thebrendablog

Fairy Gardens At Blue Moon

On Saturday I decided a drive to Blue Moon Gardens was in order. They have the best eye candy of any garden nursery I've ever had the pleasure of visiting.

Of course there are the customary pots and birdhouses and plant markers. Wouldn't you love this mosaic basin?

And water features and whimsical creatures...

The ambience is wonderful, being on such a big piece of land in the country. Blue Moon Gardens is spread out on six acres. They have several buildings dotted about the property.

   

But perhaps one of the most delightful things there are their miniature Fairy Gardens. They hold workshops on how to create these little beauties. And they sell all the elements necessary to create your own.

Have you seen anything more precious than this?

I just have to go out there one of these days and take one of their classes. And learn how to build one of these magnificent creations and feature it out in my gardens.

If you're in the East Texas region, make a trip out to Chandler. You won't be sorry. They also have a garden club to join. And a wonderful website. www.bluemoongardens.com. And when you're done shopping, or maybe before, drive on down the road to the Edom bakery or cafe and have lunch. There is a guy with a shop there in Edom who builds fantastic birdhouses too.

Get some friends together and make this a day in the country, eat some good food, and meet the ladies who own Blue Moon Gardens.

Bring In The Clowns

It is time to bring in the clowns. Or the Renoir. If you're reading this and not writing it, that is. I had all this typed in, and the dogs needed to go out. I figure, I don't need to hit "save draft," as I will be back in less than five. You got it. I lost the whole thing. I won't make that mistake again.

I am making a lot of mistakes lately. I hire people who can't seem to get the work done. I must be a sad judge of character. Yesterday, the carpenter decides not to show up to continue putting down the floors in the hall and bedroom. He hasn't gotten around to the leak in the bathroom, other than to slap some white stuff on a piece of tile. Meanwhile, gnats are busy buzzing through my house, and I have mold. I had grown impatient and already taken a screwdriver and hammer and taken off the baseboards in the two adjoining rooms to investigate further. Yep, more black stuff. At least now it is in the open.

I had to get someone else to drive my Meals On Wheels route, as now I had to get a plumber to come out. Seems something called a union must be replaced. The cold water has apparently been leaking there for some time. The drywall, which the builder 27 years ago didn't put water barrier on or with or behind or some such thing, is finito. The tiles on the tub surround will now begin to fall off. So my husband must work even more hours (or else share a bathroom with me for a long time) to pay for a new wall, new paint and new tile. In a bathroom that has bare walls and floors already.

Late in the afternoon, my incommunicado carpenter has his assistant phone me from his cell phone, which has been unavailable to me thus far today, to tell me they've encountered some sort of emergency. And they cannot come today as promised. How kind of them. It is 3:30 p.m. Who would have thought? His "boss" has gone to get supplies of some sort and could not be the one to call. Sorry. They will be here first thing this morning. Which of course they aren't.

I've grown chummy with said carpenter's wife, as she's asked me for a job reference and likes to drop by. So this will not fly with me today. I figure they were holed up in a bar. I know his penchant for a drink. But I thought that was perhaps better than the other two who worked here recently. One of which is still in jail awaiting trial.

Okay, it gets even better. Then the cable guy arrives. It seems the TV from the garden room, which I put in the bedroom to replace the one I gave to the carpenter and his wife, isn't working. The cable guy discerns that "a creature" up in my attic has chewed through the cables. Terminix has not been able to capture this particular culprit yet. And I'm not even going up there.

I will drag out carpet, pull up carpet nails, trim tree limbs, fix what I can. But no, not that dreaded attic with some sort of "creatures" running around in it.

My husband has taken a well-deserved break and has driven the ninety miles to Dallas to relax for the weekend. I thought I would be at one with silence with my self-made table water fountain burbling in the background. And I would have floors to walk on in at least the bedroom and hallway. But so far that isn't happening.

And just to give you the latest update: Bonnie the white cat apparently grew a little too curious at 6 a.m. this morning about the Renoir (no, not a real one of course) I had placed against the wall on the other side of my bathroom to hide the dark hole where the plumber carved it to fix the leak. I hear a loud crash and the dogs get hysterical, thinking their little ten pound Yorkie bodies can hinder an intruder. Now I have had the good sense to put the Renoir back up against the hole in the wall. And I have positioned a very heavy toolbox up against that. On the cement floor. A Renoir (though fake) on a cement floor against a hole in the wall. Isn't that a gem of a thought?

And finally, now that it is 10 a.m., I reach the carpenter. Seems his wife didn't think she'd have enough coffee this morning and sent him out to buy some more. He's just running a little late. And then he'll have to pick up the assistant who doesn't know how to do anything yet and sort of stands around waiting to go fetch things. I know it isn't really that late yet. But it sure seems like it when you're awakened promptly to the loud crash of your Renoir hitting the cement floor.

Oh, and I must add this. They just arrived. As they backed into the driveway, I was loading my old garage sale dresser (bought nine years ago and decoupaged) onto a dolly. I had taken my hammer and fixed it. I had planned on giving it, of course, to the carpenter and his wife. As the assistant gets out of the truck and runs to help me, I say, "No, I've got it."

"Decided to keep it?" he asks me.

"Yes," I say. "Since I had to pay a plumber $320 to fix the leak and now will have to take the whole wall down. Yes."

I am met with men-in-awkward-stance silence. I haul it in, scratching the newly painted woodwork and door in the process. I take it to the bedroom on the dolly and set it down. I am now, of course, on the computer, incommunicado, behind closed doors in my garden room. Silent.

And everyone who knows me, knows that when I get silent, Mama isn't happy. And when Mama isn't happy, ain't nobody happy.

The Blues

I thought I would have a nice, quiet weekend to myself. But the handymen haven't finished the floors. I was dismayed to see how little they got done yesterday. And they haven't "managed" to get to the leak behind the bathtub, where mold and mildew are on the walls. So now I'm waiting for a "plumber" to come see if they can take care of it.

I have decided folks just don't have the ethics they once did. Does that mean I'm getting old and cranky? Perhaps so.

If I felt savvy enough to tackle this mess myself, I would. But there are so many things involved. Electrical, plumbing, etc. I'm just about to the point of reading up on some of this and trying my hand at it.

Yesterday I climbed up on a ladder and clipped tree limbs. Then clipped them into small pieces the trash men would pick up. I wanted my water lilies to receive more sun.

I was so looking forward to being alone this weekend. No workmen around. Which means I wouldn't have to keep the dogs under lock and key, carrying them about so they won't get into their way. I can't put Abi out in the yard and leave her due to her health problems. Besides, then I'd be letting myself in for the fairly certain bet one of them would leave a gate open and out the silly dogs would go. I just can't outrun a dog anymore!

So yes, I'm a sour puss today and nobody wants to keep company with one of those! So here are a few pictures of "blue" things today besides me!

The quilt above is one I hand-pieced and quilted back in the early 1990's. I look at those little squares now and wonder how I ever had that much patience!

Yesterday I got my teapots out and cleaned them up. Thought I'd put them on display.

I bought the unusual striped...(well, I don't know what you'd call it exactly) "thing" at Kate's consignment shop down the street a few months ago. It reminded me of the marbles I enjoyed playing with as a kid. I still collect marbles! What would you describe it as?

Rainy Days And Handy Men

This is what I woke up to yesterday. I finally found some aquatic fertilizer at Home Depot the other day. Less than 48 hours after putting the tablet fertilizer in the pot, I had this bloom.

Raindrops on water lilies!

This is what else looks lovely in my garden pond.

Otherwise, I'm trying to save what's left of my mind as workers mill about my house, painting and laying down floors and trying to figure out where water is leaking. I'm beginning to think our house is either built over ancient Indian burial grounds, or it is a cousin of the Amityville Horror. Either way, maybe it's haunted. Or, if I want to be truly imaginative and look on a more positive side, maybe our house is just sitting on top of oil that would make us millionaires, like Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies. (For those of you who are old enough to remember that television show.)

But then, even if we got that lucky, the house really would be in disarray!

Speaking of ponds, I've been researching pond data. Here is some of the information I've come up with:

If you want a bog container, or some such water feature in your yard, and worry about mosquitos, what can you do? You can add a few small goldfish to the container. If you don't want fish, add a drop of cooking oil to the water every couple of weeks. This creates a film over the water surface, it seems, which is harmless to plants. But it prevents mosquito larvae from coming up for air. I loved that information. I will surely remember that.

If you have excessive algae, which I had earlier this spring, it can be caused by too little competition. You should introduce other plants to keep algae from gobbling up all the oxygen and nutrients. Your problem could also be too much sunlight. So add more floating plants to shade the pond. Another reason could be too many nutrients available. So avoid regular potting soil or fertilizers for pond plants. It leaches excessive nutrients into the water. Instead, use soil especially made for aquatic gardens and slow-release aquatic plant food. I did not realize this until now, so will have to do this myself.

Violet, from Lady Greenthumb's Garden, and I have been conversing via internet for weeks over excessive algae. I had taken all my plants out, thinking that was the problem. Instead, I was creating one. Also, in the springtime, it apparently takes a little while for your pond to achieve the appropriate balance. So while I was out there scrubbing the sides of the pond with a kitchen sponge (yes, I threw it away) trying to get rid of the algae, I could have been sitting in a chair and being more patient. And letting nature take care of itself!

A sense of stability is what keeps your water garden balanced and low-maintenance. You do this by planting, stocking and maintaining the various elements in proportions that ecologically support one another and help control algae growth.

A true ecosystem relies on active bacteria to provide biological filtration, and organic waste that would otherwise become stuff at the bottom of your pond is broken down into nutrients for the aquatic plants.

A balanced water garden contains relatively clear water. But it also allows some algae to exist for the benefit of the other inhabitants. In a healthy pond, you should be able to see your hand about one foot below the water surface.

Class dismissed.

Starting Over After The Plumbers Left

This is what my house looks like today. Cement floors and thankfully, new paint. Yes, I had my kitchen area painted this same color. I'm mad for yellow, obviously. We live in a dark garden home. We only have windows, thus natural light, on one side of our home. So to me yellow is the answer to brightening things up.

While I herd the dogs and cats, Buddy and his assistant are painting the walls, patching plumbing jobs, and starting on the flooring. This month will feature the main bedroom and hallway. Next month (and another paycheck) will have to be the bathroom. The same bathroom (mine) that has sat without wallpaper, and now flooring, for months. I'm beginning to think au naturel is going to be a finite state around here.

Due to the fact that the bedroom furniture had to be put somewhere else, below is now the state of the main living area. My dresser drawers are stacked atop one another. And everyone has a view of my gowns and under garments if they choose to walk up and look! Hopefully this will get rectified really soon.

Yesterday, I was yearning for the sound of trickling water inside. I have the pond in back and a fountain out in the gazebo. But my old indoor table fountain, good old standby we've had for years now, seemed to have bit the dust. So, I decided to piecemeal a water fountain out of whatever I had on hand. Below is the rather rustic result.

I walked around inside and outside the house, looking for a suitable container for my fountain. I happened across this pot, which does not have holes in the bottom. I'm not real happy with the looks of this, but it will do the job for the time being. After all, floors are a priority right now!

I simply took the inside of the broken fountain out, put a new pump into it. And placed it in this pot. Added water, and plugged it into an electrical outlet. Voila! The beautiful, pure sound of water trickling.

Now if I was going to leave it this way, and who knows what I will do next, I'd drill a hole for the electrical cord to go through so it wouldn't stick right out the top of the navy clay pot. Then I would either paint the inside of the pot, or paint the old part of the fountain that sits inside the clay pot. Or something. It looks totally "unfinished" for my tastes, but with the chaos that is going on in my house (plumbers and painters and cement floors, oh my!), I yearn for the sound of water to calm my nerves.

See, I got the saltwater aquarium in January because I thought, as in former years when I'd owned aquariums, that it would bring me the sound of water running or something equally tranquil. But the new aquariums are amazingly...noiseless. Except for the humming of the pump. I do truly enjoy watching the little world my fish inhabit, but I miss the sound of water.

Some day, hopefully, I will have water features all over my house and yard. Much like the yard I visited Saturday on the garden tour. That is what I aspire to.

I also got a fit of "reorganization and moving the furniture about" syndrome over the weekend. And I moved my bookshelves in my garden room. They were on either side of my TV. But, I decided, once we get my bedroom back together, I will give my old TV away (to the painter) and put the TV that is in my garden room in there. After all, I hardly ever watch TV. And to me, televisions are sort of an eyesore. My husband loves the things; all electronic bits of voodoo I don't understand or care to learn about. But I'd pick staring at the aquarium any day of the week over watching TV.

Anyway, I decided to arrange the bookshelves in a corner, across from my desk. Sort of a "library effect" in the office area of my garden room. I seem to live in here on rainy days, such as today, when I'm not outside in the actual garden. So I have a couch and reading chairs on one side of the room, and an office atmosphere on the other.

The pets and I are happily ensconced in our little corner of heaven, with water trickling steadily (and soothingly) in the background.