What I've been up to...as requested. LOL

The first ever Ohio River Valley Round Up was last weekend!

What's STILL left in the greenhouse...

And more....

I ended up building a cattle panel hoop house to harden off plants and hold the overflow. Originally it was 26x9. As I am moving stuff to the area for sales, I was able to take off two panels a few days ago and get it down to about 15 feet. Hubby is happy to have his parking space back. LOL

I am just using it for a bit of shade now. It looks a bit ratty after I cut back the plastic then monster winds blew through all night.

I have to get a bunch more plants moved today and tomorrow then I will hang my "plants for sale" sign. People have stopped by to ask me if I will be selling soon. They even have our mail carrier asking me when we open.

For all the people I see putting in 18 hour days with work, animals and the fields and crops, it amazes me that they are amazed that *I* work so hard. LOL I have been paid the ultimate compliment many times over. This house was built in the late 70s and apparently no one has ever done anything with the yard. I look out there and see all the mess that was left behind and all the things that are undone and others just see my hard work. That is a great feeling!

Since the weather has started to warm up, I've been moving stuff outside. Some of this is overflow, some are plants from the RU and some are my private stock that I am hiding from shoppers. LOL What a mess!

These are some poor plants that still have not found a home. LOL These have been like this since we moved last year. That pretty variegated one is a new Silene that Mystic brought me last weekend.

A bunch of Hibiscus I just transplanted into gallons.

Bumper crop of batface Cuphea.

Yep! I was right. Old fashioned 'kool-aid' iris. LOL

Corner of the shade garden.

There was nothing here when we bought the house. I had to raise the level around the house as it was very low. I used the clay from escavating the pond, to build a large wedge, then came back with good soil and added beds.

I still need to power wash the house, put in more rocks (which I have laying by the pond), plant those bleeding hearts, then mulch. I am also going to go back and dig up the hosta and group them as they are mostly small ones I bought last year and I want to put them together by type. The to-do list is huge....

It doesn't look like much yet but those are beds on the far side of the pic. One is about 100 feet long and the other is about 80 feet long. A ten foot wide bog garden is going to the right of them, on the other side of the maple tree.

A bed I started up by the road. I need to get out for dirt and mulch. I'm going to put down plastic for a few months to kill the grass then take it up later.

Here is another one, about 150 across the yard. From the road, they sort of frame the house.

More of the long beds.

WOW, you have been busy. All those plants and flowerbeds................Its looking GREATE.
Yeah and when does the selling sign come up it looks like you have plenty to keep the customers comming and be happy.
Hugs
Janett

I cant believe all the work youve done in such a short time. I think that if they are impressed with all your hard work now just wait till everything is grown and blooms. They are going to come to you with scabs all over their chins from all the jaw dropping and dragging.

It's a lot to mow and you would not believe how quick the grass grows! It's a rainy, overcast day as you can see by the color in the pic.

I put a row of cinder block around the pond to raise it a bit and quickly figured out I have a bit of leveling to do. LOL Then I can start on the second level of the pond, behind the first. The second level will be a lily and lotus pond.

Awe thanks!! I do laugh when people tell me how beautiful all the flowers are when they bloom. So far, they have only seen the spring bulbs. The giant onions are flowering now and the Iris have started. When people stop to compliment me, I can't do anything but giggle and tell them they will like it much better in a month. LOL

Selling starts this weekend. My pal CountryGardens told me I needed red zonal geraniums. I've not even started selling and they are already getting rave reviews! I have them in three different sized pots as well as some cute little planters for Mother's Day. We'll see......

Can someone please come help me? I still have not gotten around to fixing that blasted fence! The bed on this side of it has really started to fill in but the weeds are gaining on the plants. LOL

It got so windy last night, one of my rain barrels tried to leave town. You can see it on the far left. This is the view of the end of the long beds. You can also see what is left of my hoophouse, as well as the greenhouse. I'm still amazed I made so many plants in an 8x12 greenhouse! Imagine the damage I could do with a real one! LOL

You can also see a bunch of pots. The ones closest on the left, are holding position for the next run of daylilies and perennials. I plan to take the centers out of the beds that are already there and make it more like a maze you can cut through. As it is now, you have to pick which direction you'd like to go 40-50 feet, to get around. Geesh!

There are also pots of plants sitting back by the garage. Mystic and I did a bit of damage at a local nursery and I came home with two more Heuchera (Mystic Angel and Lime Rickey) as well as Ligularia Britt Marie Crawford and there are a couple of Hosta back there and a variegated Solomon's Seal. Mystic brought me two other Heuchera-Peach Melba and Creme Brulee and those are all waiting to be planted with some ferns and other goodies.

Here we sit potted on cardboard.....

At least we get to sit on weed covered dirt.....

Look at my pretty Lupine!

Thank you Vic for all the Hosta!! They are coming up and starting to fill in. As soon as I shape up the beds and mulch, they are going to be stunning!! There must be 4 different colors of them!

I think I will switch out those purple tulips for something bright or light. They are very pretty but barely show up from the road, against the tree trunks.

Look at all these poor Siberians sitting here with dormant Hibiscus, patiently waiting for their bog! Oh, I see a little Acorus pouting there too.

I moaned and groaned all winter long about the puddles and now they have dried up almost all the way and left those poor plants sitting high and dry. How can I clone myself??

Not nice to leave out my single white giant Allium.....

Grapes!! Umm, I meant to move these over by the veggie garden but I think I'll need a bobcat to do it. Now I guess I better wait.

The kids took pity on a bunch of tadpoles dying in the mud so we filled this bucket to save them. Sigh.....

This is where the veggie garden is going. I balded it with the mower and started tilling then got busy, then the rain came...time to start again. The field had not been touched in about 4 years so it's like tilling cement. I did a huge area and made a couple of passed going deeper each time but it needs serious work. I need a tractor like I need my next breath!

A whole bunch of Salvia Van Houteii ready to leave home. They've gotten so big so fast, I think I'm going to have to cut back a bunch of them.

The banana canna are going to town too. I took this pic last week and they are about to bust out of the one gallon containers now. They are going to have to be repotted before they break the pots.

We built this a few weeks ago. I had the sad realization that my kids have not had a playset for over a year. I took it down last year to sod the back yard and it never got put back. So we got this up just in time for spring break. We still need to add the slide.

Mystic came for a visit last weekend.....

We might have gone shopping....

My daylily orders have been pouring in. I ordered a *few*. These were a win from calif_sue on the Lily Auction!

Knock knock!! Easter bunny(ies)!

Y'all hungry??