Tag Archives: House and Garden

Windows!!!

Windows!!!

My old windows are being taken out right now. The dog is going nuts. I’m discovering that I need to dust around the windows and wash the sills more often. Heh. I’m going to go out now and finish putting new plants in. Woohoo!

I need to get more mulch. This time, though, I’m not getting a giant pile of woodchips. I’m going to get a few bags of cedar mulch at Lowe’s, and spread it all before I go out and get more. Things will look partially done, but at least we’ll be able to park in the driveway.

More Plaaaaants!

More Plaaaaants!

I went to visit Mom yesterday. She had gotten some lovely rosebushes for us as a gift (they’ll get their own bed in the front yard) so I headed down to visit her and pick them up. There is also a wonderful garden center near her in Cherry Hill on Kresson Road called McNaughton’s Nursery. They have the most beautiful selection of pots, lovely well-cared for plants, and the prices are among the best I’ve seen. Mom thinks they’re expensive, but she doesn’t have the basis for comparison that I do. I picked up a few more things to plant in back. After lunch, I went into her shade garden and dug up several varieties of hostas, ferns, nettle, and wild hyacinth.

It took me a while to get my treasures home because I stopped at the Wegman’s in Moorestown on the way back (Tuesday is grocery shopping day, might as well do it on the same trip!) but as soon as I’d finished dinner I planted the things I’d dug up. A plant is a lot more traumatized when it’s dug up than when it’s still in its pot but in a new place. Except for hostas. Nothing can traumatize a hosta. Dig ’em up, cut the roots with a big sharp knife, plop ’em into some random hole, and they come up like nothing happened. Anywho, I finished this in the dark, about 8:30, so the potted plants will go in the ground today. Then I’ll take more pictures.

I have to keep busy, because the glass guys are supposed to come today and replace all the window panes. These are double-pane, nondivided, and the ones we have are almost opaque because the seals were compromised so many years ago. After all the work I’m doing in the back, it’ll be nice to finally be able to see it from the kitchen. Oh happy day!

Yes, I’m Sitting Around Doing Nothing.

Yes, I’m Sitting Around Doing Nothing.

The kids were home for a week. Today they went back to school. The weather is nasty, I’m waiting for a phone call from the bank. Got some laundry going, almost done with the dishwasher, but I’m still in my nightgown in front of the computer. It’s quiet, I still have plenty of time to do stuff, and none of the cats has gotten sick or brought in any presents. Mmmmm.

I’ve been busy all week, and did a lot of things in the garden. Oh, wait, glimpsiness of sunshine! Have some pictures!

april-2007-v-tree.jpg

We’re going to have some work done on the house, so I was moving things away from the outside. One of those things is the pile of wood that will eventually become a fort for the kids. Yucky looking. So I killed two birds with one stone and moved plants away from the foundation to the base of the tree. They’re small now, but by the end of the summer not only will they make a nice visual vignette, but they’ll disguise the fort (or pile of wood, depending on how dedicated we are.) Hiding our neighbor’s shed is another matter entirely.

april-2007-pond.jpg

We also started up the waterfall on Sunday, after much cleanup of leaves and debris. I repotted the aquatic plants, and hubby had the misfortune of having to get into the pond and place them on the bubbler in the center. The sedum and lilies in the front were moved from the foundation, as well. They nicely cover the awkward space between the patio and the raised end of the pond.

april-2007-pondside-view.jpg

From the slate patio you can see a little of the new plantings. I’m working on weaving the ivy onto the rest of the chain link fence. The way it’s growing, there should be a real difference by the end of summer. To the left of the pond in this picture, I’ll be moving more slate to make a smaller patio/seating area. The backyard isn’t huge, but by the time I’m done it’ll be a lovely place to sit around or wander through the individual “garden rooms”.

I think I’ll start a new category for these pictures and posts. There should be a lot of changes around here this year.