Porch Progress

The foundation of the utility room and the piers for the porch went up today.

They are about 3 days behind schedule now due to weather, and more rain is expected Monday and Tuesday.  Tomorrow they do the back fill around the foundation, and Friday the termite guy comes to treat the site. 

This is a plant I bought several years ago at the backyard plant sale.  Someone told me it is a Mexican primrose, but I haven't verified it, so it could be something else.  The flowers are such a bright yellow that it is hard to get a good picture of them.  Look at the glare on the flowers.  It was cloudy when I took this picture, and I still got the glare. 

The only way I found to get rid of the glare was to photograph the flowers from behind.  But then you can't see the shape of the flower.  I think I am better at growing flowers than I am photographing them.

May Flowers

A few more of my plants have started to bloom.

I have a lot of these Stella d'oro daylillies. These grow in almost every yard in my neighborhood.  Some people had them blooming in mid April, but mine are always late.  Most of mine came from a neighbor who got them from her mom.  These need to be split before next year.

This is my underachiever.  This hydrangea has been in my yard for over 8 years.  I moved it after about 4 years because it never bloomed well.  Some years it had 2 flowers all season.  Some years it had none.  It is finally blooming this year, but the flowers aren't very impressive.  I think the location is the issue.  There is one spot in my yard that is full of underachievers: coral bells that never bloom, lily of the valley with just one leaf and no flowers, bleeding hearts that don't come up again.  This spot has also hosted butterfly bushes and hostas that died, daffodils that didn't come back, and spiderwort that fails every year.

I have 3 penstemon plants.  The flowers are itty bitty.The stems are a pretty purple color.  They are considered a 'short lived' perennial.  I am not sure what that means.  I expected them to last 3 years max, but they have been growing reliably for about 5 years.  They are not my favorites, but they are reliable, so they have a place in my yard.

I have 2 different kinds of salvia in my yard.  I like the tall dark purple one best.

About 3 years ago, we removed some holly bushes that were out of control and replaced them with dwarf gardenias.  The flowers aren't as pretty as regular gardenias, and the scent isn't as strong.  The good thing is that they haven't had to be trimmed yet, and they are still only about 2 feet tall.

Dwood's Quilt

I actually have been quilting this week but won't do a stash report since I haven't completed anything yet.  Here is the middle of my BIL's quilt. I still need to put the borders on this one.

This is a Swirly Girls Design called 'Inner Piece', found in Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine (vol.19 no 4). 'Inner Piece' reminds me of their 'Grand Central' pattern, only Inner Piece uses nine patches, and Grand Central uses pinwheels. This is my 4th Swirly Girl quilt.  Their patterns are very easy to follow, and simple enough that they don't take forever to get done.  They are also good for novelty or big prints.

I'm feeling a little guilty for starting this project instead of working on the UFO's I want to get done before the end of June.  Half of my time is done, and I've only finished one of the 4 projects I had planned on.

Digging Footings

Deck Demolition

The contractor came today and tore off the old deck.  One guy did the whole thing in less than 3 hours.  Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Tomorrow they come to dig the footings.

I have foxglove blooming in my yard for the first time ever. I' ve tried growing them several times, but they before this year, they've always died.  I planted a couple last year, but they didn't bloom until this spring.  One is white, and one is purple.

Aidan's Army

I've decided to skip the stash reports unless I have some changes in it.  There are too many weeks where I don't buy and don't use anything.  This week, though, I did buy AND use fabric.

Used this week:  1  yard (made a pillowcase)
Used year to date:  39.5 yards
Added this week: 2.75 yards
Added year to date:  21 yards
Net used:18.5 yards

Today was the Race for Hope in Washington DC.  My family participates in honor of Aidan, my five-year-old  nephew, who has a brain tumor.  The day started out cloudy and sprinkling, but by the end of the race, the sun had come out.  My sister's team raised  over $11,000 this year.

Is This a Weed?

I have several plants in my flower beds that I can''t identify.  Is this a weed?

It has little white flowers, but it isn't a very pretty plant.  Maybe it is an herb?  I don't remember planting anything this ugly!

What about this thing?  It has pretty leaves.  I got it from the backyard plant sale, and it is growing in full sun.  It has never bloomed in my yard.  I have 3 of them, but I don't know what they are.

This is also an unidentified plant.  I had two. One I planted in the shade, and it died.  This one is in full sun, and it is bordering on invasive.  It gets small whitish pink flowers that are kind of spikey. Let me know if you know what it is. 

False Indigo has been blooming in my yard for about a week and a half.  I love this plant! 

The columbine is also still going strong.