The yard and garden

We spent the day working in the backyard and part of the front.

The yard seriously needs some rehab since the freeze everything is getting cut back and will have new buds soon enough.

We ran the leaf rake pull behind the lawnmower thingy and dumped it 6 times from leaves in the front yard. He then places the leaves between the rows in the garden and as they decompose the dirt gets raked up on the rows.

On top of that, we planted 22 tomato plants, bell pepper plants, seeds for yellow squash, zucchini squash, cucumbers, and potatoes. We still have some hot peppers to get planted and some marigold flowers to keep bugs away as well as some basil to plant between the tomato plants to enhance the flavor of the tomatoes.

We already have onions that survived the freeze and are growing well. We even have some cabbage that made it.

Jack did get a new area for Okra but we are not planting as much as last year I got so tired of picking okra.

I went to 3 garden centers over the last week looking for Vinca flowers and there are none to be found yet. I wanted the Vinca because they bloom from now until freeze. They never look wilted or windblown. I did see the Dianthus and may end up with some more of those they are pretty hardy as well.

He tilled one of the raised beds by the barn and there was 15″ earthworms in there they were HUGE. They make the dirt perfect for planting vegetables.

When springtime rolls around we never stop I am always needing some color in the yard and Jack is always anxious to get the garden planted. Today I am using one of the free photos we have access to on WordPress.

We have spring fever in Texas and today was a beautiful day.

Photo by Laureen Raftopulos on Pexels.com

Aloe Vera Bloom

Years ago my mom gave me some of her big Aloe Vera. This was a very old plant but I am not sure how old.

A few years ago it bloomed then again last year and now there are blooms all over several plants this year.

I have about 8 pots of the Aloe Vera scattered around the backyard plus Jack has about 30 pots in the greenhouse that are ready to be sold.

They are suppose to bloom 1 x a year but I think there are a lot of factors that go into them blooming.

Aloe Vera is very easy to grow and it likes to be neglected and not over watered.

Our two youngest granddaughters who are 6 years old Karina and Sophia love plants so I have given them several of the plants we had rooted. They have airplane plants, ivy, and aloe vera and they have quite the green thumbs like their mom does. They keep them on an Ikea Cart and roll them in and out of the sunshine indoors and sometimes they take them out on the front porch.

A simple plant that has several medicinal uses creates such a beautiful bloom even if it is only one time a year.

Cotton Candy Pink

These Crepe Myrtles always remind me of pink cotton candy.

The trees turn bright pink and they bloom for about 1 1/2 months.

We have 13 scattered among the two acres. They are pink, white, red and purple. The red one has dark purple leaves on the tree. We did not plant all of these the birds planted some of them.

Surround yourself with beautiful flowers and your life will be much brighter.

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Blooms, Succulents, and Sedums

This is our well shed and I enjoy changing out what’s hanging on the walls.

This was my hanging herb planter but it is now for succulents & sedums. This is on the right side of the well shed from the back. There is a pink crepe myrtle and white plumbago.

On the backside are the window frame, planter box, and stars accented with dianthus, wandering jew, and pink chi – chi bushes.

Chi – Chi’s is a cousin plant to the purple showers which you have seen on my blogs in the past.

On this particular morning, the humidity fogged up my lens so that gives the images a softer look than normal. I was going to redo these pictures but I and decided I liked the look.

I love all the plants blooming in all the colors it makes me very happy.

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Variegated Shell Ginger

Variegated Shell Ginger is one of my favorite plants.

We have them planted in the shade accented by sword fern they are under two very large 40 year old oak trees.

Since there were no freezes in the past few winters they are thriving. Currently, they are about 5 foot + tall and 8 foot wide or more in all four directions. Needless to say, they multiply like crazy and then you can share with your friends.

If it freezes they die back and they will not bloom the next spring. They will come back but it will take them some time to get full again.

The blooms start out as a pod looking thing then all the white blooms start showing and those open up to yellow flowers. They are quite striking.

We started out with a one-gallon container of the ginger and now I could give 10 people all a gallon and it would never look like I touched it.

My husband thinks we should sell these plants so he has about 20 in quart containers and another 10 + in gallon containers.

When you landscape your yard research your plants and always buy stuff that multiplies then you can move it to several different locations. Make sure you pay attention to the sun requirements.

A beautiful well-manicured yard shows off the time and love you have put into it.

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Agapanthus – Lily of the Nile

The Agapanthus also goes by the name of Lily of the Nile and it is a pretty amazing flower. The flowers shoot up on a very tall stem so they stand out quite well.

I bought all my plants on clearance at Lowes last spring. At the time they looked rough but with a little TLC, they were good to go. Never give up on a bargain plant I find that 95% of the time they live.

I just water them 2 times a week and they have been blooming like crazy. They are in full sun from about noon on. I think I have about eight of them.

If you look at the creamy background in this picture you will know this was shot using a  prime lens. A prime lens has another name it is the high dollar lens. This was shot using my Canon 100mm Macro lens that my husband bought me.

I shot this picture in Aperture Priority with a fast shutter speed because the wind was blowing like crazy. You can not get this kind of picture in auto mode on a camera.

The flower really stands out against the creamy background and shows off its details.

The beauty of photography is seeing what you can create while being in control of the camera.

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Tiny purple petals

Capturing angles in pictures sometimes gives us a little bit different perspective.

This is a Golden Dewdrop Duranta plant and its flowers are tiny but very pretty.

Then and now

There is 3 1/2 weeks difference in these pictures.

It is truly amazing how fast petunias grow.

I spent a lot of time making my huge planter and painting it with the metallic paints only to realize a few weeks later the pot does not even show anymore lol.

A good rule of thumb when it comes to finding the perfect place for your petunias is the lighter colors need filtered sun rather than full sun and brighter or darker colors can handle the sun better.

If you can find the perfect spot for your petunias they will really put on a show with lots of blooms every day to brighten up your yard.

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Purple Fountain Grass

I love shopping at Lowes and their plant selection is always great.

Recently I found 3 purple fountain grass in quart containers for $3.00 each. They were on the clearance aisle but did not look bad at all. I think the regular price was $9.00 each.

I brought them home we planted them in pots and gave them some miracle grow and a few weeks later they have now doubled in size.

Taking pictures of grasses and blooms with my macro lens has always been something I enjoy.

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Spring is in the air

Today is the first day of spring and pink is such a great color.

Our azaleas started blooming about two weeks ago and they have been stunning this year. Normally the March winds blow off all the blooms but that did not happen this time so we have really gotten to enjoy them.

Happy Spring everyone.

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