Ornaments spruce up yard
Have you ever noticed how some people like a lot of yard ornaments and others do not?
I think I am probably somewhere in the middle regarding this issue. I want to add a little bit of interest to my flower beds without people thinking I am having a perpetual yard sale.
I find that most of the objects I gravitate toward are either antiques or some type of outside lighting devise. When we first moved in, our neighbor gave us an old lightning rod that once rested on top of an old barn.
He said he didn
A pet toad has moved in
By Norma Jean Mull
We have a small toad that decided to take up residence in our front landscaping. He is about the size of a small plum and doesn
Ornamental grasses: nature
Read the rest of this entry »We live in a subdivision. Although our lot is large, there is still not enough room to space out all of the flower beds the way I would like.
For instance, we have a basketball court that takes up a good portion of our backyard. Since I love plants so much, I wanted to landscape some beside our basketball court in addition to the more remote areas of our yard.
After losing several flowers for the season to basketballs gone astray, I finally got smarter and lined the sides of the flower beds next to the basketball court with ornamental grasses and other hardy plants.
This has worked out perfectly and avoids unnecessary stress and yelling on my part.
It is not unusual for a ball to plop down on top of these plants, but when this happens, it is simply retrieved and no harm is done.
Shooting baskets is not the only problem though. Molly, our beagle, also plays frequently with the basketball by running it around the yard with her nose.
She has gotten quite skilled at this and can change the direction of the ball at will by placing her nose on one side of the ball or the other. She does all of this at full speed while barking.
Coming back after the storm
Plants can be very resilient, especially perennials.
Last year, the area we live in got hit twice by severe hail storms. The first storm hit the west side of our home and the second, the north side.
My daughter and I were out when the second storm hit and couldn
Becky: long-blooming Shasta daisy
By Norma Jean Mull
Everything is going well with the flower gardens right now.
The Whole Ten Yards
Spring is the perfect time for mulching your flower beds.
Last week I stopped by my favorite gardening center to buy mulch, as I do about this time every year.
There are many different types to choose from including cedar, hardwood, cypress and pine. I chose hardwood because of the rich dark color and attractive appearance. It also adds nutrients to the soil and eventually decomposes to become topsoil.
Since we have so many beds, I ordered ten yards of mulch. If you don
How I dug into gardening
You never know what you can accomplish until you try. I started gardening about 10 years ago. I always liked plants but never really took the time to learn about them or work with them. At the time, I didn
The Indy Wine Trail is your spring adventure
Spring has sprung! Many of us feel that we need some sort of break at this point, from our jobs or our gardens. Or maybe you are just itching to get out and do something fun!
Well, I have the perfect suggestion for you