A Work-Filled Memorial Day

I was at my paid job at 6:15 AM today.  I spent about three hours working and left at about 9:30 a.m.  Then the physical work began!

I did a lot of weed digging today -- mostly digging up grass with seeds heads in the perennial gardens  and lychnis coronaria that self sowed  in the grass in my side yard.  

My Dear Husband worked his butt off, too.  When I came home from work, he already had 3/4 of the deck floor stained.  Later he washed my car and  (grudgingly) trimmed some limbs from the pine tree next to my driveway.   I think he hauled off about three wheelbarrow loads.

He is a real worker...I like that...even if he does sometimes complain about it! :)


After all the work was done, I took a few photos of what is blooming on Memorial Day 2013.  I have two cherry trees in the back rockwall garden that are looking their best right now:

This is the tallest one (it gets the most sun).

Same tree looking towards my Arbor Gardens (DH

 has done a great job on the grass this spring):

Tulips under the cherry tree:

 

 Tulips in the front yard yew hedge border looking toward the deck DH just finished staining:

See the urn on your left?

I planted it a week ago and we have had heavy frost almost every night since then!  Dear Sweet Husband has been going out every night and putting a black plastic garbage bag over the urns (there are 2 of them) to protect these warm-weather loving coleus:

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The nearly black one is called 'Dark Star'.  I don't know the name of the red/green sawtooth-border coleus.  I bought it at a grocery store and there was no label.  I LUV them both! 

They should be perfect with the big striped leaves of the Tropicannas I planted behind them. This year I am not planting any other flowers with the Trops--just gorgeous foliage--if you look closely, you can see the 'fireworks' fountain grass with its pinkish/purple striped blades. 

Most of you know that I also plant 4 containers this size at work.  I like to plant them very similar to these.  At home I plant my Tropicannas that I save from year to  year.  At work I want the planting to look good from day 1, so I try to purchase Trops, so I don't have to wait 2 months for a flower.  Some years I can't find them in my small town, so I use my own and wait for the flowers.  This year I was lucky and found some to use in my work containers.  I have been holding them in my garage for the past two weeks because it has been too cold to do the work containers.  I held one up to my urns see how the Tropicanna leaves will look with my foliage:

Oh, Yea--luvin' it! 

Unfortunately my Tropicannas look like this right now:

It will be weeks before I get the huge striped leaves.....patience is a virtue....and it saves me about $17 a  plant....which is what I paid for the ones I bought for the work planters.



Please spend a moment today to remember those who gave the utmost for our freedom.