Sunday, August 12, 2012

August garden

I know better than to take pictures in bright sun but that's what I had. Here's how plants on the terrace are doing this hot, hot summer.
This cute Gambel's Quail pot (in honor of my brother-in-law in the desert) is holding a sempervivum that is starting to bloom. The bright orange moss rose is from a pot behind it.
Who knew that WalMart sold staghorn ferns? I'm very pleased with this one. It reminds me of my dad who grew these in San Diego. Of course, his didn't have to come inside for the winter. Where am I going to find room?
This carrot is the extent of my vegetable gardening. Nice, huh? Actually I did use the parsley below it in a some recipe I was following. Not much of a cook these days.
This Taro plant was decimated in the hail earlier this summer. Finally it sprouted a new leaf and there's another one coming. And for some reason, Chickadees would rather drink out of this small water garden than the many birdbaths on offer.
Hard to tell, but I guess you'd call these White-eyed Susans. They aren't yellow and they don't have any eye, but the grocery store had these hanging baskets 2/$10. I Bloom-Boosted them and they took off.
I'm surprised I get any bloom from these containers since my terrace doesn't get full sun. But they manage, sort of. More terrace below with my tiny pond and one of the birdbaths.
You have to look hard to see the tiny black orbs on this Ornamental Pepper. They look like shiny marbles in the sun. I'm surprised this plant is doing anything since I forgot to water it and it looked totally dead and withered. I watered it anyway and the next day it was feeling fine. Plants can be so surprising.

Garage sale garden

I like to troll garage sales for castoff household stuff that I can re-use in my garden, otherwise known as garden kitsch. It doesn't cost much, I can always find a spot for it, and if it breaks (squirrels are responsible for that) I can always find something else to fill in. Here are a few recent finds.
This giant egg is porcelain so putting it on this metal stand is iffy as far as jumping squirrels are concerned, but so far so good.
I love the design on this pot. I couldn't figure out if it should go with my Mexican stuff, my Buddha stuff, or what. I decided it might be Art Deco and that I don't have. It was $2.
Isn't this parrot lamp fabulous? It's all metal, came with a bulb, and it's a 2-way lamp. $5.  Looks fabulous on my Goodwill wicker table. As my 6-year-old grandson said, "Who would SELL that?"
This Mexican pot is huge and I knew I had to have it the second I spotted it. The guy wanted $2. Okay, I said.
Not real sure where these will end up, but for $1 apiece I'm sure I'll find a spot. All metal.
This huge pot came from the same sale as the Mexican pot. I would normally have bargained down the $5 price but I was so happy with the Mexican pot I gladly paid.
And this rattan footstool (also $5) works well on my back porch. I can kick it around to wherever it's needed. I'm glad I live in a cold climate so garage sales will come to an end in a month or so. My yard is big, but not THAT big.