plants – Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy, Chia and Riley

We are joining Arty, Jakey, Rosy and Sunny of the LLB Gang for Nature Friday, and thank them for hosting it.

Our Mom is not known for having what’s called a green thumb. But, God bless her, she tries. All the annual flowers she planted this year are on their last ~~legs~~ stems. We won’t depress you with those. However, last fall, on a whim, she dropped a potted mum in a hole in the ground where her last “failure” happened, thinking it would die over the winter and she could just lift it out of there this spring. Guess what! It’s blooming, and it’s not even supposed to bloom until early fall.

Just a little ways down from the mum is a hosta that Mom planted last year. She divided one big hosta into 4 parts and planted them all.

Something is eating the smallest one, down by the driveway. But take a look; the rest of them are blooming!

As you may have seen, we got a new porch built on the back of the house where our patio used to be. Mom and Dad decided they needed to “frame” it with something nice, so Mom and Dad drove the truck (it’s a law in Tennessee that you have to own a truck, we think) to a place where they use big machines to dump a load of pea gravel into the back – a whole ton! When they got back, Dad backed up the hill to the top, by the porch. First, they put down some kind of material to keep the weeds from growing through, then cut 4 holes in it. Mom sent Dad back in the car to get some hostas. She really likes hostas cause she doesn’t have to plant them every year! While he was gone, she dug 4 big holes in the ground where they had cut the fabric, then put a black plastic edging around it all to keep the stones confined. I guess she figured we have enough stones in our back yard as it is since most of the soil has washed away. Anyhow, he came home with these GIANT hostas!

We guess there are different kinds of hostas, just like there are different kinds of dog.

If you’ve hung in here this long, we have one more thing to show you. Mom wanted an herb pot. She got out the biggest planter she had and filled it with one basil plant and one parsley plant, and they grew like crazy!

Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

Xena: After the Demise of the Hated Bush as well as the removal of all the other bushes by our brother Andrew, the front of the house looked bare. Mommy had decided on some plants called hostages because they are peeing eels and she doesn’t have to keep planting them every year. I promised to help pee on them, but Mommy assured me the plants would be better off without my help.

Lucy: Uh, Xena, they aren’t hostages. They are hostas. And I don’t think eels pee on them. The word is something else.

Xena: I know Mommy didn’t call them Something Else!

Lucy: No, no, I meant…oh never mind.

Xena: Yesterday we drove almost an hour to pick up my older brother Adam, and then drove almost another hour back to our Freestyle dance class (Adam came with us). The little farmer’s market that is in that area was open, and we got some hostages.

Brother Adam helped carry the heavy stuff and dig and plant.

First they raked all the old stuff off to the side. Then they found bare spots and put down new landscape cloth. Isn’t that cool? It’s like they wanted to dress the ground! Then they cut holes in the cloth and planted the hostages. Next they raked the old stuff back over it. Brother Adam carried a bunch of bags of black mulch from where Daddy had unloaded them out back. Adam and Mommy, they cut the bags open and covered everything but the new hostages and the few bushes that were left – and, of course, us. I know all this because me and Lucy, we snoopervised. Where are you going, Lucy? Lucy: The work is done, nothing more to do here. Let’s skeedadle before Mom catches us for a free photo shoot. Besides, the sun is in my eyes.Lucy: I told you to run, Xena. Xena: Where’s the cookies? Lucy: We’re working for free, just like brother Adam. Xena: Where’s brother Adam? Lucy: Mom sent him to mow the grass.