White.

In spring, white is a refreshing color in the garden. In summer, it offers a bit of a reprieve from the heat. More will arrive soon in the form of Four O'clocks, datura, and daisies. For now, small snipets can be found here and there.

Lantana.



Confederate jasmine and the chimney trellis.



The foliage of Miscanthus "Cosmopolitan".



Nandina's flowers. These will turn into the red berries that persist through the winter.



In the shade, Dusty Miller looks white instead of silver.



Nigella.



The first Shasta Daisies are starting to open. They're scattered here and there through the yard.



Blackberries.



Ligustrum. Similar to the sickening sweet smell of Chinese Privet.



Echinacea "White Swan"



It's 57 degrees. The high today should reach the mid 80s again. More sun. Rain in the forecast for the weekend.

The Orchard.

If I'm going to have a meadow, I should really have an orchard too. And all this on half an acre where 1/3 of the space is driveway, house, or mature trees. I wonder if I can purchase sunlight?

In any case, I was told to mark the fruit trees half price. I didn't really need a 20' wide Morris plum tree, but I have one now. I planted it this morning beyond the lower potager. I filled the very large hole (which, for some reason, was very easy to dig this morning) with cow manure compost and created a small berm to retain water. This area is very dry in summer, but I'm hoping the leaf cover from this fall will start adding new organic material to the soil. In February, I'm intending to sow seeds of creeping thyme back here.



Also part of the orchard, which runs from the upper potager, along the wild, all the way to the gully, there's a sad little Montmorency cherry that I planted this spring. It's a dwarf variety and spent most of the summer struggling as I wasn't able to get back there and water while on crutches. The twigs are still green when snapped, so I hope it comes back in the spring. If not, I probably don't have room for it anyway.



There's also the spring planted Belle of Georgia peach. It has white fruit.



Then the Apache blackberry.



Two blueberry bushes.





The first of three figs. I think the others may get planted in the area under the dead oak tree.



And the Thundercloud Plum. This variety may or may not produce plums, but I'm hoping that it will give me some color and variety in the backyard. It will be transplanted this fall as soon as it starts to lose its leaves in earnest.



I found enough stone in the woods to finish edging the crape myrtle bed.



I have two beds left that need stone. The largest is the shrub border in the very middle of the back yard. Above that, the rose garden needs some attending to as well. Along the front side, I planted strawberries.



I'm not sure where to put my three seedless grapevines that are currently struggling for sunlight along the back edge of the upper potager. The soil back there is hard packed clay full of roots. Maybe I'll stick a couple 4x4s into the middle of the meadow and let them have at it. I'll really need to amend the soil a lot better than I did when I first planted them. Poor things have been moved three times since I got them last year off the clearance rack. They were the first fruits I bought. Oh, what a mistake that might have been.

It's 57 and overcast. Heading to Morrow Mountain today to take a look at some leaves. Apparently, they have them there too. No rain in the forecast today, but the clouds and my right leg say otherwise. Going to shred a few more leaves before Laura arrives. They'll get dumped into the crape myrtle bed, hopefully finishing that area for the week. I'll move on to the potager beds next week forking in the leaves I collect from Larry's yard.

Carolina Blue

It's not just the color of a university.



Speaking of blue, Mystic Spires salvia has not performed well at all this year. I bought this plant from the clearance rack in 2008. I cut it back and it grew like crazy over the summer. I took cuttings and overwintered all three in the basement. The original plant did not return, but I have a feeling that moving it in December contributed to that. I won't bother with cuttings this year. If it returns, so be it. It's very floppy in its current home.



Paired with the salvia, the knockouts are blooming again. Poor Jim is probably clutching his chest as I mention these roses. I can't say anything bad about them. They've performed better than my hybrid teas.



A few months ago, I took a couple cuttings to show Cat how to root passionvine. I gave the rooted cutting to Carla as a thank you for all her help during the leg injury period. I need to take new cuttings to overwinter in case this one doesn't come back. I only have 4 shelves under lights. I have to be selective.



Another pineapple salvia seed has germinated.



The back yard is on its way to becoming an orchard. I'll add this Apache Blackberry on Friday. I've got two blueberries, a Belle of Georgia peach, a cherry tree, a fig (more to come with winter propagation), and the Thundercloud Plum that needs to be moved soon. Maybe I'll tackle that Friday too. I've already done some root pruning in anticipation. I'm going to need to dig a large hole though. Very large.



It's 55 degrees and sunny. Rain expected Friday evening and all day Saturday. No complaints. The cat is still curled up on the bed. Cool mornings make her old bones stiff.

11:46am - Three kitchen cabinets installed including the behemoth. When I ordered the cabinets, I requested white interiors. Shenendoah has recently quit that option, so they are maple. Tomorrow, I'd like to install the cabinet above the stove and the two 18" cabinets adjacent. That will be the last of the upper cabinets. The lower cabinets will get installed once the backsplash is done. I've got an idea for behind the stove since there is no microwave yet, but bead board will be used on either side for sure.





Evil and bad luck lurks around the corner. She just has to inspect my progress. I know she's wondering where her food bowl will end up.



4:30pm - Lowe's is having a deal this weekend on Olympic paint. Combining the store wide discount with my employee discount, I managed to pick up 3 gallons of white and two sheets of laminate for just a tish over $100. Thanks to the NC Dept of Revenue finally getting my tax refund mailed, I was able to do it. It only took them 5.5 months. Efficiency at its finest.