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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

We Have Our Work Cut Out For Us

Today we went to the Landscape Supply Company and looked at the pallets of rock that they had available.    Now that my labor force (visiting kids) has gone back to NJ we bought two pallets.  It was so hot during July, I certainly didn't want to work toting big rocks down to the backyard....imagine the kids and Charlie didn't want to either.   Now we can do the work at our own pace, a little bit each morning, while it is cool.
Waiting for the delivery I had my camera and walked around the yard.

Right out the front door was this tiny little anole.... very young, but fast!!
It is on the wall up by the soffit.    These little lizards love the stonework on the front of the house for hiding spots.

I took the camera out because I saw some more daylilies were blooming.  This one is another Hemerocallis 'Stephanie Returns' 

And next to Stephanie is H. 'Scottish Fantasy' another very pretty ruffled bloom.


I saw some more buds, I really didn't think these new daylilies would bloom this year.  What a great surprise. 

Above the daylilies are three very large  Beautyberry bushes.  The berries are starting to turn to their fall lavender/purple color.  My bushes are Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai' which is supposed to be a smaller variety than C. americana but it sure has gotten quite large in the few years we have been here.

As  I walked around the side of the Beautyberry bushes I heard a noise in the mulch.  Hard to tell what critter would be skittering under the bush except that I saw it.  It was another tiny lizard, a Fence Lizard.  These little guys look like little dinosaurs.
These leaves that he is standing near are from the Gardenia bush, about half an inch wide and two inches long.    Never know what you are going to see when you walk the garden.

Some of you have read about Clematis Wilt from other bloggers.  I have been watching one of my Clematis vines and unfortunately I determined it was suffering from this wilt.  It is a fungus that affects the stems, not the roots of the plant.  Treatment is to literally cut off the infected stems.  Since the roots are not infected, new growth will emerge... so be brave and cut!!  The leaves on the infected stems get brown and withered, finally dropping all foliage.  An attractive vine can go to ugly quite quickly.  When pruning the infected stems off, make sure to clean up all the leaves as the fungal spores will remain on the leaves and the soil.   As I was checking for more Fence Lizards, I saw a little bit of new growth, a bud, coming out on the sad little Clematis.  I saved some seeds from the spent flowers for this one as it is in my family garden, this is C. Rebecca.  I certainly don't want anything to happen to this pretty addition to the family garden.  


Thinking I heard the truck, I hurried up the hill to the front yard, stopping to take a quick picture of the pretty blue damselfly.  Randy to the ID rescue again-- a Blue-fronted Dancer.  
thanks Randy!!

Coming down the driveway was our first pallet of round medium river stones.  We chose this type of rock as it matches the ones we have for our riprap along the shoreline.  
Pretty cool forklift. 

Here is what we will be working on for the next week or so--


For those who aren't  sure why we are doing this... the big section of the backyard garden has had some serious washout from our gullywasher rain storms. 


On the left side of picture near the big stones we had a lot of washout which carried downhill to the rock edging the pathways.  From there, a large ravine has been created on the garden side of the rocks.  Once the new rocks are placed, creating little 'pockets' we will get mulch and see about keeping the soil dressed to prevent more runoff.  This slope is pretty steep, we are hoping to redirect the water and split it so ravines don't get created.  Stay tuned! 

Before the kids left they were able to see my Epiphyllum oxypetalum blooming.  It is always so exciting when this blooms... I must have thousands of pictures of the opening blooms.  Rachel took a picture of me taking a picture.   You can see the plant itself isn't very attractive.  Will be doing more pruning on it this fall.  If you are interested in having a cutting, let me know and I would be happy to send a couple pieces to you.  

Don't you want to have one of these blooming on a warm summer night?  The fragrance is wonderful.

Will post pictures of our progress.  This is my summer workout program.  


©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

43 comments:

  1. Janet, your daylilies look great for the first year--I wish I had gone shopping with you! What lovely blooms! Great photo of the fence lizard. My crazy girl caught one at our son's soccer game last year, convinced us that it was a bearded dragon someone had released--and wouldn't survive the SC winter. So, guess who had a pet lizard for a bit in her room? Once we figured out it was a native, we made her release it.

    You are a brave woman with your rocks! I would have made the kids help--HA! ;-)

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    1. Julie, thanks! I wasn't anticipating the new daylilies to bloom this year. A pleasant surprise.
      Your daughter is a regular pet finder!! I had a salamander in my room once, and it got out of the container. Freaked me out!
      The rocks are underway!

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  2. Janet,

    Good looking rocks, lots of work but rewarding when finished. The damselfly is a male Blue-fronted Dancer.

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    1. Randy, thanks, the rocks match the ones along the shoreline. They blend in nicely. Thanks for the ID.

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  3. ...and a good workout program it is! The rocks will look beautiful on the hill It does look steep and if you're getting 4 and 5 inches of rain at a time, that's a lot of erosion. Sighing! I have almost forgotten what a gullywasher is; soon fall will be here and we'll get rain again. gail

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    1. Gail, I laughed when the doctor asked if I did weight bearing exercises. Duh! I garden.

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  4. I have the Stephanie Returns, it bloomed this yr. I too was surprised as it was the first yr. I'm trying to get plants that have my families names. My epithelium oxypetalum cuttings are doing fine. Again, Thank You.

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    1. Lola, Stephanie Returns is a pretty one. Good luck finding plants with family names. It is kind of fun. Glad your Epi is still doing fine.

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  5. I am jealous of the lizards. I have none here in my garden, but we do get blue skinks at work, so I do get a bit of a reptile fix. The voice of experience wants to remind you to watch your back and your fingers with the stone.

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    1. Les, We had one in the house....kind of funny. We have the blue skinks too. I remembered what you said about fingers and backs with the rocks...and promptly smashed a finger between two rocks. Not too bad..just surprised me.

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  6. Your daylilies are beautiful, especially 'Stephanie Returns.' Your Epiphyllum is gorgeous. I used to have one, before we moved. It was very big and top-heavy and really quite an ugly plant. Despite its size it never flowered. I hope your plans for the rocks works at controlling and redirecting the rain.

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    1. Alison, thanks!! I have two more new ones to open, waiting on them. If you want a cutting from the epi, just let me know.

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  7. You have an excellent workout ahead of you! I don't envy you doing that kind of heavy work in August! My beautyberry is fruiting too. Love the shades of purple! Enjoyed seeing all the wildlife in your garden. It is so great to have that natural activity going on in the garden. Your Cereus looks amazing! I would be snapping a lot of photos of it too! I like the idea of having night bloomers for those evening pollinators! Do you bring it in for the winter? Is it easy to grow or high maintenance?

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    1. Karin, yes, the workout is a couple days worth. We have had some nice weather, not too hot. I bring the Epi in the garage for the winter and water it once a month...that's all. Easy to maintain. Want some??

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  8. That is one steep ravine and you do have your work cut out for you. I love the rocks though. My clematis are drying up from the drought but I will make sure it is not wilt. Still have heat, humidity and little rain although they say that will change this weekend. Amazing your daylilies are blooming still too! I love your night bloomer.

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    1. Donna @GEV, the slope is sort of steep...if it isn't raining. Hope your clematis doesn't have wilt.

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  9. My clematis always goes through a crispy stage every summer...a little pruning and a little extra drink and they are fine. Fence lizards are cool and I love the rocks!

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    1. Darla, I have seen some Clematis that doesn't get crispy in the summer, so I think it isn't healthy. Love these fence lizards.

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  10. It's a beauty! I still haven't seen mine in 8 years but am looking!! It is the time I guess. What's the secret?

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    1. Tina, Glad you have an Epi. Hope yours blooms soon. I use worm castings or banana skins or compost...regularly. Think they are heavy feeders. Good luck.

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  11. Your little dinosaur found a setting that shows him off to great advantage, don't you think? I am just taking a break from my "exercise program", which nearly gave me heatstroke. My dear neighbor gave me a big pile of rocks, which I am transporting by wheelbarrow. This may take the rest of the summer. Won't we be STRONG by fall!

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    1. Ricki, they are like little dinosaurs aren't they? We are doing the rocks in the cooler part of the day. Wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow will do you in!!

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  12. Do you have your callicarpa americana in shade or partial shade? Somehow I thought that C. americana could take a good amount of sun, but it tends to get droopy/crispy on hot days. I'm thinking about trying to transplant it this autumn to a shadier location...

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    1. Aaron, growing in the wild the Callicarpa like dappled shade, like the edge of the woods. If it has a lot of sun give it a good amount of water. Mine are in morning sun, full sun, and then shade in the afternoon. Good luck!

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  13. You do have your work cut out for you with all those rocks! But taking it slowly doesn't sound so bad, and they will look great as a border for your garden, not to mention helping the runoff problem.

    Thanks so much for posting the photos of the Epiphyllum! You sent me a few cuttings a few years ago, and I could never remember what they were. They're still in their original pots and have never bloomed, but at least they're still alive:) Now that I know again what they are, I probably should do a little research and take better care of them.

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    1. Rose, We have gotten one load done and think we will do the other one tomorrow. I am glad your Epi is still alive. Think they will start blooming when they get a little root bound. Feed them!!

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  14. I wish we got lizards. They are so cute running around a garden. The one does look like a dinosaur. I do not envy the work ahead with your stone work. So heavy and so tiring. It will serve a good purpose when you are finished and will look good to boot.

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    1. Donna @GWGT, we have had a lot of fun watching the lizards. The first load of rocks wasn't too bad. Next comes mulch!!

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  15. Hooray for your rocks!! You are going to love your riverbed! I've noticed butterflies licking the minerals off my rocks when they're wet. It's awesome!! I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished project. :o)

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    1. Tammy, yes, hooray! Wish we got them before the kids left. hahahah How cool you had a butterfly licking the minerals. Very cool.

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  16. Goodness, that is a lot of rocks! Hope they do the trick for you, managing run-off can be a bit of a nightmare.

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    1. Janet, yes, it is a lot of rocks. I hope they do the trick too. Run-off is crazy!!

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  17. I think those rocks should help a lot Janet but I don't envy you the task of lugging them around. Hope it goes well.
    I like your lizards too ~ we don't have any here. I would probably jump everytime I saw/heard one until I got used to them!

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    1. Kathleen, I hope you are right. We got a wagon to help haul the rocks...the thought of lugging them down the hill was a bit overwhelming.
      The lizards cause me to jump quite often.

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  18. I so admire people who take on these large projects so (seemingly) lightly. It takes me weeks to do even the smallest home improvement and nothing ever goes as planned. Good luck and keep us posted.

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    1. Carolyn, thanks for coming by. This project isn't enormous....just big. To quote Rosanne Rosanna-danna...it is always something.

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  19. The rock is gorgeous. I'm still watching my Epiphyllum oxypetalum cuttings that you sent me. They're still growing. One day I hope to see the blooms.

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  20. Kim and Victoria, thanks! They go well with the other rocks in the yard. Glad your epi is growing ---maybe next year it will bloom!!

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  21. Beautiful daylilies! I do not envy you moving all of that rock but I'm sure it'll look great in your garden.

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    1. Sweetbay, Yes, I am thrilled with these new daylilies. Hoping the rocks will work.

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  22. Your daylilies are gorgeous. I would faint if I saw that big pile of rocks coming at me. :)
    Love seeing those little lizards. I have never seen any in my garden. I wish I would.I guess we don'g have the right habitat. Your garden looks beautifully situated by a lake. Wow.

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    1. Lisa@Greenbow, I am happy I bought daylilies this year, really pretty ones. I am also glad the rocks are done!! We love our view, living on the lake is just wonderful.

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