Hello friends. I caught a cold so I haven’t done much today. I just did a little lawn weeding to get the dandelions and then I couldn’t get the mower started, so I had to take out the spark plug and reset the gap. It worked best with a smaller gap than the manual prescribed. I got it running well and then I mowed the lawn. Not much there to cut as it is still pretty thin after my de-mossing job.
Here is my dandelion spotter zeroing in on one of the few survivors from the last weeding round. You can just see the little yellow intruder out there.
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I was thrilled to see that our very first cherry blossom popped out today from our Japanese cherry tree. We have a huge number of buds on it this year and we eagerly await the full bloom. Normally it would have blossomed 3 weeks ago, so better late than never!
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This bush has branches with what I can best describe as fins along it’s branches and trunk (think fish), which makes the branches look square. My wife and I can’t remember it’s name. It has small white flowers in spring and spectacular fall colors. Can anyone identify it for us? The 2nd photo shows more detail of the branches.
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Here’s a close-up of a perennial that just blossomed. Directly translated from Norwegian it’s called ‘small golden basket’ (Doronicum Orientale).
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Here is our Narcissus which also just bloomed.
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Put some petunias in one of our big pots to keep me company while I BBQ.
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My wife did this bouquet as a centerpiece for our Constitution day celebration on 17th May. The Norwegian flag is red, white and blue, so that’s why those colors in the arrangement.
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We hung our flags out as most do on the 17th, one in front and one in back. The first shot shows the entrance to Paradise, my woodworking shop. I also have glass double doors on the terrace side. My wife told me we have to put up venetian blinds on those so she and others wouldn’t have to see my woodworking machines from outside. What is wrong with that woman? Lol.
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Here is a picture of our hedge and some ground cover flowers. As you can see our hedge only has a few leaves on it. Normally it would be so grown out that I would have to clip it around 1st June. The ground cover is called Phlox (I think).
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That’s all I have for now. My granddaughter took a lot of photos for me of the 17th of May celebrations, but she hasn’t gotten them to me yet as she is studying for her finals right now. I will post some if the pictures are good enough when I get them. We are a very small community here, so it won’t be spectacular.
Have fun and enjoy your day.
-- Mike the reluctant gardening assistant of Lillian
12 comments so far
Radicalfarmergal
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3982 posts in 1398 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 1094 days ago
Do the leaves of your mysterious bush turn bright red in the fall? If so, you might have a Winged Euonymus or something closely related to it growing in your garden, also called a Burning Bush.
-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi
TopamaxSurvivor
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190 posts in 1438 days
hardiness zone 7b
posted 1094 days ago
Everything late must be the next Ice Age getting ready to fix global warming ;-))
Roway
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61 posts in 1342 days
hardiness zone 7
posted 1094 days ago
stefang you have a very nice retreat, it looks so relaxing! I sure lots of hard work went into it.
-- Ronnie | Radford Virginia | www.ronsgarden.com | ronnie@ronsgarden.com
MsDebbieP
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13892 posts in 2136 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 1094 days ago
I chuckled at the “what’s wrong with that woman” :)
Maybe she just doesn’t want to be reminded of how jealous she is of your bit of paradise
:)
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)
sharad
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1541 posts in 1352 days
hardiness zone 11
posted 1094 days ago
Mike thank you for your nicely worded blog, thought it should never end. Your camera has captured a perfect instant in the first photo. Nice to see your wood working shop but sad to hear putting venetian blinds. The blooms are beautiful and the flower arrangement is attractive and apt for the day. Waiting anxiously for your next blog.
Sharad
-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein
stefang
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391 posts in 1114 days
hardiness zone 7
posted 1094 days ago
Robin, you hit the the nail on the head. We a call it ‘vingebenved’ (found it in the catalog with your help). Yes, it is fiery red in the fall and very enjoyable. Thanks so much for you assistance.
Bob Correct. Norway will soon be under ice and I will be moving back to California to enjoy the cooler climate there.
Ronnie Thank you, and yes, I hardly work at it.,lol.
Debbie She said her real reason for the blinds is to keep the shop cool so I can work comfortably while finishing her garden bench. Sounds reasonable.
Sharad I would rather be able to actually say something sensible about flowers as you do, but I am forced to rely on what I do know, and as you can tell that isn’t much. I have already learned quite a few things from the GT members and it will be interesting to see where it leads. I have to admit though, I feel a little like the lab janitor discussing experiments with the scientists. Learning new things, even in old age keeps the mind active and gives one something to look forward each day.
Thanks for the nice comments everyone, and have a great day!
-- Mike the reluctant gardening assistant of Lillian
Penny
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318 posts in 1470 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 1094 days ago
How pretty, what nice gardens you have.
-- Gardening is Great Therapy!!.....Georgian Bay area....zone 5b
davidc61
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417 posts in 1169 days
hardiness zone 4
posted 1094 days ago
Very nice flower arrangement, I’m jealous of your wood working retreat, I’m waiting to get enough money to build my MANSHED as they call them over here. It will be nice to have a place that the missus has no say over LOL.( I’ve been married too long to believe that)
-- David, Adelaide South Australia. Every day I wake up breathing is a good day!
stefang
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391 posts in 1114 days
hardiness zone 7
posted 1094 days ago
Thank you Penny. The trick is making stuff that she wants David. That way she will be demanding you get out to the shed to work on them!
-- Mike the reluctant gardening assistant of Lillian
Bon
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7357 posts in 1915 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 1094 days ago
That arrangement your wife made is really beautiful.She has a gift for putting the flowers together.Your yard is looking good Stefang.Cute cat in the first pic.
-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more
Iris43
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3678 posts in 1765 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 1094 days ago
LOL I love your ‘dandelion-spotter’, Mike. LOL The way those #!$%# plants sneak into one’s lawn, you need an ever-present guard. :)
Your gardens and lawn space looks well cared for and greening up nicely for spring. Pretty flowers. I imagine the burning-bush is spectacular in the fall. It is a nicely shaped and behaved shrub throughout the rest of the year as well. The flags are a nice patriotic touch. I like to have our maple leaf fluttering on the front of my house too.
I can understand your affection for your private workshop. Very good suggestion re. keeping the DW happy as well. :)
-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'
stefang
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391 posts in 1114 days
hardiness zone 7
posted 1093 days ago
Thanks Bon for the kind remarks. Actually the flags are a little unpatriotic for me because I’m still and American citizen. I never could bring myself to change. However, I once asked at the U.S. if there would be any problem having a dual citizenship and they said no problem. It’s just that no matter how long I live here and how much I like it, in the end I will still be an American. So I’ve just left things as they are. Maybe I will reconsider when I get old!
Iris, thanks for the compliment on my wife’s flower arrangement. I too think she does them very well. Just another reason she is the garden boss (heaven help us). I seem to remember reading somewhere that work without rest is tyranny, lol.
-- Mike the reluctant gardening assistant of Lillian