Summer is Definitely Here!!

 Hi Friends!  I hope everyone is well here today!  Well I don't know about where you live but summer has definitely hit Rockwell, NC!!  It is hot, humid, some stray thunderstorms, etc., etc.  I have been mulching like crazy around here but I have to do it early in the morning and usually about 2-2.5 hrs. is all I seem to be able to do in this heat!  Here is some of what I have been doing:

The mulch came from the main big tree in this photo. Nothing grows under here so I decided to create an "island" of the big tree and the cedar tree next to it.  Looks so much more finished!

This is 2 bushes (more like trees) in the front yard.  One is a crape myrtle (rt.) and the other is a deutzia (lft).  I created this island around them too.  

That is it on the projects for this season though.  It has about worn me out.  I do love creating as you know!  Some day I would like to put a nice cement birdbath between the deutzia and the crape myrtle.  I have alot of birds coming to the bird feeder in the front garden and to my hummingbird feeder.  All the flowers in my garden are growing and thriving.  I don't think I have lost anything, which is so good!  My friend, Janice from my church has given me some plants lately too, which helps with the cost of buying perennials, roses, etc.  She has given me a bee balm (red), Blue Salvia and Black-eyed Susan.  They are all doing so good!  The other day she may have created a monster-she showed me a new garden center on the way to Mooresville and it is wonderful!  Here are some of the flowers blooming in my garden now:

Daylily

Foxglove

Sombrero Adobe Orange Coneflower

Zinnia

When my girls were little in the summer we used to visit my Grandma and Papa every Wednesday.  She lived a little over an hour from our house.  We would visit, then have lunch and then visit some more before leaving to go home.  I had a Tropicana Rose in my garden and I swear that thing would know it was time to visit Grandma because she would bloom right before the visit.  I would cut one or two depending on how many were blooming and take them to Grandma.  She had this one bud vase she would put it in.  About 6 months before she died she gave me the vase and told me to always take care of it for her.  See below my Tropicana rose from my garden here and Grandma's vase:

Tropicana Rose in Grandma's Vase

It won't be this year but I saw this beautiful arbor with a gate.  I really think I can make this.  I would like to make this and then picket fence the backyard.  It would be great for Riley to run around back there.  This year is definitely out of the picture for this project but maybe 2025!  Here it is:

Two Saturdays ago I went down to Gold Hill, which is the little historical town below me.  I saw on FB that Gold Hill Flower Co was having an event.  You could bring your own mason jar (or they provide one for you) and they would have a ton of cut flowers out of their gardens for you to arrange in the mason jar.  I decided to go and I loved the experience!  Melissa, the owner was so nice!  Here is one of the bouquets I created:

Flower Arrangement I made at Gold Hill Flower Co.  I decided it would look beautiful on my table in the eating area.

Monday would have been John's 70th birthday.  I cannot believe that he will be gone from us for 5 years on 11/27.  Jenny posted this photo on FB and I just love this photo of him.  He was such a good man and everyone should strive to be the kind of person he was!

John

Well I am off to knit before I leave to have lunch with the Houses without Spouses group from church.  Once a month we meet at Longhorn Steak House and have lunch without each other.  They are a really nice group of wonderful ladies all widowed like I am.

Everyone have a wonderful week and enjoy your day!

Sherri

Summer Has Arrived in NC!

 Hi Everyone!  I know it has been some time since I have posted but the time has just gotten away with me with all the gardening and mulching going on around here.  There has been so much mulching going on here that has taken up so much of my time.  Pretty soon that will all be done and I can come on here more!

I have mulched every garden around the house (so that is 4 in all), yesterday I re-mulched another layer around the front and side of the house garden.  Today I mulched for 3 hours and did under the ash and cedar tree.  Nothing grows under there so this looks so much better as you will see in the picture below.

Mulched under the ash and cedar tree.

This is the front garden I re-mulched.  I think it is 6" deep now.

Mulched down the side of the house again also.

2 weeks ago I went down to SC to see Owen perform in Shrek Jr.  The local playhouse in Lake City had this production.  Owen played Shrek when he was 7 years old and then he played Pig #1 as one of the 3 little pigs in the play.  He and all the kids did a phenomenal job!!  I had lunch with my friend, Angela after the play then I headed home with Riley.  He was at Jenny's house while I was at the play and lunch.

Owen and I after the play was over.  Love that boy!

Owen was the second from the right.  Pig #1.

First Owen played Shrek when he was 7 years old and was told to go out into the world and start a life for himself.

My gardens are doing really great!  I have tomatoes forming on the plant, my first daylily bloomed and it was gorgeous, Lavender, butterfly bush and some roses have bloomed also.  I also harvested my Romaine Lettuce.  It has been so good!

First daylily to bloom in the garden.  Just beautiful!

First romaine lettuce harvest.  So delicious!

Now I have tomatoes forming on the 1 plant I planted.

Last Tuesday Riley went to Lazy 5 Veterinarians and they neutured him.  He has been doing really well but the meds they gave him really knock him out as you can see in the photo.  I bought him one of the air-filled pillow collars because the plastic one for the vet really bothered him.  He was much more comfortable in this collar.  His incision is healing up nicely and he only has a few more days of the meds.  He will be right back to his lovely, handsome self really soon!

Well that pretty much wraps up what has been going on in my life!  I have also been knitting a little bit and listening to audiobooks.  I hope that Summer has come to where ever you live and that you can enjoy it!

Sherri