06/24/2009

Yes - it's been a while - bad! bad blogger!!

But the quest has continued to complete the fence. I have planted a few climbing rudbeckia seeds by the base of some of the rebar curls, as well as heavenly blue morning glories. We'll see how that goes. My flowers otherwise are all just about to pop. The irises, lupine, and bleeding hearts have come and gone, the rosebushes are in full bloom, and the daisies and daylillies are starting to open. Since we've had so much rain, and not much sun, many of the plants are stretched tall. I planted echinacea last year that is over 3 feet tall before a single bloom this year. Also, I've planted a smattering of sunflower seeds, different heights and varieties. Although, I'm pretty sure the bunny will make a quick snack of those - but I have my fingers crossed. And I'm employing a urine deterrent. A deer ate most of the buds off of one of my rosebushes the other night. That was the case last year as well. Fucker.

But I digress - I have news! We found a really, really long piece of grapevine two days ago. Really really long. Most grapevines meander up trees, and sometimes it's difficult to get very high. So unless they've travelled across the forest floor a bit before they find a tree to climb, I can only obtain pieces that are within my reach. And I'm a'shorty. Then we found a pole saw, and that certainly made a difference. But this time, we found a vine that had fallen down with a tree, but kept growing. We cut a forty foot section and dragged it out yesterday, leaving at least another fifty to seventy five foot section behind. I only have two more pieces of rebar, but that should be enough just to place this new section. How we are going to get it here is another matter...

I will be posting pictures later today - hopefully...

05/09/2009

Someone messed with the new section last night!! I was so shocked to look outside and see the end nearest the hydrant tossed into my yard, and a missing piece of rebar. We found the rebar tossed into the daisies at the other end so we were able to put it right back up. I'm a little mystified at the motivation, for sure. Fortunately, no flowers were harmed. But I tend to plant some touch bitch flowers, so there's no surprise there.

If it happens again, I'll put up an obnoxious motion sensor flood light and a closed circuit camera right away. We have the cameras on hand, and I think I have a motion sensor somewhere, too. I'm guessing it was just a group of dumb teenagers. I was a dumb teenager not too long ago, so I know how it is. You do shit just to do it. And they grabbed a couple of the remaining tulips while they were at it. Gotta love living in town.

I'll bet they were more than a little surprised at how heavy that thing is - ha ha...idiots.

05/07/2009

This thing was a monster to get out of the woods, and we didn't have to go that deep to find it, either. Fortunately, we were also moving a race car trailer, so were able to fit this sucker in without a problem. I might twirl another piece of rebar for the middle, so it stays off the ground. It would not be good if it rerooted...

The bleeding hearts are in full bloom, but most of the tulips are starting to fade...boo. Tulips rock. But I moved and divided the two huge hostas into ten plants, so I'm working on the shade garden this week. I'm eyeing some very sexy coleus, too - deep red and velvety...I usually avoid annuals, but these are too hard to resist mixed in with the hostas..

04/28/2009

I try not to make excuses, but the weather went from the mid forties to the low nineties essentially overnight. I would pack some water and head up the hill, but my guy was not hip to a hike in that temperature. It's supposed to cool a little tomorrow...

04/24/2009

So I still have yet to hike up and get the pieces of grapevine. Yesterday was the plan, but it was cold and rainy and I wimped. We have rescheduled for Sunday morning. And I have to find more rebar next week. There's a place not too far away that sells it in 20 foot lengths, but I was hoping to do this without being a consumer. I might have to cave on that part, just a little...

04/22/2009

Here is the opposite end of the garden - mostly a shaded area. (One of these days I'll carve that bit of dead tree stump, but just out of the picture is another tree.) I just dug up some Hosta that was planted too close too the sidewalk and very much in need of division. I will be dividing and replanting that in this area. It doesn't look too great at the moment.

Last year, I planted many colorful shade tolerant plants. The package said they were hardy perennials, but apparently not hardy in this zone...grrr. I'm not so much into annuals. Unless they are in containers, remembering exactly where the damn bulbs are by the time they need to be dug up? forget it.

Okay - I have a lot more work to do on this project, including finding more rebar. The response of people passing by has been suprisingly positive. My plan is to head into the woods tomorrow, late afternoon, and cut a piece that should be perfect for the stretch from this section to the fire hydrant. And this time I might have the advantage of one of the most frightening tools on earth, a chainsaw....

I'm hoping we can fit the piece into the truck! Not too unlike the guy that built an airplane in his basement..

04/22/2009

Thanks! The curls are the rebar, actually. It's already oxidized, so it blends in very well! On the opposite end, we have two old rusty i-beams sticking out of the embankment to stop the cars that would occasionally end up in the yard after skidding off the road in the winter. I'll add pictures of the grapevine I added to those...

04/22/2009

Wow it looks awesome! I love the curls in the vines that is just so beautiful!

04/21/2009

So there it is so far. My original intention was to start with a few large, heavy pieces, and then add more, scaling down the vines as I go. But now that this bit is up, I like it as it is for the moment. It's enough to keep the dogs out of this section for now. There's a patch of daylillies a little too close to the sidewalk that I may dig up and move tomorrow.

Last year, and for a few years prior to that, this whole section pictures was FILLED with orange freaking daylillies, two weed trees, and a mass of wild morning glories over everything. It was a mess. While I'm not crazy about the daylillies, they do make great cut flowers, and they are just about the toughest flowers I've ever met. Although, I also planted quite a few daisies and black-eyed susans, also known for being tough little buggers. They will be duking it out by next year, I think. 

I think I've found the remaining pieces of grapevine that will be the right size and shape. These things look flexible, but they're not. If there's a weird twist, there's no changing it. And they are not all that easy to drag out of the woods and stuff into our truck, but I'm managing. The next pieces I want are two miles into the woods, up a small mountain. But I'm going to figure out how to get them here this week. I'm determined...

Okay - I have to run out and plant some hosta pips...

04/20/2009

Okay - I've been playing some more...the project is evolving. I need more rebar, for one thing. I just set up one section with two large pieces of grapevine and five curled rebar pieces. I pulled the 'before' picture from my camera. It's not that great a shot, but it gives you an idea of the area. I want to get the 'fence' up before I spend any more time clearing out the rest of the black mulch.

I'll take a new photo tomorrow with the part that I've set up...And a few of the tulips have buds...