A View from the Porch

Despite the long hard winter and the cool and dry summer my gardens are doing very well.  I had very little winter damage but everything was very slow in emerging from the ground and late to bloom.  The cool summer has been wonderful for my Hydrangeas, and the dry weather has helped to keep the slugs at bay around my Hostas.

I have tried to grow several different types of hydrangeas over the years and some were planted well before I knew anything about what would survive and bloom in Northern Michigan.   We have very heavy snow cover so I have the best luck with  Annabelle and Incrediball Hydrangeas that I can cut back to the ground in the fall.  For beautiful and endless color I love the Endless Summer variety and have had very good luck with them.  The sunny areas in my garden are limited so I must be careful as to where I plant them.

In the few sunny spots in my gardens I plant a variety of Echinacea (coneflower).  The new colors are beautiful and could brighten up any garden.  I hope to try a "double" variety next year.   As I have only small areas of sun I do have to limit my selections.   

I'm looking for more ways to bring color into my shade gardens.  I do still plant impatients and try to put pots of color in various places and also use some garden art for color.  

If you have any ideas for more color I would love to hear from you.  

SUNNY FLORIDA

While our dear friends and family suffered the very cold and snowy winter in the North we were very fortunate to be able to spend February and March in sunny South Florida.  We rented an older mobile home on Nettles Island, which is on Hutchinson Island near Jensen Beach.  This is a very busy community with all types of activities, clubs and parties.  This is the third year that I have done makeup for the two shows that The Theatre Guild puts on each year.  What fun that was!  I also helped my sister paint scenery for one of the shows.  My sister and her husband spend 3 months on Nettles so it gives us a great chance to spend time with them.  One of my favorite activities was morning water aerobics.  They did this regardless of the temperature.  I did wimp out some mornings when it was just too cool at 8:00 am.

A group of volunteers work very hard to keep the many flower beds beautiful for all of us to enjoy.  I see them working early mornings, deadheading, mulching, weeding and planting.  I think that next year I will have to join these "Dirt Devils"

Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos)

Australian Native

I do not know the name of this orchid

Sharing some of the scenery that I helped with for The Theatre Guild.  My sister was the designed and chief painter.  I painted where it was easy to stay in the lines

It was a great Minstrel Show.  So many great singers on Nettles Island

Growing Hostas

Paul's Glory Hosta

This has been dug and divided  6 or 7 times and still looks great.  It gets about 4 hours of sun a day.  The more sun it receives the lighter the leaves are.  It is growing in good composted, well drained soil.  It's heavy leaves are somewhat resistant to slugs.

Francis William and Stained Glass Hosta
As you will see most of my Hosta's are of the variegated variety as I have a shade garden and the variegated leaves add light and more interest to my garden beds

I believe that Hosta's are one of the easiest perennials to grow and they are very easy to divide.  It is best to divide in early Spring or Fall but I have found that they can be divided almost any time of the year as long as they are watered well after division.