Spring Fever, New Blog

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Last night I noticed a huge package on the porch-my "backordered" rug was here! I couldn't help but roll it out to see what it looked like in the living room. I love it...it instantly motivated me to get the painting done by Sunday, starting tonight. So much (too much) slacking in the winter.


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I have always thought I might suffer from SAD. The cold, the short dark days...I really don't like winter. I have even considered light therapy. But it is so wonderful once the days start to get a little brighter and longer and the sun is warm. All lack of motivation and sleepyness starts to lift in early Spring, then I start to find it difficult to stay put inside till winter rolls around again.

Yesterday after work I went outside and got stuck in a sunny spot weeding for a couple of hours, first time since early Fall. Weeding in late February is nearly perfect.

It's almost 8:30 a.m. and I have about 1/4 of my work for the day done and have already been to the store where I picked up more painting supplies, a rug pad, and a few plants: Stawberry, Sage, and Mint.



I have always wanted to replace a portion of the lawn with mint/spearmint...I hear it smells so wonderful when you trim it up with a reel mower.
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Tomorrow I am spending at least half the day working in the yard.
It is beyond a mess and I can't wait.
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***I AM NO LONGER POSTING AT THIS BLOG. All home and garden projects will be posted over at day-lab.blogspot.com from now on*** :)


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Garden + Yard Photos/Update

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To the back yard..


I noticed last week that the Blue Morning Glories finally started blooming.
These bloom in the morning and close up by sunset. I had planted them with the white night blooming Moonflower Morning Glories b/c I thought it would be nice to have one of the two always blooming. It's been nice to see these from my kitchen window during the day light hours.







Moonflower + Salvia...

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Also, some magenta Morning Glories have been blooming on the side of the house.


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The first of the Flowering Maple is about to bloom.

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Down to the Lake...

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Late-Flowering Thoroughwort

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Muck Sunflower


Button Aster


White Crownbeard

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Goldenrod


From the Lake and back up to the yard..

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New Fall Plants

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I lost some plants during Gustav, so I recently picked up some new plants at the Hodge Podge at Hilltop.






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Some have been transplanted..some not just yet.

My tiny Fire Spike (Odontonema stricta):


I took this picture of a cluster of them last May:

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My Skullcap (Scutellaria) 'Bluebird':

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Abutilon Flowering Maple, a picture I took last May.
Hummingbirds love this plant:

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Some Verbana and Sage I picked up from another Nursery, as well:



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Not my pictures, but pictures I found of flowering Native Crinum or Swamp Lily (Crinum Americanum):


Flowering Fragrant Garlic (Tulbagia fragrans pink):


And...Rice Paper Plant (Tetrapanax papyriferus) which is more like a small tree, and the leaves can get so large and tall and hang over one's head like a parasol.

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I also want to start a little herb garden. I already have Rosemary, Lavender, Lemon Thyme in the ground. And I recently bought seeds of:

-mint
-oregano
-basil
-salvia
-cat nip

And I have Pole Beans, that my friend Sarah got from her father's garden, to plant too. The seeds apparently store well, I read, so I will wait until after the last frost. I am actually really wanting to try out a vegetable garden anyway, so perhaps this would be a good start.
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Gingers + Flowers + Critters

A couple of weeks ago the first of the white Garland Gingers (Hedychium coronarium)bloomed. These are from the Gingers I cut and divided throughout the yard (from the originals that were here when I moved in, that never bloomed).
They are so fragrant I can smell them from the porch, which is 20+ feet away.
And I like the fragrance almost as much as Tuberose...

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Gingers from another yard down the street...



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Photos from earlier this week (yard, neighborhood)...

Iceplant

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Moon Flowers

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Canna

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4 o'clocks

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Rain Lily in Peacock Ginger

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Hummingbird with Native Trumpet Vine

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Rain Lily

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Lizards + Zinnia

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Baby Mourning Dove

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New Baby Cacti and Succulents

Back To the Garden x2

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Visiting with Sufi cat in the yard...


...and had no idea how overgrown and neglected everything is right now until I saw this picture. It's a good thing cooler weather should be on its way soon. I made garden/yard To Do lists yesterday and happened upon a new article in the Wall Street Journal on getting back to the garden by Dominique Browning (how appropriate), which made my day...

Back to the Garden
What really goes on when we give in to the compulsion to garden?
Digging in the ground helps to fill the holes inside.
By DOMINIQUE BROWNING
Click HERE to read the article.

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Sowing Native Seeds

This past week, I started (a little late) to sow some native seeds in the yard. If I could have it my way, the entire backyard past the Fountain Bed down to the lake (aside from my walking path) would be a native wildflower habitat. So, I decided to start small now and come fall and spring I will add more.

This past week the seeds I planted:

Eryngium yuccifolium or Button Eryngo

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Eryngium integrifolium or Blueflower Eryngo

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Salvia azurea

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Monarda punctata or Spotted Horsemint, Spotted Beebalm

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Some links to info on Native Plants in Louisiana, why it is important to preserve and study native plants and their habitats:

-Louisiana Native Plant Society's goal as a non-profit organization is:
*To educate people on the value of native plants and the need to preserve and protect rare and endangered species.
*To promote the propagation and use of native plants in the landscape.
*To educate people on the relationship between our native flora and wildlife.

-The Cajun Prairie Preservation Society is an organization which is dedicated to the study, preservation, restoration and education in regard to the Cajun Prairie Habitat, associated habitats and projects.

-Allen Native Ventures is an organization offering books, seeds, ecological and botanical services, and more dealing with natural and native topics. It is run by Dr. Charles Allen, who wrote Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines of Louisiana, a book I recently bought from him at a plant show this past Spring. This is also where I bought my seeds.
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Info on Native Plants for all of the USA:

Celebrating Wildflowers is dedicated to the enjoyment of the thousands of wildflowers growing on our national forests and grasslands, and to educating the public about the many values of native plants.

Celebrating Wildflowers website emphasizes:
* The aesthetic value of plants: a field of wildflowers is a beautiful sight
* The recreational value of plants: picking berries is fun for the whole family
* The biological value of plants: native plants support other life
* The medicinal value of plants: chemicals from plants help combat sickness
* The economic value of plants : plant material such as floral greens are commercially valuable
* The conservation of native plants: protecting and maintaining native plant habitat
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Screen Porch Bed Transplants

This past week I picked up a few plants from the Hodge Podge for the Screen Porch Bed, which is half in shade and half in sun. A bird's eye view of this bed can be viewed HERE.

Last year after removing the Cayratia japonica AKA Bush Killer Vine (An invasive that has been reported in the U.S. only in Texas and Louisiana) that covered everything in the yard when I arrived (much like Kudzu, it covers and smothers) a few Fern, Nandina, Gingers, Spiderwort, Spider Lilies and Trillium were all that remained and survived in this bed.

So, this week into the bed with these survivors went:

In the shaded area Peacock Ginger, the day I took it home:

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Peacock Ginger, a few days after transplanting it (with a recently transplanted Jack in the Pulpit in the background):



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In the sunny, but shady in the afternoon area Physostegia virginiana Obedient Plant, a native wildflower and also a nectar source for hummingbirds:


And once it flowers, it should look like this:

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Some Zephranthes grandiflora Rain Lilies in the sunny area.
From the day I brought it home:


And a few days after it was transplanted:

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Near the Rain Lilies, Ginger, and Spiderwort, some native Ruellia malacosperma White Ruellia 'Alba':



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Can't wait for the old Gingers to bloom so I will know what kind they are. I think I enjoy that part of this the best.
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