Typical freaky spring in GJ

Channel 5 News guys just knocked at the door and asked if they could photo the flowers in the front yard.  On tonight's news they are going to remind people that the temp will drop below freezing so they may want to  cover the veggies and flowers. The reporter wanted a photo to go with the news.

He commented about how beautiful the flowers are and it reminded me that I take for granted the beauty that surrounds me.  At any time of the year I can look around the front or back yard and see beautiful plants. Through the toughest winters I can see the bright green color of the evergreens, the pale yellow tall grasses waving in the wind, the blue fescue scattered around -- if only I take the time to look and appreciate.  It goes without saying that the other seasons display abundunt color everywhere.  My favorite, of course, is the herd of lavendeers that keep multiplying and growing bigger.

We were so blessed to be able to buy this house back in October, 1996. The previous owner had built it in 1960 and took loving care of it. It has been featured in at least 4 times in local news articles.  You know it's still a small town when the news people knock on your door to ask if they can take pictures. One year a reporter was driving around looking for ideas. She asked if she could take some snow scene photos outside. I invited her inside and she asked if she could take some inside photos too.  I had just finished setting the table with my Christmas dishes and decorations and so she did a great feature article -- it was fun.

Another winter I saw my neighbor in the middle of the street with her camera ... didn't think much of it at the time. Then we received a Christmas card from her and inside was a beautiful photo of our house with the trees covered in icy crystals. She said she enjoys looking across the street at our house.  I feel the same way about a neighbor house that can be seen when sitting at our kitchen table. They painted their front door a bright shade of red and it's like a little gift that I get to look at each day. 

So even though we had a high of only 50 degrees today and it's been rainy all week, the sun will be out this weekend.  It's a pretty typical GJ spring ... April teases with warm weather and we get outside and prune the lavender -- but NOT the roses. It is so hard to wait until Mother's Day to do the roses but it's best to wait. Then it snows in the mountains, rains down here, freezes at night -- but the roses are safe.           4/26/11

Spring Cuttings

I've been asked how to take cuttings from a lavender plant
to start a new one.  There are some good instructions on the web.
It's pretty easy.  Cut a piece 3 to 5 inches from a healthy branch
being sure to get some of the bark from the branch.  Place the
cutting into potting soil in a new pot or a used one rinsed out with a little bleach to kill any fungus.  Position the cuttings about an inch into the
soil with some leaves showing.  Use rooting powder if you like but
it's not necessary.  Put in a sunny place and keep it moist while it
is taking root.  Cut some air holes in a clear plastic bag and loosely
cover the pot (loosely so air can circulate).  Don't let the plant dry
out, but if it looks too moist, remove the plastic for a while.  Here is CO it is very dry so will need watering every day. But in MI may not dry out as fast - so keep an eye on it.  When it has put out several new shoots it can be transplanted to the garden. It will also grow nicely if you just leave it in the pot.         4/19/11

Pruning Time

The shabby plants in the backyard got their haircuts -- tall grasses cut down, coreopsis trimmed way back, fescues just needed trims.  The KarlForrester reed grasses have beautiful silvery plumes that I keep and put in a tall basket on the patio -- they last for years. 
Some of the smaller lavenders got trimmed but the big ones still need attention.  The 16  Royal Velvet lavenders on the east side of the house look good but the weeds are encroaching all around the patch of ground.  I'll have to put down cloth and stone pavers to keep them at bay.  There is a lot of landscape work to be done on that side of the house.
This time of year is so nice here - mornings are cool which is the best time of the day to prune.  The dogwood tree has dropped its flowers but the redbud trees are in bloom. We have two in the yard and they make me smile whenever I look at them.  The most beautiful shade of purple/lavender -- then the leaves will appears and be green for the summer.

Heading out to do a training at the church for youth workers.  "Safeguarding God's Children" is a 4 hour program that teaches about child sex abuse and how to prevent it and what to do if we suspect it. The videos are excellent training films -- wish everyone could see them.  A great "wake-up" call for people.         4/17/11

Heading to Sin City

Once or twice a year some of the family meets in Las Vegas and spends a few days talking, eating and gambling --- in that order. I don't think any of us are big spenders on the slots machines ... except .. hmm ... maybe Loraine spends more than I think she does. You know how those quiet types are .... come to think of it, she does win a lot.  I'm a nickel machine poker player and last time we were there I won $150 ... first time I ever won more than I spent.

Last Saturday I added compost to the lavender plants at Angie's house. The soil that they are planted in is a sandy soil which is great because it drains nicely. But it's necessary to add nutrients.  Ang & Ron had a pickup bed full of soil and compost which Ron gingerly shoveled into a wheelbarrow for me. (Both he and Ang have painful shoulders - she just had surgery and he willl have it this month - but there they are out digging and shoveling).   Since I keep gravel up around the plants' "necks," it had to be pulled away, then compost dug in around the plant base, and the gravel pushed back.  So the li'l darlings have been fed for the year now and will just need water and sunshine. This will be their 2nd year blooming and I think it will be beautiful.  Last year I tried to keep them trimmed so they wouldn't bloom.  That way the energy goes to building strong roots.  They did bloom some anyway. This year some of the plants look real healthy and big enough to put on a great purple display in June and throughout Sept, maybe even Oct.