16 May, 2020 - Bees, Flowers, and Getting the Garden Prepped
Dear, Mom -
Hello. It has been quite a long day. I feel as though I've not done much, but at the same time I am quite tired from doing it. For the most part, I stayed at home today with my leg elevated with some ice trying to get the wee bit of swelling and pain to go away. I still got up and watered my garden starts, visited Birgit and looked at flowers with she and Paula. We were trying to figure out what kind of Japanese Peony she had. It is extremely wide, or a double bloom. It is also a Japanese, or Itoh, peony. A "Bartzella" to be exact. It gets up to 8" wide. You can barely see Paula's hand in the background holding upright so I could take the picture. I have a tool on my phone that when I take a picture of a plant, it searches the web for pictures that match so you can identify most anything. It comes in handy.
Our other neighbors behind Paula, Asher and Stephanie, have two amazing flowers out on their front walk way. Their peony I believe is called "Red Charm". It also has a double bloom and is quite large.
They have the "Great Scarlet Poppy" which is giving Paula's garden some competition. Such gorgeous flowers. Apparently when Paula bought her peony years ago is was...$75.00! She is a serious gardener. There is no denying that fact. Look at this "Love-in-a-Mist" bud. It will be a purple-ish blue and petaled like a bachelor button. The buds are really neat, even before the flower comes forth.
It has been so nice to see lots and lots of bees this season. I think with the warmer year, less people out creating pollution, and people being more conscientious of the importance of bees and pollination, the bees are coming out strong this year. I've never noticed so many with yellow-orange bodies as I have this year.
I guess 'fuzzy' bees do well in the early spring because they have thick coats of fur and generate lots of heat when flying. All just some observations from my time outside today.
I am going to hopefully get my dirt for my garden containers on Monday afternoon. Providing my bum knee doesn't give me too much trouble. All my garden starts are in need of a transfer into a garden bed, so I don't dare wait much longer. I don't want my lettuce to go bitter and my tomatillos to lilt. I still need to receive my 10 gallon containers, but I think they are actually arriving on Monday, so that will be perfect timing. Fingers crossed!
I will say, I have been delighted with the contrasting colors in the front of the house. The Blue Lilac, the Red Maple, and the whitish-pink Jasmine really perk up the yard. You can kind of see what I mean from this picture. It layers from top to bottom. I am planning on taking those hideous shutters off the house and replacing them with natural wood that will be stained and sealed for the weather. The white just looks horrible against the cream paint. I need to replace the framing with the same kind of natural wood, too. I think it will really make the house look nicer. Whomever did the job before, looked like they had 5 minutes a window to get it done. Not very impressive, but I'm confident I can spruce it up with a little hard work and TLC.
Well, I'm off to bed, Mom. I love you with all my heart. I will think of you today and send kisses on the wind, a song from my heart, and two fluffy clouds to wrap around you for a HUGE loving hug.
I miss you!
Sal
Hello. It has been quite a long day. I feel as though I've not done much, but at the same time I am quite tired from doing it. For the most part, I stayed at home today with my leg elevated with some ice trying to get the wee bit of swelling and pain to go away. I still got up and watered my garden starts, visited Birgit and looked at flowers with she and Paula. We were trying to figure out what kind of Japanese Peony she had. It is extremely wide, or a double bloom. It is also a Japanese, or Itoh, peony. A "Bartzella" to be exact. It gets up to 8" wide. You can barely see Paula's hand in the background holding upright so I could take the picture. I have a tool on my phone that when I take a picture of a plant, it searches the web for pictures that match so you can identify most anything. It comes in handy.
Our other neighbors behind Paula, Asher and Stephanie, have two amazing flowers out on their front walk way. Their peony I believe is called "Red Charm". It also has a double bloom and is quite large.
They have the "Great Scarlet Poppy" which is giving Paula's garden some competition. Such gorgeous flowers. Apparently when Paula bought her peony years ago is was...$75.00! She is a serious gardener. There is no denying that fact. Look at this "Love-in-a-Mist" bud. It will be a purple-ish blue and petaled like a bachelor button. The buds are really neat, even before the flower comes forth.
It has been so nice to see lots and lots of bees this season. I think with the warmer year, less people out creating pollution, and people being more conscientious of the importance of bees and pollination, the bees are coming out strong this year. I've never noticed so many with yellow-orange bodies as I have this year.
I guess 'fuzzy' bees do well in the early spring because they have thick coats of fur and generate lots of heat when flying. All just some observations from my time outside today.
I am going to hopefully get my dirt for my garden containers on Monday afternoon. Providing my bum knee doesn't give me too much trouble. All my garden starts are in need of a transfer into a garden bed, so I don't dare wait much longer. I don't want my lettuce to go bitter and my tomatillos to lilt. I still need to receive my 10 gallon containers, but I think they are actually arriving on Monday, so that will be perfect timing. Fingers crossed!
I will say, I have been delighted with the contrasting colors in the front of the house. The Blue Lilac, the Red Maple, and the whitish-pink Jasmine really perk up the yard. You can kind of see what I mean from this picture. It layers from top to bottom. I am planning on taking those hideous shutters off the house and replacing them with natural wood that will be stained and sealed for the weather. The white just looks horrible against the cream paint. I need to replace the framing with the same kind of natural wood, too. I think it will really make the house look nicer. Whomever did the job before, looked like they had 5 minutes a window to get it done. Not very impressive, but I'm confident I can spruce it up with a little hard work and TLC.
Well, I'm off to bed, Mom. I love you with all my heart. I will think of you today and send kisses on the wind, a song from my heart, and two fluffy clouds to wrap around you for a HUGE loving hug.
I miss you!
Sal
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