A Weekend Gardener in the Bluegrass: 2008

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Friday, June 27, 2008

It's been quite awhile since I added something new to my blog. It's been a busy spring and summer so far and I've done a lot of gardening!Unfortunately,the grass doesn't look very good this summer. I decided to tackle the weeds and have a professional service that sprays the yards. I'm sure it will look better next year after it has been re-seeded. But, in the meantime, the flowers are making their presence known this year!
I will post some new pics/videos of the garden soon. Happy gardening!

KY Gardener

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Baby Robins

It has been fun to watch the progression of a robin family who took up residence in a bush near the garage door. Yesterday, the babies learned to fly and now they're off on their own. I managed to get some pictures while they were in the nest.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Springtime in Louisville

One of the highlights of spring in Louisville is the annual Audubon Park Dogwood Festival. Neighborhood residents put spotlights on their dogwoods and azaleas during the festival. This year the dogwoods were not at their peak until the weekend after the festival.

Audubon Park Dogwoods

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Kentucky Derby Festival Steamboat Race 2008

Well, the weather for Derby Day turned out pretty well although a bit windy and cool. Yesterday was a terribly rainy and stormy day for the running of the Kentucky Oaks. Congratulations to the new Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown! Think we might have a Triple Crown winner here? Here's hoping! The last Triple Crown winner was 30 years ago with Affirmed. It's been too long, so go Big Brown!!

The Derby Festival Great Steamboat race between the Belle of Louisville and the Delta Queen on Tuesday might just have been their last race. The Delta Queen is in danger of losing her exemption to carry overnight passengers. Maybe she'll get a reprieve and can race the Belle again in next year's race. I took some pictures of both of these "grand old ladies" on the day of the big race.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

"Naked Ladies"...oh my!

My sister had some August lilies (or naked ladies as she calls them)dug up this week to make room for some new rose bushes. So, after work today, I went to her house and brought back a bunch of "naked ladies" and planted them in my back yard. They're not a pretty sight right now, but hopefully in August these ladies will show their stuff!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Spring Flowers in Bloom!

After a long dreary winter, some of my spring flowers are in bloom! My rhododendron is blooming and my grape hyacinths. Also, my tulips that I planted last fall are blooming but they're not very tall. Maybe I didn't plant them deep enough??

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Maybe Spring is Finally Coming

I was able to do some work in my garden over the weekend and again tonight...in between the rain. I didn't do a good job of cleaning my flower beds before winter so now I'm trying to make up for lost time. It's nice to see the daylilies and tulips peeking through the ground. It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago we had a big March snowstorm. I've posted some pictures that I took of the snow. It was beautiful but I'm glad it didn't last long!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Looking forward to Derby

Will this winter ever end?? Today was another cold dreary day in Kentucky. It's hard to believe that it is just a few weeks to Easter and then a few more to my favorite time of the year....Kentucky Derby. If you've never been to the bluegrass during the two weeks leading up to the "greatest two minutes in sports", here is a little video I put together. I hope you enjoy.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Turbulent Weather

Today is the first day that it seems like there may be a Spring this year after all. It has been a very turbulent and unsettling couple of weeks in Kentucky and other states as well. Fortunately, we had no damage from the storms. Somebody up there is watching over us! Spring can't come any too soon!!

ABIGAIL'S GARDEN

My interest in gardening began several years ago when we buried a pet cat named Abigail near a big holly tree in our back yard.

How we wound up with Abigail is an interesting story. Our next-door neighbor, Roberta, lived alone for many years with her houseplants and assorted cats. We were never really quite sure just how many cats she had! Roberta was an excellent gardener who took great pride in her flowers, especially her roses. She offered me lots of advice, from across the fence, on how to prune my roses, when to plant annuals, and other unsolicited tidbits of useful and not-so-useful information.

Roberta died after several years of declining health. Her son and daughter-in-law were left with the task of finding homes for all of the cats. Quite some time after Roberta died, we began seeing one of her cats, a beautiful white cat, in our back yard. The cat especially seemed to like the area near the big holly tree in the corner of the yard.

We found out from Roberta's daughter-in-law that the cat's name was Abigail. She and her husband had been unsuccessful in "catching" Abigail. She appreciated the fact that we were concerned about Abigail, and she told us we could keep her if we were able to capture and civilize her.

So, we began putting food out for Abigail and made efforts to befriend her. She was extremely wary of us. Little by little, Abigail gained our trust, and we were eventually able to coax her inside. She was very thin and frail. We took her to the vet where she was cleaned up and completely checked out and treated by the vet. The vet told us that Abigail was not in very good physical condition.

Nevertheless, we brought her home in the summer of 1995. Unfortunately, the medical treatment came too late for Abigail and within a few days, she died.

We buried Abigail in the back yard in her favorite spot near the holly tree. The next spring, I decided to plant a few annuals to brighten things up a bit. Later, I added a concrete cat statue to mark her burial place.

As time passed, I envisioned creating a seating area in Abigail's garden. I added a concrete bench, planted a few daylilies, hostas, coreopsis and Asiatic lilies.

One summer, I got the inspiration to add a circular brick patio to Abigail’s garden. The back yard is on a hillside with very little level ground. So, little by little, I began shoveling out the area for the new patio.

Since I knew nothing about building a patio, I hired a young landscaper to build it for me. He informed me that he had never built a circular patio, but he promised me he could do it. I was a bit concerned when, one day, I looked out the window and realized he was reading instructions on how to build a patio!

But, as promised, he eventually got the patio built. He added a pathway made of pea gravel and stepping stones to connect the new patio to the existing side patio.

Although the new patio looked good, it was not very functional. I felt it needed to be larger in diameter, and I was unhappy with the way the pathway looked. So,the next spring, I hired the same landscaper to expand the patio. He removed the retaining wall he had built the previous summer, dug deeper into the hillside, added a few more rows of pavers, and then rebuilt the retaining wall. He also rebuilt the gravel pathway with red brick pavers to match the “new and improved” circular patio.

Finally, I had the look I wanted! The addition of a round wrought iron umbrella-table and chairs provided some much-needed seating. Of course, the patio area needed landscaping, and I decided I could do it myself to save money. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! I mulched (and mulched some more!), planted lirope, hostas, and daylilies as well as impatiens, begonias and other assorted annuals. And, as the saying goes, "the rest is history".

What began as a tribute to a lonely stray cat has blossomed into my passion for gardening. Abigail's burial marker now stands proudly amid the perennials and the ornamental grasses. In fact, the fountain grass has grown so much that it covers her up in the summertime. I’m sure she would find it a great place to hide!

Each spring, you will find me trimming the fountain grass, thinning out the hostas, pulling up weeds, separating the daylilies, and planting even more flowers. It's a never-ending job, but that's what makes gardening so much fun. (That's what I tell myself the next day when I can barely get out of bed because of my aching muscles!)

Thanks Abigail for giving me inspiration. I hope you approve of your garden!

A Weekend Gardener in the Bluegrass