Not quite Holland

[Scuba_Dave]

But I tried, over 6,000 bulbs planted a few years ago plus perennials
Also some cherry trees planted out front - only 4-5' high but getting some cherries already

[Scuba_Dave]

My perennial gardens out back are getting overgrown
When we bought the house there weren't any gardens out back
I started giving away perennials to other people
Black-eyed Susan's I throw out every year as "weeds"
The hummingbirds started coming the year after I planted these:





I have different colored lupines, they grow from seed
I've been giving them away too

[Scuba_Dave]

I've had Praying Mantis in the yard the past few years. Every Spring when I clean up I look for their egg sacs. 2008 was the 1st year I found a Praying Mantis in the new front gardens





And hummingbirds do rest in the garden

[Gary Swart]

How refreshing to see all of the bright flowers. Praying Mantis are very interesting creatures aren't they? Thanks for sharing the photos.

[Scuba_Dave]

Yes, they are very interesting. They give me a start every time I find one. They don't move all that far day to day, even knowing where they are it can take a while to locate them

I need to come up with e better support system for my tomato's in my veggie garden, they grow up to 8' tall. I grow & use sunflowers to tie them, off. But then the sunflowers take up water & nutrients



Same area later:

[Scuba_Dave]

Thanks, the only garden when we moved in was along the front of the house - which faces North

I added a garden along the front driveway, front fence, side fence, side of the house, all along the stockade fence out back, along 2 of the 3 pool fences, along the 2nd driveway, raised 8' garden out by pool seating area, & along the new deck

Still working on the back stockade fence, & I'll be putting a garden in along the side of the new garage

Here is one of the pumpkins I grew this year
That's a 5g bucket it is sitting on



and my son with the pumpkin

[Cass]

When I was a little kid I caught a Praying Mantis and a large Garden spider



I placed them in a large Maxwell House Coffee can and the Praying Mantis ended up eating the Garden Spider.

[Scuba_Dave]

I actually grew yellow tomatoes this year
Even with a large garden we did not have that many tomatoes in 08
We had a steady supply, and cukes, some peppers, & summer squash
But in 07 I was picking them & giving them away to lots of people
Hoping the weather patterns will be better in 09

[jimbo]

What's up with the cauling gun next to the cucumber?

[Scuba_Dave]

The room behind is my "toolroom", the wife likes to call it a sunroom
I have tools out there, mitre saw until projects in the rest of the house are finished. Once the 24x36 garage/great room/walk up attic are closed in then all the tools will move out there

I also label the cukes by day harvested

I also use the room for storage when my truckload of Christmas & Halloween decorations come in:







and for setup & testing:

[speedbump]

Gorgeous flowers and nice looking deer, I wonder if they are real or concrete?

Along with the calking gun, I gotta ask what's up with the boat cushions?

bob...

[Scuba_Dave]

I have 3 concrete deer & there about a 1/2 dozen (or more) real deer that wander thru the woods around us. Also a pair of foxes, raccoon family, chipmunks, red tail hawks, skunks, possum - who knows what else

The boat cushions are actually to a love seat that i son the back deck
A neighbor was getting rid of it, so I took it
We keep the cushions inside in bad weather. The rest is covered with plastic while outside. We had an older love seat out by the pool - it lasted about 4 years before it fell apart - covering wasn't quite as effective

[hj]

Arthur Godfrey used to say about his cherry orchards in Pennsylvania.
"I watch the cherries getting bigger and redder every day. Then the very day they are ready to harvest the birds eat every one of them. I wouldn't mind so much if they would at least leave me ONE cherry."

[Scuba_Dave]

Ha!! That's how I felt about my black rasberry bushes last year
They picked one bush clean - totally!!

[speedbump]

I've got one grape vine that has been growing along a chain link fence for years and up an oak tree. Same thing. They get ripe, the birds wipe the vine clean until next year.

bob...