Could this be the Easter Bunny? Flowers!

I loved writing this blog post one day in the Fall. Maybe you will enjoy it this Easter. After the poem is flower news on my front.

Strictly Germ-proof

by Arthur Guiterman

The Antiseptic Baby and the Prophylactic Pup

Were playing in the garden when the Bunny gamboled up;
They looked upon the Creature with a loathing undisguised;—
It wasn't Disinfected and it wasn't Sterilized.

They said it was a Microbe and a Hotbed of Disease;
They steamed it in a vapor of a thousand-odd degrees;
They froze it in a freezer that was cold as Banished Hope
And washed it in permanganate with carbolated soap.

In sulphurated hydrogen they steeped its wiggly ears;
They trimmed its frisky whiskers with a pair of hard-boiled shears;
They donned their rubber mittens and they took it by the hand

And elected it a member of the Fumigated Band.
There's not a Micrococcus in the garden where they play;
They bathe in pure iodoform a dozen times a day;

And each imbibes his rations from a Hygienic Cup—
The Bunny and the Baby and the Prophylactic Pup.

Notes:

1] Prophylactic: disease-preventing.
8] permanganate: a salt of permanganic acid. carbolated soap: a salt of carbolic acid.
13] Micrococcus: spherical bacterium, usually found on the skin of mammals.
14] iodoform: compound of iodine used as a disinfectant.

Since I did not know the meaning of the middle two words, I decided to leave definitions intact. 

Finally, the dogwood and azalea have bloomed. Plus, what lavender wisteria left in my yard is blooming. It is so fragrant. The white wisteria is blooming near the Yoshino Cherry. Little purple blooms are in the vinca.  Only the tulips and daffodils have faded. Well, some daffodils are still in the back yard, but the ones left are white, not yellow. The iris are the only thing left to bloom later. I love flowers. I suppose I will have dandelions soon!

Oh, in the long bed that was filled with nothing but Hosta, I finally found a tiny bit of Hosta trying to live after the chipmunk massacre. Then, in the inappropriate dirt of the front yard, the Hosta I planted there is peeping through. However, the one in the upended pot is about a foot high and eighteen-inches across.

Nutrients in Eggs and a Gardening Surprise.

Eggs!

I love them. When eggs were declared bad for you, my family did not agree. It turns out, eggs are not so bad. As a matter of fact eggs are good for you.

Maybe you will read the article in the link and see that eggs contain lots of good things in a tiny package.  Exbf will not touch anything with eggs unless it is baked goods...??? I do not try to convince him. He is adamant.

My friend John had strong opinions about eggs. He loved scrambled eggs like I do. However, we discussed it many times and both agree that an omelet is not good at all, no matter what anyone says to convince either of us.

Your opinion  of eggs?

As I went to the car last week, I noticed something green in an overturned pot. The cats that come around knock over all pots. This pot had been ravaged by something that ate the Hosta, the roots I suppose. However, there was green coming from the bottom of the root ball left in the pot. Plus, tiny, hair-like roots were sprouting everywhere and getting very long.

(The root ball and dirt was lying almost upside down. So, the roots on top and hosta on bottom were because the root ball had been tipped out of the pot.)

Finally, I turned the pot right-side up. The tiny Hosta, about 3 inches long were growing sideways from lying on its side so long. Today, the little Hosta were about 5 inches high and growing upright. I put more dirt in the pot to fill it up and to cover the tiny roots. I did not bother to water it as the roots were growing in the air anyway. Besides, it is going to rain tonight. Rainwater is better than faucet water.

Now, I will not have to find people to share Hosta or purchase a root. These Hosta were given to me and I cut them apart as they became too large for their space and planted them elsewhere or gave them away.

I am going to have to stake the pots down to keep animals from digging in them or just knocking them over. Eventually, I will divide these Hosta and put them in the ground.

By the way, those are not my Hostas, but have bug bites just like mine get. The bites will not kill the Hosta.

Do you ever cut apart Hosta to give away or plant elsewhere? Or any plant? Any surprises in your yard, flowers, trees, or other plants?

Saturday and Plants (Hosta in Particular)

The oats I made were nasty last night because I accidentally bought quick oats and then put too much sugar in them. That bowl of oats went to Dominique, and I had cheese melted on toast under the broiler.

J came over for about two hours and helped me get junk off the floor and vacuumed some. Now, I need to sort it into stuff to be thrown out or items of value.  Even though I lay on the bed the whole time, or sat on the bed, I am still sore and tired. Then, I spilled, kicked over, dirt where a seed was sprouting and died. So, she needs to come back and vacuum again for me. This is very discouraging.

My sedum is turning pink, so fall is on its way. The sedum will continue to darken until is a cranberry color. I love this plant. I thought it froze last winter, but it came back. The other day, leaves were falling. It always amazes me how leaves will fall in July when it is in the middle of summer with Fall so far away.

The Hosta did not emerge on time this year. Then, most of it did not come up at all. The Hosta that did emerge was about a foot across instead of three feet across. Then, it disappeared! I am not sure what happened. Does anyone else know? These have been the steadiest plants I have other than trees! Earlier this summer, someone on another blog mentioned their Hosta was not coming up. Any thoughts? I do know it is not a lack or rain or too much rain. I had them in different places in the yard and in pots. It's a mystery.

Today was one of the most beautiful and pleasant days. It was not too hot; humidity was low. Skies were blue. We had great weather with no rain or storms. I did nothing out of doors. But, festivals were all over. J went to Smith Lake and swam and lay on a towel and got a sunburn. I think she may be one of the whitest people on earth, blond hair and fair skin.

It's late. I feel horrid because my back hurts!. But, I still need to fix dinner. It is 10:30 but dinner is just a matter of heating cooked food, thankfully.

Your turn
How was the weather at your place today? Do you notice when the leaves start falling in July or August way ahead of when we think they should fall? Has anyone had Hosta not emerge this year or not behave as they usually do?

Gone and other yard stuff

bye, bye dogwood

The woman who said she would take the free pink dogwood came today and got it. For about 8 months I have offered it. People accept and never come to get it. I was so thrilled that she came less than 24 hours after she said she wanted it. I am so happy that little tree can reach its full potential and bloom pink blooms like it should. It pained me that they tree did not thrive where it was.

 

Her husband dug it and put all the soil on the tarp I supplied. I just hate having dirt piles or dirt on my grass, not that there is much grass in that area. He filled in the huge hole left after the tree was removed.

 

He has had the top of one lung removed and two ribs because of cancer, and could barely breathe, becoming winded often. So, it took a bit longer, but he and his wife got it out of the ground. I hated it was so hard, but they just accepted he had to rest a lot and he started again. 

 

 

 

dirt

 

The hole holds about two or more five-gallon buckets of soil, very dark, rich soil. I am going to rob this hole to use the soil for my tomatoes. As it is, there will be a depression in the yard. However, my plan was to keep breaking pencil-sized sticks from limbs and throw them in the depression. Right now, I have to go sprinkle red pepper on this soil to discourage the cats. 

carport

 

There is gravel here with lots of grass and weeds that grow there since I no longer use it. Last year, this become overgrown because of lack of mowing. Then, the "weeds" intrigued me since I thought they were useful. It turns out, I have a carport of Rose of Sharon. I want to move one to the back corner of the yard to block the view into the other yard and their view into my yard. This is not a very good picture to show you the 3' high trees aka weeds...lol.

 

I will also leave some on the inside of the carport but left of the little low wall you can see. It will be pretty and no expense.

 

At the end of the path there are three pots of hosta, one on the left and two on the right. Those are some of the ones I divided last year. I took parts of the ones in the ground and put them in pots. I may try digging through the gravel in the carport and plant some there. The carport is a pain to mow. While I don't mow it, I can tell it is difficult when anyone does mow it because of the small size. That's a lot of back and forth or round and round. Besides I like hosta and would like to have a yard with little mowing necessary.

 

See that water hose? There is a story there. That story will be for another day.

 

Your turn

Have you ever had a plant that was not thriving and had to be moved?