What Will We Do with the Pavers

 Right after Roger told me about the free pavers, he asked me "what can we do with them?"  At that time, I really didn't know  how we would use the pavers and I really didn't have time to think about it, either.  Part of the deal was that we needed to get the pavers off site before the demo crew brought their dump truck back to fill with all the debris and that included the pavers.

Stacking pavers is very boring so I had a lot of time to think about what we could do with all those pavers.  The pavers are various shades of brown so I don't want to use them close to the house. We want an exposed aggregate concrete patio to match the existing sidewalks and the house is grey.  Then it hit me like a ton of pavers.  We could build a large round patio under the large willow tree.  That area is very shaded and cool in the summer.

The brown of the pavers will match the dirt in that area because we will not have grass due to the shade.  But will have hostas and ferns because of the shade.  Plus, I didn't buy any hostas this year and I am jonesing to buy hostas.  Lots of hostas....sorry I can't help myself.

The ground under the willow is slightly sloped so I estimate 1 layer of retaining block buried and then transitioning into 2 layers on the low side.  When we broke apart the swimming pool we kept the wide concrete bull nose coping pieces.  They are 12 inches by 24 wide and have a bull nose on one side.  They are weathered because they are from the 1930's but I like the non new look.  We will need to rent a concrete saw to cut angles so we can form a 18 edged circle using rectangular pieces. 

The bull nose concrete pieces are very close to the same thickness as the pavers so I think that our only costs will be sand, crushed stone, renting the saw, and polymeric sand.  It would be great to keep costs as low as possible because we want a pool but that can't happen until we finish the back of the house.

 I did some very rough drawings and the patio will be at least 12 feet in diameter.  We have a square gas fire pit and 2 heavy handcrafted wrought iron tables, that I purchased at auction on the cheap.  The tables have wood tops but I want to cast concrete tops for them and a concrete top for the square gas fire pit.  That will repeat the patio bull nose coping pieces.

What will we use for seating?  We love Adirondack chairs but not the plastic ones nor the wood ones.  We want to be able to leave the tables and chairs outside year round.  We already have enough 'stuff' to store every year.  So we are going to deconstruct our wood ones and trace the pieces onto solid PVC boards.  This will be pricey and but they will be heavy and not blow over in a storm.  Build them once and they should last a long time and only require periodic scrubbing.

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Gratuitous kitty photos.

So that's the plan.

And as always...

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How to Divide an Expensive Hosta Into Multiple Hostas

I decided to stop by at a local nursery to see if they had empty wire hanging baskets.  They did and they were on sale. So I thought "what the heck, I've just saved 25% so let's go and look at the hostas.  Maybe I can save some more money."

 Nothing was really grabbing me.  Most of the hostas were ones I already owned.  The few new ones that I saw were lackluster until I saw this....

...Cool as a Cucumber.  How cool is that?  Oh and it is 50% off.  It's like they are giving them away.  

So I went in for a closer look.  It's vase shaped.  That is always a plus because you can tuck a smaller low growing hosta under the taller hosta for a layered look.

 A closer look at the leaves and we can see several shades of green.  Almost a grass green with a nice splash of creamy white in the center.  Sold!!!!

 But before I grab one and had for the cash register, I need to look closer and see if I can find one that has 5 or 6 divisions so I can extend my savings even more.  Found one and this looks like I can get 5 or 6 new plants from this one pot.

Let's do some figuring.  The original cost was $19.99.  If I paid that much for a single hosta then my hosta beds would be pretty bare.  But this hosta was on sale for half off so it was only 10 bucks.  That's better but I think we can do even better.  I was able to divide this hosta into 6 plants so the individual per plant cost is $1.67!!!

Onto the dividing.  Fill a bucket with about 6 inches of water and and a little fish fertilizer.  I like the Alaska brand.  You can buy it at Walmart and Tractor Supply.  It smells like fish but a little goes a long way.  Sit your bucket in the sun for 30 minutes or so.  I don't like to just drop my hosta plant into freezing water (we have well water) so I sit it in the sun just long enough to make it tepid. 

 I then de pot the hosta and sit it into the water+fertilizer and let it sit in the shade.  Every so often I swish the root ball around to help the soil fall off the roots.  You will not get all the dirt off of a plant this size and that is OK.  Removing some of the soil helps with the cutting and allows you to see more clearly the space between the divisions.

 Go dig your holes while the plant is sitting in the water.  The location I chose was around the base of one of my large walnut trees.  I spaced the holes about 2 feet apart and ended with 6 holes.  So my goal is to divide this plant into 6 smaller plants. 

 You will need a disposable utility knife like the one in the photo above.  The narrow blade works better than the fat blade but that will work, too.  Extend the blade all the way out and lock in place.

 Before I forget.....DO YOUR CUTTING IN THE SHADE.  I couldn't get my camera to work in the shade so it is one of those do as I say and not as I do scenarios.  Start by gently trying to pull the roots apart by hand.  That helps to keep from needlessly cutting off roots.  The goal is to keep as many roots attached as possible. The first cut is to basically cut the root ball into 2 pieces.  Depending on the plant, this might be 3 divisions on each piece or even 4 and 2.  It all depends on how the plant has grown.  Once you have two pieces put one of the pieces in the water while you work on the second piece. 

 The photo above shows the two halves.   Using the long thin blade allows for cutting in between the divisions with relative ease, especially if it is a brand new knife.  As you cut off a division make sure to put it into the water.  It is important to keep the roots moist.  

In less than 10 minutes I went from one large plant to 6 plants.  After planting the newly liberated hosta division I thoroughly watered them with the water/fertilizer from the bucket.  They have been in the ground for 2 days now and none are drooping and all looks good.

Hostas are hardy plants but using my method helps to eliminate some of the risk of dividing a large potted hosta.

I didn't just save 25% on the empty wire hanging basket with liner and 50% on the hosta plant.  I used my rewards cards to earn cash towards a future purchase in the fall and I also used my credit card to earn points towards cash.  

Reward cards are an easy way of earning cash back from the stores that you frequent.  Today I used a $10 reward sent to me from Ace Hardware and I also got a $1.00 off my drink at Panera by using my Panera rewards card.

I punch holes in the corner of my reward cards and place them on a key ring so I have them handy and ready to use when I need them at the checkout.  

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Rolling, Rolling, Rolling.....

....that's what R has been doing when it isn't raining.  He is using the lawn roller to try and level out the lumps in the sod.

To do this he is using the roller that someone put out to the curb on trash pick up day.  It has grease zerks and is a nice heavy roller.  It was broken into two pieces but they both roll so it isn't a problem.

The soggy lawn is not drying out, not one bit.  Every third day it rains and I am not talking sprinkles, I am talking big downpours.  This makes every spot where we removed a boulder into a miniature lake.

When R isn't rolling, we are both mowing.  The amount of growth overnight is unreal.  Every three days we mow and hopefully that third day is not a rain day because that means the grass will be so tall on the fourth day that I will need to rake afterwards. AND no one has time for that!

I did find time to buy a few hostas. Well of course I did, I'm not dead.  It is all part of being a hostaholic.  Only one new variety of hosta and it is called Barbara Ann.  I actually bought 5 hostas but 4 are repeats of hostas that I already own.  The five hostas are from left to right Sum and Substance, Fragrant Bouquet, Barbara Ann, Pilgrim and Praying Hands (every hosta garden needs one of these very upright skinny hosta).

 Tomorrow we need to get the 5 inch eavestrough up because yes it is going to rain Wednesday night and all of Thursday.  I am beginning to think that building an ark might be something we need to look into.  The Gear Acres Ark would have nothing but cats and hostas.

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How to Keep Track of Your Plants and Trees

Have you ever bought multiples of a plant and then have one die and when you go to buy a replacement plant you can't remember which color you need to buy? This happened to me so many times that I decided to do something about it.

I bought several empty thick binders (you might be lucky and already have a few around the house) and those plastic pages that store baseball cards. The plastic pages can be purchased on eBay and Amazon and the binders can be found everywhere from drugstores, office supply stores, and online.

Look for binders that have pockets inside the front and back covers.  These large pockets are perfect for the large cardboard identification tags found on bags of bulbs.

If you are like me, then you might need several binders. I have three binders.  One for hostas, one for perennial plants, and one for trees and shrubs.

The plant tag goes into the sleeve where you normally insert the baseball card. You may need to trim off the bottom or sides of the plant tag to make it fit, just make sure that you do not cut off any important info. You now have a record of that plant and what variety you purchased, along with watering, sun info, and probably a photo of the plant.

My number 1 tip is buy a lot of those plastic pages. You will use more than you think. Trust me. I learned the hard way and not only reordered once but twice.

In the spring if there is a plant that has died and I decide to go with a different plant then I remove the old tag and insert the new tag.

Having a binder, or in my case binders, comes in handy during the winter when you want to shop the seed and bulbs catalogs. It is easier to see what colors you already have in your garden. Also, by reading the tags you can find out when your garden is lacking blooms. In my case, I need early and late bloomers that are high in nectar for the honeybees. The warm weather is lasting longer into the fall and longer than my flowers are currently blooming.  So I need something for my honeybees to forage on without going to their honey reserves too soon.

I, also, need flowers in late winter/early spring and may need to plant some Lenten Roses (Helleborus). They bloom at the end of the winter, they are deer resistant, and are drought resistant. I need to find out if they can survive by my black walnut trees because the plants are rather pricey to just buy and see what happens.

This binder method is a very economical way to organize your plant tags. The next time a friend asks you "what is the name of that flower" you can say "just a minute and I can tell you exactly what that plant is called and the exact color name."

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FYI The last time I counted my hostas I had over 300 different varieties and since that time I have purchased at least 100 more varieties. That's a whole lotta hostas.

Hostas Purchased off of Etsy

If you are into hostas as much as I am then you know that your local nurseries and garden shops tend to offer the same hostas with maybe 1 or 2 new varieties each year.  I try to fight the urge to buy online because new varieties can be pricey for very small plants and you also run the risk of buying a plant that either doesn't hold up over the long run (Fire and Ice, Loyalist, Pandora's Box) or in the case of sports, you get a plant that reverts back after 3 years.

I needed a few plants to fill in holes in my hosta beds.  This usually happens when the tag says it is one size and it ends up being smaller.  I also had two hostas die which is very unusual.  What is more unusual is that there were no rotting roots or dead debris.  It might be that an animal dug up the plant and hauled it away.  Who knows what happened.

My usual online method is to buy off eBay or directly from a nursery but this year I decided to give Etsy a try.

  The box arrived in 8 days with a postal holiday and a weekend included so the box arrived very fast.

When I opened the box, I found each plant wrapped in newspaper, with the roots wrapped in wet paper towel and a plant tag attached.  Perfect.

 The plants were all good size.  There were no damaged leaves and all plants looked very healthy.  These are all new to me and I can't wait to see how they look when they reach maturity.  I will be very happy if they are half as good looking as the photos on the tags.

The seven plants that I purchased from the Etsy seller GardensBreeze are......

Firn Line medium light yellow with green center

Sunset Grooves small green with bright yellow center

Restless Sea medium blue with pie crust edge 

Sugar Daddy large blue with cream edge

Winter Snow giant chartreuse green with cream or white edge

Kiwi Spearmint small white/green streak center with green edge

Forbidden Fruit large thick leaves bright yellow center green edge

  

And finally I have all my concrete pieces made for the Quikrete 1 Bag Wonder Contest.

I will do a final reveal of what I made on Monday night.  Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed.

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More Hostas and Plants that Smell.....

.....like cola or popcorn.  

This plant smells exactly like a glass of Coca Cola.  

 This plant smells just like popcorn.  

 I wonder how they make that happen.

 The popcorn plant has a very interesting flower with the bright yellow flower than starts out as a dark bud.  Kind of like how popcorn looks before it pops.

And of course I found 4 more hostas that I didn't have along with a hosta that I already have but needed another one.

Left to right is Ivory Queen, Fire Island which is a bright yellow hosta with red petioles (stalks), Remember Me, Shadowland Autumn Frost, and Moonstruck.  Just in case you think that I have tweaked with the color by using a Photoshop app.....nope the colors are that bright and I don't Photoshop any of my photos.  I know a lot of bloggers and Instagram users do that but I don't.

I bet you are wondering why these hostas have such vivid color.  It is because they grow in the shade or only sun in the morning.  I know that the tag says part sun and some people believe full sun.  Yes, they will grow in those conditions but you won't see vivid colors.  Instead you will have bleached out leaves that by August will also be brown on the edges.  

Today I planted the window boxes on the house.  I used bright red geraniums and red, white, and dark purple petunias.  I also planted the pots on my front porch using the same flowers plus white petunias.

I still need to plant the pots and flower boxes on my deck and three hanging baskets.  The boxes will have the same flowers as the window boxes on the house and the hanging baskets will have just petunias. 

Petunias need a couple of weeks to grow before they are photo ready. My mother was always diligent about pinching off dead flowers or long stems.  Because of this, her petunias were always very full and lush.  I am going to try and be more diligent about that and hopefully mine will still look good by August. 

We have had great weather the last couple of days but the forecast is for a couple of days of rain.  

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The First Hosta Purchase of the Year

I had not intended to buy any hostas today because I was at the garden shop to buy geraniums.  We were on our way to the cash register when my eye caught what looked like hostas in the next greenhouse and the hunt for a new hosta was on.

I have over 300 different varieties of hostas in my garden so I am happy to find just one that I don't already own.  I walked along the first row saying "Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it." I'm thinking "bummer" as I started down the next row.  I am about 5 plants from the end of the last row when I scored gold and that gold would be in the form of Saint Elmo's Fire. 

Then I scored again with Fragrant Blue.  I already have 3 or 4 from the Fragrant line and they have everything that I like to see in a hosta.  The flowers are white and fragrant and they have thick leaves.  But this one is different in that it falls into the 'small' size category where as all my other Fragrant line hostas are tall and fall into the medium/large to large size category.  

Hostas come in all sizes.  From smallest to largest is miniature, dwarf, small, medium, large, extra large, and giant.  The smallest hosta that I have in my garden is Pandora's Box and the largest is the giant size Empress Wu.  

Buying hostas that stay small and short is what allows you to layer your hostas.  There is nothing more striking than to have a tall blue hosta with a small short yellow hosta just ever so slightly tucked underneath the taller blue hosta.  This combo will make the blue appear bluer and the yellow will pop even in deep shade. 

 I was so excited about finding these two that I forgot to put a 3rd hosta in my cart.  So tomorrow I will head back and buy 'Barbara Ann'. 

Just in case you haven't read any of my other posts on hostas and want to catch up, just type in HOSTA in the search bar at the top on the right side.

I snapped a couple of photos to show you which hosta to buy when you have the option to choose between two of the same hostas.

In the photo above of the hosta 'Barbara Ann', you can see that there is just one stem.  There is nothing wrong with buying a single stem plant BUT if you can find a multi stemmed plant like the one below,  you then can divide the plant before you put it in the ground.  I wrote a detailed post on how to divide hostas several years ago so if you need info on how to divide, you can find that by using the search bar on this blog.

Why divide before you plant?  I think the number 1 reason is that it is far easier to divide a small plant then it is to dig up a large, heavy plant and try to divide it without damaging the plant.  Hostas are hardy plants and can take a lot of abuse.  But my back can't handle the abuse of lifting a heavy plant out of the ground and then try and divide that plant into multiple plants.  

The number 2 reason to divide a plant before you put it in the ground is that it lowers your per plant cost.  If you buy a plant for $19.99 and you can divide it into 4 plants then the cost per plant went from $19.99 to 5 bucks per plant.

The hostas today cost $8.98 each and had I been able to find one with two stems, it would have lowered my per plant cost to $4.48 each.

My cousin Judy is responsible for my hosta addiction and until I saw all of her different hostas, I thought all hostas were green.  How little did I know back then that hostas could be green, blue, yellow, and white and any combination of those colors, even within one leaf.

If after reading my posts on hostas and you find yourself with a hosta addiction, don't blame me.  Blame my cousin Judy.

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Gargoyles and Our Downspouts

It was about the same time that I was searching the Internet for a splash block that I came upon a gargoyle for downspouts.  I was excited to find another method to hide the hideous downspout extensions.

Gargoyle en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle

In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm.

The back of our house is fairly close to how it was when we purchased the house in 2004.  We removed a poorly thought out and non-original overhang over the back door and we re poured the step at the back door.  We also removed a large picture window with casement windows on the side.  It wasn't original and was badly rotted.  AND we planted hostas so they could get a foot hold and look good when we finally finish the back of the house.

We have replaced the old eave troughs and downspouts on the house except for the back.  There are two downspouts on the back of the house and both the downspouts and downspout extensions are very obvious and ugly.  So I was quite pleased to find a method to make them look better.  Enter the downspout extension gargoyle.

The gargoyle is cast resin and colored to look like concrete which is perfect for us because we love concrete items.  The gargoyle slips over the end of the downspout extension without the need of a tool. If you have plantings around your downspout extension, you can hide it and have just the gargoyle peeking out from the plantings.

In the photo above the extension is showing, but when we install new eave troughs and downspouts, the extension will be shorter so that you only see the gargoyle peeking out and not the extension.

 Isn't he cute?

The hostas are First Frost with Royal Krossa in the middle. Both have blue instead of green and both varieties have thick leaves.  Always try and buy the thick leave type as they look great right up to the cold weather and frost.  Notice the difference in the other photo.  Those hostas have thin leaves and show stress as soon as it gets hot.  Bugs and slugs eat the leaves and the heat burns the tips and they require more frequent watering.  They actually only look good for a month or so in the spring.  I will replace those hostas when we finish the back of the house.

Search eBay Gargoyle Gutter Spout Downspout Statue Stone and Resin Garden Home.  You will find two styles...Gargoyle and Dragon.

I also found them on Wayfair for almost half the price that I paid.

Don't forget to use Ebates for an additional 2% off.  Click here to sign up and receive a $10 gift card after your first $20.00 purchase.  I am at over $700.00 saved by using my Ebates account when purchasing at participating sites.  I recently purchased an item from an online store and will receive 12% back by using Ebates.  Etsy is currently giving 1% but I have seen it at 2% and 4% before.  eBay can be as low as 2% and occasionally 5%.

Also, make sure when purchasing on eBay that you sign up for eBay Bucks.  I will receive a code worth over $22.00 at the beginning of October.  I can use that code on any eBay purchase, but hopefully something on sale and when Ebates is offering more than 2% back.  Maybe I will buy more hostas!!!!

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Spring Fertilizing, New Door Mats, New Hosta Bed Prep

Ahhhh.....spring.  We have had some very mild weather lately but unfortunately when the weather is mild it is also raining.  But not today.  It actually got to 72 degrees but by mid afternoon it was starting to cloud up and the temps started to drop with the rain starting later in the evening.  But first we were able to get a few things done.

While R used the broadcast spreader to put down a spring blend (30-0-4) fertilizer/weed killer from Ace I was busy elsewhere in the yard.  Ace is running a sale on their house brand fertilizer and we purchased the 15,000 sq ft bag for $43.99.  Since we have an Ace card we received an instant savings of $6.00 each off of two bags (limit of 2). We needed 5 bags.  We have used this brand for several years and have been very satisfied with it's performance.  In the fall, we use their fall blend and we don't fertilize anymore than those two times.

A decade ago, I had Tru Green fertilize my lawn 5 times a year.  It was needless and wasteful.  I like a nice, weed free, green lawn but I am more mindful of runoff now so as long as my lawn is mostly weed free and green, I am happy.

Last week my sister and I got together for some shopping at a discount store called Ollie's Bargain Outlet.  We were in search of outdoor pots.  My sister recently remodeled the exterior of their house and was in search of black pots similar to the ones I purchased last year at Ollie's.  I bought another huge black pot for the front porch and she purchased two tall slim black pots for each side of the exterior door of her attached kennel.  I need to go and take some photos of her house.  It is very clever how they attached the kennel to the garage side of the house.  It matches their house and can be used by a new owner as an office, hair salon, or even a man cave.

I also purchased two door mats made of rubber.  Oh my gosh, they were so heavy and very difficult to get into the cart.  They are on the large size but I purchased two in the hope that together they would work in front of the patio door.  Each mat measures 24X48 inches.  I was really flying by the seat of my pants because I didn't have any measurements of the step with me.  The mats were only $9.99 each and I knew I could use them elsewhere if they didn't work in front of the patio door.  The photo below shows one mat.

Here is what the two mats together look like in front of the patio door.  Perfect.  They will look better once that nasty door is removed and the vintage doors installed.  It's almost warm enough to rip it out without losing all the heat in the house.

 I have been very good about not buying anymore hostas. At last count I had over 200 varieties and multiples of most of them.  My beds were full and there wasn't any place for new ones except miniatures. I purchased several hostas last year and the year before but that was it.  So I am kind of giddy about the thought of more hosta buying for my new hosta bed in the side yard.

We have also started the dismantling of the swimming pool.  Currently we are removing the slate so we can use it when we repair the sidewalks.  Next we will remove the concrete coping around the edge and remove the two ladders.  The bottom was already jack hammered when we purchased the house.  This pool is old and very deep.  The walls are made of red brick with cement troweled onto the bricks.  It should crumble very easily once the apron around the edge is jack hammered.

You can see where we have been burning branches and twigs in the corner of the pool.   The deep pool protects the fire from the wind and allows us to burn on days where the breeze might make it a no go elsewhere.  

We have had a lot of very windy weather as of late.  I see tarps on a lot of people's roofs.  We were very pleased that the shallow roof over the kitchen, where we removed the rubber roof and installed asphalt shingles, held up perfectly.  We feel that adding the 4th nail and removing the cellophane strip, which allowed the shingles to stick to the shingle below it really helped, especially since the bottom edge of the shingles were exposed to oncoming winds of up to 65 mph.

 The last restoration window for the game room has arrived but they are going to wait to deliver it until we reframe the existing window opening to fit the new window.  I think once this rain pattern blows through, we will remove the window and reframe it.  I will be so happy to see that last rotted and inappropriate style window gone. 

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Plant Tags and Labels Organization

Have you ever purchased a plant and at a later date wanted to purchase more but didn't know exactly which variety you already had in your garden?  I use a binder to keep all the name tags/labels in order and for future reference.

 The idea came to me when I went to a coupon class with my sister.  I purchased my binder(s) at Office Max and buy the thick binder because you will want to keep the tags from your perennials, trees, annuals, and maybe veggies that you grew in your garden and want to grow again. I have a separate one for my hostas, one for my perennials and bulbs, and one for my trees. Believe me, if you are planning a hosta garden you will need a place to keep the tags in order.

To keep the tags in some sort of order you will need to buy the plastic pages that hold trading cards.  I bought mine off eBay and I think I purchased an entire box.  You will be surprised at how many you will use.

The binder I purchased has pockets in the front and back.  This worked perfect for holding the tags that come on bags of bulbs.  Those tags are large and of course would not fit into a trading card slot.

If I had it to do over again, I would also draw a diagram of my yard and label my fruit trees.  I know what variety of apple trees I purchased but I have 3 that I cannot figure out which one is which.  If I had a diagram I would know which tree is the Gravenstein.  It hasn't kept us from eating them but I feel like an idiot when people ask "what kind of apple is this?" and I have to reply "I don't know."  I could say "red" or maybe "round".

The binders that I purchased have a clear cover on the spline and one the front.  You can design and print a cover and slide it underneath the clear cover.  Same for the spline.  Maybe when I get a few minutes with nothing to do, I can try and get creative but for now I am just happy to have all the labels and tags in one location.

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Trying to catch up

As of January 1st......I am retired. I've spent the last month catching up on doctor appointments and whatever else I've put off for the last couple of years.

The piles of magazines alone have kept me busy during the evenings cutting out articles and ideas. While I was clipping, I noticed some magazines netted absolutely nothing in the save pile. Those magazines will not be renewed. I also jotted down the renewal dates. Because I send in renewals whenever they mail me one, I have inadvertently renewed some magazines through 2014.

Recently there has been a rash of magazines folding. I have lost at least 4 subscriptions in the last year. House and Garden folded and substituted Domino in it's place and now Domino has folded. I hope Conde Nast has a magazine left to fulfill my subscription.

I subscribe to appropriately 30 magazines only because I get a professional discount with some subscriptions only costing $5.00 for a year. I think I will go back to just subscribing to my long time favorites because they are the ones I get the most ideas from. My prediction for the next magazine to go under is Veranda. I only say this because I have been inundated with renewal requests at very low rates for long term renewal and this seems like a desperation move. I will not be renewing.

The weather has been extremely cold here in Michigan. R and I tried our best to rake all the leaves this past fall so that spring's clean up will be quick. I'm really anxious to get the house painted this year.

The following photos were taken at the end of the summer. The hosta beds and roses are starting to fill in nicely. The last couple of years we have concentrated on the landscaping since we had so little time every day to work on a project.
The fountain project is about 50% complete. We are looking forward to hearing the water dripping. Hopefully we can find a sunny spot for the solar panel that powers the fountain pump.

Sandy...here is a photo of what Blue Mouse Ears will look like. For reference....the stones in the photo are about the size of nickels with the largest stone about quarter size. It's such a cute little hosta.

Blogger and Firefox are both uncooperative tonight. I bet Google is still having trouble. I wish all hackers would buy old houses, then they wouldn't have time to hack or whatever it is they do.