Spring! Apple Tree

I love this old apple tree with it's very wonky (many) trunks and strange shape.  It is happy this year!

Golden Pea

This wildflower is a legume which I have identified as Golden Pea.  It blooms right after the daffodils.  It is happy on the hillside and the deer don't eat it (I believe it is poison to them).  I have used this plant for eco dyeing.  It made some nice soft yellow fabric.

Epimedium

First time for this to be blooming at my house!  It is called Epimedium.  I  planted this perennial last summer in a dry shady area.  I am so excited to see it blooming - so delicate.  Flowers are about 1/2" diameter.

April Sunshine!

 We've had several days of good rain and I am grateful for that.  Also for the sunshine of today.  My yard may be in the best shape it's ever been.  I have been through twice to weed and dig out iris rhizome rot.  I have fertilized at the proper time.  Today, I used Roundup on the driveway.   The power company has been here digging holes in our driveway to install conduit for the power lines that go through our property.  They have made a small mess.  Not a big one, as before.  Daffodils are in bloom nicely.  Trees beginning to leaf out.

Daffodils Blooming at My House

More Daffodils

 My yard is in full bloom right now and I am so happy to see these happy flowers!

I have been without a laptop for some time.  My Toshiba of 16 months just died and after a while they told me it could not be saved.  It took me a while to replace it and get all the old data transferred.  It has taken even longer to figure out what software I can use on Windows 8.1!  My old Photoshop 7 will not upload and I am heartbroken.  I will have to figure out a new way to manage and edit my photos and this is frustrating!  So much trial and error!

Anyway, that explains the lapse in posts here.  But I think I am back to my routine of daily posts again. 

More Views of the Hardscaping

 Here are a few more pictures of the hardscaping! 

Ready for Spring

 These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, right after I finished cleaning out all the dried up iris leaves and did the first round of weeding.  It looks pretty bare, but it is possible to see all the rocks I have laid up over the past few years.  I have a few small areas left to finish up - rock garden areas to install.  I planted several hundred new iris last summer as I finished up the rockwork.  I am really looking forward to seeing them grown and bloom!

Late Summer Storm

 The pond is a giant mud puddle.  I have no idea if the fish survived the storm or if they were washed away in the deluge.  I've been running the pump and waterfall since the electricity was restored and the water is not clearing up at all.  The super fine silt that washed down the hillside is practically dissolved in the water!  I guess I am going to have to drain all this water out of the pond and start again with fresh water!   A project for another day.

This wrought iron bench was pushed across the patio and tipped over by the powerful winds from our Saturday (Sept. 7th) storm.  This is a very heavy piece.  One person could not tip it back up - Joe and I had to do it together.

Planting Iris

 Earlier in the spring, I shared my progress as I built up retaining walls and added terraces.  Those areas are now being planted with iris rhizomes.  I have ordered from a number of big national iris growers and have gotten many from my neighbor and the local iris club.

 We are still hauling rocks from the mountains every chance we get - using them for dry stacking for the terraces.  I have put down the drip irrigation lines and plant the iris rhizomes along them. 

I look forward to some colorful iris blossoms next spring!

Waterfall in Midsummer

 I've had to reconstruct this waterfall several times to get it working properly.  It is finally at the point where it does not leak! 

 Some of my water plants are doing well....others have died.    I started with about 30 little feeder goldfish and now have about a dozen.

We really enjoy the waterfall and fish pond.

Summer Views of the Retaining Wall

 Since I am showing pictures of things around my place - I thought I would show you a view of the back retaining wall with some of the plantings starting to fill in.  The deer have been nibbling here a lot and I am disappointed that many of the plants remain short due to frequent trimming by deer.

Later in the fall I will scatter some wildflower seeds around the walkway and above the retaining wall.   I have planted quite a few iris and am hoping they will be blooming next spring.

Rudabeckia in Bloom

I am really enjoying the rudabeckia this summer.  I have it planted many places and the flowers last a long time.  The deer do not seem to eat it.  The leaves, stems and flowers are all quite prickly. 

Phytoplasma infection in my Echinacea!

 I am pretty bummed all my Echinacea plants are infected with phytoplasma. The flowers are green rather than the usual pink. They have abnormal flower development with extra growths coming from the flowers (see middle picture) and some of the plants are already dyeing. The rest I will just have to pull out, hoping to prevent spread of this disease to other plants. The disease is spread by leaf hoppers and I believe the same phytoplasma caused scorch in my iris and affected my grape vine.  From my research, it looks like this microorganism is similar to a bacteria, but is smaller than a bacteria and is therefore more difficult to detect.  It is passed between plant species by leafhoppers.  There is no known treatment.

Rocks for the Terraces

 Here we are getting a load of rocks for the landscape.  We have obtained a permit from the Forest Service to collect rocks for our own personal use.  We are not taking enough to impact the landscape here - just what we can pick up by hand and haul out in our truck. 

The wildflowers were beautiful along the road.  This is 9 miles of rough rocky dangerous road.  We've seen people who have destroyed their vehicles on this road!

More Terraces

 I wish I had done a better job taking "before" pictures!  But this area was once all grass -which would dry out quickly in the summer and we haul our water so we do not water it  (we were told by the fire marshal that the dry grass should not be so close to the house on account of fire danger).  Instead, I am installing these terrace rock gardens, with xeriscape plantings - they will need very little water when they are established.   The driveway on the right has been raised up about 5 feet....I wanted this done before I built any more terraces.  Had we not raised the driveway, I would have needed to build several more levels of terraces.

To build a terrace, I just move the dirt around shovelful by shovelful until I have it sort of leveled off.  I stack clumps of sod on the outside edge of the terrace and this holds remarkably well (I have some that have held for 4 years without any other support.  I have been dry stacking granite from the Beartooths on the upper terraces and we have a permit to collect more this summer through September.  I hope we can make enough trips to finish this up this year!  Anyway, it is nearly ready for planting even without the dry stacked granite.  I will need to install the drip irrigation lines, but then I will be able to plant my iris rhizomes when they arrive.  Good progress on the five year plan!

Landscape Bricks in the Driveway

 Above, the view from my studio door.  I built this entire wall by myself.  It is over 150 feet long, extending all the way out to the cul de sac (below).  Joe helped me fill it with topsoil and I set the drip irrigation lines in place.  It is all ready for planting.

 Joe helped me build this planter in the center of the turn around.

We need to add a bit more topsoil to the center planter, then everything will be ready for planting.  I have iris on order and they should be arriving in a week or two.

Finishing off the Driveway

 The driveway is leveled and ready for the next phase.  I have fantasized for years about having a long row of flowers along our driveway.  In the process of leveling things out - we decided to reconstruct a planting area in the center of the turnaround, so more landscaping bricks have been ordered - 5 pallets!

 I have been chipping away at this phase for a couple of weeks.  I have lost my helpers, so it is taking a lot longer.  Michelle broke her foot and Joe is complaining of back pain, so I have been on my own.  Furthermore, the heat is really getting intense and I have to quit by about 11 AM. - or when the temperatures get into the 80's.  (we have been having temps into the 90's).

Spreading Dirt

 Spreading dirt and leveling things in the top two  pictures - moving rocks in the bottom two pictures.  My flowers are still looking good!