It's the Berries!

I'm taking a cue from Mr. McGregor's Daughter to post about the berries in my yard. She gives credit to Lisa from Greenbow who posted on Carol's (of May Dreams Gardens) post.

Someday I wish to have lots of berries for the birds! However, at this point, I think I have a fairly good start.

This bush is really turning red this fall.
It has all these little berry/seeds that I presume birds don't eat.
(I have more seedlings growing than you could believe!)

Euonymus alata 'Compactus'
Burning Bush

This plant is now one year and three months old!
And these three berries were all I could find.
I'm anticipating many more next Fall! :-)

Viburnum dentatum 'Blue Muffin'

This is an original planting.
It grows on the very shady east side of the house.
It is a little spindly but it continues to thrive.
It was identified as Arrowwood.
At this site it tells me that Arrowwood is really

Viburnum Dentatum 'Arrowwood'

This is another original planting to the house.
Everything I discover to read about this shrub
describes its Spring Fragrant Flowers (emphasis mine -
which means they're right!).
However, nowhere do I read about berries.
This is what I found, shown below.

Viburnum Burkwoodii 'Mohawk'

Around here, this tree is known as "Barbie's Tree."
This tree was planted in honor of my sister
whose death occurred two years ago this coming Oct. 16.
(The tree was planted June 19, 2007.)

Malus 'Sargentii'
aka 'Sargent Flowering Crabapple'

It is Very Floriferous in the Spring!
Just look at the crab apples! :-)

You, too, could post about your berries!
(If you haven't already done so.)

Have a berry nice day! ;-)
Shady G

Happy Independence Day!

I hadn't planned to plant anything to commemorate Independence Day,

but it dawned on me this morning
that I did have a "little something" patriotic
out there!
Yep, IVG, impatiens! ;-)

And lobelia. It really is a nice combination.
And they look Very sweet under my sister's tree.
:-)

Now, for the doings of a few minutes ago,
Tah-dah!
More "birdbaths!"

My dad will inherit one, as his birthday is July 16.
Below is the step-by-step:

On a sheet of plastic, create a mound of sand.
Cover the mound with plastic wrap (the kind you use in your kitchen).
Lay your leaf (rhubarb, hosta, etc.) over the plastic-covered sand mound.
Then mix your concrete and smooth it over the leaf.Make it fairly thick, all the way to the edges.

Below, I've placed straight-sided flower pots on the back of the concrete.
Then, using handfuls of concrete, I create a "ring" around the pot.
This will be the "foot" or "stand" for the birdbath/garden art.

:-)
A close-up.
Last, but not least, cover the concrete well with plastic.
Then, I used old towels to cover the plastic.
I will let them rest for about 3 days.
By then they should be cured,
and you will see a picture of the finished product later.

Please be safe this weekend.
Enjoy times with your friends and family.

Barbie's Tree

Barbie's Sargent Crab is experiencing its first Spring. It was planted last June 19 (2007) in her memory. It's exploding in bloom! It's wonderful and I'm glad I had it planted!

Enjoy your Spring!

The act of planting creates memories.

Reliving those memories is happens every time you step outdoors and take notice.

I'm Home Again!

I'd been away from home for nearly two whole weeks! It was wonderful to drive into the driveway last night, and see . . .


. . . our new flowering crab tree! It's a (click name for info) Sargents Crab. This tree was planted in memory of my sister. We're all missing her a lot. We were to have had our fifth "Sister Weekend" this summer. And we missed the planning of it as well as the participation.

Anyway, it's a beautiful tree (like my sister), and it has multitudinous white blossoms in the very early Spring. Hopefully I'll have a picture to post at that time.

I planted a (click name for info) "Blue Muffin Arrowood Viburnum" bush in the backyard this morning. Its berries, hopefully, will attract birds in the fall and winter.


And then, there was the matter of walking around the yard a couple of times. I saw:

They just grab your attention, don't they? Wowee! And there is sun enough, even for a "Shady Gardener!"