In My Backyard

Just checking in....

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Life is so unexpected, I have a job now. Considering how hard it is for everyone to find a job right now I consider myself very fortunate. I also have another grandson Donavan he is 3 weeks old and so precious I just want to hug him up every time I see him.

My camera hasn't been working well for a while and it finally quit on me. That's ok though I haven't really done anything new with the garden and it's getting overgrown with weeds in the hard to reach spots. Getting attacked by those hornets last year didn't help any either. I'll find something to put on here by the time I'm done.

Since I have a job now the walls and the playground are shaping up nicely. And I don't have to explain to my husband why he needs to buy dirt anymore. I just need to find time to get into the garden and pull those weeds.

I read in Mother Earth News to grow my tomatoes in a bag of dirt. So I'm trying that this year I have 4 tomato plants going and they seem to be happy. I hope this works because I have the hardest time with tomatoes. I'm hoping it's my dirt they don't like and not me, because I love tomatoes.

I've moved a few plants and I've trimmed a lot of branches off of trees and bushes this year. The yard looks like it has a very bad haircut right now. But I'm hoping next year it will all be filled out nicely.

I am surrounded by neighbors that let trees grow wherever they want. sometimes when I go for walks I wish I had my loppers with me. I have gone into one neighbors yard and cut out some wild things, but he doesn't mind cause his fence is over our property line and we have to go in his yard to keep the trees and weeds out of our garage.

I only have Saturdays off and some Fridays so most of that time is spent with my kids. They are so used to having me 24 hours a day it took a couple of months for them to get used to me working. My husband is still having a hard time, because I work at night so he has to do his own supper now and sometimes bring me mine. I spend the mornings cleaning the house and doing the laundry and he does the grocery shopping now. I was pretty hungry the first month, because of my limited diet. But he's getting the hang of whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables now;)

Been busy with my social networking, I've had a myspace for a few years now, but I just joined facebook. I go there a lot because my relatives do myspace and facebook and it is amazing how easy it is to keep up with each others lives and hardly ever see each other. If you would like to find me just look for Beverly Hagge and I'll be there;)

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:14:00 +0000

It's been a while and I'm a bit rusty, but I just couldn't stay away any longer. I have my health under control and I've lost 50 pounds:) My babies are all getting big and Baileigh is walking now.

I haven't done anything with my yard other than mow and pull weeds. But here and there I take a picture or two.

My Azalea is not well and I'm hoping it will be ok next Spring. I'll give it a shot of miracle grow and see what happens. It's over 20 years old so maybe it's ready to die:(

Today my uncle is coming over to help me build more of my wall, so I should get out there and get everything ready. See Ya!

my babies love flowers too:)

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:17:00 +0000

At least I'm not lazy;)

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:17:00 +0000

I came home yesterday and the white tulips that have been growing in the middle of my lawn every year were yellow. What is up with my yard that the white flowers turn into yellow ones?

I know I haven't been blogging as frequently as I used to and I haven't been commenting as much either. I also haven't been able to keep up with my gardening or other things in my life.

I thought I was being distracted or maybe just plain lazy. But it turns out after spending a few days in the hospital, that I have some diabetes and thyroid problems. Somehow that made me anemic and so I guess I've been sick and didn't even know it.

I'm going to be taking some time to get back on track, so I don't know how often I'll be posting. But I do think of you and check on your blogs often. And I'm going to leave you with a little something that made me smile today:)

SMILE;)

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:26:00 +0000

I have flowers blooming! Not too many, but I still have to clean out the beds so that's ok. Let's see now, first I found the yellow daffodils that were supposed to be white when I bought them.I still haven't bought any bulbs from Home Depot since then.

Then I saw a few Periwinkle or vinca vine whichever you prefer. I prefer to call them invasive weeds.

Right below that is a Hyacinth,and there are purple and white ones in the front yard.

Last of all are these little white flowers I forget what they are called.

The crocus are done now and the tulips are just starting to think about getting buds. It's nice to have a few pretties come up before the grand show;)

Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more about Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

First Day of Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:21:00 +0000

Spent most of the day spring cleaning. Still have a month to go before I can clean out the flower beds. I've been enjoying flowers all winter long inside. This Christmas Cactus has been blooming like this since November.Maybe I should call it a winter cactus.

The Hibiscus I was keeping warm decided to get bugs. White fly and scale, I hosed it down in the shower, sprayed it with insecticidal soap, and trimmed off all the bad stuff. It's an ugly thing now, but I'm sure it will get better.

I went outside after seeing these Crocus from the window.

The Surprise Lilies are in for a surprise when it snows again. The yard looks horrible right now, I can't wait for April.

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:04:00 +0000

It may be cold outside, the first real winter in Iowa for a long time. But at our house we have flowers year round.

I've saved six outdoor plants from winter death. My mother-in-law gives us her Hibiscus every Fall,before she moves back to Florida. I have two now and I'll have to start giving them away if I get anymore.

This plant was too pretty to let die, and I had a perfect spot in the south window to hang it.

Of course I'll always have my favorite winter flower on standby if all else fails.

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Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:46:00 +0000

After my last post my second son informed me he was getting married in two weeks at a courthouse. What! We haven't recovered from the last wedding yet. So he got married November 2, 2008. Small wedding and a very small reception at a restaurant, and off to Branson they went for a nice honeymoon. They also moved out of my house and now we are down to 5 people:)

I'd talk about my garden but there just isn't much to talk about. I got a new gazebo to replace the one that blew away. But we couldn't get the tarp off without dismantaling it. I kept the snow off of it okay but the ice storms were too much for it and it is now ripped in four places:( I also have almost 1/3 of my wall in the secret garden finished. The bricks are pretty expensive so I get them a little at a time. For Christmas I recieved some Menards cards for more bricks, I might be able to finish it this Spring:)

The main reason I've been too busy to blog is Austin, Michael, Jayson and Baileigh. We have been spending lots of time together and by the time Austin goes to bed at night I'm too tired to type. Austin is potty trained, Michael is off the binkie, Jayson is walking, and Bailiegh is crawling and I'm glad I was here to see it. For me playing with babies is more fun than flowers:0

My mother is back up here for a while. She had another mini stroke on Christmas Day, I really wish she would quit smoking. There is not much more I can say about that.

I am now the Family Readiness Leader for my husbands unit up in Minnesota. I will probably be going there almost every month this year because they may be deployed by this time next year and we have a lot of training and work that needs to be done. Hopefully I will get a laptop and I will have more chances to blog, I mean work;)

Here's hoping 2008 is a good year for everyone, and a better year for my flowers and shrubs. This year I'm planning on doing a lot of seeds and spending the plant money on walls and paths and an arbor or two. I'm going to be using a lot of pine needles for mulch (it's free!) and I'm still pruning the lilacs a few branches at a time.

Trying To Be Green

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 05:18:00 +0000

Today is blog action day. It's a day for everyone to write about the environment. I've been thinking all week about what I should write about. There are so many issues that it would take more than one post. So I decided I would write about the little things we do around here and provide some links to some interesting sites.

We have been recycling for over ten years now, I started composting last year and now I have 2 compost bins. We replaced some of our light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs and this year we are giving them to the kids for Christmas. I joined Freecycle last year, I always try to buy our food locally , and whenever we buy a new appliance we always get one with the energy star.

There are other little things we do like trying to conserve water, growing our own food, and turning off the lights when we are not using them. And we never litter, I think it was those sad commercials we watched when we were kids.

I've been interested in green building for about 3 years now, ever since I read about a straw bale house in Mother Earth News. I've found quite a few different types of homes on the web like this earthship made out of recycled tires and this cute house in Wales. I would like to learn more about green roofs,solar water heating and using graywater.

Maybe someday we will have our dream house on our dream land and we will grow and raise our own food and have solar energy and live off the grid:) A hybrid car would be nice too. But until then we will just have to do what we can to make our environmental footprint smaller,one step at a time.

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:21:00 +0000

I was looking out the window this morning and saw this pretty rose, so I grabbed the camera and took a walk around the yard.

I saw a lot of weeds and trees that don't belong, and here and there little flowers to make me smile:)

Next year I must plant more Dahlias around the yard.

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noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:02:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:17:00 +0000

Perfect time of year for Pansies:) They were my great grandmothers favorites according to my grandma so we always have some around the yard here and there.

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noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:53:00 +0000

My baby got married last week. We had the wedding down in Derby at my dads. I decorated the house with twinkle lights and flower garlands everywhere. Michael wore a tux to match his dad and Baileigh was in a pretty white dress just like her mama. After that wedding we went to 3 more, 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. It was pretty hectic and now I must take a nap;)

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 18:19:00 +0000

My birthday was Saturday so instead of staying home by myself with no car I went with HB to Minneapolis for his Army stuff. On the way there I heard over the radio that we were going to have a frost. Oh no! All my house plants are chilling outside with the container plants! Not to worry sometimes children can be useful;) I called them up and they put every plant inside, even the dead ones:) I'm gonna have to make them some homemade pizza soon to thank them.

When I got home there was no damage to any of the annuals so I don't think it was much of a frost here, but in Minnesota we had to use the ice scraper on the windows.Other than being quite chilly on Saturday the weekend was beautiful.

This weekend I went to see the Minnehaha Falls. We went for a walk and found a whole bunch of pagans celebrating the Earth. There were lots of different people young and old if HB hadn't of been there I would have joined in but he's not into being different and I wasn't dressed for dancing, so I just made him sit and listen for a while with me and then we went out to eat at a restaurant called Sunsets, it was very nice,the atmosphere was calm and relaxed and the food was mmm good.

On Sunday I went to the Ren Faire and spent some time listening to music, chasing fairies, and talking to vikings. I had never been to one that big before but I did manage to see almost everything before I had to go pick up HB. Next year I'll wear a costume and really have fun:)

One Down - Four More To Go

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:57:00 +0000

Congratulations! Mr & Mrs Richardson, I hope your having a wonderful Honeymoon;) The wedding was beautiful,the food was good and the dancing was fun. See ya soon:)

A Little Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 12:44:00 +0000

Last month I went with HB to Minneapolis, it was raining so I didn't get to do much. I went to a farmers market and bought some white phlox and honey. It was wet and cold and I didn't think to bring a jacket with me, took me the rest of the day to get warm again:(

The next day was a little nicer and I found my way to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. It was really nice, there is no admission fee all they ask for is donations. I went through the zoo first watched some polar bears that were lounging around, and found a sloth sleeping in a tree. It's a good thing I went outside first because as soon as I got inside it started pouring rain.

The Conservatory was like heaven to me:) Each room has it's own special atmosphere. One room had about 12 bonsai trees in it, one of the trees was 45 years old. There was a fern room and a room with spices.

But my favorite room was full of flowers. Once I found that room I just sat down and started breathing in the wonderful smells. Listening to the water trickle, somewhere I could hear a bird chirping. The upper windows were open so you could see raindrops leaving little ripples in the water as they slowly dripped down.

There was a lot more to that park that I didn't get to see because of the rain, so I'm going to go back and finish my visit sometime soon. I also have a few more gardens on my list and another farmers market. I sure hope it's not raining next time:)

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:18:00 +0000

It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and I didn't miss it:) Starting from the front and working my way to the very back of the yard. I have the following blooms.

Cheap Lily from Walmart, Delphinium, Coreopsis, Perennial Verbena,

Balloon Flower, Blackeyed Susan, Phlox, Calendula,

Dianthus, 1 lonely Daisy, 2 Butterfly Bushes, Rose of Sharon,

Augastache, Impatiens, Perennial Sweet Pea,

Dahlias, lots of Begonias, Stella De Oro Lily.

The Hibiscus doesn't have any blooms today,it's been blooming like crazy for 3 weeks now. But today it must be shy.

Well that's it except for some mystery flowers and a few petunias, I hope I have a bigger list next year.

Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more about Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:26:00 +0000

I don't know what kind of flower they are,but they sure are pretty:)

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A Morning Stroll Through The Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:51:00 +0000

A little bit muggy this morning, not as bad as Tuesday. I walked around the yard this morning making a mental to-do list. And taking pictures for this months. Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

I found a few flowers in between corralling Michael and Austin. Hey they only tried to make a break for the street once. Michael enjoyed some Lantana and Austin contemplated splashing in puddles.

I have been trying to keep up with the garden and the blog, but 4 babies are taking up quite a lot of my time. Since they won't be babies forever I guess I'll not fret about it and just sit back,relax and enjoy.

Finally got all the mulch I need, just waiting for free time to get it done.We got rid of a huge Flowering Quince and I have some plans in the future for this spot.

We dug out the yellow rose bush from the Moon Garden and now I have to figure out what will grow there. It has to like getting a bit wet at times and it's mostly shady there. Maybe I should paint something really cool on the side of the neighbors shed. Something with a moon and a white picket fence.

The Secret Garden is full of weeds as usual, but there is actually a plan now. There are some perennials back there amongst the weeds. Some Phlox, Russian Sage, Butterfly Weed, Daisies, Columbine, a few Stella De Oro Lilies and some struggling Iris.

The old gazebo is at the East end of the garden waiting for something to climb it. Once I'm done laying out the mulch I will begin to make my paths.

The one that will lead to the playground area will be a hopscotch path. I'm thinking of having some kind of tunnel too;)

I have been trying to catch up on all the garden blogs. I have so many favorites now that it takes a long time. I missed Garden Bloggers Muse Day at Sweet Home And Gardens Chicago, Garden Bloggers Book Club at May Dreams Gardens, and quite a few Green Thumb Sundays..

Dear Blog, I'm sorry I have been ignoring you. I promise to do better:)

Green Thumb Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 06:16:00 +0000

Tomatoes! Yummmm! I have 6 plants this year. I moved them closer to the house into some fresh new dirt. They seem happy:)

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The Good ,The Bad, & The Ugly - In My Backyard

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 18:07:00 +0000

When you have a lot of flowers it's easy to find some good, even though this year most of my yard is bad & ugly.

Like Old Roses I do not have a plan where my flowers will go, they just find a spot and live or die. This year a lot of them decided to die. I still have the tried and true, it was the new ones that got hit the hardest.

Last Fall I started a big project and a little one that became a big one. So I have been working on them. I have decided to work on the paths, walls, and beds before I plant any more perennials. Needless to say my yard is a mess and with half my flowers gone it's been hard to blog about it.

Out of four Clematis I only have one that is thriving The Jackmanii.

My Henri has some serious clematis wilt and I am removing it:( It's been struggling for 3 years and this one was the worst.

For the bad I have a confession, sometimes I take close ups of the flowers because that's the only way I can make them look good.

This bed is bad but it's only a temporary thing. I'm thinking strawberries might be happy here.

Other than that Clematis I'd have to say the ugliest thing in my yard right now are my lilacs. I finally got a chainsaw and I've been pruning them hard. I've been doing it a little at a time, because it's hard for me to make things ugly on purpose.

Visit Colleen at In The Garden Online for more info on The Good, The Bad, an The Ugly.

Garden Bloggers Muse Day

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 05:16:00 +0000

My favorite flower poems have always been the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker. I copied the picture and the script from The Official Flower Fairies Website. I chose bindweed because that's what I need to take care of in the garden before it goes to seed;) I have friends who like to grow it because it's a pretty flower. Since they don't live by me I'll let their neighbors worry about it.

The White Bindweed Fairy

Song

*

O long long stems that twine!
O buds, so neatly furled!
O great white bells of mine,
(None purer in the world)
Each lasting but one day!
O leafy garlands, hung
In wreaths beside the way-
Well may your praise be sung!

(But this Bindweed, which is a big sister to the little pink Field Convolvulus, is not good to have in gardens, though it is so beautiful; because it winds around other plants and trees. One of its names is "Hedge Strangler". Morning Glories are a garden kind of Convolvulus.)

Folklore

The bindweed is the emblem of humility because it is too shy to show its flowers until it has gained the support of another plant on which it climbs.

Fairy Meaning: Insinuation, Humility

Secret

Hedge Strangler

The White Bindweed Fairy looks innocent, but you would not wish to invite her to live in your garden. She grows rapidly and winds round other plants and trees in a very persistent manner.

Please visit Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden For more information about Garden Bloggers Muse Day.

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:22:00 +0000

HB bought me some pretty Marguerite Daisies, it was a nice surprise, he usually leaves the flower picking to me.

The Scabiosa that I planted last Fall is doing well:) Everything has changed in the garden this year, even some things in the Moon Garden are gone now making room for more.

Something new and blue, it's a perennial Bacholor's Button.

I had to dig these out of the compost I guess they wanted to live:)

Time to go dig and pull weeds(of course). As soon as I'm done hugging my babies;)

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Tue, 15 May 2007 06:30:00 +0000

It's that time of month again,instead of a list I decided pictures could just say it all. Not as many flowers this year.

Out of all my Iris only 4 survived and only 2 of them have blooms. Some are struggling and might make it next year, but who knows. I guess I'll start over in August.

The Endless Summer Hydrangea croaked again. I will not be wasting anymore time or money on that! I guess it's time to give the yard a major overhaul. I'll try not to show too much of the ugly.

The gazebo is up in the secret garden where we are ready to start building a wall. What secret garden? Shhh! It's such a secret it doesn't even know it's a garden yet;)

For more information on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day go visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens

My 2 New Flowers; Just In Time For May Day

noreply@blogger.com (Beverly) — Tue, 08 May 2007 03:28:00 +0000

I wasn't kidding when I said when it rains it pours around here. Last Monday on the very last day of April, both of our baby girls were born 3 hours apart. At the same hospital, so we had fun running back and forth. Well my mom doesn't run very fast but she gets there.

Baileigh Lynn was born at 12:48 pm and Leijla(Layla)Mae was born at 3:49 pm. They are both beautiful and healthy. My mother has been waiting a long time for a grandaughter and she got 2 great grandaughters on the same day:)

I've been waiting a long time to buy cute girl clothes. They are gonna love going shopping with me;)