Mary Anne Carter
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Category Archives: Garden
May 6 2012

Flower boxes

by Mary Anne

This is the time of year when I enjoy going to different nurseries in the area and see what beautiful window boxes they have on display and for sale. One of my favorite ways to make my own house more attractive is by lining the sides of the porch with flower boxes that are filled with blooming annuals.

My favorite way to do that is to take an empty windowbox and put some peastone or gravel in the bottom of it, then take the purchased annuals (still in their flower pots) and set them inside the window box. Pack them as tightly as possible, and then fill in around the pots with cedar mulch. My grandmother taught me this method when I went up to the farm to visit her in the summertime, and every time I prepare the window boxes I am reminded of the good times I had with my grandparents on the farm. This method is quick and easy to do, and by swapping out the annuals as they fade I can keep the porch looking pretty for a very long time.

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Apr 19 2012

Run rabbit run!

by Mary Anne

Lately everywhere I drive it appears that I am seeing rabbits running across the road.  Last month the rabbits were still wearing their white winter coats, and now they have changed to their summer coats of brown.  I am glad to see that their coats have changed, because we did not have a lot of snow last month, and their white coats made them “sitting ducks” for any critter out there that was looking for a meal. Now when I drive up to the house instead of seeing a large flash of white hopping across the yard, I see just a little bit of a white cotton tail hopping across the yard. Seeing rabbits or deer in my yard always bring a smile to my face, but it also makes me glad that I’m not a farmer trying to protect my crops from these cute little varmints!

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Apr 9 2012

Wisteria flowers are blooming

by Mary Anne

For the past couple of weeks I have been on the lookout for wisteria flowers being in bloom. I couldn’t remember exactly when they would start blooming. Today I noticed a lot of wisterias in bloom – it seems as if one day there was no sign of them, and now suddenly they look like they are in full bloom! When I was a kid, I don’t think that I noticed wisterias at all – but then again if it was not in my own back yard, I just didn’t notice it! Most of my adult life was spent in New England, and to be perfectly honest I don’t remember seeing any of them up there, either. But ever since we moved here, I am constantly aware of all of the beautiful bright blooming flowers, and I have to say that the wisteria flowers have a feeling of romance that no other blossom can compete with.

Just now I was realizing that as much as I’ve been admiring the blossoms, I don’t think I have ever smelled the fragrance of a wisteria. I’m going to have to rectify that soon! I hope that they smell yummy!

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Apr 3 2012

Mushrooms

by Mary Anne

With all this rain we’ve been having, my yard has stayed wet for about two weeks. I have shrugged it off, saying that we are lucky it was not snow or ice. We enjoyed a very mild Winter, so if a wet Spring is the price we have to pay, so be it.

One drawback to having so much rain is that mildew and fungus are flourishing. My yard has several different types of mushrooms sprouting in different places. I doubt that any of these mushrooms are edible, but I have never really done any research on mushrooms. I wonder if there are any good online sources to find out about the different types of mushrooms and which ones are edible?

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Apr 2 2012

The wood gazebo

by Mary Anne

I wish that I could explain it, but I’ve always felt that there is a romantic charm intricately linked within a wood gazebo. When I drive by a park that has a gazebo in it, I think of Independence Day celebrations in my past when I would be taken by my parents to the town’s largest park where a band would be sitting in the gazebo, playing uplifting celebratory songs. We would take a picnic with us and spread a blanket out on the grass and eat, while enjoying the music until dark. Then the fireworks would begin. Sometimes I think it would be really great to have a gazebo in my own back yard, as part of a beautiful garden.

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