gardening galore

in case you were wondering, though it took me the entire summer, i did finally find the matching color spray paint to finish my pair of adirondack chairs!

i also stumbled upon a end-of-summer perennials sale at a nursery, and proceeded to spend more than a few dollars on plants.  the fluffy grey things are "silver mound" wormwood.

though i was originally intending to buy bamboo in pots, the garden center didnt have any bamboo and their composite [plastic] pots were still $39 each.  so i settled for feather reed grass that is supposed to grow to about 6 feet and is touted to be "salt tolerant".  looking over pictures from february before i bought the house... the grass better be salt tolerant and buried-under-3-feet-of-snow-tolerant.  its insulating right?..  the small shrubs next to the raised bed are peonies!  ive wanted peonies since peonyfest 2012.  these wont be the fancy heirloom kind, but they should be a gorgeous burgundy color.

of course after i planted and watered my new found flora with a large mixing bowl since the hose was too short.. it rained for 2 days straight.  and this little guy popped up on my kitchen window.  i guess he doesnt swim too we.

some tomatoes rescued from overloaded vines [and made into delicious sauce]

and some raised bed updates - i ripped out the beans, broccoli, and lettuce and moved the marigolds around.  they had been overshading the peppers and eggplants so they could only manage one measly fruit each.  i also attempted to transplant my zucchini which promptly wilted and died.  zinnias have bloomed, basil is growing, and the tomatoes have gone insane.  and that's all the news that's fit to print.