MEmeMEmeMEme--more of ME!

Kylee over at Our Little Acre tagged me for another Meme. I thought I could figure out the quiz thing that she did....guess I am not focused to figure it out today. So, since I did this not too long ago I will keep it short and sweet.

1. I get super excited when I see a Bald Eagle. Like the photo at the top? It is from my daughter's dock in North Carolina where she shares a house with three other kids.

2. Bugs fascinate me, well, some bugs.

3. I got a degree in Elementary Education in Pennsylvania and taught for a few years. Here is my book learnin' photo...


4. These Memes are supposed to be a window to 'my world' --here is my world.

5. I love using ornamental grasses in the landscape, they are almost carefree. This one reseeds, so its life in my garden may be short-lived.


5. Fragrance is a key element in my choice of plants.

6. Hot pink blooms are some of my favorite! And purple(!).


7. We built our family room on the back of our house in 1999 to take advantage of the wonderful views of the creek and the wildlife that lives in, around, and above it.



I know I am supposed to tag others to share about themselves. Since I just did one of these I will let it be up to you if you would like to share seven things about yourself. If you choose to do a Meme, link it back here so I can read about you!

To Prune or Not to Prune…..that is the question.

I have a multiple plant grouping on the old wooden swing set in our backyard. The first plant that comes into bloom is the shrub rose. It had been growing in the L** Memorial Butt Garden. The funny thing was it wasn’t planted… it just appeared. Since I didn’t need it in the “Butt” garden I moved it up to the swing set. It has thrived in this space. I have no idea what kind of rose it is other than it is not a rugosa, some kind of rambler. This blooms during the early summer and sporadically through the summer and a little again in the fall.




Fall blooms are from the Clematis paniculata, Sweet Autumn Clematis. As you all know, vines sleep, creep, then leap. I was worried about this one as the "leaping year" was also Hurricane Isabel. I was not sure about the survival of it after having been under water--salty water. She survived and flourished.




One day while I was upstairs on the main computer I looked outside and saw something blooming in the rose bush that wasn’t pink.


What was it you ask?

Look closely….



It was something I thought I had eradicated two years before. I pulled and sprayed Roundup and pulled and sprayed….well you get the idea.



Yes, a Passion Flower. Passiflora incarnata

It is a strangely beautiful flower but a real thug. It has been in place for two years …this time. I felt as though it was so interesting looking that I couldn’t get rid of it…. Well now the vine is larger than my thumb and there are multiple vines coming up from the soil. I want to get rid of it (again) and hope it doesn’t reappear.


The dilemma for me as a bird watcher is that the mass of vine/ shrub is next to my bird feeders. This is a perfect place for the birds to go for a little shelter or to hide from the hawks. The rose needs to be thinned and pruned back a bit. The Clematis has some dead branches that need to be removed. The Passion Flower needs to go away! I guess the birds will find a place to be safe….but it is really going to be a shock to them. I will have the truck to myself for about ten days next month, so it is the optimum time to prune and go to the dump. Watch out biridies!!!!