September Gardening

Well, I didn't do a very good job of blogging my gardening progress last month. Maybe I'll do better this month.

September 8-28 Planted 3 gardenia bushes, 2 chaste trees, and 1 Duranta repens (Golden Dew Drops) in the backyard. Jessi mowed down one of the chaste trees thinking it was a big weed, but it surprisingly came back and is almost as big as the other one again. Then in the side yard, I planted a Mirror Leaf Viburnum. In the top garden, I planted a Ruellia Chi Chi. It has quarter sized pink petunia like flowers and is very heat tolerant. It may not like its spot because it likes full sun and the top garden is a little shady.

September 7 Although it is raining today, I did spend time yesterday unloading the top soil that I brought in to replenish the raised bed. As I wasn't able to unload it all, I pulled the truck into the garage so that I wouldn't have a mud pit to deal with when the storm hit. Glad I did.

Spetember 5 Mowed the front lawn.

September 3 Trimmed the front and pulled out the spent impatiens.

Owl Apron

Kate and I were out to lunch when we spotted a cute owl apron in the restaurant's gift shop. Kate said how much she liked it except for the colors. She doesn't like orange. So thinking that I could be like the designers on Project Runway which is one of my favorite programs, I went home and cut out an apron, hand drew some owls, and here is the outcome. I can't wait to give it to Kate!

September's Reading List

The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory - Margaret feels that she is destined by God to be able to sign her name Margeret R (Regina) and spends her life plotting against the Yorks in the hope that her son Henry can return from exile to claim the throne from Edward and then from Richard. She serves in the courts of both kings and their queens conniving all the while against them. At the end of the book Henry finally defeats Richard who is killed in the battle. I am hoping that she will write a sequel to her two novels about the War of the Roses as everyone has heard of her grandson, Henry VIII but it would be interesting to read a novel about Henry's father and early childhood.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Katniss becomes the Mockingjay and joins with the people of District 13 to crush the rule of President Snow and capture the capitol. With Gale and Peeta, she battles to an unexpected conclusion.

The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin - Joe comes to Maine scarred by WWII and begins a new life restoring a run-down fishing camp. His son, Joe, takes over but flees to Canada to escape the draft. This is the story of Joe, Lucy, and their daughter Kate as it intermingles with the life of Harry Wainwright who has visited the camp most summers since he was nine.