Small things I can't live without

Usually these pretty gloves(ok, not so pretty now) are gifts since I wouldn't buy them for myself.
Luckily they make them larger now for women. Years ago it was a joke...what, made for tiny hands ?
They can be washed more often than the "one size fits all" cheap gloves.






There are times when I need heavy duty gloves like pruning rose bushes or just cheap ones
for everyday use and when working in wet soil.
Anyway can't beat the price of the dotted ones (less than a buck apiece)at Ollie's and
you can wash them a few times, but not forever !






Had these metal copper garden tags about 8 years after picking 'em up at a garden show.
Nice thing about them is that once you use permanent markers to label them for a
new plant you can always spray over with white paint and reuse for different plants.
I've seen them as cheap as 10 for 7 dollars...not bad. Think maybe I paid too much .






These have to be my favorite tags. Can you guess where I got them ?
Ok, it's not a hard question...$5 mini blinds cut by scissor to size needed.
Can't beat the price and they last much longer than the ones that come with potted plants.







Most of the time I seem to have to buy new pruners every year,
think maybe it has to do with SHAME... not taking care of them !
Sometimes they last a few years.
This is a tool a gardener can't live without.
The pretty one is a gift and not as good as you might expect.
Just give me the $10 pruners from HD or Lowes and I'm happy.






Scissors are used for so many projects as well as in the garden.
Because Hubby always and I mean ALWAYS loses them the best buy is at the dollar store.
That's right...only ONE dollar for one pair !
Use them for deadheading flowers,cutting ground cover back...just about everything.
Also for cutting jute when tying up plants to a stake.
We started with 8 pairs this year...now we're down to 3.






Go through a lot of jute, tying plants to trellises or stakes.
Also used for trying to straighten out floppy arborvitaes and shrubs due to winter storms.
Just leave them on and let them rot or clip off later for a clean look.
Mostly used for hubby's tomato plants.






Sometimes used in the garden but mostly used for a variety of projects.
Can't live with out these knives.
By the way... they go missing also!

Not ugly to me

Someday I'll get a few pretty bushes or trees that have wonderful autumn colors.
Today this is the best we can do !
Some may call it UGLY... but this gardener cherishes the change of season,
even if it doesn't appear heavenly.











































So glad there are still fresh flowers to bring inside. Won't last forever.
By the way, the vase is from a thrift store, 2 bucks.. Nice find, don't you think ?

Season for Seeds

The garden is getting a little weathered with the change of season
but there's one good thing that it brings me...SEEDS !!!!!
Not sure what the heck I'll do with the ones collected,
but I can't help myself from saving them anyway.
Of course some seeds are stolen from plants outside a restaurant
or where ever I may be...just can't stop myself.


Tall orange cosmos



Black-eyed susans



Butterfly bush



Coneflowers



Hibiscus



Cardinal climbers






Seeds are in there somewhere.

Blotanical

Personally, I could not live without my computer,and all the endless amount of information it provides.

For the gardener... you can find out just about everything you need to know about plants of interest.

We all like to take pictures of our favorite flowers, new beds we designed, as well as record what we've learned year to year.

Blogging brings more excitement to our home garden,and it's fun to share with others.
Many other gardeners doing the same has opened up a great source of pertinent information and entertainment.

But how do you find these other Bloggers?

A man named Stuart Robinson from Busselton, Western Australia developed a web site for garden bloggers which people from all over have joined to discover a whole new world of gardening.

I personally consider this the best way to find other gardeners and garden friends.
For any of you who haven't been at Stuart's web site please visit.
You'll never know what you're missing until you visit the greatness of BLOTANICAL !!


Now if I could only get my garden friends who rarely go online to visit Blotanical.
They've seen some of my posts and enjoyed them but don't yet seem to fully
recognize the value of using their computers regularly.
C'mon people ! You can't find everything in a book.
Look at this garden website. Discover what other gardens in your Zone have learned.
It will bring so much enjoyment to your life.
Discover the world of gardening !

Pots

These two potted plants plus a Clematis have been sitting in this same spot for about 6 weeks.
Hubby got them for me.... I just couldn't figure out where to plant them so they sat there until today.
Well the Clematis found a home(pic at bottom of page)and the Jacob's Ladder is dead (or maybe not!).
There were a few Jacob's Ladders two feet behind where this pot sits and well
...they lived two years with no flowers.
The Samurai Spiderwort has been doing well just where it's been sitting,
so it will get planted in the bed right behind it.



Samurai Spiderwort(tradescantia samurai) has tiny but very sweet little flowers.
Reminds me of toad lilies or blackberry lilies.
It seems they marked the pot wrong...this is a Toadlily or Tricrytis.
Thanks Shady.
Now what kind ?... I have no idea.



The Pink Anemone Clematis found a home on this new trellis that hopefully will hide the air conditioner.
Not sure what to grow on the other side. Something compatible and tall.



Then there are my potted plants which will just have to stay on the steps.
Some are annuals and will die off but also there are chives,foxgloves,rosemary and deadnettle.

A Touch of Autumn

Did a little fall decorating.
No mums this year...do like them but they only last one month.
Who knows...maybe next week.
























Husband loves these knockout rose bushes(3). He even deadheads them!
Think maybe it needs pruning. Just not sure when to do it.
He also has to have a near perfect lawn...it's some sort of man thing.
Just did the fall seeding last week.
Looking good !!!!

Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

This little guy managed to get in but couldn't get out.
He was quite content just eating the sunflower seeds but eventually got frantic
and couldn't figure how to escape from the crime scene.
So I put my husband's heavy duty gloves on and opened the top so he could run away.


Hopefully he learned his lesson, but then again he may be a repeat offender !