More Ice Damage (Update)

BY SKEETER

JUNE 13, 2013

 A year ago, I brought home a beautiful Oleander plant from the "Giant Plant Sale" (GPS) at nearby McCorkles Nursery.

June 24, 2013

I planted the beauty in my GEORGIA GARDENS and she gave me plenty of pink blooms.

Feb. 13, 2014

Then that awful Ice Storm hit us in February. The Saint is standing in the "Iced Over" garden of the Oleander. And that "Arched" tree remains in that position as of today! We'll get to it at some point if Mother Nature does not first.

June 10, 2014

 I feared the Oleander was a goner. Sigh... But I hung in there and let her be all Spring long.

June 10, 2014

 By NOT rushing to pull her out of the ground, I now have a new Oleander popping up from below! I did not loose her after all. But how many of you would have let this plant be that long without pulling it from the ground? Not me until this year. With that strange Ice Storm, nothing has been on track this year so I just ignored the dead plant and looking at it on June 10th, I found new growth below! I am still holding out hope for my Banana Trees as they have not shown as of today. But that hope is less and less each day.

June 26, 2012

I put this mailbox into place some time ago in hopes a bird would make a home in it. 

Oct. 24, 2013

So far, no bird has nested in it and Not either of the 2 Clematis I have planted by it have taken root. 

Feb. 17, 2014

I am sad to say, the Ice Storm took down a large Pine Limb which landed on top of the mailbox. Yes, that was one brutal Ice Storm to my gardens as well as our woods and trees.

June 6, 2014

 But, we always bounce back. I hammered out the dents and put a fresh coat of paint on the mailbox and changed it up a bit in the process. It is now Blue with Clouds and sporting some Bees instead of the butterfly.



June 6, 2014
 

 White Yarrow has taken off below the Mailbox, a Lily and few other things have been added to the area as well this year.

June 6, 2014

I am still on the lookout for a Clematis or some other type vine to climb up that Mailbox.

 I have made a Positive from the Ice Storm. Here you see my Vitex flourishing by a new planter.

 I took a few of the logs from the many downed trees we had from the Ice Storm and made a new Planter! By the time the logs rot, the Fringe Bush should be large enough to hold this area on its own. But for now, I shall enjoy my Red and White Petunia by the Vitex or Blue Bush as my parents call it.

 Another Positive, the huge stump from the downed Willow Oak had not shifted at all since Feb.

And we were able to get it back into its upright position! It shall remain "as is" until we feel it is becoming a threat to our driveway.

 The Saint had worked on this stump a bit as it was doing damage to the driveway. He removed a lot of the dirt from the root ball and also cut a lot of the root ball. We had some issues with this stump from the get go.

Our awesome neighbor and his tractor came to assist us with the stumps.

And after a bit of work, this stump was back in place as well. We shall have to do a bit of work on this part of the driveway. Hopefully we will be able to open up this side of our circular driveway soon.

 This past Saturday, The Saint rented a log Splitter and he and I went to work.

 He split the logs while I loaded, hauled and stacked the wood into the wood shed. Wow, that was hard work with high humidity. We put in about 7 hours if not longer.

On Sunday, a neighbor/friend came and split some wood for his wood shed. The Saint assisted him while I rested my achy bones. We still have some logs remaining and shall offer them to another good neighbor of ours. 

Loosing all those trees was sad but they needed to come down or Mother Nature would not have dropped them for us. So I planted a new tree in their honor. Remember me talking about my "Yard Sale" finds a few weeks ago? Well, here was a bargain, a Maple Tree for $5.00! I planted it in the Semi-Formal Garden and hope she will shine some day.

It has taken us some time but we are slowly getting our Yard and Gardens back to normal. That was one Ice Storm that not only us but many are still talking about today. I do not want any MORE ICE DAMAGE, In the Garden...

 

Note: I am attending the GPS at McCorkle's Nursery today and have won a gift certificate! Hopefully, I can find something to go under the mailbox. 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Confederate Jasmine (Update)

BY SKEETER

June 2013

 I have talked about the Confederate Jasmine here in my GEORGIA GARDENS in the past. My love for the hardy vine and scent she gives off during the early summer.

June 2013

 Last years blooms were so intoxicating while filling the air with sweet scent. I love this vine as I have never had to give it any attention. No pruning, no water, no nothing. I just sit back and enjoy this plant!

Feb 2014

 This year is a different story though. The Ice Storm of February gave her a punch in the vine! 

Feb 2014

 I feared loosing all 3 of my vines but did hold out hope as I could still see some bright green leaves within. This photo is the same vine as seen in the first photo of this posting. It took the worse hit of all the vines. I assume due to it being a bit more exposed to the elements then the other two. I would say, I lost about 95% of this vine. Sigh...

April 2014

  It is tough pruning vines as they are connected together so a lot of healthy vine may be removed with the damaged vine.

June 2014

 Now is bloom time and they are indeed bouncing back and even have some blooms for me to enjoy!

June 2014

 It will take some time for the one on the right to get back to its once glory but that's okay, I can wait.

June 2014

 I am just happy to have not lost them.

June 2014

 And I know in time, they will once again stand tall and shine in my garden.

June 2014

And a bonus was blooms for me this year as I did not expect any at all. Ah, the Sweet Scent of CONFEDERATE JASMINE, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Georgia Ice Storm 2014

BY SKEETER

 We had a nasty Ice Storm here in our GEORGIA GARDENS a week ago!

 This area MAY receive one of these storms about every 10 years, if that. 

We had an Ice storm back in 2004 but it was nothing such as this storm.

Our front woods looked beautiful but the sound of popping transformers and snapping trees was scary. 

 This dead Fern made a beautiful sculpture.

 The fire pit looked like a small skating rink. Maybe the Gnomes enjoyed it when we were not looking.

 But with Beautiful Ice Sculptures, there is danger! The weight of Ice on trees and soggy grounds below, had trees falling all around us. This old Willow Oak just about hit our house. Yikes! It fell after dark and the sound was so scary! We had lost Power to the house and were sitting in the dark keeping warm by the fireplace. We ran outside with flashlights to find this tree had missed the house. But by the sound inside, we just knew it had hit us. Whew, we dodged that bullet. 

The Oak took down a Sweet Gum Tree that was in its pathway. I was so happy about that in this sad saga.

 The Retaining Brick Wall took a bad hit with two trees falling on it. More on that later.

 The tree fell across the driveway, onto the wall and into the yard. Yes, that was one big tree. Just look at the root ball. Once the tree is all cut up, the Saint hopes to stand the root ball back in place. Ha, good luck with that. Stay tuned...

 It is always fun to see neighbors show up for the spectacle after a storm. We met more neighbors in this past week then we have in the 13 years of living here. Ha, Of all 25 houses on our street, we got the worst of the storm. Too bad we do not receive some type of award. Ha. And that is yet another small tree across the driveway as well. We had 5 trees fall in this area.

 We lost a second Willow Oak by the driveway. This one could not have fallen any better for us. It missed the Silver Berry Bushes and only bent two of the fence poles. Poles that have been replaced once by us from a neighbors tree falling on it. Ha. Ironic thing, we had been trying to find perfect weather to remove both of these Oaks and that Sweet Gum Tree for the past year but something kept us from the task. So thank you Mother Nature for getting the job done, even though I do believe we could have done a better job of getting them down with no damage. This root ball took dirt from under the asphalt of our driveway leaving a very dangerous spot. We plan to work on resolving that issue soon!

 Another dangerous tree during an Ice Storm are those beautiful Tall Georgia Pine Trees. This one fell from across the street and onto the power lines. See the other pine debris by our mailbox to the right? Those came from our trees.  

Here are two Pines I believe we shall remove after this storm. They are close enough to the house to fall on it and after this storm, that scares us a bit. Loblolly Pines grow straight up and constantly loose their lower limbs. See how this one has lost more limbs on the left side of the tree then the right? That makes for an unbalanced tree which could fall with the right conditions.   

These trees are referred to as Widow Makers, as they can drop a branch with no notice. See how the one is sticking in the ground as if a spear? Yep, that would hurt if dropped on my head. The Tree House was not damaged during the storm.

The very first thing we did after the storm was over, was to go check on our neighbors Hoof Babies. Harley, Storm and Georgia were all warm under their coats and fine. They spooked with each snap of limbs from above. I can only wonder what goes on with wildlife such as deer, birds in trees, squirrels, etc. during such brutal weather.

 We found our neighbors already in the pasture clearing debris from the fence. The Saint and I jumped into action and helped them. Of course my Saint just had to be the one to get into the bucket of the tractor with a chainsaw in hand.

 We worried about our young Leyland Cypress and Green Giants as they were bent into strange positions. The Saint tried to knock off the ice with no luck of course. All the Leyland and Green Giants stood back up once the ice was off their branches. They are tough trees. 

 And beautiful when coated with ice.

 This tree did not snap in half like we knew it would. It did not stand back upright and will have to come down as soon as we can get to it. This one will be tricky as it is hanging over the Suet Feeder and a Leyland.

 I was worried about the Cedar Tree that my dad gave me as a mere sapling a few years ago.

 I am happy to report, it is once again standing tall.

 We lost power for 60 hours! But after the ice storm back in 2004, the Saint installed a Propane Gas Heater into the sunroom. So between the heater and the Fireplace, we had heat the entire time in those two rooms. We used a portable grill for cooking on the front porch and a propane Heater/Cooker for heat in the bathroom and for heating water for coffee, etc. We had plenty of left overs to eat and we had an old fashioned phone, you know the kind with cords that do not require electricity. Ha, And we also kept in touch with the outside world via a transistor radio! Great grandparents old Oil Lamp came in handy as well. So we just had a big camp-out in the Sunroom and Living room during the power outage! We are survivors...  

On Valentines Day, these guys became our hero's by giving us back Electricity! This group of hard workers were from Decatur, Alabama. Georgia Power had called in trucks from many states around us. We were so thankful for the quick recovery time as this was one huge mess in our area.

 Once the streets were clear of debris and we had the okay get out in our vehicles, The Saint and I went for my Valentines Day gift! Good Boots to keep my healing ankle stable and some good work gloves. I was thrilled with my goodies and plan to get much use from them. Let the Clean Up begin!

 The Garden Shed got Speared by pine limbs. My little Trellis was moved a bit but I think I can stable the trellis.

  The Shed is now sporting a nice brown tarp until we can get it repaired. I kind of like the brown and may see if we can get the roof replaced with brown tin instead of yellow. It was my idea to hold the tarp in place with bricks. Ha...

 Crepe Myrtles were not looking too good with Ice bending them over.

 But they all stood right back up once the ice was gone.

 I thought the Japanese Maples would be fine but this one took a beating. Sigh...

 It was hard pruned by Mother Nature.

 3 major branches were broken off. Hopefully, it will make a come back. Only time will tell.

 Yep, that was a tall Oak. We started the clean up as soon as we could and prioritized. Clearing the driveway first, the wall second, then branches, etc.

 What a mess and a lot of hard work. But the lawn is getting back to normal. Well, soggy and a few new ruts from our boots but hopefully in time, the ground will lay back into place.

 The Wood Shed was running low of firewood so now we will have some wonderful Oak Firewood to burn come next winter.

 We have worked really hard to get up what debris we can. Our county is going to go through every road and pick up all debris put on the County Right of Way. This will be a One Time Sweep through for free.

 So trailer by trailer we have gotten many branches up on the roadway ready for pick up! We have a bit more to add to the pile and shall add it until the crews arrive on our street. So needless to say, this clean up has not been at our normal slow pace. Our body's are scratched, bruised and sore beyond anything we have experienced before but like I said before, we are Survivors... The County says it will more then likely take them 6 weeks to get up all the debris on the roads. Yes, it is one big mess...

 Now to the Retaining Brick Wall.

 It took a hard hit. Bricks were crumbled in several spots, this one being the worst.

 Mortar and Bricks are cracked, thus and unstable wall which has now become a bit dangerous.



 The Force of the Oak coming down was unbelievable. This branch is embedded so deep into the ground, that we cannot get it out ourselves! We shall get assistance with this one. 

And believe it or not, we had an 4.4 Earthquake on February 15!!! As the Saint Says, "If it aint one thing, its two" Needless to say, we will be calling our Insurance Company about the GEORGIA ICE STORM, 2014, In the Garden... 

**NOTE, Today, one week later, the temperature was 80 degrees! Ha, I would so rather be spending my time in the garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden