The Gardening Olympics

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Donalyn

Mary Ann Newcomer of Idaho Gardener is holding an Olympic event for gardeners and there is still time to enter.

Here are her rules:

Three rules:
1. You must link back to this website.
2. You must show me the best of the best of your garden. You decide what that is: single plant, single fabulous piece of produce, collection of tomatoes, collection of hoes, a garden vignette, whatever. Three entries per garden.
3. Deadline is Sunday night at midnight.

I will decide everything. I will give out the awards which will be smallish but very meaningful and thoughtful. I will make up categories as I feel like it. I am a huge fan of “style points.” Give it your Olympic best. Show me your stuff!

And since I am lazy, I am going to enter three photos already existing on my blog.
My pavé grape tomatoes from LarryMy favorite yellow daylily, Bountiful Valley, from this post: And finally, back to the veggie garden for a zuke blossom from this post:

Now, go check out Mary’s wonderful blog and get in your entry too!

Posted in garden | 6 Comments

Stuck in the middle

Posted on August 16, 2008 by Donalyn

Difficult though it is to believe, summer is kinda, sorta starting to wind down. I can’t just say that it is ending, because that is too painful to contemplate. We still have weeks of nice weather left, but there is a definite change in the air.

Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you,
And I’m wondering what it is I should do

This means that some of the plants out in the garden aren’t looking their best. We have some spent flower stalks that need to be cut down and some browning leaves and in places the weeds are still persisting. Weeds always persist. Why can’t the stuff we want persist?

It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face

Anyway – here are close ups of a few things that are looking nice, primarily because you can’t see what is around them. The centers on cone flowers are always cool and kind of trippy looking.My friend Julie says that the stamens of daylilies remind her of fuzzy slippers and now that is how I think of them as well. This is “Edge of Paradise” and I will show you the whole flower next week.
Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place

Gazanias are one of my favorite container plants – so long as you clip the spent flowers every week or so, they will bloom right until frost. I guess that qualifies as persisting doesn’t it?
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right

Here is something that has not yet persisted at all. My “Endless Summer” hydrangea, which has yet to give me a single flower this year. The foliage is spectacular and it’s taller than I have ever seen it, so I suspect I have been fertilizing it wrong. I stopped, and now it is just beginning to show some buds. Not sure they have time to open though, so this pretty foliage may be all we get.
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you

Oops – now you will have that stuck in your head, won’t you? Sorry – that is the kind of week I have had and I just can’t hide anything from you people. Have a great Saturday!

Posted in photos | Tagged | 10 Comments

Skywatch Friday #6

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Donalyn

Skywatch Friday again! Click on the link and go visit skies across the world.

This is a straight out of the camera shot [cropped a bit is all] taken over the Fourth of July weekend at Sackett’s Harbor NY on Lake Ontario. A beautiful day for a picnic, so that is what we did.

Posted in skywatch friday | 30 Comments

Front Door/Back Door August

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Donalyn

The middle of the month means it is time for the Front Door/Back Door Meme.

This is a photography meme – an easy fun project.
1. Step out your front door and take a picture.
2. Step out your back door and take a picture.
3. Put them on your blog, along with the rules.
4. If there are things in the photos that you particularly like or dislike, you can point them out, or just explain what we are seeing. Maybe changes over the seasons or some junk in your neighbor’s yard that drives you nuts.
5. Tag as many or few people as you like – preferably at least one though.
6. You can join in anytime and participate in the months following, every once in a while or even just one time if you like.

My previous posts are here, if you haven’t seen them before.

One of these months, I will hit getting this photo taken after we have mowed back here. Still looks nice and calm and peaceful though.
You can see that the sun is getting a little lower in the sky already, leaving the yard in shadows until a little later in the morning.
That’s it – leave me a comment if you are participating this month and you get some photos up, so that I can come and enjoy what it looks like at your house this week.

Posted in Front Door Back Door Meme | 3 Comments

Flying by …

Posted on August 13, 2008 by Donalyn

My allergies seem to be having their way with me today.

My neighbor is getting his wood cut for this coming winter and he could really use a bigger chainsaw I think, because this one sounds like too much is being asked of it. For hours.

I have a ton of stuff to get through and so far I haven’t touched a thing.

It’s one of those days ya know?

So – enjoy this photo of things promised. It is an Anemone bud – “September Charm” to be exact. When most everything else in the garden has exhausted its energy, anemones burst into their own with an exuberant farewell to summer. That is all inside right now though, so all we can see is the potential.

Posted in photos | Tagged | 8 Comments