Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween

It was a fun holiday!  The first time that the girls have really picked up on trick or treating.  They looked so cute going up to the houses...
We had a fun party with friends.  One family is visiting from Finland, and this was their first Halloween.  Their kids normally are very shy about trying to speak English, but they caught on to "Trick or Treat" extremely quickly. 
And our sweet next-door-neighbor girl, Miss L, who is ten, led all the kids around to get their candy.
There was a slightly frightening experience involving an elderly man with a scary mask and chainsaw (at 5:30?  Come on- save it for the big kids...) but on the whole we were very impressed by how into it our neighborhood was.  Then we came home to have supper and visiting and handing out a lot of candy.  It was a fun night!  And Miss R was an octopus...

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Plant List for Aunt Cene

This post has nothing to do with little girls!  But my sister has requested some ideas for plantings in her amazing back yard, and I thought this was a good place to put them...

So I'm going to give you two lists:  one of more "alpine" type plants, and one of some woodland plants.  A disclaimer though- these are not necessarily actual plants you would find in these environments if you were to go look.  They just convey, to me, the same idea; but without the strict drainage and temperature requirements.  I would sort of group the alpinish ones together, probably around that twisty cedar for example, and maybe a couple other places, and then have the woodland types, which tend to be bigger, around other places.  If you throw them all in together the alpines might get lost...  Together it should give you a nice mountain garden look. I'll put stars by the ones that I think you should get most of...

ALPINES
Colubines- shorter varieties.  This one is Aqueligia alpina
 
Silene schafta- pink, blooms in fall.  (I guess you can find the pictures faster yourself on google images...)
Blue fescue grass
Candytuft
*Campanula- Any of the short varieties like Birch's Hybrid
Aster monch
Dianthis firewitch
*Heuchera- the green leaved types are native to our mountains and would look great.
Hymenoxys- if you can find it.  Great little yellow daisies.  If not,
*Coriopsis auriculata Nana
*Salvia May Night
Thymes
Veronica Georgia Blue or Waterperry Blue or Blue Reflection, or any other creeping
Creeping Phlox- not too many because they're ugly, but nothing beats them for early spring color.
*Campanula rotundifolia- my all time favorite, put it everywhere...
Diascia Coral Canyon
Epimedium- talk to the guys at the nursery and ask how this does there.
Geranium dalmaticum
Bulbs- for the bulbs in these areas I would stick with the small perennial tulips (like Lilac Wonder) and smaller daffodils (like hawera and tete a tete) and lots of the small irises (like reticulata)

WOODLANDS
I would definitely do some roses, to give the look of wild roses.  Nearly Wild, or eglanteria maybe.  Where are you getting your roses?  Are they own root roses?  High Country Roses is a good source, for info as well as the plants.
*Columbines- any and all varieties.
*Campanulas-
Geraniums-
Thermopsis
Baptisia-  These and thermopsis both give the look of lupine but are easier to care for
Blue Fescue
Other grasses- some Miscanthis sinensis Morning Light, or Penisetum Karley Rose
*Gaura
*Asmonia hubrecctii
Aster Monch
Ferns- Ask the nursery people what does well there
Alchemilla mollis
Yarrow
Heuchera
Flax
Phlox paniculata David


Well, that's what I can think of right now.  If I come up with anything else I'll pass it along.
Oh, and it looks like your lilacs have powdery mildew...

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Sweetness...

I don't know if I have ever shared how very sweet my little Miss M is.  Her baby blessing stated that she would be known for her generous nature, and I have definitely found that to be true.  This morning she picked out a pink spoon from the drawer for her cereal.  Miss A immediately started whining that she wanted the pink spoon, and on and on.  I told her to shut it (basically), that Miss M could have it.  Well Miss M walked over and gave the special pink spoon to her sister.  She also gets Miss A her water bottle whenever she tells her to.  I'm not quite sure how to stem this sisterly manipulation!  Miss M hugs little Baby R, and lets me know when her "plug" falls out.  I have never known her to be selfish or mean.  I did laugh when Miss A started crying for no reason today, and Miss M told her "You not hurt.  Stop crying."  Hopefully we can find a happy medium between being abused and standing up for herself...