Day at the Farm November 23, 2014

 This is my Yuletide Camellia.  I have two of them, growing on either side of the faux door of the greenhouse.  Very pretty.  They are not prolific bloomers, particularly the one on the left, they probably need a little more indirect light than they are receiving.  I'm pretty good about fertilization, so I'm not sure about why they don't bloom more.  I also have a couple of White By The Gate Camellias and one Debutante Camellia. 

Came up on Sunday morning.  Saturday evening we went to Josh and Amy's house to meet my future in laws and her brother Eric.  Mom, Dad, Mark, and Jere were there as well.  Very nice evening and lovely meal.  Her folks are very nice people.

• Bought a set of red onions and some sweet pea seeds at a nursery near the house in Houston.  
• Turned over one of the beds in the Vegetable Garden, added some fertilizer, and planted the onions.
• Soaked the sweet peas and planted some of them in the barrel that I planted the lily bulbs in last week.  That's probably not a good idea, but I did it anyway.
• Planted the rest of them on a trellis in the Star Garden near the path so the wonderful scent can be enjoyed close up.  Surrounded the trellis with chicken wire - rabbits love sweet pea seedlings.
• I decided to surround the Orchard with chicken wire because I can't abide the rabbit activity down there.  They ate all my fall green beans, and I've had it with the little bastards.  I bought an electric staple gun  on Saturday, dragged the extension cord all the way down the hill and started stapling the chicken wire to the back side of the fence.  I used most of the chicken wire I had on hand.  Due to the length of the extension cord, the stapler's power was not 100%.  There is something wrong with the outlet down by the pool so I had to use one of the outlets at the back porch.  Not sure what to do about that, need to get an electrician out here I guess.  I got one side of the Orchard finished today.  I can't reach the back fence with the amount of extension cord I have, but if I use more extension cord the power of the stapler gets even weaker.  Conundrum.
• Raked pine straw that was on one of the trails and mulched my Lady Banks rose, under the butterfly bush, and under the Harlequin Glorybower.
• Spread grass clippings around my Sassafrass tree.  The crinums I got from Janine, which are planted next the tree, are really spreading.  There are half a dozen tiny ones coming up.
• It was a beautiful day - sunny and cool.  Such a great day. 
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Weekend at the Farm Nov 14 - 16, 2014

 We finally broke into the mead that my son and I made.  It has a lovely, floral bouquet, and it tastes pretty darn good (an acquired taste I'll admit, but not bad).  Pretty high alcohol content, too.  Making mead was a fun experiment, and a great memory with my son, Josh.

Took Friday as vacation and drove to the farm on Thursday evening after work.   Cold and rainy most of the weekend.

• It dipped below freezing Friday night and all the tender morning glory vines froze.  That's okay, it was just a matter of time.  I would have been dismayed if I was having the whole family over for Thanksgiving, but this year we will all be in Disney World.
• Friday morning I turned over the soil in the last two sections of the Long Border, pulled weeds, pulled up zinnias and perennial ageratum, and sowed almost all of the last of the wildflower seeds - mostly poppies.  I saved back some of the seeds to fill in empty spots.
• I dug up Ox Eye Daisies in the paths of the Rose Garden and transplanted them in several spots of the Long Border.
• I will move some more Ox Eyes tomorrow.  I need to move some into the Circle Drive flower beds.  Amy and Josh are thinking about getting married there with the guests in the driveway facing the wooded area we recently cleared.  That's fine, but in the early spring there is nothing growing in those beds.  The gingers break dormancy after the wedding has come and gone. And all the bulbs in those beds are fall bloomers.
• I collected lots of Hyacinth Bean pods from the trellis in the Long Border and put them in the house to dry out.
• Raked up some pine straw and mulched one of the Madame Antoine Mari roses in the Long Border.
• I received a few bulbs that I ordered from Old House Gardens - Double Tiger Lilies and Freesias.  I planted them in a plastic tub that I got from Albert Meyers (his cow feed gets delivered in them) and filled with potting soil.
• My husband rented a log splitter on Friday, and I helped him split the logs that he has been collecting all summer.  I loaded the cub cadet with wood, drove it to the house, and stacked it on the back porch, did that twice, helped for another twenty minutes or so then drifted off. 
• Saturday morning I cleaned the house - vacuumed, mopped, cleaned bathrooms.
• Will, Kim, Zelda, and Henry came for a visit on Saturday and spent the night.  The kids are so cute, we had a nice time - went for a walk around the place, and Zelda and I wandered round and round the gardens.
• After the kids left on Sunday morning I pulled up all the salvias in the Star Garden.  The light freeze on Saturday morning killed all of it.  I'm planning to break up the large flower bed in Max's garden into four beds, maybe five.  I will start that project when it gets a little colder and all the perennial plants are in full dormancy.  I'll have to dig up some of my Copper Canyon Daisy, Autumn Sage , and Pink Muhly Grass.  It will look a lot better, and I will be able maintain it more easily.  When everything was in full summer throttle, I did not like to walk into that huge bed and pull weeds.  A little creepy.  Anyway, I'll take all the soil that is in the spots where the new paths will be, and I will fill all the beds that have been set up.  My husband made 3 beds for me in the Star Garden out of cedar logs last summer, but I have never filled them because I had no soil.
• I moved Ox Eye daisy plants growing in paths to various spots throughout the Star Garden and Circle Drive.  I transplanted about 10 clumps of daisies to several beds in the Circle Drive.  I moved a lot of clumps to various places in the Star Garden - everywhere I saw a blank spot and envisioned beautiful white flowers blooming, I planted some. I have a lot more not go, not only are there still lots of daisies growing in paths, there are lots of plants growing under my rose shrubs.  They are too close, and they will block the beauty of the springtime roses.  The new beds I'm going to build will be good spots for them. 

Visit to the Farm November 2, 2014

Pretty rye grass coming up in the back yard.

• I expanded a bed with one green landscape strip along the back walk that leads to the Boardwalk.  I used the last of my compost - perfect timing, just before the leaves start to fall and I can make more.   Planted two Banana Shrubs.  Banana Shrubs bloom in the late summer.  The blooms are about two inches across, beige in color.  The remarkable thing about the flowers is the scent. - just like ripe bananas.  I planted them right next to the walkway so that the scent can be enjoyed.
• I spread Philippine Lily seeds in the new bed around the shrubs.  It is a partially shady area, perfect for the lilies.  I also spread seeds in several of the beds in the Circle Drive, some in the Ehrlicheer bed, and some in the Janine bulb bed. 
• I pulled up spent zinnias and salvias in the Orchard, turned over the soil, and spread wildflower seeds - California Poppies, Corn Poppies, Flanders Poppies, Drummond Phlox, and Bluebonnets.
• Raked up pine needles along the trail.  Mulched in the salvia bed along the back of the house.
• Watered all my new roses.  
• Kim stopped by with the babies for a moment on her way back to Austin- bathroom break.
• It was a gorgeous Autumn day.  Really lovely.  Stopped at Blake's on the way home to see Sammy.

Introducing Sam Hamilton Born October 28, 2014

Since I am a fan of nicknames, I am sure that Sam will eventually  answer to:
Ham Samilton
Sam I Ham
Sammy Hammy
And the list goes on.