Time does not stand still

BY SKEETER

 Hello Bloggers! I hope you are enjoying some of the wonderful temps we are having here in my Georgia Gardens! Glorious 80's and low to NO humidity! My kind of weather indeed! Above, you see the Crepe Myrtle Bush in bloom. This is Miss Myrtle that did the Splits for me last year when she was a tree. She is making a comeback. Click Here to see that.

I have been out of the blogging loop for a bit. My mother had hip surgery and I went to Tennessee to help my family. I am happy to say that mom is progressing along and is off the walker and on a cane! It will not be too much longer until that cane is doing nothing more then collecting dust.

I had several Blog Postings scheduled before I departed Georgia and had planned to visit many bloggers during my "down time" in TN. I found out quickly that I had very little "down time" during the 3 weeks I was in TN. Family and Friends kept me busy the entire time! Thus, few blogger visits from me.

Once back in Georgia, I found a new computer and a new lawn mower amongst other changes. I was not ready for "Change" as I dont really like change that well. I deal with it in time but was not ready to learn something new so soon after such a long exhausting 3 weeks of worry, lack of sleep, etc. I decided to back away from the computer.  

I now find myself pet sitting our favorite pooch, Zip, his three cat siblings and 3 Horse siblings as well. Zip and my Fur babies are getting along great as they are use to his visits with us. I now find myself ready to get back to blogging as I have kind of figured out this new computer format.

 Here is one photo you saw during my TN visit of the lamp post I created from an old pole. Click HERE if you missed that post. Notice the lush Vinca in this pic.

I return to GA and find dead looking Vinca! What on earth happen to my lush, vibrant Vinca while I was away?

The Saint did a wonderful job of watering all the plants I had asked him to keep an eye on for me. Vinca was not one of them as it is very drought tollerant and never needs any attention from me. Plus, we had massive rains while I was away. We had a total of 12.3 inches of rain the month of August which was close to the record rainfall for that month. Could we have gotten too much rain too soon for the Vinca or what? Any comments on this would be wonderful as I find this a total mystery...

 Signs of rain in the form of beautiful fungus are everywhere in the gardens.

Another thing I noticed was this area. This picture above was taken when preparing for the Post about the Foundation on the West side of the house. Click HERE if you missed that one. 

Look at 3 weeks growth. The elephant ears are now above the porch railing and the black ears are above the AC/Heat Unit. Yes, they like the sun, heat and water in this area. (Rose, do you hear this as I failed to answer your question on the comments for that post...)

All the Elephant Ears in the yard loved the excess rain fall. They were taking over the Butterfly Bush Island. It looked more like a jungle when I returned to my gardens!

I have since clipped back the over growth. I know these huge plants will have to be moved for next year.

New growth was seen on many happy bushes such as this Ligustrum.

Penta's has never been so happy! Too bad I only purchased one this year. Sigh...

To the right of the Penta's, I find a Yellow Iris in bloom! Suprise to me and I can only wonder if this iris is the type Tina recently talked about? Maybe in the Immortality family. Hum, another mystery for me...

Both Angel Trumpet's are also happy!

The Pink that Tina passed along to me.

The yellow scented passed along from a neighbor.

A surprise corn stalk growing in the middle of a newly planted Knock-Out Rose bush! Silly Squirrels, there are better places to hide your corn seeds.

The Saint tells me to go behind the shed and "check out" the Compost Heap. Ha, a Elephant ear and Pothos nicely growing after being dumped as nothing but dead looking debris! It looks as though I planted this but I promise you, I did not. I need to get a pot and dig up the pretty house plants and also move the ear elsewhere. No, TIME DOES NOT STAND STILL, In the Garden...

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

Think Pink!

By Skeeter

October has become a month of a very important Pink Symbol. Not the pretty Pink Pentas you see here in my Georgia Garden. Pink is a reminder of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Breast Cancer is the second cancer killing disease for women following Skin Cancer. One of the tricks to beating this awful disease is early detection and treatment. So Lady Garden Blogger and Lady's of Male Garden Bloggers, do as I and get your appointment for a yearly mammogram!

It is not as bad as the horror stories I had heard before my first mammogram. I receive more pain from a mosquito bite then a mammogram. If you are a bit modest such as I, try my little trick. I go to my mental "Happy Place" which is my imaginary perfect garden free of weeds. As I stroll through my happy place, I talk to the tech while having my mammogram and soon the procedure is over. Then I treat myself to Pizza at my favorite Italian Restaurant!

So THINK PINK, In the Garden...

Pine Straw to Plants part 2

By Skeeter

Today will be part two continuing from yesterdays post about the new area I am creating in my Georgia Garden. Yesterday, I showed you the Heuchera (Coral Bells), Spider plants, Black Elephant Ears and Hosta. Today we shall move to the right of that area to another spot where I have a little Rock Garden started.
Here you can see several different plants. To the top of this picture, you can see the post of my two water gauges. I rely on these to keep me informed of the rain fall when I am away from the garden or sleeping with rainfall during the night. I have formed this Rock Garden by the rain gauges to make them not so noticeable as they are not real pretty gauges. That is a big trick for me in the garden, disguise the ugly things with beautiful things. Remember my boat shed, air conditioner unit, propane gas tank? LOL...
Moving in for a closer look, you can see the focal point being a bit of Whimsy. These turtles are busy taking care of the garden with their shovel and rake. Right behind them are Elvis the Hosta I talked about last year. Click Here to see that if you missed it. I had two Elvis but one was over come by either a Vole or Drought. I was able to salvage the one and baby it back to life this spring. The picture above was taken before Elvis was blooming for me. However the Catmint to the right was blooming and attracting bees and butterflies by this time. I had to rescue the Catmint as well last year. Here you see the Catmint blooms. I think they are such pretty little blooms. Thank goodness for the zoom lens!

There is Elvis in all his glory a bit later then the other picture was snapped. This picture was snapped today, being July 1 so he should be about played out by the time this goes to posting. He sure does have longevity in the blooming department though as he blooms longer then any hosta I have had.
As you can see in this picture, the Catmint has turned yellow on me. They are not in the ground as they are in pots buried in the ground instead. I told you about the soggy conditions we had this spring. I need to put it into the ground now that the area has dried. Elvis will remain in his pot as the Vole will destroy him for sure if he is in the soil.
Here is a new addition in my garden this year. I found "Armada Rose Sea Thrift" on the Bargain Bin for a dollar each. I picked up 4 to place in between the Rocks which I picked up for free at the lake.
I found them on the Bargain Bin in late spring so I was only able to enjoy a few blooms such as this one. Hopefully, they will give me plenty of blooms next spring.
Another new addition is "Cooper's Ice Plant". The Saint spotted these and really liked them. We picked up 2 one-gallon pots at $2.98 each. They are spring bloomers also but we found them early therefore, we enjoyed some late blooms from them.
The foliage is interesting. It looks like a succulent but it is not. It is a ground cover which likes some sun and where they are located, they get some sun. I hope it will be enough as we really do like this plant and the blooms.
Look at the foliage a bit closer. I think it looks like an Aloe Plant!
And Purple blooms. I can't get enough of purple blooms as they are my favorite color of flower.
Now what is that plant called. That is OJ the neighbors kitty coming to visit me in the garden. He likes where I placed this one flat rock. He thinks it was put there for him to perch himself. He is my buddy so I let him stay put. What is that plant in front of him you ask?
Well, that would be Speedwell. Not the speedwell I am use to seeing but "Speedwell Veronica Waterperry Blue". This is a ground cover as well which has tiny blue blooms. I have yet to see the blooms but at $1.00 each, I am not complaining. They will give us blooms at some point. I hope anyway...

Pentas is not a new addition in my garden but I did not have any of the annuals last year. I did not find them last year but I did this year. I really do like this flower as it attracts the Hummingbirds and Butterflies. They give blooms from spring until frost and don't require much attention from me. My kind of flower! I found these 3 for a super bargain price of .25 cents each! They had to be mislabeled as the remainder of the rack were not priced at a quarter each! My lucky day...
The blooms are clustered and so awesome. They come in different colors but this bargain find were pink. I like Pink in the garden and at that price, I would get them no matter what color they were.
I planted the 3 Pentas behind the rain gauges. They will get taller and help to hide the poles of the rain gauges.
OJ, get off the Speedwell and back on your rock okay? Be a good boy and not a pain in the you know what. Well, there you have it, a new area being created with bargain finds at a slow pace. I hope all will fair as this area does get really soggy with rain.

I also found 2 Lantana plants at $1.00 each but I don't have a picture with them in it. They are to the very front of this Rock Garden area. They were small when I purchased them and without a tag. I had no idea what color they were but to my luck, they are the multi orange, red, yellow ones! Ah, perfect as they are my favorites.
As you can see even though I have a good start here, I have lots more room to go from PINE STRAW TO PLANTS, In the Garden...