My Lonely Stella...

As the days begin to get shorter and the leaves start to fall, there are a few perennials that burst open in bloom, their "second breath" of summer before fall settles in... Stella D'Oros are one of my favorites and they give me a second breath at the close of every summer. If you haven't purchased any Stellas for your gardens yet, please do yourself a favor and do it! These give so much pleasure with very little maintenance. Enjoy... before too long, I'll be posting pics of ice on the brances of our trees :)

Time to Mulch

It's inevitable if you have gardens... time to mulch your flower beds! I am removing two large low growing shrubs in the front of the house. They are approximately 12' x 12'. One is out and the other is partially gone. I can't believe the amount of dampness they hold. I have 5 barberry bushes in the front that are so pretty, but they have tons of thorns on them. I have rosey glow and the dwarf variety, which by the way, are just as large as the rosey glows are. I went to WalMart yesterday and purchased Cypress mulch... never again! That is the worst mulch I have ever used in my life! It is full of splinters, no consistency and is really only good to put in a garden of veggies or berries. It is not attractive at all... it is light brown/tan in color. So, off to WalMart I go today and will definitely look at the mulch before I prepay for it. They were out of the pine bark mulch chips that I usually purchase. The picture of the flower shown is my buttercup picture. They are in bloom now with the stella d'oro daylillies. Happy gardening!