Shasta Daisy

Well the plant I planted last year and had forgotten what it was, turns out it is a Shasta Daisy.   The Shasta daisy is a perennial so it will come back year after year.  What makes it so good is all of the bulbs that I have planted in this part of the yard are all white.  Lilies, daffodils and irises, the one next to it is every other color. 

Gardenia's in bloom

This is one of my Gardenia bushes in full bloom.  My husband put just a handful of fertilizer on the bushes (10-10-10)  and they all started blooming.  They are planted all across the front of the house and they make the house smell so sweet this time of year.  My little girl asked me where the perfume she smelled was coming from, I told her it wasn't perfume it was the flowers.  She smelled the flowers and she realized it wasn't perfume but the flowers.

Caladium

I bought Caladium tubers earlier this year because I thought that they looked so pretty and I wanted a dash of color in my yard. The colors on the package had nice pretty colors. I had tried to grow an elephant ear and it did not do well at all, so I was hesitant to get another leafy type plant. I know I grow coleus but I consider them different because all the ones I have are in pots, well I planted some of the Caladium in pots and others in the ground. The ones I planted in pots have come up and doing well I am happy to say. I just wonder when if or when the other ones are going to come up.

Thrasher in a tree

I saw this bird in the back yard of my house. I have a tree that I call the bird feeder tree. All types of birds sit in this tree and yes they do fight in this tree. Near the tree I also have a birdbath. I guess you could say that this tree is the tree that all the birds come to. I've even seen the hummingbirds sitting in the tree, which to me is amazing since they seldom sit still.

This bird is called a brown thrasher, it measures around eleven inches from tip of bill to the tip of his tail, so he is somewhat larger than the birds that normally congregate at the bird feeders. The birds at the bird feeders are not worried because the brown thrasher eats insects, he's not about to take the bird seed they are eating, I guess he's looking for bugs which is a good thing. The more bugs he eats the less bugs there are going to be that eat the plants in my garden.

The rabbits stayed away

Well my little flower survived without being eaten by those nasty little rabbits. I can tell you one thing I am definitely going to plant tons of them next year. I have already been working the soil. You see the soil in my yard is very very dry and sandy. It needs to be build up so that it can grow something. I am hopeful that next year the yard will have flowers that I can me proud of. I am somewhat making a list of what to plant so far I can assure you that marigolds will without a doubt be the border.

Will the rabbits stay away?

Earlier this year I planted quite a few flowers and just as they were about to bloom the nasty rabbits in my yard would eat the little buds that were about to bloom. It got to the point that I was almost ready to sit in the yard and shoot the little critters. I was doing some research and I thought I'd place some marigolds that I had in a container beside the plants and see it it would work at keeping the little buggers away. If they do I can already tell you that I will be planting quite a few next year. They will be my border plant all around my yard.

The Circle in the front

I am by no means a landscaper but I do want my yard to look nice. In the front of my house is a large circular driveway, and I have been wanting for years to put something to frame the circle to make it look better than it does. Well this year I decided that it would be the year to do it. When I told my husband all he said was put something up so I will not mow it with the lawn mower. That got me to thinking. What could I use. Pine straw is very plentiful in my area, so I figured it would be the perfect mulch. I have been using large sticks or should I say roots to frame the area, I have six very large oak trees in my yard I am simply digging or pulling up the roots that visitors and my family trip over. I would buy something to frame it with, but I want to see just how good it looks this way before I start doing that. I don't think it looks that bad. If I do start using something else to frame it with I am open to suggestions.

I have several Butterfly bushes I started from seed this year and I have been putting them about six to eight feet apart abound the circle. I just don't know what all colors I will have when they finally start blooming. The seed mix I bought was a mix of colors so it will be a surprise to see what colors I end up with. As of now I have six butterfly bushes planted and I have plan to plant two more in the circle. A part of me can't wait to see what the circle looks like next year and the year after that.

My bush dwelling yard cat

I am lucky to have a wonderful home with a wonderful family. My family also is fortunate enough to have a pet, a cat. It is said that cats are one of two types. Tree dweller or a bush dweller. I can say with much confidence that my cat is a bush dweller. She will climb trees but her favorite spot is laying on the ground and chasing moles. And last I heard moles do not live in trees they live in the ground. May bee that's why she likes the ground so much. Anyway MY cat is a blessing and as far as I am concerned she earns her keep by getting rid of the pest around the house, I just wish she would start chasing away the rabbits that have been eating my vegetables.

Woodpecker on the feeder in the yard

I have a bird feeder in my yard and a red bellied woodpecker was hungry enough to stay on the feeder long enough for me to snap a picture. I have seen the male, female and even a juvenile this year.