Long Weekends

October is my very favorite month of the year. I love it when the weather turns cooler. I decided last month that I would take a couple of Mondays off in October to spend some time with Chip, work in the garden, and possibly go camping. We were planning to head out to Roosevelt State Park this weekend for camping, hiking, and kayaking, but the weather forecast is looking less than ideal. Rain is predicted with highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Not really the perfect camping weather I was hoping for. We've found that when the rain fly is required (like this weekend), anything above the mid-50s is too hot for camping. I am a hot sleeper, and I need it to be chilly to fall asleep. Unless I want a restless night of sleep, cool weather is a must.

I think we are going to revise our plans and take the kayaks either out on the Pearl River or over to the lake at Roosevelt. It will really depend on the water level on the Pearl. If we do the Pearl, we will put-in at LeFleur's Bluff in Jackson or at the Spillway and paddle between the two locations.

I have made good progress in the "ugly" spot in the backyard. It looks MUCH better already. I plan to get mulch this weekend and make everything look nice and neat. Photos coming soon!

Dinner Recap

So, here is how everything turned out.

The rice was really good. I used this recipe from the PBS show America's Test Kitchen. This rice turned out perfectly - not at all sticky. Very fluffy and flavorful.

The naan was AWESOME. These naan were chewy and had a great balance of salty and slightly sweet. I made the dough on Tuesday night and refrigerated it after the first rise. Then, on Wednesday while I made the other dishes I let it come to room temperature and rise again. Right before our guests arrived I pulled off bits of dough, rolled out the rounds, and grilled it on the grill pan. I really wish I had more time to make homemade bread. It just tastes so good.

The chicken tikka masala turned out really good, too. The sauce is really flavorful. I took the advice of a lot of the recipe reviewers on AllRecipes and cut down on the amount of salt. Also, I had to add more cayenne (to taste) because it just wasn't spicy enough for our bunch.

And lastly, the saag paneer. This dish was probably my least favorite out of all of them. I was rushed while making it, and I think that showed in the final dish. It really needed more salt and flavor. Now that we are eating the leftovers I've added more salt and it is MUCH better.

I have the next two Mondays off, and I am so looking forward to it! This weekend I plan to do some work in the garden. The area that I worked on earlier this year really took the hot, dry summer weather hard. All of the azaleas that I moved and planted are dead. The juniper is dead. Even the ornamental grass is dead. Fall is a much better season for moving and transplanting plants, so I hope I can finally put some life into this ugly spot in my garden.

Next weekend we are going camping at a local state park. I am really looking forward to kayaking on the lake and roasting marshmellows by the fire. Fun times!

Signs of Summer

I had a great day on Saturday working on one of the "bad and ugly" spots in my backyard. I'm about 70% done, and I can't wait to finish up this project and show everyone my accomplishments in this section of the garden! In order to finish it fully, I've got to wait for fall so I can divide some massive daylilies that were needing to be divided 2 years ago. I do love dividing plants. How cool is it to start with one big plant and end up with two, three, or four little plants that will grow into big plants?! I think it is GREAT.

Part of my "bad and ugly" rehaul this Saturday consisted of dividing four ornamental grasses (variety t.b.d.) into ten clumps, planting two 'Tropicanna' cannas, dividing two agapanthus (a.k.a. Lily of the Nile, 'Ellamae' variety) into 6 plants with some babies that I will try to root.

A couple weekends ago, I moved 3 junpiers. Two of them never took to the new spot, so I pulled them out and planted three new junipers in their place. Then, I remembered that I had two blue oat grasses drowning under all those daylilies, so I moved those, too. The oat grasses reseed freely, so I am hoping that they'll take off in their new spot. I have lots of space for them to fill.

During all of this work (oh, my aching back!), a nice rain shower came through to cool things off. I was working in the rain under a big oak tree, but then I started to get soaked, ran under the porch, and watched the storm pass. I started working in the yard around 9 AM and before I knew it, it was 3:30 PM and I hadn't had a bite to eat. I was really "in the zone"!

On Sunday it was pretty dang hot, but Chip manned the grill for a cookout and pool party with our friends. I made my fish tacos with baked fish, grilled pork tacos from a Rick Bayless recipe, and Chip made grilled banana splits! Everything was so good. It really feels like summer is here.

My perennial corner in the front garden is saying summer is here, too. Just this morning one yellow gladiolus and one shasta daisy ('Becky' variety) have opened up. It won't be long before this area is full of color. Last week, the echinacea popped open, too. This variety is called 'Sundown'.
And my mother-in-law brought me a cupcake and this gorgeous vinca because I'd had a tough week. Isn't she sweet?!
Happy Monday, y'all! Have a good week.

Wild Plum

My in-laws came over for dinner Sunday night, and my father-in-law said he had some wild plum trees that I could have. My FIL dropped by with a tall wild plum tree on Monday. Chip was off on Monday, so he dug the hole and planted the tree. And this is what it looked like when he was done.

Now, I hate to pick on Chip. I know it took him a long time to dig a hole big enough to accomodate the large taproot. But, c'mon. That's really crooked.

So, during my lunch break yesterday, I did what any gardener would do. I dug it up and planted it again. Straight this time.

I plan on working on this neglected portion of my back yard this spring. I've got lots of work to do, but a tree is a great place to start.

A Brand New Fence

Weeks ago I promised photos of the fabulous fence Chip built around our pool pump. Just to recap, this is what the bed looked like back in September 2007.
Yeah, BAD. Overgrown with weeds -- I think there were a couple of gumtrees growing in there. Hard to maintain. Ugly.

We started on this project last fall. To give more background, this bed gets maybe 2 hours of midday sun. The previous owners had planted beautiful purple irises, pretty autumn ferns, purple heart, Stella d'Oro daylilies, monkey grass, and a few azaleas. I'd already moved the azaleas to another bed where they were doing great. The irises and daylilies just did not belong in this bed - not enough sun! I had other plans for the ferns. First I moved the ferns to the porch swing bed. Then I divided and moved the daylilies. Then I divided and moved the irises. The only plants that I left were the monkey grass and the purple heart. After the bed was cleared out, I began executing my new plan: Endless Summer Hydrangeas.

And Chip started the fence:

When the fence was done we added a few vines - star jasmine and clematis - and mulched the finished bed. Look at her now!

Such an improvement! This really took us months to complete. I started moving plants in November 2007. The fence was started in April 2008. And the whole project was completed in August. I say three cheers for Chip on this awesome fence! When he started this I had no idea he could build the whole thing from scratch - he even built the gate! Whoo-hoo!

Catching Up

Some great transformations have happened this summer at A Shower Fresh Garden, and I need to get you guys caught up! Chip built an AWESOME fence around the pool pump. I'll post about that later this week. First I want to show you the almost finished herb garden!

Last summer I wrote about four different sections of my garden that were just atrocious. I've fixed a few of those "Bad and Ugly" beds. I put a veggie garden in where there were dead azaleas before. And on my front porch I've replaced even more dead azaleas with knockout roses . The veggie garden hasn't thrived. Turns out that spot is too sunny for azaleas and not sunny enough to make tomatoes. I've babied my veggie patch all summer, and all we've gotten out of it are some radishes and sugar snap peas. Here's a photo from today.

See? I've got a pepper plant, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, even some sad little tomato plants. But the only thing that seems to be growing well is one weird cucumber. If you read the sign in my iris bed, it says, "There are no garden mistakes, only experiments." Yep, I feel like Wallace (from Wallace and Grommet) because I am "experimenting mostly!" I have a plan to fix this. I always have a plan! Well, look at that! The left side of the tree gets tons of sun! Sure, I'll have to convert more of the lawn for garden, but I'm sure Chip won't complain. All I need is another one of those raised beds, because I do love that raised bed. And I'm sure there are veggies that will grow in partial shade. The sugar snaps did fine. Any suggestions on what other veggies will grow in partial shade?

The herb garden transformation is really something. Remember how terrible it looked? Well, take a look at this (June 2007):

First, Chip added a brick patio (March 2008).
Then, I added a raised bed for the herbs (April 2008).
Then, I did some major landscaping. My favorite addition has been catmint (first photo below). I also added cannas that I moved from the veggie garden bed, a lantana that I moved from the front porch bed, and some daylilies that I moved when redoing the bed by the pool pump. Really the only plants I bought new were the catmint, the herbs, a few extra liriope, and a gardenia.

The transformation is almost complete! My grandfather is making us two white benches to place around the firepit on the brick patio. I'll post more photos when I get them. So far, I am really pleased with what we've been able to accomplish! The soil in this bed was hard, difficult to dig, and totally depleted . Compost from my bin was a lifesaver. We've been able to turn this portion of my yard into something usable and its not ugly anymore!

Towering Glads on a Summer Day

It got hot this weekend. Saturday it topped out in the low 90s, and by Thursday it is supposed to hit the mid-90s. Yowzer! I guess that's what June means here in Mississippi. Summer arrives in full force.


I planted a few Seeds of Change "Sweet Cal Wonder Orange Bell Pepper" seeds that I got at the local grocery co-op. I don't like the taste of green bell peppers, but I can deal with red and orange ones. I think the red bell peppers are better for you anyway. At least that's what Ellie Krieger on the Food Network says. The zucchini, and squash plants are coming along. The carrots should be ready to pick very soon. The rosemary in my herb garden is getting big, big and looks really yummy. I can't wait to make roasted sweet potatoes (from Vardaman, Mississippi of course) with all that fresh rosemary.


My flower garden is really coming together. I've spent some time improving some of the ugly areas, and I can't wait to show them off! Just a few more improvements to make and I'll be showing all of you before and after photos of some of my ugliest garden beds.

One thing in my garden that is not ugly? Take a look at the gladioli. These pretty yellow glads are passalongs from my Grandma.

These plants are BIG. Some of them are topping out at over four feet. I called my Grandma to let her know how gorgeous these flowers were looking. She said she was going to give me some cucumber seeds, and I am elated about that. My Granny's cucumbers are THE BEST. Tasty. Crunchy. In summer she always has a bowl of freshly sliced cucumber on the table. I like to give them a tiny sprinkling of salt. Mmmm. She just picked her first cucumber yesterday... My brother was there for dinner Saturday evening to taste its summery goodness. I'm a bit jealous.

Making a raised bed for the irises

I've done some work on the raised bed I'm going to move the irises to. Not much progress, but some. We've been busy with football season and just life in general, and I haven't made much progress. I'm not really sweating it though. Too many other things in life to worry about.

Here's what I've done so far:




First, I dug up the cast iron plants so I can move them somewhere else. Remember, they were getting way too much sun under this tree, very yellowed and wilty in July and August. Next, I dug up two azaleas that were in front of the cast iron plants to make room for the new raised bed. I dug out and leveled off the place where I plan to put the bricks. Then I put the bricks in place. I only had sixteen bricks and it looks like I'll need about 24 more. The raised bed is only going to be two bricks high. All this took about 45 minutes. Not bad for a lunch-break garden project! Now if I could just convince my husband to go with me to buy some more bricks today then maybe I could finish this thing this week.

We finished clearing out the bed where the pool pump is. It looks a ton better already, but we still don't have the fence up. The fellow that was supposed to help us install it got sick on the day he was supposed to come over. We have an outline marked in the soil and everything.
I'd like a shortish (4 ft?) wood picket or lattice fence. Something that provides coverage but isn't so tall that it totally blocks the line of sight to that side of the yard.

That gate (right side of the photo) needs some help, too. It is falling over and seems to be sinking into the ground or something. Once we get the fence in place, we want to move some of the pool equiptment and toys (vaccuum, nets, floats, etc.) over here, too. I'm tired of looking at them all the time hanging out by my herb garden.

All in all, we are making progress!

The Bad and Ugly, Part 4

Welcome to Part 4 of the Bad and Ugly garden blog series. First I'll summarize what I've covered so far with Bad and Ugly Parts 1-3.

• Part 1 - Dead plants in the compost bed.


• Part 2 - More dead plants in the shady backyard bed.


• Part 3 - Wimpy azaleas in the front porch bed.

Part 4 takes on the pool pump bed that lies between my bedroom window and a winding garden path. This bed gets a good dose of midday sun and could be beautiful. The only this is, I haven't done a darn thing with it. Until now. This bed is my BIG autumn project. Here is my plan.

I inherited a bed of purple irises behind my porch swing that are in full shade. Those are getting moved to this garden path bed where I have a few of the same purple irises that bloom well. This bed also has a good showing of autumn ferns and purple heart that need to be cleaned up and arranged a little better. That takes care of the left side of the bed.

In the middle of the bed is a Lady in Red hydrangea that I plan to leave there. Earlier this year my husband accidentally cut it to the ground with the weed eater, so you can't really see it in these photos. It is growing back pretty good, so I think once I get all the grass and baby trees pulled out of here it will have a good chance to survive. In the back of the bed, I'm thinking of a few things. I have a purple clematis Franziska Marie that isn't blooming where it is planted. It needs to move to a location where it gets more sun. It might look nice on some type of metal trellis between the two windows. I'm also considering a butterfly bush because I love them.

That brings us to the pool pump. Ugh. It is ugly, so we want to cover it a bit. Last week it was surrounded by azaleas. The plan is to put up some type of fence, a picket fence, around the pool pump. We needed some room to do that, so I moved two of the azaleas. See the holes? There is still a third azalea that needs to be moved.

I plan to do lots of work on this bed this weekend. Because of all the overgrown grass I've been trying to wait for a weekend cool enough for me to wear jeans while I worked. Anyone who has tried to pull weeds and grass from an overgrown bed in shorts knows that the mosquitoes will eat you alive! Your legs will be scarred for months.

Where did I move the azaleas, you ask? Well I moved them to the Bad and Ugly Bed 2 (which is looking tons better, I think). I took the first photo right after I moved them. I took the second photo this morning, after a nice rain.

Visit again this weekend! You'll see some progess (I hope!!) in the iris garden path bed.

The Bad and Ugly, Part 3

I love most parts of my front porch bed. It has taken a lot of time and money to get it to this point and I mostly like it. I've had some trouble with my azaleas recently, and I need some help!

Azalea Girard Renee Michelle. I loved these azaleas at first. On the left is a photo of them from April. They bloomed at the same time the Indian Hawthorne bloomed and it looked gorgeous. Then summer came and the three azaleas on the right side of my porch died. The three on the left side of the porch are just not attractive. Here are some recent photos of them:
These are alive and looking washed out.




These have given up and are dead, dead, dead.



I think they just get too much sun. The variety is Girard Renee Michelle. When I bought them, the plant information on the pot said Full Sun, but I just don't think that's true. The thing is, I bought these for their bloom color and because they are evergreen. Had they worked out they would have been perfect. I want something hot pink that will add some depth to my front porch bed. I'd also love it if I could find something evergreen so my front yard won't look so bland in the winter. I've been researching to find something to replace these with. So far I've come up with Knock Out Roses. From what I understand the Knock Out Roses are not evergreen down here in the deep south, but they probably would look great 8 months out of the year (March - October).

This is where I need your help! Does any one out there grow Knock Out Roses in the deep south? How long do they stay green? Also, if you have suggestions for the back of my bed (other than knockouts or azaleas), please please let me know!

The Bad and Ugly, Part 2

The weather this weekend was gorgeous! I couldn't have asked for better. It barely got up to 90 with a slight cooling breeze all weekend. Partly cloudy, so we got relief from the sun every once in a while. It threatened to rain on Saturday afternoon, but it missed us. We were out in the yard all day Saturday and Sunday. Chip was off this weekend, and I was excited to have a helper.

I inhereted a bed that spans the entire right edge of my backyard. Only a small corner of the bed gets sun throughout the day, and that's where I planted my herb garden. The rest of the bed is either full shade or part shade.



The back corner of this bed was like the other bed. Some good looking azaleas and many dead ones. The top photo is what it looked like after I dug out all the dead ones and added an Adam's Needle yucca (passalong from my mother) under the tree.

When we moved in we planted a "Little Gem" magnolia in the middle of the bed in between the two palms. The long fence really needed something to draw the eye to in the middle of the bed. Well, that tree died, so we are back at square one. The soil there is in major need of help. Hard, compacted, and depleted.The second photo is what it looked like after we dug out the dead magnolia. The last photo is what it looked like after we cleared some space.

Some space for what, you ask? We've decided to add a brick patio area where the magnolia was. Nothing seemed to be growing well there. The soil was just too compacted. A patio seemed like a good idea. Definitely something that will draw the eye to the middle of the bed. I think we'll probably add a bench and a grouping of container plants. Chip has already done a good bit of work on the patio, and I can't wait until it is all done. I'll post photos then.

As for the back corner, I added edgers this weekend to help define the area a bit better. I am short about 12 blocks, but I'll finish it up eventually. Chip added some mulch.


Already this is looking better. I obviously need more plants. On my short list are hydrangeas, camillias for winter interest, and possible another Japanese Magnolia (aka tulip tree) on the right side of the big tree.

I am so happy this is finally coming together! More photos of the patio to come soon.

The Bad and Ugly, Part 1

I have a tendency to write about only the "good" garden features in this blog, leaving out the bad and ugly. Truthfully, I've been feeling a bit guilty about it. For the next few days, I'm posting about all the bad and ugly things in my garden. Things I'm working to fix. These things take time, you know!

Bad and Ugly Spot 1: The Compost Bed
When we moved in, this bed was full of dead and dying azaleas. Why? Infertile soil. It was in need of major improvement. I pulled out the dead plants, and the ones that were on their last leg got special attention. Quite a few of them lived to put on a good showing this spring.

In the spring, I spent a lot of time working on this bed. I worked in a few bags of compost to improve the soil. I moved all the azaleas to the outermost edges of the bed. I decided the left side of the tree was good spot to put my new compost pile because it is fairly level and you can't see it from the patio.

I'm still trying out things in this bed. The trees create dappled late afternoon sun, but the bed gets full morning and early afternoon sun. Sometime last summer I decided I didn't want to do more azaleas. Maybe because I thought they were cursed in that bed? Mostly because this bed is set off in the corner of the yard, and I wanted plants with high impact and showy color. So far I've picked Cast Iron Plant, Elephant Ears, and Cannas. Ignore the super-ugly Majesty Palms. Those are getting replaced as soon as I decide what to replace them with.

Cast Iron Plant - I don't think this was a good choice. At the Mynelle Gardens plant sale I bought a handful of these to put at the foot of the tree. In the right conditions (dry and shady) this plant should be a glossy dark green. My plants are looking stressed and faded. Too much sun! The good thing is that I think I have the perfect place for them. Of course that means digging them all up and moving them somewhere new, but I like this plant and I want to save it. It is a Southern favorite.

Elephant Ears - Steve and Felder wrote about elephant ears in Passalong Plants. This plants really fits the bill as a "high impact" plant. In their first year, these plants don't put on a big show. I can't wait for next year when they pop-up and show me how big their ears can really get. Elephant ears will overwinter in the ground in my zone (zone 8), so I don't have to worry about digging these up each winter.

Cannas - Another good choice for a high impact plant. Cannas also overwinter in the ground in my zone. I have two varieties: Tropicanna and The President. Tropicanna (photo courtesy of White Flower Farm) is graced with varigated purple, pink, and orange foliage topped with yellow-orange flowers. The President (photo courtesy of Touch of Nature) has lush medium-green foliage and large, bright red flowers.

I like the pretty magenta oleander on my neighbor's side of the fence. You can just see if by clicking on the photo to get a closer look. I'm thinking about replacing the Majesty palms with oleander. It might be neat to reflect what's on the opposite side of the fence in my yard. I'm still undecided about it because the oleander plant is very toxic if ingested.

What other suggestions do you have for this bed? Which perennials do you think I should I add? What about a few Adam's needle yuccas (my mom has plenty to share) or a sago palm?