The trellises by the pool with the passionflower and the Dutchman's pipe are doing fantastic!
What's truly amazing is how fast the Dutchman's Pipe is growing. Each day it seems to gain another inch or so to the vine. Very fast grower!
Take a look at the video below to watch the flower grow.
Showing posts with label hill garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hill garden. Show all posts
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Passionflower TRRRellis!
OK... So let me start with the "I'm sorry." Keeping this blog up to date has been a task for me. Once I got behind, it seemed daunting to get back on to make updates. Now that I am started again, I'll keep it going :-)
Recently we found ourselves in need of space in the garage and have been going on a spree of get rid of it or at least find a use. By far, my favorite project so far that has come of this: the pair of trellises by the pool. Take a look!
So this is a Triple-R project: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We reduced landfill waste, reused some pieces, and recycled by repurposing.
"How?!" You may be asking. (If not, just stick with me...)
There were two old Queen Size mattresses in the garage! We stripped the material off the mattresses down to the springs. Although we did not keep the fabric, we did reuse some of the underlayment as a weedbarrier in the garden (works great!) and we found that the springs made a wonderful trellis.
First we set the galvanized poles from an old chain-link fence with a sledge hammer. We literally pounded them into the soft sand several feet in. Once they were in, Sam marked the poles of where the springs would be attached.
Then we drilled into the pipes where it was marked.
And VOILA! a trellis was built!
We built two in between our palms by the pool to create a natural screen of vines. On the left, we have planted two varieties of passionflower: a purple and a red. And it looks like they are enjoying the weather already!
We hope to have something else planted on the right one soon. More updates to follow soon!
Recently we found ourselves in need of space in the garage and have been going on a spree of get rid of it or at least find a use. By far, my favorite project so far that has come of this: the pair of trellises by the pool. Take a look!
So this is a Triple-R project: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We reduced landfill waste, reused some pieces, and recycled by repurposing.
"How?!" You may be asking. (If not, just stick with me...)
There were two old Queen Size mattresses in the garage! We stripped the material off the mattresses down to the springs. Although we did not keep the fabric, we did reuse some of the underlayment as a weedbarrier in the garden (works great!) and we found that the springs made a wonderful trellis.
First we set the galvanized poles from an old chain-link fence with a sledge hammer. We literally pounded them into the soft sand several feet in. Once they were in, Sam marked the poles of where the springs would be attached.
Then we drilled into the pipes where it was marked.
The mattress springs were then wired to the post through the drilled holes.
After the springs were attached, Any remaining bits of fabric were cleaned off the frame with a razor blade.
And VOILA! a trellis was built!
We built two in between our palms by the pool to create a natural screen of vines. On the left, we have planted two varieties of passionflower: a purple and a red. And it looks like they are enjoying the weather already!
We hope to have something else planted on the right one soon. More updates to follow soon!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Sunflower Hill
I am so happy to look out every morning now and see a hill complete with Sunflowers and Gladiolus. All the beautiful colors just brighten my day!
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a slideshow? Hope you enjoy!
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a slideshow? Hope you enjoy!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Spring came late
I've been bad this last week and haven't written a thing! So a little catch-up is due.
The last few weeks have been filled with rain and simply have drenched everything. Although it's wonderful to see the greenery actually green, and to see the flowers in full bloom, I would love to see them drenched in some sun too!
The hill garden in the backyard is in full bloom! It's so wonderful to see all of the seeds took hold and have turned into such beauties!
I really love how the sunflowers are coming up! We chose a good mix of sunflower seeds, but so far most of them are red.
In this same garden, the four o'clocks are in full bloom. I remember growing up a neighbor used to have these all over her yard. I know it's strange, but they were beautiful! I have only seen yellow and pink ones, but we have some really beautiful ones that came up: Yellow, Pink, Confetti (which is pink and yellow speckled all over), and white.
I also have a couple new bulbs that have bloomed. I have no clue what they are, but they are both stunning. If anyone knows what they are, please let me know.
The first is in the backyard in the second Oak garden. They are not growing like amaryllis, but similar to a small spider or narcissus lilly. They are amazingly fragrant; incredibly sweet and smell similar to Jasmine. The stark, crisp white flowers are delicate and seem to just dance as the breeze tickles their tall stalks.
The other new lilly is in the front of the house amidst the amaryllis gardens. I found them on the back side of our fence and moved them hoping for something pretty. a year and a half later, the first blooms have appeared! The flower capsules open in the same way the amaryllis do. The leaves and bulb look like a corn plant. As the flower capsule opened, I noticed small scarlet buds appear and then a few days later, they popped right open to reveal deep magenta flowers in nice big bunches! At first 11 little buds were counted, but as the days pass, it looks like more and more of them have appeared. Any clue what these might be?
The last few weeks have been filled with rain and simply have drenched everything. Although it's wonderful to see the greenery actually green, and to see the flowers in full bloom, I would love to see them drenched in some sun too!
The hill garden in the backyard is in full bloom! It's so wonderful to see all of the seeds took hold and have turned into such beauties! I really love how the sunflowers are coming up! We chose a good mix of sunflower seeds, but so far most of them are red.
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| This one is definitely my favorite! |
I also have a couple new bulbs that have bloomed. I have no clue what they are, but they are both stunning. If anyone knows what they are, please let me know.
The first is in the backyard in the second Oak garden. They are not growing like amaryllis, but similar to a small spider or narcissus lilly. They are amazingly fragrant; incredibly sweet and smell similar to Jasmine. The stark, crisp white flowers are delicate and seem to just dance as the breeze tickles their tall stalks.
The other new lilly is in the front of the house amidst the amaryllis gardens. I found them on the back side of our fence and moved them hoping for something pretty. a year and a half later, the first blooms have appeared! The flower capsules open in the same way the amaryllis do. The leaves and bulb look like a corn plant. As the flower capsule opened, I noticed small scarlet buds appear and then a few days later, they popped right open to reveal deep magenta flowers in nice big bunches! At first 11 little buds were counted, but as the days pass, it looks like more and more of them have appeared. Any clue what these might be?
Monday, May 28, 2012
Tropical Storm Beryl filled our barrel!
The clouds continued to roll in yesterday. And it seemed that all day we continued to say, "Looks like it is going to rain any minute... It just continued to tease me all day long! Our friend Jessica was over. About 3:00, Jessica and I were outside on the back patio playing a game of backgammon, and there it was! Just all of a sudden the skies opened up into a complete deluge!
We sat outside just to enjoy it since the patio was covered, we weren't wet. And then I jumped up and remembered that this was the first time the rain barrel would be used!!! It worked perfectly. And it literally did only take a few minutes to fill it up.
Monitoring the progress, I opened the top hole to see how full it was, and again - it was only about 5 minutes into the rain and the barrel was full. Sooo... I had to see how well the overflow was working... And it was perfect! It directed all of the extra water away from where we had an erosion problem. I couldn't be happier about the rain barrel!
Thank you Beryl for filling our barrel :-)
Additionally, the much needed rain helped the yard again. It's been a few weeks without a good amount of rain and everything sprung right back to life. In fact, another sunflower from the hill garden is in bloom and this one is a deep dark red!
We sat outside just to enjoy it since the patio was covered, we weren't wet. And then I jumped up and remembered that this was the first time the rain barrel would be used!!! It worked perfectly. And it literally did only take a few minutes to fill it up.
Monitoring the progress, I opened the top hole to see how full it was, and again - it was only about 5 minutes into the rain and the barrel was full. Sooo... I had to see how well the overflow was working... And it was perfect! It directed all of the extra water away from where we had an erosion problem. I couldn't be happier about the rain barrel!
Additionally, the much needed rain helped the yard again. It's been a few weeks without a good amount of rain and everything sprung right back to life. In fact, another sunflower from the hill garden is in bloom and this one is a deep dark red!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Hill Garden
I love gardening. And I love all of the plants in my gardens. But there is just something amazing about growing a plant from seeds. There is an exhilaration that you can only get from getting dirty, digging a small hole and then dropping the seeds in. And with your care, watering the dirt, watching the sprouts, watering and more watering and then just all of sudden it seems you have a plant and then you have flowers. It really is amazing to look at it and just know that it's totally your fault that this little "being" has grown up and graced your presence with it's beauty.
The hilltop garden has offered us just this kind of wonderment. I still remember planting the seeds for all the different sunflowers, and four o'clocks, and the corms for the about 80 gladiolas. and doing just what I described above. and now it's right at the stage where I am enjoying some of the fruits of the labor.
And even better is when you receive a complete surprise! This was the very hill where we scattered wildflower seeds last year. Sadly nothing seemed to take off, but this year a few rogue zinnias have sprung up amongst the sunflowers.
The hilltop garden has offered us just this kind of wonderment. I still remember planting the seeds for all the different sunflowers, and four o'clocks, and the corms for the about 80 gladiolas. and doing just what I described above. and now it's right at the stage where I am enjoying some of the fruits of the labor.
And even better is when you receive a complete surprise! This was the very hill where we scattered wildflower seeds last year. Sadly nothing seemed to take off, but this year a few rogue zinnias have sprung up amongst the sunflowers.
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| Four o'clocks |
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| Marigolds |
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| Zinnias |
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