Thursday, October 19, 2023

It was an outside day.............


There haven't been too many perfect days to work outside in the last month.  It was either close to 90 or in the 50s.  Yesterday was perfect so I did over 3 hours of digging and planting and finally pulling weeds.  Also I finished the mowing in the side and back yards.

I dug out 2 big Hostas in the front garden, ones that got too much sun and didn't look great for half of the summer.  I pulled off a few sections from one of them and then planted the 2 big plants in pots for the winter.  I gave the larger section I pulled off to a friend and planted the 3 smaller pieces in pots.  I planted 2 perennials in the empty holes.  One is a fluffy center red Coneflower (my second try with this color) and a Veronica.


In another empty spot I planted the Gloriosa Daisy (left) and a volunteer Black Eyed Susan.  There is no guarantee the Gloriosa Daisy will survive according a search on the internet but I thought I would try it.



There were 3 sections of red leaves on my 2 Viburnum bushes.  I don't think the whole bushes have ever totally changed color.






The lilac bushes have some unusual color leaves in just one area, not the whole bush.  These were an unusual shade of purple.





Two of my Lenten Rose plants have sprouted some new leaves in the last month.  The third plant has stayed pretty much the same size all growing season this year.



Every morning I check my 16 Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus plants for buds and yesterday I found buds on 4 of them.  2 are champagne color, one I think is dark pink or red and I'm not sure about the 4th one.  I used to have markers with color names in all of my pots but now I'm trying to rely on memory....that is a mistake.



Last night I baked some Amish Friendship bread.  I will take one loaf over to the proud parents of my newest great-grandson.

 

12 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

yes sometimes we need to take a garden day when the weather is so nice, especially when you know for your area that it will be cold soon. None of my cactus have buds on them yet I hope I will have a lot on them soon.

Julierose said...

Nice to have a day like that so that you could "put your garden to bed" for the coming winter months.;)))
49 here today with expected higher temps later on...sunny and a few leaves have begun to turn...hugs, Julierose

Quiltdivajulie said...

Isn't an outdoor day just glorious (aside from the inevitable aches that follow it)! Amish Friendship bread ... YUM!

Patty said...

That was a lot of work you got done. Thanks for the tour. Such a variety of colors! I’m glad to see the Lenten Roses are happy. They have grown quite a bit in just two seasons.

Anonymous said...

Wanda, I hope you take it easy today, after all the work you did yesterday!
I will be outside most of the day today….here in Virginia it will be 70 degrees today, and sunny, so I want to take advantage of the good weather, and do some clean-up work as well. I know these warmer days are numbered now that we are entering the second half of October.
Sandra B
scb23229@yahoo.com

JJM said...

Thats a lot of garden work yesterday. And I know you are happy it’s done. I’m assuming all is done now till next spring ? Enjoyed seeing all photos. And yet you had time to bake those delicious looking loaves of bread.

JJM

Barbara Anne said...

You've worked a wonder in your garden and I hope you'll send me some inspiration and energy to tackle our large yard. Won't your garden be pretty next year?!

Your Amish Friendship bread looks delicious and those new parents certainly will enjoy their loaf to get them through those nighttime hours!

Hugs!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Wanda, you have a real gift for those Thanksgiving/Christmas cacti! Mine are all pathetic now. There was literally no place I could have them this summer where they thrived. I have a very few stragglers trying to hold on. We'll see. But it IS good to see those buds on yours!

O'Quilts said...

I am so impressed with your energy xo

MissPat said...

Today was our one nice day, but other activities occupied most of my time and I never got into the garden. I discovered buds on one of my cacti this week. I need to check the rest. And I had to repot an orchid. I tried to pull out a dead root, but it wasn't all dead and I wound up pulling the whole plant out of the pot. It needed repotting anyway, as do several other orchids and some African violets.
Pat

Sally Langston Warren said...

Most of my Christmas cactus plants have buds on them. One is outside and the rest are inside. I enjoyed hearing about your gardening! Do you remember “The Victory Garden” tv show? I so enjoyed that! Your descriptions of your plants and what you are doing with them reminded me so much of that show. The Amish bread is beautiful!

berylthepearl said...

I’ve got buds on my Christmas cactus too, a hot pink one and a whitish pink, the red and the yellow one are behind. I like that they bloom at different times making the season last longer. I don’t have as many as you do, only a half dozen or so. It’s hard not to start more when they root so easily!