Elisa's Eye on the World

Return of the Hostas

Love these hostas which a neighbor gave to us a few years ago when dividing their plants. These make a great border on the raised bed surrounded by spreading Vinca.

Medley of Texture and Color

The stage is set for a season of color by the lower rock wall. The Garden Elf is surrounded by Bleeding Heart; to the right is the village of Foxgloves, surrounded by the spreading mat of Vinca. Sedums are spilling from the rocks and the nearby area has a stepable variety of groundcover bordered by wood chips.

Front Porch Container Mix 2012

TRAILING: Dichondra "Argentea" - Silver leaves on silvery stems: 2-3" tall, trailing 3-6 feet!

MOUNDING: Diacia Twinspur "Flirtation Orange" -  8-12" mounding habit

HEIGHT: Dahlia: Dahlianova Texas -10"

There are three boxes each with the same mix. Yesterday I scrubbed out the resin containers, which are in their 10th year or so of servce. They were baking in the sun when I potted them this afternoon on the front lawn and are now in place.

Tulips by the Back Door

Darling pair of pinkies!

The Fancy Fringe Red Gang

Mash Up Medley!

Tall crimson bulbs and one yellow Picasco type with pointy petals.

Two Sets of Fancy Fringed Tulips

Red Fancy Fringed Tulips waiting to open....

While the "safety yellow" ones put on their show.

Tulips Part I

 

Garden Views 3-23

Finally, here's some pictures of the garden taken outside, instead of through the window.  Spring is on the way!
The Elf has been relocated to the "fairy flower" area with columbines and foxgloves.

The violet colored blooms are Vinca groundcover, the tall shrub / herb  is Rosemary.

A big bag of compost spread in this area, after some diligent weeding was very rewarding.

 

Dusting of Snow

From the morning of March 7:
A few objects of garden whimsy are viewable here. The orange golf ball and red with tan garden elf with mushroom combi. This was all gone by mid-day.

Here you can see the end of the lawn dart.

Garden View Early March

I tagged "bulbs" here and must note this means the emergence of bulb activity. The Garden Elf has been repositioned for spring where soon, he will be surrounded by fairy like flowers and plants. Ah Spring!

Back to the Garden

While taking out the recycling and such I put the camera in a pocket and snapped these on the way back in. My hands were cold. But the weeds are growing and spreading and I know it's time to get back to the garden and set a clean foundation for the warmer weather.

Signs of early bulbs too. The grasses will get trimmed later in the month- President's Day was suggested to us - past the times we get the chance frigid stuff.
Hubs spread a nice blanket of brown leaves from our trees over this bedding area. Even this time of year there's a nice green mix and contrast with the fence. Yay!

...have to finish spreading the woodchips on this path

One of the corner lines of the lower rock wall, aka The Nook

Sunflowers Everywhere!

September Blooming Fuschias Keep it Bright

 

Goldy Honey Bear Sunflowers

Look at all the unopened flower buds! Flowers ahread this fall.

How plush is that?

In the background you can see an assortment of other varieties of sunflowers - but these are my hand's down favorite.

The element of whimsy shown here is the plaque on the fence to the right that happens to face the sunflower.

 

First Stage of Regrading and Chipping the Pathways

Prepping the area around the vegetable garden raised beds and seating area.

Overlapping layer of newspaper for extra blockage and sustainability.

A start of a very good thing. Thanks Hubs!

Play Chips for the Yard

Today we had cedar play chips delivered in the alley. The turn is too tight for the truck to dump them inside our yard, so plop they go into the public access...

Lucky for me a kind neighbor responded to my email invitation to run wheel barrows into our yard and about 90 minutes later...

The exposed dirt area is where they will be spread, but we want to adjust some of the grading first. Shown here is the staging area, where usually we have the yard waste/recycling and trash totes.

The area in front of the inward swinging gate is clear and alley swept. Ta-daa! Thanks K. And a big thanks to Garden Guru L. for the referral to Sawdust Supply Company who delivered these quality chips for a reasonable price. Once spread, the pathways should be free of weeds for a few years.

Early August Garden View: before the sunflowers take off

 

Two Non Pink Fuchsia Starts for 2011

Marinka. After many unsuccesful attempts at capturing this blooming Fuchsia I finally pointed the camera upwards from the ground.

Voodoo. Another non-pink variety chosen from the array of pink, really pink and super pinks at the garden center earlier this season.

 

Daisies Daisies Daisies

Flowering Frenzy

Lovable Daisies

Last of the Rockrose

Impressive Peony

Exotic Tiger Lily

Early July Garden Views

Do you see the new element of garden whimsy along with the rays of lights? It's a "Whiligig" with a metal propeller blade and movable base with a Maine lighthouse, fisherman, boat and fish.

Another view where the lighting looks great on the ornamental grasses.

The foxgloves, or Digitalis are in full force now, with a harmonious blend of pink, purple and white flowers.

The blue tipped blade of the Whiligig is somewhat viewable through the fountain grass.

Garden elf, post arm surgery amongst Sedums, Bleeding Hearts and Columbines.

 

Sweet Snapdragons

Hubs snapped these pictures of the snapdragons in the early evening light. So cute!

Window Boxes of Yellow and Apricot

"Lemon" Sunsatia, Nemesia hybrid

 "Obsession Apricot" Verbena

  "Double Lemon" Calibrachoa

Here you can also see the fabulous pink Lupine and purple blue Johnson's Blue Geranium.

Salmon Poppy - Everyone's Favorite

With the Blueberry colored Lupine

 

Those Crazy Red and Yellow Columbines

Hubs captured these portraits of the Red and Yellow variety

 

White Around the Garden

Low growing Hebe

Mounds of Scotish Moss ground cover

A ground cover that looks like little white parachutes

Another ground cover growing over a rubble wall with a mixture of other plants

The Pea Patch. They start with white flowers which turn to green pods.

Sunday Garden Stroll

Return of the Rhododendron.

 
Lupine, moved last year so it would have more room to sprawl. One of those plants with fantastic leaves and flowers.

Peony standing by to bloom (please please please!)

  
The triangle areas between the paths are really starting to take shape after 5 or so season. So much better than all the decking the dominated the yard when we moved in 17 years ago this weekend.

Tulips, Heuchera, Fox Gloves with a background of mixed Sedum and Ornamental Strawberry.

South Fence Side with New Raised Bed

The glacial green area marks the area called "South Beach" to the left is the rejuvenated fern, trimmed down in February and now has interesting growth emerging. The rain barrel and then the small glacial green area which is nice for the cafe table set or hammock.

Then on the left  is the new raised bed, now home to 2 dozen mixed color Gladiolus and 4 White Thyme ground covers. This is where the fence was replaced and it was about time go it planted. In the fall, tall but narrow shrubs are planned to give year round interest to the area.

Veggies in the Garden (so far)

So far, we have two varieties of peas:

San Marzano, or plum tomato

Sungold, cherry tomato

There's some Sweet Basil in the laundry room, as the overnight temperature is not yet over 50 degrees.

Walking Around the Garden Today

Tulips and Heuchera by front gate.

Sunflower seed starts.

Tulip Time!

Two Pumpkin Varieties for 2011

On Saturday I made a few mounds and started two type of French Pumpkin seeds:

French Pumpkin Type	Attributes	Color
Cinderella Bush Type Rouge Vif D’Etampes Ed Hume Seed Information	Flattened globes, compact vines	Bright reddish-orange
Musquée de Provence Cucurbita moschata  Botanical Interests Seed Information	Heavily lobed and ribbed skin, Heirloom variety	Rich Terra-Cotta

It's been raining like crazy since then, I have to check on them in the morning and press down any seeds that have moved to the surface, and maybe add a bit more compost so they are snug for germination.

 These were chosen because they are smaller in both vine and pumpkin size - it was time to face the fact we don't have enough room for the large types.

Two Projects: North Side Container and Seed Starts

Two of these bright pansies were added to the north side container, along with two burgandy snap dragons from a local grower.

In the peat pots are seeds for Goldy Honey Bear Sunflowers. The planting area needs to be prepped but I wanted to get these guys going! Now I have to remember to lightly water them every single day....started in the ground are two types of small pumpkins. Oh! And set aside for planting tomorrow are a San Marzano tomato plant and Snow Peas.

Tulip Time by the Back Steps

The yellow are the "Fancy Fringe" variety and the orange with yellow a returning "orphan" from a collection a friend gave us. Off the the right is the lovely light purple of Lanium.

Garden View From Back Steps

Taken around 6 pm tonight - note emerging bulbs and partially concealed garden whimsy.

Flurry of Activity Inside and Out

Right now there's tofu marinating in the fridge for dinner; and freshly baked blueberry bread cooling on the counter. Yesterday was another made from scratch pizza dough success story and another great pie.

Outside the Fence Team is finishing up the fence rebuilding project and the weather is dry, so everyone is happy.

February Snow Showers Dust the Garden

The bits of green sticking out are spring bulbs. I've learned they will hold on and find the right time to bloom, without damage despite the record low temps and snow.

View from the laundry room window. Artsy.

The orange dart? It's another element of Garden Whimsy. We found the lawn dart under the deck during the remodel. The teak bench was a great investment. Built from a kit, it requires not annual maintenance except to hose it off in the spring.

So nice not to see the ugly red shed. The blue recycling tote is standing on the remaining foundation until we build a proper corral on the north side.

Garden View from the Laundry Room

Kind of crazy, but one of the best views of the garden is from the laundry / half bath. I swung open the window and took these to show the lovingly trimmed and reshaped shrubs and ornamental grasses.

We were lucky to get a nice electric sheers at a neighbor's downsizing sale a few years ago which make quick work of an otherwise endless task of snipping.

Goodbye to the Shed, Hello to Reclaimed Sunny Spot

There Goes the Ugly Red Shed

 

When we bought our house in 1994 there was as in-ground fiberglass pool in the back yard. The shed accommodated the pump, heater and was a place to stow the chemicals and supplies. Since the decommissioning in 2006 there's no real need for the shed but a high demand for the sunny spot it occupies.

Finally the day has come to demolish the shed. We are setting aside unpainted/untreated wood for camping trip fires. The rest sadly as to go to the dump, though our throughtful contractor A has set aside good hardware as he finds it. It's not even noon yet but it's looking better already back there.

Here Come the Tulips

Here are some early signs of spring bulbs after a near frosty morning.

Early February Garden

This is the view from the window to my left as I type this entry. Hubs just cut back the Fern, as recommended by Garden Guru L for early February. Not very impressive right now but this area which faces the New South Beach lounging area is set for a spruce up.

I've been in the kitchen making clam chowder, but opened the window to take these as the drizzle dripped outside.

There's a nice view of the strech of fence that's on its last legs, and pending replacements. We already flipped over the boards so the pained brown side is not visible but the posts are failing and it's too high in some places, short in others and gotta go.

Hubs dismantles the former wheel barrow planter for proper disposal. This is from inside, the green rock is the New South Beach the nearby area has lots of early spring bulbs that will be rocking out by the end of the month.

Mid-January Garden View

November Snow in the Garden

The storm hit Monday afternoon, these were taken through the open kitchen window.

 

This is from Thanskgiving Thursday after a fresh morning dusting.

Taking out the Pampas Grass

 

Just the start...

Time for a brief break...

More photos forthcoming...

New England Colors

These photos are from the week of September 27 - October 1.

Massachusetts grown heirloom tomatoes at Davis Square Farmer Market.

Late blooming roses along Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass.

Maine

 

Late afternoon looks great through a golden tree.

Hello Goldy Honey Bears!

Goldy Honey Bear sunflowers grown from seed. These got off to a late start, but now their bright, almost fuzzy yellow faces will brighten the yard through the fall.

What fun. Photos by Hubs.

Cherry Tomatoes from the Garden (Finally)

Hub's show's off the smallest of the bunch.

Nice assortment, and not $6!

The View from the Kitchen Window

How handy to have a window that easily slides open to get photos like this.

Sunflower Roll Call 8-28

Bits of orange and very interesting center.

Most likely to be a Goldy Honey Bear.

Tie Die!

All photos by Hubs.

Beautiful Little Homegrown Strawberries

 

The Fragaria or Quinault variety of strawberries have done better than anything else in the garden. These little gems are potent, juicy and so tiny. These pictures were the harvest on three different days this week.