'Spider Man'? Daylilies with White Salvia & Pink Yarrow

While we were away on our little vacation it finally managed to rain. I’m not quite sure how much, but it was raining when we got home last night. It was nice to see the garden so happy! When we left everything was looking pretty sad, even with a watering. It appears that while we were gone all of the day lilies have decided to bloom at once! The Tiger Lilies, the ‘Stella de Oro’ (yellowy orange),  the ‘happy returns’ (yellow), and a couple of other ones which names escape me. It is amazing how quickly my purple garden turned orange and yellow. I actually love the combination of some of my cool colored salvias and irises with the bright daylilies. It is amazing sometimes how quickly the garden changes!

What is blooming in your garden right now?

Asplundh "trimming" the tree

We are back from a little vacation and are trying to get back on some sort of schedule. So I was caught off guard this morning when Asplundh pullled up next to the house with their lift and chipper.

Asplundh was here a couple of months ago to “trim” our old pine tree for PECO, so I was pretty surprised to see them back here this morning. They have been here for over an hour “trimming” the tree. I spoke to the supervisor who assured me that they were just going to shear a couple of feet off all the way up. hmmm…I have been back out once since the initial conversation and they are definitely removing branches MORE AGGRESSIVELY then he promised. He discussed trimming straight up but they are definitely angling toward the tree. He also said that the previous tree trimming was just “maintenance” and this group is the one that comes every 5 years to actually “trim” the tree. hmmmm…. So far I have managed to not swear in front of the kids. Sam wants to stand out there and watch the whole thing. It was making me sick to my stomach so we came back in.  What a great way to come back to the real world!

Like most gardeners I have the standard mix of shovels and trowels and clippers (okay, so I actually have a shed full of stuff). But there are a few tools and accessories that I find very useful. Thought you might be interested to see what items I keep coming back to. Anyone have other recommendations?

Ethel's Houndtooth Garden Gloves: $20 at Terrain

1. Good Gardening Gloves:

I have been on the search for the perfect pair of Gardening Gloves for a couple of years. I find that the thin ones tend to rip at the fingertips and become useless and the bulkier suede/leather ones don’t give a good feel. They are fine for raking, but when it comes to getting your hands in the dirt they aren’t very helpful. I also have smallish hands so I also needed a pair that came in sizes. I had almost given up when I came across these at Terrain at Styers this Spring. So far I LOVE them. They keep my hands clean, they are nicely fitted and give good hand feel, but they are durable enough that they don’t have any sign of wear (just lots of DIRT). As an added bonus I don’t have big blisters and callouses on my hands and my nails stay nice and clean!

Mini Shovel: $14.50 @ Lee Valley

2. The Mini Shovel:

This is new to my arsenal. It arrived  just as I was dividing some perennials last month. I don’t know how I gardened without it. There are lots of times when I am in a planting bed where my small shovel is not big enough but a full size shovel or spade is too big or awkward to use. This solves the problem. The kids also love using it, since it is just their size! By the way I am now in love with Lee Valley. They have lots of interesting gardening and woodworking products (that you don’t find anywhere else). My neighbors introduced me to them (Thanks Eils!)

Steppin' Edger: $28.75 @ Amazon

3. The Steppin’ Edger

This product totally looks like a gimmick, but when our half moon edger broke (after many years of service) I was interested in other options. My husband and I are both big believers in good edging. Every spring we edge the beds and create a little moat between the grass and the bed. Then you fill part of it with mulch and it provide a place to monitor weeds growing into the garden and most importantly it gives a nice finished appearance to the bed. Anyway, we had also tried electric edgers without much luck. Well once I got this, last year I couldn’t help myself! I edged and edged and edged. It still works better when the ground is damp from a rain but it worked MUCH faster than a traditional edger. It takes a little getting use to but now I would never got back! It is also much easier on the arms, shoulders and back!

Velcro Tape: $2.97 at Home Depot

4. Velcro Tape:

I know it sounds so simple, but this stuff is great. You just cut it to size you need and loop it around the plant that you need to tie. Plus it is easy to adjust and you can take it off and reuse it! The only downside is that you need a pair of scissors to cut it. You use to have to order it online but now Home Depot and everyone else seems to sell it.

Japanese Weeder: $19.50 @ Lee Valley

5. Japanese Weeder:

I don’t have this exact model since I bought mine at the defunct Smith and Hawken but mine looks very similar. These are handy little tools (although they are sharp so I have to keep mine from the kids). They do a really nice job of removing weed seedlings around your perennials without disturbing anything else. One thing to note is that they are “handed” so make sure you order the right (or my case left) one.