Through the Garden Gate

BY SKEETER

A little addition can really perk something up a bit. I found these simple panels for $5.00 each. As soon as I saw them, I grabbed 2 of them and knew just what I was going to do with them. I wish, I had grabbed the remaining 3 as they were such bargain finds. I just love the "Christmas Tree Shops" because they have such bargains and new inventory weekly! I put the panels by the Semi-Formal Garden arbor to make a sort of faux gate. The Saint wanted me to keep them black so I put them into place.

Hum, I like Black Iron Gates but not with a White Arbor. I tried this look in my Georgia Gardens to see if it would grow on me.

As you can see, it did NOT grow on me. Sorry Saint but I just had to give them a coat of white spray paint.

I now think they look as though they belong there and are part of the arbor.

I extended the walkway outside the gates beyond the Lily Rows. And also placed Cypress Mulch for moisture and weed control.

I think the white of the gates now tie in with the arbor and the little poles (Faux Fence) topped with bird houses. Click Here to see the Faux Fence. On down the line, I have added something else you may spot but we will not talk about that today as it deserves its own post at a later date. The Faux Fence is a bit difficult to see with the Lily's in front. Wow, that grass is thirsty.

Our neighbor's kitty Lilo likes the gate.

The Lily's are arriving!

I just love Lily's and they seem to enjoy our soil conditions.

They are thriving even after being divided last fall. Do you see what I see in this Lily? Yes, Rain Drops! Finally, we are having a decent rainfall today! (which is Wednesday as I type)

I have lost track of the lily names so please don't ask me about them. This summer when I am stuck inside keeping cool in the Air Conditioning, I plan to make some sort of tags for the plants. I have lost track of so many names but luckily, I have kept most (not all) store tags. 

It would be nice to stroll along the gardens and be able to name the beauties when someone ask about them. As we age, the mind does not seem to hold onto the information as it once did in life. Oh gee, I am still in my 40's (for one more year) and I know "I ain't seen nothing yet" where the memory is concerned.

It is difficult to name a favorite of my blooms. As with children or pets, how can you pick a favorite? But this is a bloom I might call a favorite. It is located in the Semi-Formal Garden as you go THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE, In the Garden... 

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

Crossvine Surprise on the Big PVC Arbor

You can definitely tell it is spring here in Middle Tennessee. The plants have gone wild and crazy!

I went out of town for a week and look at what I came back too. The crossvine, lilacs, and many more plants have simply exploded. That'll teach me to leave town during spring! It seems more like May than April here. 

Do you suppose it is an April Fool's joke that summer has started-temperature wise? The ten day forecast says temperatures should stay above freezing so that is a relief. If you plan to plant warm season crops now might be a good time. I've gotten mine in already and feel like I am ahead of the season but who knows what will come our way next. Strawberries in the vegetable garden are already berried up and everything is just busting out all over. More information on the vegetable garden in a later post....


in the garden....

One more thing, the weeds are very bad this year, perhaps every year, but this year with the early start to the season it seems they are much worse. Don't despair, just do a little at a time but be consistent and you'll get the job done. Enjoy this great weather!


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

A Glorious Arbor Entrance to the Vegetable Garden

I have a few arbors in the garden that have been screaming for their time to shine on the blog. Literally-they are saying look at me! My time to shine! Today we'll talk about the gigantic PVC arbor I built as an entryway into the vegetable garden. I built this PVC arbor from 6" PVC pipe several years ago. It is about 10 wide at the base and about 16-17 feet tall at its peak. I pieced together PVC parts to make it all work to form a large arbor and glued the parts together with construction adhesive. I couldn't get that stuff off from my hands for days. It is really really strong glue. Prior to putting the arbor together I painted the white PVC with a deep green color using the Fusion spray paint made for plastics. Once the arbor was in place I secured chicken wire to the arbor so the vines would have a place to cling to as they grew up the arbor. It has been about five years since I built the arbor and the vines are finally providing me with a show.

The left side of the arbor (south side) has a 'Tangerine Beauty' crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) growing on it. The north side has a 'Pride of Augusta' (Gelsemium sempervirens). Both vines bloom at the same time. One side is orange and the other is yellow. I highlighted the yellow side in my vegetable garden post from last Wednesday. Today is the crossvine's (orange) time to shine.





Crossvine is a cousin to the vigorous trumpet creeper we see blooming all along the fencerows in Tennessee during the summer. Crossvine is purported to be less aggressive. I cannot vouch for that because I do not grow the trumpet creeper, but I can say the crossvine is a very manageable vine that can grow in the shade or sun. Bloom will be much less in the shade however. My vine grows on the northern side of mature oak trees and is somewhat shaded. It does get some sun but probably not as much as it would like. Nonetheless it blooms wonderfully every year.







Can you see the chicken wire attached to the arbor? I do have to do some training of the vines to ensure they are growing up and around the pillars but once the vines have a solid structure I should have to only trim errant stems. I need a ladder to reach to the top of this arbor so training and trimming is not something I do often.





And finally here you can see the complete arbor in its glorious context. This arbor is a big presence in my garden and I really like it not only for its presence but for the fact I can grow up-a nice luxury when I run out of room on the ground....


in the garden....

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

Moon Flower & Red Cousins

By SKEETEROne morning I looked out into my Georgia Garden and spotted something glowing on the swing Arbor.
Zooming in, I could see huge white flowers! Oh my, what do I have here?

Big beautiful Moon Flowers! I saw these on someone else's blog recently and could not help but agree with them on how the center resembles a Starfish! Sorry for not remembering who mentioned that but you know who you are.
Here is a bud ready to pop open in the evening hours.
The leaf of Moon flower is large as is the bloom.
I planted these from seed packets so I have the name. She is Evening Glory; Ipomoea. When I purchased these seeds, I thought I was getting the same flower that once adorned my garden thanks to Tina passing along some seeds.
The Moon Flower that Tina has in her Tiger Gardens is Datura. Click HERE to see that beauty. Funny thing; When I picked up the packet of seeds, I thought I was getting the same flower that Tina has. How surprised to find out I have a vine climbing Moon Flower! Looking on the seed packet, I see it says "Night Blooming Vine" at the bottom. Well, Duh, on my part for not paying closer attention.
She is a beauty as she opens up in the evening but with all moon flowers, they do not last long. Just look at how large this bloom is compared to my hand!
By mid morning, the beautiful blooms have succumb to a blob of white nothing. Sigh, so pretty but for such a short time...
Where the blooms were once, I now see these things.
I can only assume these are seed pods. I sure hope so as I have enjoyed this flower and would enjoy it to reseed for next year!
When the Moon Flower is gone for the day, the Cardinal Climber is blooming to keep me happy.
This flower has been keeping the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds so happy this summer.
Look how differently this bloom looks then the one above it. Hum, lets do some research here shall we? Ahhhhh, this is not Cardinal Climber but Cypress Vine instead! Thank you Nina for the seeds! I have been seeing the Cardinal bloom for a while now and wondered why the Cypress has not bloomed. Well, well, it may have been blooming all along. I just have not noticed it as the blooms are so similar from a distance.

After a bit of researching on the computer I found this info.

Cardinal Climber:

Family-Convolvulaceae,

Genus-Ipomoea,

Species-Sloteri.

Cypress Vine:

Family-Convolvulaceae,

Genus-Ipomoea,

Species-Quamoclit.

Also the Moon Flower is Genus-Ipomoea. Ah ha, so these flowers are cousins! Learn something new everyday! The Climber and Cypress have been blooming like crazy and dropping old blooms daily! The ground by the swing is covered with them.
I also spotted this Scarlet Runner Bean blooming. It bloomed earlier in the summer but not for long. I was surprised to see this one blooming now. My seed packet says this one is edible but I will not munch on it and I don't see any bean pods anyway.
When that Grapevine covered tree fell (Click HERE to see) in our yard this past winter, I had a vision in my mind. I took that Wild Grapevine and turned it into an Arbor for this swing. (click HERE to see) That vision was continued with seed planting all around the base of the Swing Arbor. It is not often a vision in the head actually turns out as you plan but in this case, I am ever so happy with the results! I love that MOON FLOWER & RED COUSINS, In the Garden...

Note: Thank you Tina and Nina for the seeds to encourage me to try more seeds this season. Also thank you to all commenter's chatting with me. It has been a trying year for me in the garden as well in life. I will be Missing In Action for a bit. See ya when I return to the blog!

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

Garden Gifts

By Skeeter
I have something new in my Georgia Garden! My parents sent me a card for my birthday last month and also a little green was included. Of course, I knew I was going to turn that green into something for the garden but I had no idea until we visited the Habitat for Humanity Restore that I was getting an arbor!
This arbor is made from old closet doors which I found cheaply priced. I found three sets and they were in perfect condition! One can find great things at the restore.
I painted them with outside latex paint (per my local hardware guys advice) in hopes they will last a long time. I know non-treated wood outside is not smart but I decided to go for it. We also have the structure on top of gravel instead of the soil for less rotting.
The Saint dug deep holes and filled them with quickcrete and put posts in them to attach the panels. The post used is from the old swing top, click HERE to see that recent project. We are recycling them as they will be sturdy enough for this project. He attached them with zinc screws and L-brackets for extra support. We placed one single panel across the top. Hum, what to do with that one remaining panel... Any suggestions?
I then headed to the Garden Center with the remaining green backs and found two plants to trail the arbor. I chose Swamp Jessamine as my plants.
Swamp Jessamine has yellow blooms and the tag says it will bloom in both spring and fall. It is an evergreen foliage which I like and also attracts hummingbirds which I adore! It is a hardy plant to 10-degrees which we rarely get to in our area.
These pictures were taken back on April 1. I have more going on in this area since then and also less weeds then you see here, ha ha. I will show that with another posting. I just love GARDEN GIFTS, In the Garden...

A Special thank you to my mother and father for making this gift possible for me!


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Grapevine Project

By Skeeter

Remember that big yellow Daffodil Bud I showed you on Tuesday? Well look at her shining in my Georgia Garden now! After a day of 77 degrees, she popped open and look, she has some friends that will soon join her...















We finally got that Elm tree cut up and off the ground this past weekend. We were real careful to remove the grapevine which was twisted all around the tree trunk. Here you see the grapevine on the ground just waiting for me to carry out my plan of action.
Do you know where I am going with the grapevine yet?
I love this swing but always thought the frame a bit too plain for my taste. I perked it up with the Tipsy Pots, Wind chime and Hanging Plant but still do not like the look. So into action with some modifications we go. We had a nice breakfast then trip to Lowe's for supplies. We picked out three 10 foot treated 2 x 4 pieces of wood. We carefully measured and cut them into 40 inch pieces and gave each side a 45-degree angle cut.Little did we know we would have to replace the top 4 x 4 with a new piece. So off to Lowe's a second time for a new 4 x 4. Back home and as the Saint was removing the screws, two of them snapped in half, argggg. The screws were not galvanised/zinc so over time, they rusted. We make sure to always use the correct items when doing outside projects. Too bad the previous homeowners did not install the swing frame correctly. So back to Lowe's again for 6 inch Zinc Lag Screws. Keeping up? That makes 3 trips to town for supplies, consisting of 4 pieces of wood and 6 screws!
With new top of frame in place, the Saint went to work installing the 40 inch slats.
Ta-Da! We now have an arbor type swing frame. But wait, there's more...













The Grapevine now comes into play. We twisted and worked for quit some time to get the grapevine on the frame of the swing.

It took some muscle and lots of mosquito bites (that warm day) as we could not swat them off the legs due to holding the vine in place while hammering a nail here and there! But we finally got the grapevine to look as though it were naturally climbing the Frame and Arbor. The vine does not touch the ground as we do not want to encourage pest such as termites.
The Wind chime was relocated and the hanging pot removed. I have seeds of Cypress Vine, Morning Glory and 4 O'clock (Thank you Nina and Tina for those gifts) that I plan to plant at the base of each side. Hopefully, this swing will be full of blooms this summer.
With the smaller left over grapevine, I tried my hand at making a Grapevine Wreath.
I hung it on the side of the Wood Shed/Mower garage.
The wreath was a bit time consuming but very easy to make. I think it will add interest to the wood shed.

Mother Nature knocked down a tree but gave us 2 GRAPEVINE PROJECTS, In the Garden...


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden