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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Getting Ready for the First Frost

Frost is in the forecast for Monday and I still have so much yet to do. I had a little time yesterday outside and got a few of the things marked off of my mental list. While outside, I saw several bluebirds. I hadn't seen them since spring. For some reason, bluebirds have always delighted me.


I'm not sure what to do with the lantana. I'd like to try and overwinter them in the garage if there's room. I collected a few seeds from each species to plant. I'm not sure that I'll have success with germination; I've read that they take a long time and are hard to grow. I have already tried to root a couple of sprigs and they died. I'll guess I'll try it again and this time bring them inside so that I can keep a more watchful eye.




I dug up all of the gerbera daisies and will keep them inside for the winter. I want to learn how to propagate these as well. It would be so wonderful to have a greenhouse for overwintering all of these plants. I am thankful that I have a loft area upstairs and have extra room for my growing station.

I also moved a large grass, planted some bulbs, moved a few small verbena volunteers and echinacea to one of my side yard beds, and planted the small butterfly bush I rooted, (I hope it wasn't too soon).

While I was working outside I got a call from my neighbor with an invitation to meet some of the other neighbor ladies at Barnes and Noble for a drink and to chat. Do you know how bad fleece smells when you wear it to work in the yard? Like a wet stinky dog. I had like five minutes to change clothes and run a brush through my hair and off I went for a few hours of time with the ladies and to enjoy my favorite Starbucks drink, a sugar-free, light, caramel frappuccino with a single shot of espresso.

Hopefully, I'll have a chance to get a few more things done today. I've got to find some time to finish mulching.

8 comments:

  1. Hey Robin,

    I adore bluebirds too. This year we installed a bluebird trail--a series of houses--along our property lines. Since you enjoy bluebirds, have you thought about putting in a house or two? It takes some monitoring and work,but is very enjoyable and rewarding.

    --Robin (Bumblebee)

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  2. Must have been one of those girlie days. I had breakfast with friends this morning. I ended up doing nothing more in the garden than watching feeders. Oh well, it was a cool windy day and the feeders were worth watching.

    It will all get done, don't you worry about it. If the garden is good enough for the Blue Birds it must be good enough for us. :) You are lucky to have blue birds.

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  3. What a beautiful little bird. I know nothing about over wintering so I wish you the best of luck with your lantana and daisy. And just so you know I'm sure that frappuccino is not sugar free. I worked for starbucks and it was a common misconception. But they still taste extrememly good mmm.

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  4. robin (bumblebee: I've never used a bluebird house before, (or any other kind for that matter). I'll have to do some research and see if I have a safe place for it. I'd love to have them nest here.

    lisa at greenbow: I could sit and watch feeders all day too and I love those girlie days, they are infrequent for me, but so much fun.

    vanillalotus: You are right about the caramel frap. It is reduced sugar not totally sugar-free. They use the sugar-free caramel syrup but the caramel they put on top is not sugar-free. They are so good!

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  5. Love the blue bird. My neighbors have some blue bird houses so I hope that brings them to my garden, too. I know the iced green tea I get at Starbucks is sugar free!

    Carol at May Dreams Gardens

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  6. I was delighted to see your bluebird photo and see what kind you have there. It's a lot different than ours here on the west coast! It sounds like you had a busy and productive day in the garden and even had time for friends...good for you! :o)

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  7. Wonderful photo of the sweet little bluebird! Good luck with overwintering your plants.

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  8. What a cute little roly-poly bluebird :)

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