August Planning Meeting

With temps still a wee bit too hot to have been getting out for big projects, we did recently get together for a little planning meeting at my house. Of course, we spent most of the time eating yummy munchies, drinking some delish wines, and discussing music and movies (including who we thought were hot movie stars...hey, we're girls..what do you expect?). We did, however, get some business taken care of.

We drew names for upcoming projects and discussed what various projects we had in mind that we'd need some "Garden Hoe" help with. Keep watch in the coming months for what we're up to.

Attending were me, Naomi, Nancy and Anna. Nickie ditzed out and got her days mixed up so we missed seeing her this time. Not to worry though, we gave her much grief over it. ;O) --Hoe Heather

Oh, and a favorite little "bumper sticker" has been making its way around the group...

My Hibiscus Bloomed

Awhile back I lost many plants to the dogs and Naomi, feeling sorry for me, got me a few beauties to replace them. Well, my red hibiscus plant that she gave me recently put on it's first bloom and it's a beauty! I love this flower and am SO happy that it was happy enough in the pot I put it to reward me with a glorious splash of red in my garden. Just wanted to share...

--Hoe Heather

Butterflys and Birds

I recently took a trip to Key West with an old friend of mine. One of the best parts of the trip was the visit to the Key West Butterfly Conservatory. I won't bore you with all the pretty butterflies we saw, but just last weekend I was reminded of the trip when I was gardening in my front yard and saw this butterfly.

I was just sitting there and it decided to fly down right in front of me and flit from zinnia to zinnia. It was just so pretty to watch. The butterfly was so oblivious of me that I was able to go to the garage, get the camera, and take a picture.



I also saw this pretty hummingbird and was able to catch him too. Ignore the dying marigolds in the background - they have been cleaned up and are much healthier now. This little guy liked the zinnias (weeds that they are) alot too, but he really likes the salvias that have managed to survive the heat.

It was so neat to sit and watch these two fly around in front of me. It makes me smile and we can all use that. ~ Hoe Naomi

Weeds or Wanted?

So, I've been meaning to post and kept forgetting, then Heather beat me to it so I finally decided to get off my duff and blog about a couple of things that have been on my mind.

A few weeks ago (I think the Mamma Mia weekend), Heather was at the house and asked what kind of plants these were.




I told her they were weeds and they were popping up all over the yard. She thought they were on-purpose plants because they have a nice little bushy habit and were next to our pond. Funny thing, later that day, my husband asked me the same question and couldn't believe it when I told him they were weeds and not plants.




These are in my yard too. (I'll try and post a better picture this weekend). They look scary almost, standing about four feet tall, but are really striking. The sunflower in the foreground is also a weed - "Devil Weed" as one of the other Hoes calls them. However, I left the dunflower alone and am going to pull up the Purple Monster.

My other wild weeds include verbena, morning glories (pink and white), and even zinnias have shown up where they are not wanted.

The funny thing is that most of my "weeds" are "wanted" plants in someone else's yard. I almost feel bad now for taking them out, but not enough to actually let them grow! ~ Hoe Naomi

What I Learned

Naomi had given us the heads-up on a Fall Vegetable Gardening seminar being presented by a Williamson County Master Gardener this past Saturday. I went with Naomi to this informative class and the number one thing I learned was that I'm a really crappy gardener. LOL... At least I wasn't alone in this as Naomi learned the same thing. HA HA.

There was quite a turn out for this seminar where we learned not only the best plants for our fall veggie gardening but also how to get the most from them. Apparently just sticking them in the ground and crossing your fingers isn't enough. Who knew? HA.

OF COURSE, after the class we had to go to at least 1 nursery. In our defense, Naomi had to stop by to get a silent auction prize for a fundraiser she's doing so it wasn't like we were going to buy things, but of course, that is what we did. We both got the most beautiful Passion Flower plant in a dark purple color. They will go beautifully with the light purple version that Naomi has already (that I'm TRYING to get to propagate successfully).

Afterwards we went to pick up a potting bench Naomi had found and what a treasure it was! She's lucky she kept her eyes on it or I might have had to unload it at my house. hee hee.

It was a wonderful time and a fantastic class. I look forward to TRYING to use some of the things I learned at this seminar to make my fall garden not only beautiful but also, hopefully, produce a bumper crop! --Hoe Heather