Each bit of gardening I get done and each plant that survives another winter sinks my own roots deeper into place.
A recent arrival from Frances at Faire Garden is this yellow Louisiana Iris. It has bloomed its first year. Now it must survive the next winter.
The long drawn out process of the front porch roof may be coming to an end. Please!
When I started screwing the ridge caps on, the screws did not contact the wood framing and were showing under the roof. If only we had used 2 x 6's instead of 2 x4's for the ridge line framing. So I had to go back and cut pieces of 2 x 2 and add them to the framing. Cut, sand, prime and paint.
These little additions are in a mighty awkward spot to attach them with nails or screws, so I had to use glue. Glue that said do not use on treated surfaces, like paint. Great. Do not use if rain is expected within 24 hours. We're having a monsoon for heaven's sake. Under the metal roof they were not directly rained on at least. It was above 57 degrees, the glues minimum operating temperature and this was one of the few glues that had instant grab and did not require clamping the pieces together.
Pray for the glue. When I go to screw the ridge caps on tomorrow, I will find out if these hold as a screw is being drilled into them from above.
The lupines were even showier their second year in the ground.
There will be plenty of seed to gather or ignore. I am finding in other gardens that they manage to seed themselves. A little help just increases their numbers faster. Perhaps the lupine would be an easier for me, Lurie Garden river of blue.
Bit by bit a garden grows. A cabin slowly, oh so slowly, inches towards completion.
With each passing day.
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11 comments:
Ah yes, the merits of wood chips! Gorgeous Lupine.
Hi Christopher, thanks for the link love, but beware those iris, they will increase in numbers very fast. Easily ripped out though. They will be a sea of yellow in short order. Just a warning. The porch roof looks fabulous, but what a lot of cuts. I will send the wish of no rain and good glue your way. You will get more plants to add to the wood chips soon, this coming week sound okay?
Frances
The underside of the porch roof is an architectural wonder!
Hi Christopher! Your resolution to the porch roof looks great! It must have taken you so much time to measure, cut, sand, glue, etc...but then, that is the meticulous work that I have seen you do throughout the building process! It looks beautiful. Those lupines look fabulous.
Lupines are a favorite of mine yet I can't grow them. They evoke one of my favorite memories of a vacation. My first moose sighting. Seeing a moose grazing through a roadside bed of lupines. Totally ignoring us sitting there in our car beside it taking pictures. Yes, you can sit on the porch looking up thinking how great thou art. Excellent job hiding the screws. Most people would have just let them show, watching the icecicles growing on them during winter and the humidity dropping off them in the summer. You will be happy you covered them properly.
Grace I swear by wood chips. I like them better than ground hardwood mulch you have to pay for.
Frances, I can use a few vigorous plants with all the space I need to cover. I'll just be replacing other vigorous plants. I'll e-mail you about visits.
Thanks Carol. I think it came out very well. It was an inspired idea a while back. Now if I ever have to repaint the framing, I'll have to take the metal roof off.
Siria I started this screw hiding trim addition before I left for Chicago.
Lisa, thank goodness there are not any moose here eating my lupine.
These lupine seem to need the cool that I get at this elevation to do well. All the seed I collected last year disappeared and no one knew where it had gone. Then Bulbarella starting finding baby lupine in the ridge top garden. She thinks she must have scattered the seed. Well duh.
Christopher, those lupines are lovely. I wish I could grow them here, but they don't like our heat and humidity. Did the asclepias seed I sent you come up? I have little babies everywhere!
Christopher...Looks like you've been busy; the porch roof is fantastic looking! The iris are wonderful...I have plants that would fit your vigorous criteria...Hypericum frondosum, for one! Your mountain view is gorgeous. gail
Kim, I am on the second sowing of the asclepias and mallow seeds you sent. The first batch got froze and flooded. I did get five mallow from that first sowing though. Hopefully this second attempt in better temperatures and better seed trays will have better success.
Hi Gail. I'm liking the roof framing too. We have that Hypericum up here now. It is a nice looking shrub with cool blooms.
The lupine! Glad that it is so happy up there. The Oenothera made me smile - my grandmother in Virginia used to have tons of it in her garden, it spread everywhere. It always makes me think of her.
Pam, several people have commented that the Oenothera is a vigorous spreader. I think I have the room to let it go hog wild.
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