.  They bee-line to me like a moth to light.  Having been stung earlier this summer, I'm still a little gun shy around these nuisances.  We have an over-abundance of them, with one nest, now exterminated at the front of the house, and a newly discovered nest, out in the field.  They are particularly drawn to Crape Myrtles, for whatever reason.  So hundreds, literally, surround our house at all times... but enough about bees.  Let's get back to the point at hand.  Fall.

Ah... quintessential fall.  Maple trees.  This is the most colorful one in our yard right now.  I love all the various shades.

 

And talk about work horse plants with four seasons of color.  The sedum surrounding the entire pool area started out as a lush, bright green cover, moved into a sea of starry-yellow flowers in Spring, remained green all summer, and now this pinky-crimson fall color.  What a great plant.

 

The hills are looking a little bare these days.  Makes me thankful for the hundred or so evergreen trees on our property.

 

 

Compliments of friends Diane & Gary, we now have a small family of pumpkins to greet visitors at the door.  Two frosts later, and the ferns flanking the entry are still going strong.  Green, lush, and just beautiful.

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago, a visit to Home Depot ended with a truck bed full of things.  Among those were three, yes three, of the pots you see below.  These are pretty substantial looking but really lightweight.  I love the shape.  The color blends nicely with the rock on the foundation, and will showcase my annuals well.  I had originally wanted to put them all in the front garden and fill them with boxwoods, but once home, I immediately saw the value in spreading the love around the house.  Repetition brings a sense of consistency to the garden.

 

We are in the middle of a project to build a new driveway.  The one we have is a little too steep, so we're looking to put in a lower entrance, something the daily delivery trucks can get in and out of a little easier, not to mention our house guests.  In the process of creating this driveway, we either have to relocate or tear down about 10 lovely evergreen trees, and two cherry trees.  Our neighbor is doing what he can to salvage the trees, but as you can see from the photo below, one of the pines didn't make it.  So I figured, why not take advantage of the situation?  I clipped a bucketful of branches and stuck them down in the soil.  I've seen this done many times in magazines, but never had the guts to go cut the limbs off living trees.  I have to say, this turned out really nice.

  

 

 

 

Here is the future home of our new driveway.  A much more level venue than we have now.  It's hard to see, but there is a faint spray paint line down the left side of the photo.  The neighbor was also kind enough to move a gigantic rock near the well pump, so it wouldn't accidentally get bumped during construction, or afterwards.  As he put it, "that'd be a bummer".  If a car hits this rock, the car is going to need work.  We need to do something like that on the other side of the pump too.

 

 



 

 

The garden surrounding the parking area is torn out.  We have two dogwoods to relocate from this bed.  I've already rescued a daylily, countless iris, a blue sedum, giant rush, peony, and 6 or 7 roses bushes.  I've been busy prepping for this.

 

 

 

And last pic... it's hard to see, but here is where the driveway will touch the street.  About five trees have already been removed (only 2 survivors so far).  That pile of stuff at the end is the gravel from a leg of our existing driveway that we're going to abandon in favor of this new one.  The gravel is covering a humongous drain pipe that Eric told me was "lightweight", and that he just needed me to lift one end because it was too long to carry solo.  Lies, lies...

 





As Fall Approaches

Cooler weather has gotten me into fall decorating mode, both inside and out. 

My first purchase was 10 mums from Lowe's for $10.  They were nearing the end of their bloom, but had enough buds left that I thought I'd get some color out of them.  I planted a combo of yellow and purple in the pots flanking the entry, and put three on either side of the stairs.  Hard to see here, but that's partly because they're fading. I should have been more diligent about the blog and captured a photo when I planted them last week.  As you can see, the rest of the garden isn't looking too shabby.  I've got soaker hoses strewn throughout, which seem to be working like a charm.  The trick is to water for several hours at a time.

Since it's still a bit warm out (82 here today), I am really holding myself back from a lot of fall annual planting.  So, to make things interesting, I thought I'd share some indoor pics of what I've been up to.  This is my entry console table, adorned with a faux pear tree that's been with me for years, a spray of fall flowers that I crafted above the mirror, and a real Island Pine to the right, compliments of my Uncle Dominic.

 

This is the sofa table, showcasing my mercury glass collection, along with some lovely faux sunflowers and a real orchid in a glass terrarium.  I have been waiting for this orchid to bloom for about 2 years.  Patience is a virtue, I'm told.

 

The front door is now sporting a harvest-worthy wreath, thanks to those awesome 3M command strip hooks.  And the ferns are digging the cooler temperatures.

 

More bargains!  These matrix orange pansies were in a flat of 9 for $3.00 at Home Depot today.  I couldn't resist them, as the foliage looked very fresh, and they were covered with blossoms.  Not to mention, I particularly love this color.

 

This is Moses in a Cradle, surrounded by Purple Heart.  I recently transplanted the combo to a terra cotta pot, which I think sets off the colors in the foliage beautifully.



Paradise Persists

 

I was kindly reminded by Mom that my blog still shows an old post when she visits my page.  I'll take that as my cue to get back to it, and a high compliment.

 

I dragged out the camera early this morning to see if I could get some pics with different lighting.  Most everything I've shared from our new place has been taken in the evening.  The experiment was successful; I found some very pleasing vistas to share.

 

I enjoyed tromping through the dew laden grass in my flip flops, with only the sound of a few birds singing in the background.  The weather here is quite awesome, 58 degrees with very low humidity.

 

Now, I sit curled up in my cozy office with a mug of hot chocolate, writing this, with my little boy playing Legos behind me.  It's a happy morning.

 

 

What I enjoy about looking out on our field in the morning is that almost half of it is in shade.  The large trees in the front of our property cast long shadows across it until almost 9am.



I spent some time rearranging the front porch plants this week and I came up with some great results.  This lovely houseplant is now set off by one of my favorite red pots; a TJ Maxx find.

A copper handled bin from Home Decorators makes a great place to stash outdoor toys.  The ferns have really filled out the large Ikea pots nicely.

An old crock finds new life as adornment for a peace lily.

I've read lots of gardening books about the importance of framing the view.  I've never felt like I had a spot where this has really occurred.  Who can argue that I've got it now?  The side of the porch provides a fantastic natural frame for the vista beyond.

Last weekend, Eric and our dads (kudos to Eric's dad for the surgical-like precision of felling the tough spots) worked on taking this partially dead tree down.  Eric rented a towable boom.  We had no plant casualties, since I moved the hydrangeas before-hand.  That is, of course, unless you count the wildflowers.  There remains a few wild asters that haven't bloomed yet.  Hopefully the last ones standing will go ahead and put on a show this fall.

And here's what's left of the tree...



Once we get the wood cleaned up from the tree felling job, these nice snowflake viburnums will live in that spot.  They supposedly bloom all summer, on new wood, and get 6' x 6' tall.  To sweeten the deal, they were $8 a piece at Lowe's.  Viburnums are very drought tolerant and most have great fall foliage.



I've had this cool outdoor iron plant stand for a while now.  In the past, I've tried cocoa liners filled with annuals and had partial season success.  I was staring at it this week and thinking, I could probably just set a fern in there and let it cascade out.  So that's what I did.

It's hard to see, but the blackberry lilies are doing just fine, mostly gone to seed at this point.  The catmint continues to put on a few flowers here and there.  The daylilies are starting to wake up from their state of transplant shock.

Our driveway is a circle with two steep sides.  Oh, and did I mention it's all gravel?  Needless to say, visitors and deliveries have a hard time getting out.  This is the future home of a new, fairly level, straight driveway.  We've got a handful of very nice trees that need to be relocated first.  I can't bear to think of losing the nice Montmorency cherry tree and the special evergreens.



I just like this pic.  Everything is nice and tidy... a looong way from where I started.

Discover Card sent us a packet of cosmos seeds last year to promote home loans.  I found it while unpacking this spring, so Tyler and I decided to give it a whirl.  These beauties bloom constantly, and the flowers start out bright orange (as shown toward the top) and fade to a bright gold color as they age.  What you're seeing is only two plants. I'm collecting seeds, in hopes that it will retain the genes of this hybridized version.  I'm planning to fill the entire space with them next year.  And a bonus, the swallowtail butterflies love them.

This maiden grass looks pretty happy.  Mom gave me two seedlings from her massive grass in the spring.

This is the berm next to our road.  It's a good dust blocker (for gravel dust) and wind break in the spring.  It has quite a few open spots, so Eric suggested filling them with grasses.  I thought it was a great idea, so I implemented the suggestion last weekend, adding 8 grasses of 3 varieties.

My heron is still happy to call this spot home.  His feet are now covered by Creeping Jenny, which I have been babying and weeding constantly over the summer. It's paid off.  The knockout rose is starting an umpteenth flush of blooms, while the crape myrtle continues to celebrate August. 

This is a sedum I found peeking out of the mulch in the early spring.  It was choking with weeds and I used tweezer type precision to get them out, without taking this out with them.  I could tell it was going to be a really interesting sedum.  Its round, blue foliage against the hot pink flowers makes you want to sit on the step and stare at it.

We have three crape myrtles in the back of our house.  They were overgrown, rubbing the siding, and spilling out into the walkway.  A trip to Wine Country Gardens reminded me of the pruning techniques often used on these to give them a tree-like appearance.  In the south, this is common, because they don't die back to the ground each year like they often do in this area.  These get winter protection from our house, so I don't think they'll ever die back.  I'm really pleased with my pruning efforts, and this also gives the little dark pink crape in the front of the photo some room to spread out.

It's harvest time!  My little stick of a fig will produce several handfuls of figs before the end of the season.

The front garden is looking quite nice.  Remember back in the spring, this was a big blank empty space.  I'm sort of sad that it's filled up so fast.  I want to keep planting!  I do have plans for the little niche on the left of the photo.  There is a shrub, some Japanese ferns, and a few clumps of Sum & Substance hostas that they left behind.  I'm envisioning something a little more formal and edged with a tree in the middle. More to come.

Another nicely framed view.

Weeds that Make You Go Hmm...

Our new home has a very diverse range of wildflowers in the wooded area.  We only moved 5 miles down the road, yet I'm seeing plants that I never saw at my old house, which was almost completely wooded.  The same varieties also grow at my grandma's farm nearly 3 hours south, so I'm familiar with them, and excited to see them in my own backyard.  This just hits home for me that we must be good stewards of the land, because we could accidentally wipe out plants that are rare or aren't found anywhere else.

 

I went on a walk with my mom this spring and we found wild Ginger, Larkspur, Trilliums, Solomon's Seal, Indian Pink, and May Apples, just to name a few.  I continue to discover wildflowers as the seasons change.

 

I believe this is a wild coreopsis.  Each stalk holds many bright yellow flowers.  They are growing near my driveway on 4' or taller plants.  I don't think I have to state the obvious here, but how pretty for free with no labor required.  Not to mention that because it's a native, it is also drought tolerant.

 

 

I'm not sure what this one is, but the flowers are beautiful.  Tyler must agree, because he brought me a handful of these last night and asked me to put them in water.  The stems are thin and tall, reaching 4 feet or more.  Again, a free show, requiring no more work to enjoy than a quick walk around the driveway.

 



 

 

And while we're talking about weeds, I have to give a shout out to Butterfly Weed (Asclepias Tuberosa).  This fabulous Missouri native grows in fields and along the sides of highways and requires full sun.  It has a deep tap root, so don't try to dig one up.  Many local nurseries are starting to carry Missouri natives, realizing many of them are quite beautiful and desirable additions to the garden.  While this one has passed it's peak bloom time, I wanted to show you the cool seed pods that it dons.  Interesting in their own right.

 



 

 

Okay, I know this isn't a weed, but they just happened to be in very good bloom today and I wanted to share a pic.  This daylily is Firestorm, a spider type.



Progress Report for June 2013

As June ends, I have to say things are looking quite good.  There are a couple of gardens that I have yet to get a hold of, in terms of weed control, but I am making progress with the weed situation overall.

Rain has been frequent and plentiful, and nothing is burning up.  It's actually so chilly this evening that I took pictures wearing jeans.  It's amazing that this yard survived last year's drought, without any care.  We did have to take out a few trees, and do a healthy amount of trimming, but the survival rate is phenomenal.

The entry and deck gardens have gotten the most attention the past two weeks.  Neither are done, but the entry garden is nearly full.  I can't believe it, really.  Kind of disappointing that I won't have much room for end-of-the-season deals and the occasional Lowe's clearance rack find next year.

I have also pretty much filled the garden around the raised double parking spot.  It isn't a very big garden.  In my mind's eye, I always think it's wider than it is.  I suppose going to the nursery is sometimes like loading your dinner plate; your eyes are bigger than your stomach, or in this case, your planting space.

You should never have a garden solely filled with in-ground plantings.  Always use potted plants here and there for interest.  Ceramic and clay pots are quite beautiful and add a hardscape element to your space.  The change in elevation is also a great break for the eye, and gives cascading plants a place to relax.

These are some houseplants that I got from my friend Rube.  If you are interested, let me know!  She has a wonderful selection of plants for sale.

My new PeeWee Hydrangea, variegated liriope, and Lemon Lime hostas, all planted in the last two weekends.

Snowflake hydrangea.  Double white blooms.  This is a little shrub now, but it will reach 6' x 6'.

Entry garden



Twisted Rush (top), requested by Eric.

Beautiful glass wasp catcher, compliments of Mom.

Mixed coneflowers.  Don't forget how great long-blooming perennials can be in pots.

Lemon Tree... with lemons!  Also having a second flush of blooms.

A $4.88 hanging basket from Home Depot provides a quick filler for this large pot (the purple petunias and verbenas).  This is a huge pot, and they've consumed about 3/4 of it.  The other pot-fellows are Basil and a perennial grass.

My fig tree is filled with fruit, and joined by new houseplants from Rube.

Deck garden.  Still looking a little shabby, but I've got newspaper and mulch down either side now.  The daylilies provide wonderful color.

A daylily that I brought from my old house.  It was a single fan that I found along the fence line, in the wooded area.  It took a few years to bring back, but now it puts on a great show.  The most floriferous daylily that I have.