August Landscaping

We took advantage of some end-of-the-season specials and picked up a Japanese maple and a nice hydrangea bush.

The maple replaces the one I accidentally killed last year. It has a natural bend to it, so I planted it near the upper pond with the intent of it eventually overhanging the water and forming a visual frame for the pond.

We placed the hydrangea down in the yard next to one of the stone walls to fill that area in.

Balloon Flower Back from Last Year

Happy to report that our balloon flower has returned for another year of beautiful blooms. This is at least the third or maybe even fourth year for this guy, and it's been transplanted a couple times as well (see Previous).

Good Harvest for July 4th

We actually started pulling a few tomatoes off over a week ago, with our Chocolate Cherry variety beating all others to the punch. However, this holiday weekend things really started to roll. We collected a nice batch of Super Suncherries and Chocolate Cherries on July 4th and 5th. There's plenty more of those in the queue, and a few other varieties that seem almost ready to start turning. Overall, though, the crop looks a little light this year, and the plants are a little on the sickly side (too wet, I think).

Mid-Spring Update

Early June and all is pretty well in the yard. We've got 11 tomato plants this year on the top deck. All are heirloom grape and cherry style. We've got several alpine strawberry plants that are averaging about one berry a week...not much to cheer about so far, but maybe it will get better. We planted five pencil hollies along the fence. We bought the plants on sale at Miller's Nursery in the Laurel Highlands. They look a little rough and scraggly right now, but hopefully they will shape up as they grow. They're supposed to get up to 10 feet high and 3 feet in diameter. Our wild roses in the lower yard are starting to bloom nicely, but there is an impending battle down there between them and the encroaching Morning Glories. We have quite a few ferns that made it back from last year, as well as some nice flowering groundcover around the pond, some really pretty water irises in the bog garden, and some nice annuals that Jen planted in the iron planters above the pond.

First Water Iris Blooms

One of our water iris plants that we planted in the bog garden last year bloomed today. And, there's lots of buds that shouldn't be far behind. I was a little surprised that the plants weathered the winter, much less be full of blooms. Nice.

Pond Officially Opened Today

Although I started running the pump over a month ago, I was just recirculating the water into a bucket of lava rock and therefore only operating the lower pond. Well, after a week of sun and warm weather, the algae has taken over, so I decided today to pump the water up the hill to the bog garden and upper pond.

My plan later this summer is to enlarge the lower pond and re-route the cascades into a second lower bog garden before spilling into the lower pond. For now, though, I'm happy just to hear the existing cascades once again.

Spring Eases In

Easter Sunday 09 in Pittsburgh was bright and sunny but still a little on the cold side. The daffodils we planted last year, and in years' previous, are loving it, though.