A Weekend Gardener in the Bluegrass

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!!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Gloomy Day

It's a cold and gloomy December day in Kentucky. We've had freezing rain this morning which has now turned into a cold, steady rain. Where was all this rain back in July and August when we really needed it?

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tiptoe through the tulips (bulbs, that is)

Last week I planted 50 tulip bulbs of various colors in a flower bed in the front yard. I'm hoping that in the spring we will be dazzled by a colorful display of spring flowers. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the squirrels will leave the bulbs alone! The salesperson at Bunton Seeds advised me to plant a mixture of mid-blooming and late-blooming bulbs. So, here's hoping for a beautiful array of tulips during the months of April and May. It will be even better if some are blooming at Derby time.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

First frost of the season

This afternoon I brought indoors the Boston fern, asparagus fern, shamrock, spider plant and a tropical plant that I can never remember it's name. The weather forecast is for a frost on Sunday night. It's always a lot of trouble getting the plants indoors for the winter but I don't want to lose them. They never do very well inside no matter how hard I try to take care of them. I'm sure they are as eager for springtime as I.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Learning how to Blog

Pardon my inexperience. I'm trying to learn how to create a blog. Suggestions and feedback are most welcome!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Summer is Over

A chill is in the Kentucky air tonight. It has rained steadily the past two days which was a delight to see after the long hot dry summer. But the chilly rainy weather of the past two days is a reminder that the gardening season is over. For the next few months I will long for that first warm day in spring when I can dig in the ground...even if it's just to dig up a weed! Gardening awakens my soul like nothing else can. So, during the cold dreary winter, I will survive by thinking and dreaming about how beautiful my back yard will be next summer. Here's hoping for a mild winter!

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!