Flowers of a Different Color

So I previously posted about how excited I was about the hydrangea in the front yard. My mother mentioned that she didn't really see the blue in the last picture. They slowly turned more blue and I wanted to share an updated shot that really shows off the blue flowers:

Another reason for this post is that I noticed that there are actually two hydrangea plants growing very closely to each other. Additionally, the second one must have slightly different soil conditions or is a different variety because it has molted purple blooms:

They are rather striking next to the blue blooms, but they were quite a surprise. More on stuff going on inside the house later this week, but we had a busy weekend because Shelly came to visit! As those of us on the East Coast know, it was super hot this weekend and it was great to have her over to enjoy the pool and beat the heat.  

A Re-potting Tip that Rocks!

So I have been doing a lot of re-potting lately. One of the plants that recently got a new home was the desert rose, Rosie, who is posing in the pot she will be re-potted in:

So for the tip. Many plants, including this desert rose, require really good drainage and recommend that you let the soil dry out before re-watering. If these plants were in the ground their natural soil would drain this excess water to underground sinks. For the most part the small hole in most pots is not sufficient to provide even drainage. So here is my nearly free tip for correcting this problem: Rocks. 

If you layer the bottom of the pot with rocks this will allow excess water to drain more evenly. Luckily, our backyard did not miss the handful of rocks that I swiped for my project. After the rocks are placed on the bottom, simply cover it with potting soil:

Then I simply re-potted Rosie as you normally would. This year we are trying out moisture control soil to help compensate for our erratic watering and I will be sure to let you know if we are really disappointed or really happy with it. Speaking of happy, here is Rosie in her new home:

This is definitely a tip that I will be using as I go about replacing all of the fake flowers around the house with real ones:

Yes, those are fake tulips on the outside of the kitchen window. File that in the rather large folder of questionable decisions. 

June Flowers!

So as my battle with the Creepers continues, I am finding even more gems hidden under all that brush. I have already gushed about my love for the peony and lily I found in May, and now I have two more lovelies to share. The first of which I knew was there, but wasn't sure what color it was going to be. Meet the hydrangea bush:

Depending on the acidity of your soil, the hydrangea blooms can vary from pink to blue (with shades of purple in between). The varying color depends on the amount of aluminum that the plant absorbs, which is based on the pH of your soil: more acidic (lower pH, more aluminum absorption) = blue flowers, more basic (higher pH, less aluminum absorption) = pink flowers. Sorry to go all Bill Nye on you there, but long story short, it looks like ours are blue. It's a boy! I shall call you Larry. 


I would like to claim credit for finding the next plant, but that really goes to Lucy. So while I was hacking away at the bushes (this has become a daily obsession of mine...with no end in sight), Lucy was suspiciously busy. When I went to investigate I found that she was eating the plants. Normally, this would be a "BAD DOG!" moment, but then I realized what she was snacking on: Strawberries!

As you can tell, there is still some freeing to be done to get to the strawberries, but they are definitely there. It is always exciting to see more variety in the plants and I was especially pleased because these reminded me of the strawberry plant that I got in elementary school while visiting the local farm. My grandfather helped me plant it along my childhood home. So while I had to compete with the birds for ripe strawberries growing up, it looks like my biggest competition for strawberries now has four legs and is shaped like a sausage: 

Dog...the Berry Hunter!

Meet Meyer and Mandy

So the best room in this house is, without a doubt, the sunroom off the kitchen:

It looks out on the pool and makes the kitchen extremely bright. Even before we moved in I spoke with our Realtor, Rose, about how I wanted to have a Meyer Lemon Tree growing in there, since it gets really good sun year round and I have a gardener's crush on the little guys. Well this past weekend at the HD, I saw one, reasonably priced and had an impulse buy. Meet Meyer:

He is a little guy, but the tag assures me that he will bear fruit (later this year, closer to December), which I am looking forward to. Until then he will happily live outside on the deck until he 'winters' in the sunroom. Well, also on his display at HD were drawf mandarin oranges....well, I couldn't resist, so meet Mandy:

I hope they will thrive in the sunny conditions and give the sunroom a summery feel even in winter. Plus, I think dwarf plants and fruit are simply too cute. Now I am just looking for matching planters, in bright yellow and orange, or course.