Cullen Gardens : June 2011

~ Cullen Gardens ~
We are in full bloom around here!

Hydrangea

 

Orange Lilies

    

  Rose of Sharon: 

This is a great hot weather plant, very drought tolerant.  Mine started out and bare root plant that was around 1 foot tall, now it is around 15 foot tall and 8 foot wide.

 

More Hydrangeas

Manda villa vine, just getting started.  My goal is for it to cover the ugly chain link fence this year.  And this is the vine to do the job,  once Manda villa Vine get started they spread like crazy and bloom all summer long, They are very drought tolerant, I planted this one in the driest part of our back yard.

I have never had my caladium bloom, so seeing this was a great surprise, now I just need the three plants I put out to take off and grow big Big BIG!!!

My yellow lilies in the front berm look beautiful!!!  I bought them two year ago at Lowe's on the clearance rack after Easter for around $1.50 each,  The blooms were almost done but I knew that the next Spring they would be beautiful all over again.  Now two years later they are triple the size and all the neighbors love my yard! (Big smiles from me)

I do not have any type of brick or metal border around my berm.  I didn't want to have one that had to be reset/leveled or the weeds pulled out of it or anything my husband could hit with the lawn mower.  This is a natural border, all it takes is a little work around the edges about every couple of weeks.  My husband does clean up the grass edge with the weed eater and cuts a sharp 90 degree edge when the grass starts growing good in the Summer.  I call it my paisley shape berm, my husband calls it an amoeba.... I find that offensive for some reason, I much prefer calling it my cute paisley print berm.    

My little peep approves!

These are Stella d'Oro daylily from my mother in law.  This is the second year they have been in the front berm and she was right they grow fast, I will be thinning them out at the end of the season.

Our Vegetable Garden:

Zucchini

 The blooms are so beautiful on these plants.  Today I spied the first zucchini growing, I'm so excited.  I consider the plants just growing a success.  They never ever grow for me, I mean NEVER!  But this year is looking up!!!!

 Tomatoes: 
Yellow & Red cherry tomatoes
Yellow tomatoes (less acidic)
Roma
Better Boys
Big Boys
Plum tomatoes

  Lots of fresh basil to go with all our tomatoes this year.

 Flat Leaf Parsley too...

Other herbs growing in our yard: Rosemary, fennel & chives

Cullen Veg. Garden

Our backyard: June 4, 2011

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I forgot to add this little find!  

I was thrifting at my favorite secondhand store and came across this umbrella stand for $4.  I think it will be perfect in my garden......somewhere.......maybe with a fern stuck in the top or an ivy vine growing around it!  

I love finding treasures like this!  So what would you do with it, have an idea, please share!

Happy gardening and STAY COOL!!!!!
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A Teacher gift for a WONDERFUL 2nd Grade Teacher

 Thanks so much for the feature!!


Today was the LAST day of school, where did the year go???

Ever since my daughter started school I have made her teachers a special gift at the end of year and this year was no exception.  I have had the honor of reading every week to my daughter's class.  Twenty of the most wonderful children have sat and listen to me read adventures of all kinds, from Camilla with her bad case of stripes, to Mona the Vampire with glow in the dark Dracula teeth to Clementine cutting off her best friends hair and then drawing it back on in permenent marker.

  I volunteer that time because I want to, not because I have to.  It allows me to get to know each child, not just their names but who they are, we laugh and talk about what they did on the weekends, I quiz them on big words in the books I read and I always, always listen, really listen to what they are saying.  Those kids know when you are just half way listening to them and they don't appreciate it! lol

Not only do I read to them every week I also stay and help out in the classroom.  I file their weekly work in their Tuesday folders and sort and organize whatever needs to be done.  I run earns, make copies (the copy machine doesn't like me) I run to the office, library, other classroom and anywhere else.  You know WHY? because I LOVE it! See the way I look at it is that I get that much more time with my daughter, to see her grow up, to see how she learns in class, how they ALL light up when their teacher talks to them about projects or something new they will be learning.  Did I mention she is an AWESOME teacher.

When it comes to creating something special for each teacher, I completely take their personality into account, what colors they love, their hobbies and I design each purse from scratch.  Yes, yet again, no pattern I just started cutting and sewing and creating.

Hope you like my latest purse design:

I love the colors and fabrics I chose.  I knew she loved greens, blues and yellows and after an hour in the fabric store these are the fabrics I selected.

 Love how the flower turned out, I have made tons of flower clips for my purses but this one really worked well.  I will be doing a tutorial on how I made it next week.

My sweet peep modeling the purse this morning:

Here is my daughter the first day of 

school this year and the last day:

Summer here we come!!! 

~3rd grade see you in August~

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