I am jealous of your yard. It looks really great! We just moved into our house and I have not had the energy to plant anything but my vegetable garden. I love the peacocks. I think I will try to convince Chris to let me get some. Somehow I think he will veto the idea but they could keep the chickens company. I want a kitten. We are going to get one hopefully tomorrow. I am up late because I cant sleep there is a mouse lose in my bedroom. (hey it is a 100 year old house almost but still I can hear it moving around therefore I cant sleep) I have not been on this forum in quite a while I miss your garden pictures so I came back to look in. Christina

Thanks, Christina! Mice are just part of living out in the country... we get them, too! The barn cats help... but inside the house, we have to trap them.

The peacocks are interesting... I don't know very much about them. The male calls quite a bit, making a very strange sound... they are beautiful birds! They co-exist quite well with the chickens and ducks.

The first year we were here, the only things I planted were a few patio pots of annuals... there were no gardens here at all! We've been here three years now, and in that time, I've created and planted everything you see... all the beds are rather new! They've established themselves quite well in a short time!

You have plenty of time to create gardens! A vegetable garden is a good start... take it easy, and do one project at a time... it will all come together!

Lovely gardens :)

Speaking of "In Spite of Poor Weather..." here, the happy harlequin daisies pre-storm line. Aren't they summery! I love the colors I've seen: deep purple-pinks with white or gold centers. Solid hot pink too :) I'll have to start more once I find a good place for them at my mother's.

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Here is one of my poor hippies post-storm. Pretty typical of the damage (I wish the weather hadn't been so bad I couldn't get home to bring them in).

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At least they weren't flooded though -- thank goodness for being off the bottom floor. Most everything is looking bedraggled right now; I bet they can't wait for the return of 90 degree weather

Christina,
You can go to your local animal shelter and find a handsome kitten for yourself. It is nice when you can provide a home to a hopeless animal. Not to mention that s/he'd pretty much return the favor to you if s/he got rid of your mouse. :o)

Jodi, I forgot that you were in the path of those storms! OH my goodness! They must wreck havok with the lupus! But not fun to have your pretty garden storm damaged either. YOu take care and lie low when the winds blow! And 8" of rain? GOodness, we had 6" once and it was phenomenal!

Here we are just having a very cool wet spring but it is good for my plants. Oddly enough the roses are as disease free as I have ever seen them! Maybe too cold for fungus to grow, LOL. RIght now at 9 PM it is 51 degrees and slightly windy. I doubt if it got much over 60 degrees all day. However, the roses are busting into bloom right and left...one sunny day and the wilderness will turn indeed into the secret garden, full of overgrown plants in a jungle! Anyone have a few monkeys to spare?

By the way, you who are interested in Peacocks...our island is plagued by a naturalized flock of them who move about the island on their own, devastating whole gardens by flying into them and attacking them. THey have horrible voices that could give a child night mares. But I still feel a thrill when I see a male strutting with his tail displayed down one of our country roads. IF they ever land on my place I am calling out the militia!

Liltika - Your poor plants! The winds and rains are not kind, unfortunately... but plants seem to recover pretty well. Those daisies are gorgeous! The colors are so bright! I can't recall the name, but if those are what I think they are, I've only seen them in white, lavender and orange in this area... sold as "accent annuals" for container arrangements.

Lizalily - I wonder if naturalized peacock tastes anything like wild turkey? If they are a nuisance, some could probably be hunted without taking the entire flock... sort of like deer in the state parks... draw a lottery for tags! I must admit, they are extremely beautiful with full feathers... however noisy they may be!

When the weather turns rainy and stormy like it is, I'm glad to have strong prescriptions to offset the pain! It's like having a disease plus really bad arthritis! Not fun, at all!
I imagine your knees are a bit stiff and sore, too! Getting older is hell, sometimes!

Speaking of roses... the entire red climber is now covered in bright blooms! They all opened the day after I took the above photos, wouldn't you know it! If I had waited one more day... oh well. All the minis are popping, too! And there is a coral colored climber getting ready to burst, as well! The scent is very light, but the sight is special!

Christina - Adopting a kitten from a shelter is a great idea! Shelters are so full of abandoned animals... it makes my heart sick to think humans do this... allow animals to multiply and then dump them, or buy a pet only to throw it away when they discover it's more work than they thought! I don't understand how people can be so cruel... it's positively criminal, not to mention very telling of how careless and sick society is... Adopt two kitties so they have each other as pals, if you can! That's two little lives saved... and twice the mice hunted!

All the rain has left the area hot and humid, but the plants are loving it! Overnight, more flowers have opened, and plants look greener and healthier! I'm hiding indoors... in air-conditioning... during the hottest part of the day... but I have been spending some time pulling weeds before they totally get away from me, and take over the gardens!

Jodi, I don't know if this will work for you. I use wooden stick as climbing pole for my pathos and to keep it from getting rot at ground level, I put the end of the pole into a black plastic bag. I carefully tied the upper part of the bag around the pole, so tight that no water can enter, then I burried the pole in the ground. It stayed for many years! You can also put the end of the cross into a big black plastic until the place where it will show above ground.

I really love looking at your garden photos. They're so diversified, from plants to animals. You must have a big property. Thanks for sharing with us.

Xuan

Thanks, Xuan... it's not our property, but we are lucky enough to live on it and share it! Dear friends of ours own the place... they are retired, and need help taking care of it all. We help in exchange for a small apartment. It works out very well for everyone... we keep everything running smooth, and we get the apartment and other perks...

Larry was going to build some sort of holder for the cross, so the wood would remain above ground, and a metal pole would go into the dirt... perhaps coating the end of the cross with plastic would help keep it from rotting in the ground... good idea, Xuan! Thanks!

As I type this, we are getting more rain... we certainly don't need it, or want it! Camp Creek is way over its banks... roads are closed, bridges closed to traffic... we are fairly flooded right now! I was hoping for a few dry days so I could get some things planted in the gardens... but it's not looking good!

Those harlequin daisies are so pretty. I am going to have check out the nurseries around here for some like yours. My mom came up to visit this weekend and she brought two kittens for me. I hope they grow up to be great mice catchers.

That's wonderful! They'll have each other for company... and 2 mousers are always better than one! Are they both boy kitties or girl kitties? What colors?