First Frost

We got our first frost last night. It was down in the low 30's apparently. We did finally turn on our heater!

The grass has a sort of blue-hue when covered with frost. Very pretty.



The frost didn't kill the rose blooms.



It seems as though the frost did kill my blushing susie vine that is growing on the mailbox. I kicked myself in the butt this morning, because I meant to cover it up last night! Doh! I really wanted that guy to last a couple more weeks.

I covered the late crops with plastic, and they seem to be ok. The tomatoes look a little blackened, but I don't think they will die. I would like to harvest the last of the tomatoes before saying good bye to the garden for the year, so we'll see how the coming weeks treat us!

Pumpkin Let-Down

Here is a photo of my first little pumpkin developing on the vine back in September. I was so excited to be able to harvest my own pumpkins for decorating! Sadly, this was the only fruit to form on the 6 vines that grew from seed! What a bummer!



An even bigger bummer was discovered last week when I hiked up to the garden to pick my one pumpkin only to find that it was rotten and harboring gross little bugs! I did not photograph the infested pumpkin, because some people may not appreciate such a disgusting view!

I'm so sad. I had planned to have an over-abundance of pumpkins that I would share with the neighbor kids, but instead I have nothing but one rotten pumpkin. Stupid pumpkins!

Front Yard Update

The grass continues to grow in and spread. There are still a lot of bare brown patches, but they are not as noticeable as they were before we fertilized and seeded four weeks ago.



This is still the worst part of the lawn. I don't know why it is in such bad shape, as it gets no foot traffic at all.



The front yard view is much better!

Hydrangea Garden

Here is a view of my new Hydrangea garden. It's not all that impressive at this point, but next year it should be worth blogging about.



I was so cruel to create a Hydrangea garden in this location, because it gets nice cool shade until about 1pm when it is hammered with the hot afternoon sun for the rest of the day. How rude of me! I'm probably suffering more than the plants do though, since I am the one lugging water to them every day! Ideally, Hydrangeas prefer early morning sun followed by mid-afternoon shade. I really can't think of a location around my house that offers those conditions though.

I planted three Hydrangeas and underplanted them with Gooseneck Loosestrife and pink daylilies. From left to right the Hydrangeas are; Penny Mac, Woodlander and Nikko Blue. I also bought some lovely pink tulips from Jesse Israel that I have yet to plant, but I hope to get them in the ground this weekend. (I always say I'm not going to buy more bulbs, but I end up giving in when I see all the exciting colors and varieties!)



I planted three of these pink Double Classic daylilies in the middle of the bed. These plants are shorter than most daylilies at only 16" tall, so they should be more tidy and compact than other varieties I have seen. I don't particularly like the foliage or habit of daylilies in general, but I am giving this cultivar a chance to redeem all daylilies! I ordered these when they were on sale at Bluestone Perennials, and they arrived in perfect condition. I like to keep an eye on their weekly sale items, because they always have a nice selection.



I filled in the rest of the bed with Gooseneck Loosestrife from my mother-in-law's garden. Gooseneck Loosestrife is a quick spreader, so if you plant it and want to keep it contained, be sure to plunge some sort of plastic or metal barrier at least 6" deep around the plants. Since I want a thick underplanting of Gooseneck Loosestrife, I did not install a barrier around the plants. I want it to spread and fill in that flowerbed until it is overflowing with little white goose necks.



The Hydrangeas will bloom in spring and early summer. The daylilies should bloom in the middle of summer, then the Gooseneck Loosestrife will take over blooming at the end of summer. I hope to keep constant color blooming in this little area. We also plan to replace that hideous skirting soon!

Reseeding the Lawn - Week 2

If nothing else, the lawn is looking greener after the recent re-seeding and fertilizing. We watered twice a day for the first two weeks, but for whatever reason, we stopped recently. Actually, I think the reason "we" stopped is because I had to go to Chicago last week and Ian wasn't diligent about remembering to water it!



The large brown patch is persistant.



It does look better, but I hope it keeps growing!



At least the blushing susie vine is thriving!