Your Neck of the Woods 2015 Part 4

Silly speedie! cute

< =D I've never been accused of being serious and normal, that's for sure.
Here's another shot of that same bloom, sans face. Then a couple others in that "patch"

Wow, Speedie, those are some flowers!

Sally, our health insurance plan is connected with Express Scripts: https://www.express-scripts.com/index.html

I am sure we all know at times that us gardeners have a side of insanity about us.

WHY else would we do what we do with reckless abandon? Endless $$$ spent
on just a few more plants! Sweat dripping from every porein our body--hands
all rough and dirty--black fingernails---wet socks and shoes--higher water bills--
endless $$$ spent on acquiring just a few more of something we already have a lot of....
HUH? You talking to ME???? Don't hear ya too well.....

Speedie--you are a good example of all of the above. So am I--except the acquiring
more plants...I cannot do that. No Mas--Amigo! No space to put them!

OK! Back to semi-sanity.....My KK Hibiscus is full of buds--at the end of every stem--
there are bunches and bunches! The blooms will start popping any day now--
and the cars will be slowing down as they pass my house. "Dyoo see dat? Wass up?
Dem can't be real! OH, Lody!!! Ain't never seen nothing that purdy! Is dem real?

Hey--lady! Wrong neighborhood! You lost of something???

Spera! El Photos will be comming soon....ariba!

Haahahahaaaaa, Gita you are a crack up!!! But, OH BOY, I can't wait to see pics (hint hint!!) of that lovely Hibiscus when she blooms all over the place!!!

One day, when I grow up (to be just like you.. that is my fervent wish!!), I too will have no more room. But, ALAS!! For now I can always find a little corner somewhere for a little something. ;) Heck, who else is gonna rescue those poor innocent little sickly plants if not me!?!? (she asks, blinking innocently) < =D

Speedie, that pic sure gave me a chuckle. Love it you wild and crazy girl LOL.

Speedie---

If you click on my name--then go all the way down--there is a picture of my standing by
some blooms from the KK Hibiscus.
This picture is pretty old--maybe 7 or 8 years ago.
Nowadays no one adds pictures to their profile. We used to do it way back when...

I can show you some pictures of this Hibiscus from a few years ago....2013.
Yeah! I think my face would fit behind it....

We'll continue here>>>>>>http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1400894/

Baltimore Sun has an article this weekend announcing winners of a garden contest. Several gardens in this group would easily win!
The high point- for me- city resident who adopted, then bought, a vacant lot next door and is making a butterfly garden. He entered the contest to help promote city programs (adoption, free trees) that helped him do this. How great is that?
Low point for me- the photographer chose a closeup of Hemerocallis fulva to accent one garden profile. Makes a good bold photo, but... really? A contest winner with nothing better for a close up? I blame the photographer, clearly not a dedicated gardener, IMHO

Years ago the local paper had Garden contests and we would love looking at them. One winner wasn't too far from us and we quite often passed their home. It was a nice looking property very well cared for but I really couldn't see any reason why it would have taken 2nd place. So Ric and I were thinking maybe we would enter it and when I called to find out when it would be they said that they were no longer doing the yearly garden contest. Poopy on them. LOL

Here's the Sun article on the garden contest.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/home-garden/

They put a limit on the number of stories you can read online, but you can bypass that by browsing in privacy/incognito mode.

my fault!!!!!!

Had FUN at work today!
Medieval Times show offered a visit from a King and Princess for our storytime. Can you believe only four of fifteen branches said yes?
King Carlos and Princess Catalina each read a book for the 60 kids (!) who came, and we played a Quiz game- I prepared some questions and let the kids guess the answer and then let the guests tell us. (A castle is a very very very big house made of stones. How long did it take to build your castle? One day, one week, twenty years). Oh my, The king and princess were so very kind and gracious and good sports. They had about fifty pictures taken with kids afterwards. I am so appreciative of Medieval Times for this community support program!

That does sound so fun for all involved, Princess Sally. Too bad so many branches chose not to participate.

As per Ric: We'll continue here>>>>>> http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1400894/

The house is a balmy 82 while we wait for the end of today's Peak Energy time. It's still better than some recent days at the library where we have suffered with a bad timer, shutting down the chiller in the evenings.

Our solar panels do really well on days like this! It's not free, but per our agreement with Vivent it's a few cents cheaper (currently 7.5 cents) per kw-hr for whatever the panels generate.

Here's a Washington Post article about the PBS show "Ask This Old House" filming a pollinator gardening segment in the DC area.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/lights-camera-asters-ask-this-old-house-makes-over-a-ne-yard/2015/07/28/84371384-3158-11e5-8f36-18d1d501920d_story.html

There's a gif of the front yard transformation and a conceptual plan with a lot of native shrubs and perennials. I thought some of you might find this interesting!

interesting, piece, ssg.

Yes indeed; I enjoyed reading it....ssg you should post it on the new thread so others can enjoy as well: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1400894/