Crimson Passion Vine

I love my traditional white and purple passion vine. I was excited to add a crimson version to my garden. 

It has been blooming prolifically lately. I planted it on the fence outside my kitchen window, so I get to enjoy it while I am washing dishes.

Reinvented Centerpiece

 This is my current centerpiece. I loved the battery operated candles, so I bought another one while they were still 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby. As you can see, I re-used many of the items from my Christmas centerpiece. As I said, I bought the third candle and the boxwood ball. I already had the other items and pulled the moss off a tree! Hmm, I wish I had "lit" the candles for the now photo!

We actually had a sunny day on Sunday. I took advantage! I cut back my asparagus and weeded around it. It is cold, windy and wet again today. 
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Caterpillar invasion!

 As I was puttering in my yard on June 30, I noticed a large number of Gulf Fritillary caterpillars on my Passion Vine.  It was covered with them.

 Some were already quite large.

 While some were still tiny.

 UMMM. I said caterpillars not cats. Hello Bella.

 Hello Rascal.

 By July 7, the poor vine was leafless!

 I'm  not sure what the remaining caterpillars are going to eat!

 Luckily, there are a number of butterflies already emerging from the Chrysalis stage.

I had dozens of them fluttering around the yard. Sadly, none would perch on anything long enough for a good photo.
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Gerbera Love!

 During the winter months here in South Texas, my Gerberas really shine! 

 I think I will be looking for more to add to my small but growing collection.

They make me so happy!
Y'all come back!
Lorilee

Music on our patio

I know I am WAY behind in updates! We went to the Texas Renaissance Festival the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This is our big purchase! We both love the sound of bass chimes. This set is called Whole Note. Hanging them was an adventure!

First, we planned to hang them on the other side of the patio. When my sweety went to put the hook in the ceiling, he kept catching just the edge of the rafter. After several holes, we got the hook in and hung them. THEN we decided the chimes were too long and just didn't work with our gas grill on that side. We didn't want to move the gas grill, SO we moved the chimes. At least this time the hook hit the rafter on center! Oh, did I mention that the chimes weigh 50 pounds! I stood in the middle of them, holding the ring. Sweety guided me up the small ladder while he was on the bigger ladder. Then he had to lift them onto the hook. Quite literally a pain to hang! Ouch my neck and back. They sound awesome!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Fall Blooms

I thought I would share a few photos from the garden. We have not had freezing temperatures yet in South Texas.

Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Back again!

 Hello again. It has been quite a while since I've posted. I've been MIA for several reasons. First I have been busy. Second, my laptop died. Busy, with gardening, crocheting,  new chicks, end of school year, photography, and a new kitten. I will share the kitten and chicks soon. As the photo shows, my gardening gloves were quite worn out. I had been unable to find the same kind locally. My sweet hubby ordered 4 pairs for me.

The first pair is already getting broken in. Back to the dead laptop. Luckily, it died AFTER I had edited and saved the photos I took for a local church's confirmation group to a flash drive. David decided that we should try a MacBook Pro since I've been through several PC laptops. It is awesome, but I have much to learn. Most of the old programs that I used don't work on the Mac, so I am learning to use new programs. I'm glad that school will be out in one week, so that I will have more time to devote to getting it all figured out! I've also been working on the afghan I am crocheting. I will share that soon as well.

For now, here are some flowers that are blooming in my garden.         A Gerbera.

A tropical series Canna.

A Butterscotch Ruffles daylily.

More daylilies.

Strawberry Candy daylily.

Ming Porcelain daylily. I also ordered and planted some daylilies from the Paynes in the Grass Daylily Farm.

This and That

May is a busy month for teachers and gardeners! Being both, I have not found much time for blogging! I want to share a little of this and that.
 I love this little plaque that I recently received as a bunco prize! I am so blessed to be part of such a lovely group of ladies!

 Blooms are everywhere in my garden! This is one of my favorite daylilies-Ming Porcelain. The color is so soft and velvety. It also has a nice fragrance.Be warned, I have many favorite daylilies!

 Besides being hooked on daylilies, I am also falling in love with irises. This is 'Ann Chowning'. I have recently added 'Sinfonietta' and 'Full Eclipse'. I think they have probably already bloomed this year, so I will have a long wait to see them bloom in my garden. Patience is a good thing in the garden!

 We added this urn water feature a few weeks ago. The vitex behind it is starting to bloom as well. It is also known as Texas Lilac.

I neglected to trim back my antique roses this year, so they are quite wild and leggy looking! I will just have to focus on the blooms! Hopefully, I will not neglect my blog as well and be back soon!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Root Crop harvesting

I haven't had a fall/winter garden in years! The start of school, followed by the time change make it difficult for me to find the time to work in my garden after school. I was determined this year! It really helped when we finally started getting some rain!

I think the white icicle and cherry belle radishes are so pretty!

This is my first time to raise carrots. I planted some last year, but it was too late into winter.

I plan to make pickled beets with these. I am not sure what the rogue white thing is! I think it is an Albino beet. They originate in Holland.

This is my pride and joy! It is my first Romanesco! I had more varieties of cauliflower and broccoli planted but the 2 or 3 hard freezes we had in South Texas came when the plants were susceptible to the cold, and it killed them! I also have a few sugar snap pea vines that are starting to produce. I usually pick and eat them while I am working in the garden.

Y'all come back,

Lorilee

Garden Goodies!

Radishes and spinach are doing well in my garden! I have beets, carrots, lettuce, Romanesco and cauliflower growing as well. I would have more cauliflower along with broccoli except that a couple of the ONLY freezes we have had came at just the right time to kill them.

My garden sink is especially handy for washing the sand out of the wrinkles in the spinach leaves. I love to eat spinach salad with dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, shredded Parmesan cheese, mandarin oranges and raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

I've been robbing/thinning the carrots here and there. They are so sweet to rinse and eat!

Y'all come back,

Lorilee

"Slogger" style

 I stopped in at our local TSC (Tractor Supply Store) for some laying crumbles the other day. Look what I found. Gardening ankle boots! In LIME green!

Check them out at www.sloggers.com. Mine are the Sloggers Garden Trekker Boots. I paid about 1/2 the price on the website. I'm hoping they will keep the dirt out when I till the garden!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Wine bottle repurpose

My bottle tree is full unless I add some more big nails. The problem is that I am continuing to have empty wine bottles that I hate to throw away. Hmm.

How about wine bottle plant/row labels in the garden.

I like to use Citrus Magic to remove the labels. It is actually an air freshener, but it does the job beautifully while smelling good! Then I use a paint pen to write on the wine bottle. Hmm, Now I need more empty wine bottles.

Y'all come back,

Lorilee