HAPPY FALL - FUN WITH OREO, DAISY, AND JAKE!

Hello Everyone!  Fall is finally here in Southern Indiana and we have been enjoying it greatly!  Lots of activities going on in the garden with clean up and fall fun!  Oreo recently met Jake, which was a very funny encounter!  I think Jake was a bit scared of Orea!  I have my Mums planted and have started getting together the scarecrows and pumpkins! 

We created some fun treats for the bunnies, empty toilet paper rolls filled with Timothy Grass!  They love them and they are a great, inexpensive way to give the bunnies some fun toys!

Hope all is well!  Enjoy fall!  More great fall pictures to come soon! 

OH THE JOYS OF GARDEN VISITORS!

What a neat day! Luck was on my side as I sat in my chair on my porch early this morning! The visitors were excited and hurriedly visiting each of the plants still flowering in my garden.

As a lot of you know, some days you have "good photography days" and some days are not so good! Well, this just so happened to be a good day for me!

I was very happy to see that the Hummingbirds were still enjoying the flowers of my garden. The yellow finch was waiting for me to leave my seat so that he could visit the finch feeder I have on my porch. He did actually fly to the feeder to get a snack, but at that point he was actually to close for me to get a good picture.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Happy Gardening! Mindy

SEEDS, SEEDS, AND MORE SEEDS!

Hello fellow gardening friends!  Yes, I am still around.  The month of August found me hustling around with work, the beginning of school, and both girls making the volleyball team, one in middle school and one in high school.  As you can image my weeks are very busy.  I found myself missing my blogging and decided to make time to get in touch with everyone again!   The first week in September has brought us much cooler temperatures here in Southern Indiana. as well as some rain showers!  Everything seems a bit refreshed!  I have been collecting up seeds and searching my garden for seedlings. 

Below, I found this seedling plant from one of my Crepe Myrtle bushes!  I was so excited, now to just baby it until I can move it to its own location!

 Four o'clocks are nice seeding plants!  The seeds are very easy to collect and grow easily when sown directly in the ground after danger of frost in the spring!

 I have also collected some seeds from a couple of my daylily plants!  I have placed these in the refrigerator in baggies to hopefully be succesful in planting either in pots this winter or in the ground this next Spring!  I have not tried this yet, so hopefully I have some luck!

To all my friends, I look forward to keeping my blog up and have enjoyed this little post very much!  It has reminded me of how much fun this blogging is! 

I am still in the process of planning my shade garden and thank you all for the great input on shade plants you have had luck with!  I have been looking at the Park Seed and Wayside Garden web sites for neat plants! 

The bunnies (Oreo and Daisy) are doing great and growing like weeds!  Hope to post some pictures of them soon!  They are certainly enjoying this cooler weather! 

Hope the cooler weather finds each and every one of your gardens! 

Happy Gardening!

Mindy

KOUSA DOGWOOD - ANOTHER FRUIT??

KOUSA DOGWOOD (Cornus Kousa)

This is an Asian flowering dogwood native to Korea, Japan, and China.  This tree is on our "Little Piece of Heaven on Earth."  Kousa Dogwood blooms later than the native dogwood.  The blooms attract bees and butterflies.  The fruit attracts birds and squirrels.  Believe it or not, the fruit is edible to people; however, I have never made anything with the fruit from this tree.  Maybe I will do a little more research on it and create a fabulous recipe using the fruit???

The dogwoods are such beautiful trees year round.  From the flowers in the spring to the fruit in the summer and then lastly the changing of leaf color in the fall, the dogwood creates year round color and a unique show in the garden.

Happy Gardening! Mindy

Mirabilis jalapa (4 o'clocks)

Mirabilis jalapa (4 o'clocks)

(An Old-fashioned Favorite)

These brightly colored, trumpet-shaped, fragrant flowers open in the mid-afternoon, stay open overnight, and close early in the morning.  They do this not because of the time of day, but because of the drop in temperatures!  They also will remain open on cloudy days. 

The bright, fragrant flowers also attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

 Plant in full sun in moist, well-drained soil.  For best performance, add a general purpose fertilizer once a month to encourage vigorous growth and big, bright blooms. 

 Once the plants have flowered, you can collect large black seeds from the base of where the flower came from.  These seeds can be directly sown in the ground in the spring after the last frost in your area.  They germinate quickly in 7 to 14 days.  You can also soak the seeds in water the night before you plant them to further increase germination.  When planting, cover the seeds with 1/4" of soil.  Once the seeds germinate, thin to 2 feet apart. 

At the end of the growing season in the fall, dig up tubers, brush off excess soil, and store in a dark area in damp peat moss or sand.  The tubers will be ready for planting the after the last frost the next spring! 

Bring some old-fashioned flare to your garden with 4 o'clocks!



SURPRISE LILIES AND THRIFT STORE FIND!

Well it has been a busy week at our house with preparation for school to start and the end of my vacation from work! We still had some time to take photos outside in the garden. My daughter captured these two butterflies basking in the sun!

My surprise lilies (also know as magic lilies) are coming up! These lilies amaze me as the green foliage and the pretty flowers never come up at the same time. In the summer I enjoy the long, green leafy foliage, in July the foliage dies back and then once has all died back, the lilies emerge from the ground! Pretty neat! These plants enjoy fun sun and multiple each year, much like the daylilies.



This chair I found at a local thrift store for just $5.00! What a find! How cute it would be with a basket of flowers sitting on top, another project for me!

We have been enjoying a bit of a cool down here and it has been very refreshing! 80's in the daytime and 60's at night! Wow, so much better than what we had just a couple of weeks ago! Happy Gardening! Mindy

I am also joining http://www.tootsietime.com/ for Fertilizer Friday, Flaunt Your Flowers!  Join Tootsie and see some other gardeners beautiful flaunts! 

 On my morning stroll this morning (Saturday, August 13th), I found still more surprise lilies coming up and the ultimate surprise!  THE SURPRISE LILIES HAD BLOOMED!!!

 What beauty and they smell amazing too!  Have a great weekend everyone!

OH WHAT A RELIEF!!!

Wow, what a relief this morning! We had some showers, a breeze, and clouds. What a relief from what we have been having. The breeze alone is refreshing. I sent my daughter out with the camera this morning, which she was very excited about! She got some really great photos after the showers!  Currently it is 81 degrees with a "feels like" of 84 degrees!  This may not seem like a relief to some, but it is for us.  The bunnies are even happier! 

With much more weather like this and I will definitely be ready to start my shade garden area by the bunnies!  I have been trying to hold off a bit because of the extreme heat we have been having!  It won't be long.  I already have some plans for it.

I am trying to come up with some frugal ways to create bed areas and decor with inexpensive items or items I may already have!  I am in the planning stages now.  If anyone has any good ideas or would be willing to share some good ideas, I would definitely appreciate it!  I have already collected several ideas on good shade plants from several of you (my fellow gardeners), and I have written them down and appreciate the help greatly!  Thanks so much!  Have a Great weekend and Happy Gardening!  Mindy

COTTAGE FLORA THURSDAY #30

Here are some pictures that I took on my morning stroll this morning in my garden! We have had a little bit of relief in the humidity this morning, so it is a little bit more enjoyable outside. I actually was able to do some work in the garden this morning without it being miserable!

My 4-o'clocks are blooming well and were still open early this morning! These elephant ears are some bulbs that my brother gave me! They are really awesome. They have a way of catching water for the little insects to drink! In the middle is a picture of one of my Gerbera Daisy's named 'Festival Spider Salmon'.

I am joining Tracie at http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/ for Cottage Flora Thursday! Check out her blog and all the beautiful photos that our fellow gardeners have posted! Have a great day and Happy Gardening! Mindy

CRITTERS AND MORE CRITTERS!

CRITTERS AND MORE CRITTERS

It seems as though the only ones braving the heat and humidity we have been having are the ones that have no choice.  I decided to get out today and just see what I could see.  This little squirrel doesn't seem to be bothered by the extreme heat and humidity!

 I went out on my back deck to take a look into the woods and noticed three baby raccoons.  I scared them so badly that they all scurried up a tree!  When they stopped in the tree, they were even with me.  My deck is very high up.  I ran in and got my zoom lens and got these great pictures!  They didn't seem to be bothered by the heat either!



This little guy was hanging on and wondering what I was doing!

Of course, I can't forget about Daisy and Oreo.  Today my daughter took out two frozen water bottles and laid them in each of cages.  Later she went out to check on them and they were both lying next to the cold water bottles.  This really helped them keep cool!  Rabbits are not as tolerable to heat as they are to cold temperatures. 

OREO

 DAISY

 In this picture that my daughter took, it looked almost as Daisy was saying a prayer. Who knows, maybe she was saying a prayer that the heat and humidity go away!!! 

The weather forecasters are speaking of a possibity of a little bit of a let-up in the heat and humidity, I certainly hope so!   Maybe Daisy's prayer will be answered!

Happy Gardening!

OUR NEW PROJECT - - THE WILLOW TREE SHADE GARDEN

 Well on Saturday my husband and daughter helped me start on my new garden area!  This area is a shaded area under the huge weeping willow on our property!

It was very hot and humid outside and we had a few heavy downpours during the building time, but they were troopers and hung in there for me!   

The structure part of my new garden area is a double-pen rabbit hutch!  The bunnies will be pets for us, as well as a "production center" of rabbit manure for my gardens!

 This is the finished part of my husband's work!  He did such a great job!  I am so excited, now I can begin work on my new shade garden which will be focused around the hutch!  I plan on having a nice sitting area and will add some stones, a walkway, and some neat shade perennials.  If anyone has any ideas on some good shade perennials, I would appreciate any help in deciding what to plant in my new area!!

We went to a local rabbit breeder in our area who has a really great facility!  They knew a lot about rabbits and really helped us out a lot!  Then the really hard part came, picking which two we wanted!  They were all so cute!!  My daughter was a big help in this part, as she helped me to decide which ones to get!

At 3G Farm

MEET OREO AND DAISY, THE NEWEST ADDITIONS TO OUR "LITTLE PIECE OF HEAVEN ON EARTH!"



I will be posting further pictures of my new area, as I complete it!  Any ideas on good flowering or non-flowering shade perennials would be greatly appreciated! 

HAPPY GARDENING! Mindy

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!

Well, what a sight I saw when strolling through my garden this evening!  Seems as though this frog has a fancy for the cute little frog I purchased to put by my pond!  I just laughed when I saw the sight!

 He was just sitting there like he knew that is where he was supposed to be!  How funny is that???

This Thursday I am joining Tracie and many other gardeners in Cottage Flora Thursday at http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/ for some fun sharing of gardening pics!

Go Check it Out! 

I caught this bee buzzing around in the shade of by beautiful blooming Crape Myrtle

 Also in the shade of my Crape Myrtle I found this Hosta bud! 

 The shade is also treating my pink Impatiens well!

As far as the sun goes, a lot of my flowers are really taking the heat hard, however, my Butterfly Bush is still going strong and how beautiful it is!

 The Shasta Daisies are still doing well and are being frequented by a new crop of Pearl Crescent Butterflies.  By the way, this picture was taken by my youngest daughter!

 Another cool place in my garden is my pond!  Along with the frogs enjoying the weather, Goldie, my Koi is also doing very well!  She has tripled in size from last year!!! This is also a picture that my daughter took, she is quite the photographer!

My pond has brought me a lot of enjoyment, I was so happy when my husband decided he would put it in for me!  What fun!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and beating the heat!

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Happy Gardening!

Mindy

MY DAYLILES

Today I am joining Mary at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/ for Mosaic Monday.  Check out her site to see all the beautiful and creative mosaics everyone is sharing.

These are some of my different daylilies!  Hope you enjoy!

Happy Gardening!

Mindy

THE SMELL IN MY GARDEN THIS MORNING!

When I awoke this morning and took my morning stroll, there was a wonderful smell in the air!  As I got closer, I also heard the familar sound of bumble bees!  I knew it could only be one thing . . . .  My Crape Myrtle was in full bloom!  Wow was it beautiful and it was obvious that I wasn't the only one enjoying it, as the sound of bumble bees filled my ears!

  

 I couldn't believe all of the bumble bee's buzzing around!  They were all definitely busy!  Each one looked like he was on a mission!  It was actually an amazing sight to see! 

Even despite the heat, even at the early time in the morning, I still enjoyed my morning stroll!

The Crape Myrtle's have such a lovely smell and it permeated my garden area!

Have a good weekend! 
Happy Gardening to All!