Monday, March 11, 2013

Preparing for Spring

This past weekend was positively beautiful here in the Mid-Atlantic.  We enjoyed temperatures in the low 60's, which we have not see in some time.  I decided to venture out of the kitchen; away from the kitchen renovation for awhile.  I did apply the base color above the cabinets in preparation for the topcoat glaze sometime this week.  And I installed the new aluminum blind on the window over the sink.  But that was about all I did in the kitchen.  I'll post pictures of that tomorrow.

I made my way to Home Depot yesterday afternoon.  They were busy setting up the garden center, so I made my way out there to check out how they were progressing.  I found a few items that I needed.


The first thing I found were these unusual Elephant Ear corms called Black Magic.  How could I resist.  I could not, so I got two of them.  They will be planted in large pots and placed in the back yard in an area of partial shade, which is what they prefer.  We are re-doing the blacktop seating area in the back yard this year and these will look stunning.  There is also the installation of the greenhouse.  We will begin that project in a few weeks when the weather is consistently warm.


Next item on the list was a package of evergreen fertilizer spikes.  I have used these for many years along the boxwood hedges that run along the front sidewalk and around the front gardens.  They are hammered into the ground utilizing the plastic cap included as a barrier between the hammer and the spike.  I measure out two feet from the hedge and then every 3 feet along the hedge and place them at these locations.  I do this all along the entire row of each hedge.  You will want to make sure that it has either rained substantially or that you have watered thoroughly before attempting to place these in the ground.  If you attempt this and the ground is dry, you will have a mess on your hands.  They will resist your efforts and split and splinter.  Believe me.  I learned the hard way.  Even though this method of fertilzing may take a little more time and effort, the end results or well worth it.  The are formulated specifically for evergreens and they help bring about a beautiful, lush green.



These fertilizer spikes from Vigoro are new to me.  The holly bushes along the fence, next to the arborvitate in the back yard have done quite well.  Obviously, they like their location.  I have other of the same species of holly which I planted in another location in the back yard at the same time, and those holly bushes are not quite so happy.  I will move them to another location in the yard this year and I will fertilize them with these spikes.  Let's hope for a good outcome.



Of course, as I have written here before, I am a huge fan of the Scott's line of yard fertilizers and weed preventers, so I purchased this bag of Turf Builder which claims to halt crabgrass.  Crabgrass.  I could spend hours talking about crabgrass, but I will not.  I despise it and my yard, if not treated, is completely overrun by it.  This needs to go down ASAP.  I don't much care for using the term "ASAP."  But in this case, I will.  The sooner we can get this down, the sooner it can do what it needs to do to prevent huge areas of crabgrass.  This will go down today.



My cart.  Nearly ready to check out.


I did not buy any of these cacti, but I thought they were beautiful.  All the different colored flowers.  It was an eye-catching display.  If I happen to find a spot that I think absolutely needs something, I can always go back and pick up one or two of these.  An assortment of them placed atop some decorative pebbles in a terracotta drainage tray would look beautiful on a side table on the deck or patio when entertaining.


After the Home Depot stop, it was off to Target.  This could actually have been put under a separate posting for "Things We Like", but I decided to go ahead and add it here.  Perrier in new tall, slim cans.  Love, love, love this item.  Very easy to take with you.  Nice to have cold in the refrigerator when you are say, renovating a kitchen or coming in from working in the yard.  And better for you than a Diet Pepsi.  I have an affinity for Diet Pepsi, so that's why I use that as an analogy.  I should drink less Diet Pepsi and more Perrier no matter what kind of container it is in.  Whatever I decide to drink, it needs to be sparkly.  I am not a fan of still water.  Give me some bubbles and I'm on board.


And finally, the back seat of the monster truck full of "stuff."  (You see I got some Diet Pepsi too.)  But it is Diet Pepsi, so it shouldn't make the mayor of New York City mad!!?!?!?!!!!

It was a productive weekend.  Now it is time to put all of this "stuff" to use and we'll talk more about that this week, and the continuation of the kitchen renovation.

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