Another Early Spring

BY SKEETER

 I look out my window (on this last day of February) and see signs of an Early Spring here in my GEORGIA GARDENS. We had an early Spring last year and every thing opened early. It looks as though we may have a repeat this year.

 Forsythia is giving me a golden glow.

 The Wild Plum trees are giving me a pink glow.

 And the Bridal Wreath looks as if it has snow upon its branches.

I adore the tiny white blooms of Bridal Wreath Spirea.

After much needed rain, we once again have a creek in our front woods! I have missed the creek as it calls in the wildlife when running. Yep, me thinks we are in for yet ANOTHER EARLY SPRING, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

A Coach In the Garden Hypertufa Workshop and a Lucky Facebook Winner!

There was a lot of scooping and packing and molding yesterday....

as a group of very nice people came together for a Coach In the Garden Hypertufa Workshop. 

All of these lucky folks like my Coach In the Garden Facebook page and were privy to this workshop being held. They signed up immediately for it via Facebook. This was only the first of many workshops I plan to hold so don't despair if you were not in on the first one. These nice ladies were very kind to help me out and be my guinea pigs for how to effectively operate my first large workshop. And make no mistake, hypertufa workshops are a pretty big deal and require preparation-and some patient guests. I hope to post a picture of the completed pots on my Coach In the Garden Facebook page as soon as they are ready....

Front Row L to R: Yvonne, Barbara,Ann
Back Row L to R: Christy, Eddie, Donna

in the garden....

Now to the winner of the free ticket to the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show. It is Wendy Y.! Wendy is a local reader so she will get the free ticket and plans to attend the show this Sunday. She was announced on my FB page after the drawing yesterday. I used a random number generator to generate a number. Then I took that number and counted down the people who like my Facebook page to the right number (5) to determine the winner. Thanks to all my friends and readers of this blog who liked my page. Much appreciated!

For me, the blog, my business, and gardening is all intertwined-hence the business postings. Just thought you'd want to know. 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Raging Waters

BY SKEETER

We have our first Strawberry's of the year! Not from my GEORGIA GARDENS but rather a shipment from nearby Florida. They are sweet, juicy and oh so yummy!

Sunday was a beautiful day to be out into the great outdoors! Our area is finally seeing some good rain falls and enough to make for a raging Savannah river flowing over the dam.

  This is something we have never seen on our Canal Walk before. Police officers! They were called to assist a group of guys that had gotten a bit too close to the dam while in their boat. They went over the dam and were flushed downstream in the cold waters. We arrived just as the guys were getting out of the water along the bank. They were shaken up a bit but seemed OK otherwise. An ambulance was on the way to make sure though. People, BE AWARE OF RAGING WATERS after a lot of rain fall... 

 

On a happy note, our lake is rising! 5 feet in the past month which is wonderful for us boating lovers. We have 10 feet to go for a full pool so this is just a start but a good start!

 The Saint recently had eye surgery to correct his vision. I was so glad as he spotted this in the water when all eyes were on the dam itself.

A River Otter fishing in the Savannah!

 It looked so much like a seal don't ya think?

Otter are one of my favorites at a Zoo but to see one in the outdoors in the wild was just awesome! The Saint had to drag me away....

 Trees were showing blossoms along the walk. Cherry maybe?

My many walks along this canal and I have never spotted this plaque until now.

 We spotted wild Trillium in the woods.

A single leaf type of Trillium as well.

 Tina, knowing how you enjoy the show Survivor, I knew you would get a kick out of this Cache we found! Called "The Tribe has Spoken" Hint: was Tree mail...  

The Log to be signed was a water proof scroll! How cool is that? The info said this cache was placed by Jeff Probst but I am not too sure about that as I think someone was having a bit of fun. We enjoyed this find just the same. We had a wonderful time along the RAGING WATERS, In the Garden...  

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

The Deer Help with Planting Daffodils in the New Tiger Gardens

Deer helping with planting a garden?? What?! Yup, you heard it right! Unbeknownst to most of you Mr. Fix-it and I are making a dream come true-okay, I did let the cat out of the bag in Wednesday's post. The dream is to purchase a lot of land-enough so that we will not have any neighbors. We found the absolutely very close to perfect spot in the next county over recently and closed on the acreage this past Friday, 22 February 2013. (It would be perfect if it was already fenced)

Today's post is about the garden to be-and deer and daffodils and a non-gardening husband who loves me enough to try! The picture above is of Mr. Fix-it and is a classic picture of him. He is contemplating all the garden work to come-of which I believe he is fervently hoping he is not involved in! That is not to be! Please look around the area where he is standing-look carefully. What do you see? A field that is overgrown and plum full of weeds, briar, and who knows what else. Then, look closer and you might notice some cleared areas. Do you know what could have possibly cleared the area? I'll give you a clue-it leaves lots of scat and likes to eat gardens. It is deer of course!

In my haste to move my garden from Old Tiger Gardens to the new Tiger Gardens, I decided to begin digging daffodils. Big mistake. I began digging the daffodils (approximately 1000-1200 bulbs of one kind-'King Alfred') prior to thinking about how hard it would be to plant them in the large uncleared field near where our home will eventually be built. It was a "WHAT WAS I THINKING MOMENT" when I realized it would be difficult at best to plant the bulbs prior to us clearing the field. Nonetheless, the bulbs were dug and really needed to be planted. So, into the truck we go to plant the bulbs-hi ho hi ho HI HO! The bulbs pictured above are not even half of the type I dug and I have three or four or five other types to still dig! OMG! I guess I've done a pretty good job of multiplying the daffodils here in Tiger Gardens because I never would've thought the count would be so high.

And just how do I know how many bulbs I dug and replanted? My garden helper Mr. Fix-it was my divider and conqueror. His job was to separate the clumps and lay them in the very overgrown field. While doing this he had to count the bulbs. Laying them in the field for planting did not go as I had hoped. Again, I did not consider the fact that the field was overgrown and would be virtually impossible to plant. Just look at all of the plant matter Mr. Fix-it is standing on. It is thick and strong.

Our solution was to use the trails and bed down areas the deer had 'so thoughtfully' prepared for us. This type of planting may turn out to be a mistake in the long run because even though the bulbs are massed they pretty much follow trails--so they are randomly massed. I may go back and fill in all the blanks where we could not plant or perhaps leave it as is. There are more bulbs coming after the field is cleared so I'll have to see how it all works out with the varieties I still have to move. But, if I decide to keep the 'King Alfreds' simply as they are planted in the deer trails, Mr. Fix-it and I will forever have a good memory of the property where the deer roamed....

in the garden...

The count for daffodils planted on our land to date is: 800 Division 1 (trumpet style daffodils), a 'King Alfred' type daffodil planted the weekend of 16 & 17 February; 50 'Rip Van Winkle' Division 4 (double daffodil), and 10 'Ice Follies' Division 2 (large cupped) planted yesterday. The garden move has begun! Wish us luck!

Don't forget my drawing tomorrow for likes on my Facebook page. I'll post the winner Wednesday on this blog, but will publicly post the winner's name on my FaceBook page once I have made contact with the person. It's not too late to like my page and get the chance to win a prize!  

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Giveaway and Coach In the Garden's FaceBook

  Good morning! Scooter, the local Canada goose who escorts visitors across the Cumberland River, says hello! Local folks may recognize his picture from the local newspaper talking about this unique goose who rides the ferry between Cumberland City and Indian Mound each day. I have seen him myself on the ferry (it is my picture above) and what a treat! So, to shamelessly promote my FaceBook page I thought I'd ask for his help in introducing a little giveaway. 

It is simple, all you have to do is like my Coach In the Garden FaceBook page found here. Or you can click through via the FaceBook badge on my sidebar on this blog. You may leave a comment here, or there, or not, that is up to you. Benefits of liking Coach In the Garden are that you will get updates from this blog, interesting local garden information, information on workshops in the garden, and all sorts of neat ideas-directly to your FaceBook account. Plus you might win a free ticket (value $10)! My FaceBook page along with this blog are the way I get information about my business (and passion) out into the world. All new and old likes will be entered into a drawing for a ticket to the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show which starts Thursday, February 28th and runs through Sunday, March 3rd. The drawing will be Tuesday at 9:00 AM. I must be able to contact you-which should be no problem through a FaceBook message once you like my page. Please make sure your message settings on FB are set where anyone can message you. Once I get your address after contact I will announce the winner publicly. I will then put a ticket in the mail to you that same day! Or, if you are local I can make other arrangements. I will be at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show Thursday so meeting there is an option as well. If you are unable to go to the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show or are not local, I will be happy to oblige that situation by providing the winner with a $10 gift card to Lowes. Giveaway is open to United States citizens only. If we get an awesomely incredible amount of new likes I may provide for more than one ticket or gift card so don't be afraid to share my page. Thanks! And good luck! See ya at the show....

in the Garden....

While you are liking my page you may wish to look at not only the Nashville Lawn and Garden website but their FaceBook page as well. It can be found here. 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Hands of Time

BY SKEETER

 Geocaching takes us to the most interesting places in our area. Places that we often pass while in the car but never take the time to stop and explore. We have the neatest places of interest here in Georgia but heck, you have them in your area as well. You just have never taken the time to stop and smell the roses, I bet. 

 

Under the steps of this one room school house, is a small container giving us coordinates to a treasure hidden in the near by woods. The above structure was a one room black school house. Circa 1920. It was relocated here from Walnut Grove Baptist Church near Phinizy. I showed you a bit of Phinizy Swamp on Tuesday. A few feet up the road is the first Baptist Church in Georgia. Click HERE to see more places of interest in the small community of Appling, GA.

 Near the school house we spotted this beautiful tree full of red berries.

 Really FULL of berries! I have noticed many trees full of berry's and wonder why the birds have not had a meal or two. Maybe they need to ripen a bit more.

 Our walk in the nearby woods took us by this old cemetery. Surrounded by a beautiful old iron fence and some nice stones of a family plot. See all the green in the trees?

 Wild Magnolia trees I assume.

And a lot of them in the area. Could this be something other then wild Magnolia? Anyone know? I see lots of them in Georgia. 

Daffodils were reaching for the sky! This pic was snapped on Jan. 20 so they were early. I have not been back to this spot since but assume they have bloomed by now. The marker says Ms Malone died in 1934. I wonder when the daffys were planted?

 This marker really showed its age. About 50 feet away from this fenced cemetery is another burial plot that is unmarked. A few of the graves have markers and a few have just a simple large rock used as a marker. There are many unmarked graves as the rectangle shaped sunken ground told of that story. We wonder if they were maybe Slaves of the family in the Fenced Plot.  

This marker brought a smile to my face until I read the back. A child with less then 2 years of life. Sigh. I found a sight on the internet telling of this cemetery. Click HERE to see more...

 

We have driven past this spot every time we go to the lake and never knew this cemetery was just behind the little clump of woods just off the road. I am shocked that someone has not pilfered this area over time being in the woods. But somehow the HANDS OF TIME have watched over this little spot, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

A Little Surprise is Found in the Oddest of Places-Or Not

Not all surprises are nice-and finding a mouse is not such a great surprise but how could you not love this cute little face peeking out of junk we found on our new property to be?

Yup, you heard it right. Mr. Fix-it and I are taking the leap and making our dreams come true. We had been mulling the idea of buying some land for quite some time without really acting on it. Last fall, when my daughter Christine and her husband were looking for land I really got the bug to buy some land. The idea has been shelved and taken down numerous times over the last few years. How could I possibly leave my home of twelve years and my garden I've spent what seems like a lifetime in? I couldn't even envision it, plus we could not find the right spot for our future so buying land was simply a dream.

Then, a few weeks ago while I was browsing the 'land for sale' ads I found a nice piece of land not too far from us that I thought might be interesting. Mr. Fix-it and I took a ride over to the site and toured the property. We loved the property but did not make an offer. Another property came up that we liked a lot and we made an offer. That offer was rejected and countered; which we declined. In the middle of this process a new listing came on the market for more than double the land we were initially looking for. Having nothing to lose we ventured to look at the property I shall call 'Red Top'. It was a very cold day and I had barely gotten out of the truck when I hurriedly hustled back into the truck to stay warm. This left Mr. Fix-it to wander around. 

We were getting a bit discouraged by this point and I had given up, content to stay in my current home. Mr. Fix-it pushed on then excitedly came into the truck and said, "This is it." I did not take him seriously then he said, "THIS IS IT" not so much yelling (Mr. Fix-it never yells) but with conviction. Having been married to Mr. Fix-it for nearly twenty years I know him pretty well. The second time he said "This is it" really got my attention.

You see, our new property totals over 59 acres but seemed like it was all wooded on our first visit. Not encouraging when you plan to build a house as I do not enjoy walking thru woods and bramble. The property was misleading though. Had I ventured further onto the land I would have seen that after walking over 200 feet through woods, past a pond area and lots of trash; I would have seen that the property opened up to an incredible field atop a hill-only slightly sloping. It is an ideal place for us to build a house. We have been wanting privacy and distance from neighbors. No one will even be able to see our new home from any road and since we are building in the middle of a 42 acre parcel (total land is over 59 acres) we do not have to worry about any neighbors either. Can you say heaven? We are very excited! 

Back to the little surprise. While walking along and initially looking at the property Mr. Fix-it spotted a GMC hood lying on the ground. Mr. Fix-it is an auto nut as much as I am a garden nut. He loves, loves, loves GMCs. Like I said there is a lot of trash on the land, though not as much as what we found on other plots of land, and a hood seemed to fit right in. That hood was quickly noted and began to bother Mr. Fix-it so much that he made it his mission to upend the hood the next time we visited the land. He just had to see what was underneath. He pictured all sorts of things like snakes and other unspeakable things such as dead bodies. I thought he was really silly and I was right. When he warily lifted the hood off the ground rodents began running. One little mouse did not get away. It was tucked away inside of the hood and obliged me just for a sec by posing for its picture. It is rather cute in a rodent like way don't you think?

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Phinizy Swamp

BY SKEETER

Geocaching adventures recently took The Saint and I to nearby Phinizy Swamp. I thought that I had talked about this wonderful place at some point but could not find any links here on this blog. Click HERE to learn more about this wonderful free to the public park.  

 I cannot believe I have never talked about this place with you as it is a nature lovers paradise here in GEORGIA! Maybe I have mentioned this place before but the memory is lacking these days.

 Each time we visit the Swamp, we find interesting things such as these old Snake Eggs.

 Our walk took us by an old cemetery we never knew about until this day. The bricks of the wall were crumbling from time and I was happy to see a fence erected for preservation of this sacred ground. It could use some TLC in the weed department though.

 We spotted this small skull. Any guesses on what critter? Raccoon maybe, an Opossum?

 Blossoms were blooming on this beautiful sunny day in January.

 Spanish Moss drapes on the trees within the swamp.

 The Swamp is alive with life such as Egret.

And Turtles.

  With some green colors as well.

 Love this bright green in the swamp.

 Spanish Moss was blowing with a light breeze making the trees seem to dance.

 One can observe the swamp from above while strolling along a boardwalk.

 This Swamp is an overflow from the Savannah River. The nearby Water Treatment Plant of Augusta has holding ponds in the area. The Swamp and ponds act as a natural filtering system. We spotted a rather large alligator sunning within one of the holding ponds.

 And a second alligator taking a swim!

 Birds were sunning in the holding ponds.

We believe these birds to be Cormorants. Click HERE to learn more about Cormorants. We had a great day and must have walked over 5 miles if not more! This place is a jewel and we love PHINIZY SWAMP, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden