My Fall Porch

I'm a little late this year but I finally got it done. Welcome Fall!

The Ever Blooming Christmas Cactus

My colleague has a Christmas cactus that blooms all year long. We have a large window that floods the office with sunlight, which as you may know, works against a Christmas cactus blooming out of season. So its our little mystery.

Anyway, I thought I'd share these delicious blooms with you.

Fall Prep

I haven't been up to a whole lot these last few weeks, other than some yard maintenance. And by yard maintenance, I mean vigorously pulling Mexican heather from my rain garden. Those babies have a tendency to take over! And they're obscuring shorter, more attractive plants like my Cahaba lilies and ginger lilies.

After removing 90% of the Mexican Heather

We've had a dry summer which has damaged the woodland ferns in the rain garden. Lucky me! I also plan to dig those out as soon as I'm done with the Mexican heather. Hopefully that will enable my canna lilies to progress as it seems their growth has been stunted the last few years.

Totally Overgrown!

On the hillside, I am going to replace a small island filled with irises and daylilies with another fruit tree. I have my eye on a dwarf pear tree that will fit the space perfectly.

Its a long to-do list with very little time. Hopefully I can get most of this done before we have another cold snap which forces me into hibernation.

Spider Lilly Surprise

The last few weeks have been really hectic, hence my absence. I finally had a minute to slow down over the last few days and take a walk around the backyard. I was really excited to find that the spider lily bulbs I planted last fall were now blooming.

 

They are clustered in several areas of the yard in various stages of their life, but these two clusters along house were the prettiest. So happy I didn't miss them.

Can You identify This Flying Insect?

The other night while letting the dog out, I noticed this flying insect around my jasmine bush. It was most interesting. It flapped its wings much like a hummingbird moth, but that's where the similarities ended. Can you help me identify it?

Scrap Wood Scarecrow

With two little ones, August has been a really busy month for us, hence my lack of posts. But I'm back with a super cool project!

I've seen these scrap wood scarecrows all over the Internet and balked at the $40+ price tags. I had some free time yesterday, put the pieces together and coerced sweet-talked the DH into fastening them together for me.

Inspiration:

My stash:

 

Framework:

 Back Support:

 Front:

The screws are counter-sinked and the screw holes will be filled before painting. I may leave the top as is. I like the jagged line.

 

Now I just need to find some more free time to paint it and display it in the yard in time for Fall.

 

 



Pleasant Surprises

Yesterday while swinging with the kids, I noticed a brown spot in one of my young, maple trees. Upon closer inspection however, I discovered it was an abandoned bird's nest. I can't believe we had birdies and didn't know as nest watching is one of the kids and my favorite garden hobbies.

I've always thought my backyard trees were too young (think low to the ground) to be sanctuaries for nesting mamas but turns out that's not the case. After all, I've had several nests in hanging plants on the front porch and just this spring, in one of my front hedges. So next spring, I'll expand my nest search and see where else they set up.