Rain Buckets and Watering Can

So, if anyone out there knows me, you know that I love to talk about the weather, especially if it's going to rain. Mainly because I have 5 gallon buckets that I keep under our gutter in our driveway. It's really a great deal, because I can stand in the garage and not get wet, while I wait for the buckets to refill!

This photo is from our last rain shower that we had a couple weeks ago:

It was fun, because it was warm enough where my kids got to play in the rain, while mommy got her rain buckets full! I like this way because I like to water my flowers by hand. I like to use those buckets to fill up my watering can. It's kinda like a zen moment for me.

Garden Pickings

Our veggie garden has been so-so this year. It was all experimental, with me saving seeds from last season to see if they would even grow this year. So far we have about 1 pound of red baby peppers (they taste like regular peppers), some more yellow pear tomatoes, and some jalapeno peppers!

I'm not sure what we're going to do with that many peppers, but I guess it's worth the chopping! Maybe I'll throw them in a stew or casserole.

Happy Picking!

Endless Summer Hydrangea

(picture taken from Google)

I had gotten an Endless Summer Hydrangea from Grandma Jo earlier this summer, and I immediately put it in the ground. I planted it near the fence, where I thought it would get part sun, and it is not doing too good. This is what it looks like now:

It's so sad looking, isn't it? So, I've taken it upon myself to give it some tender care, and water it every evening.

I read up on the Hydrangea plant recently, and I've learned that in the first year that it is planted, it needs lots of water. The following years, not as much water, just during dry spells.

I'm trying to be more consistant with watering it, because it's supposed to be a beautiful plant.

Do you have any hydrangea's around your home? If so, do you feel like you need to water it everyday to keep it from wilting?

August 21, 2011

Well, my very first post on my new blog!

I've been meaning to start a new blog about my gardening, both vegetable and flower gardening. Or even just plain old things that have to do with the outdoor world!

Here are some recent photos of my garden.

Our surprise vegetable plant turned out to be pumpkins! The only thing is there are some nasty white/grey bugs that are eating them.

I wanted to capture the evidence that squirrels have been eating most of our big boy tomatoes, and here he is! (You can see the dropped tomato in the previous photo). Those darn critters!

Here are some little, tiny peppers that are growing in our garden. They are so pretty, but are they even worth cutting down to eat?

My butterfly garden I planted in 2010, is doing okay this year. There hasn't been much rain, and I don't want to water them, so they haven't been doing as well this summer.

Here are some Sedum that are starting to turn colors:

And some zinna flowers are starting to come back from last year:

Well, that's all for now. I'll try to post more later this week. Enjoy the weather out there!