Monday, July 19, 2010

Camera Withdrawal

I'm joining up at Bloomin Tuesday on Jean's Blog today. Unfortunately I was unable to get current bloom pics for this week's posting. Between my M.I.A. camera and the wild weather (tornado warning, possible touchdown in our town, several inches of water - pool almost overflowing (but no hail! Thank goodness for that), there was no chance of picture opportunities.

My camera is missing (or should I say that I am missing my camera).  I shippped it out FedEx Overnight last Monday to the Canon Service Factory in Elk Grove Village, IL in the hopes that because I shipped it fast that they would repair it fast and then send it right back to me so I wouldn't miss a week of taking pictures of my garden for my garden progress diary/blog. 

Yeah, that so didn't happen.  I have called twice.  It is now a week since I shipped my camera and they haven't even logged my camera into their database, meaning that it is still sitting in their receiving room, unopened, untouched, unloved. 

To allleviate my pain, I squeezed in some impulsive plant shopping during my lunch break.  Even though I already surpassed my 'plant budget', oh - let's see.... by February, I continue to buy.  (Hey, the garden is looking sparse of blooms so I consider this an emergency!)   Most of my purchases are pink because there is so much yellow blooming right now, I am a bit yellowed-out.   Here's my list:
  • Phlox 'Nora Leigh' (pink flowers with variegated leaves)
  • Phlox 'Laura'  (for my step-daughter Laura)
  • Phlox 'Bright Eyes'
  • Echincacea Big Sky Sundown
  • Pentas 'Graffiiti Pink' (an annual - have never heard of it but it was pink and pretty with beautiful foliage so in the basket it went)
If anyone has any tidbits of info / experience with any of these, I would love to hear any feedback on any or all.  I am a little mad at myself that I didn't grab two Phlox 'Nicky' (for my step-son and nephew Nick / Nicky).  There's always tomorrow's lunch break.   Now all I need is a plant named 'Chelsea' for my daughter.  Anyone know of one?

Because I can't show what's blooming this week, I will resort to a few Before / After shots.

This is 'before' in 2007, the year we put in the 'Side Garden'.  You can also see that the 'Side Yard' was a disaster area.  There was a pile of soil in one corner and a pile of leftover gravel from the pool in the middle.  We dug out all the gravel, spread most of the soil and brought in a truckload of good soil for the raised bed.  There is so much crap going on, you can't even tell we planted a garden :


This is last year after we finally finished spreading that damn pile of soil and filled in the GINORMOUS ruts that the propane guy left in our yard (Thanks a lot, buddy.  Could I get your home address so I can do some donuts on your front lawn with my car?):


Three years later and we have learned (and grown) so much. (side note: notice the size of Geranium Rozanne inside pool fence last year vs this year):



This is the back yard, one year after the 'Side Garden' was planted (2008) and then this year.  This was also pre-edging and pre-mulching.  The 'After' picture isn't the best, but it's the only one I could find from the same angle:



And one last view, don't want to overdo it:



2009.............


To end the 'Tour 'o The Past' here's a picture from last year of these cool spiders we had all over our yard (and I don't like spiders).  They could turn color - if they were on white flowers, they were white.  If they were on yellow flowers, they were yellow.  I haven't seen any this year - I was actually disappointed:


8 comments:

Dandelion and Daisy said...

Isn't it fun to look back at old photos of the yard? It can help me see things I like and the things I want to change. Also, makes ya' feel like a proud parent watching your babies grow! I would hate not having my camera, too!

Bub said...

Speaking as a total and utter non-gardener (although I pick weeds occasionally), I'm full of admiration for what you've achieved.

Plus, those spiders are waaay cool!

I’m starting to think I should investigate the possibilities of hypnotherapy for my worm phobia – I want your garden!

Diana LaMarre said...

What a lot of work you have done! I know because we did pretty much the same thing years before. All of your work has paid off because it looks so beautiful this year!

I have that same spider. He's fun to take pictures of!

Anonymous said...

I love before & after shots. It really shows how much hard work & love you've put into making your yard beautiful. :)

Rose said...

A great post even without your camera, Tracy! I love to see the way a garden develops; I wish I had taken pictures of mine before I started blogging. The side garden and pool area really looks lovely now. I've yet to plant much phlox, but I don't think you can go wrong with your choices. I've heard really good things about 'Nicky' so you might want to make another shopping trip:) Yesterday I also saw a big beautiful phlox at our local MG garden called 'Elizabeth,' a pink stunner. Pentas are great butterfly magnets.

Hope you get your camera back soon!

Larry said...

Hi Tracy... regarding your question about phlox at my site, may I recommend the books by Tracy DiSabato-Aust... especially The Well-Tended Perennial Garden and it's updated version which includes 'Planting and Pruning Techniques' in the title... you will find everything you could ever hope to know about perennials in this book! It's worth the small investment for any serious perennial gardener. I visited your site... wonderful and so much room to expand!! Thanks for touring my gardens! Larry

Unknown said...

I am with you I hate it when I don't have my camera! Can't wait to see the pics when the camera returns and you will love all of those Phlox, picked up a couple of new ones myself on Sunday! Meg

Jean said...

You have certainly put in a lot of garden work. The pictures show just how rewarding it is to dig in the dirt. Beautiful! Jean