Hardy Hibiscus

Today I helped a neighbor do some tilling over on his property,he was wanting to get his grass in better shape,so I gave him a little hand..Monday it is supposed to rain here so I'm thinking of rooting a hibiscus cutting.My favorite plants are hibiscus's.I love their big showy blooms,they usually stop people in their tracks when they see them.There is a street near a college in Richmond that for about a 3 mile stretch the whole medium strip is planted in hardy hibiscus's,its absolutely beautiful.If you don't know who the Fleming brothers are,google them,they are my heroes.They did a lot of hibiscus hybridizing and patenting a few years back,many of the hardy hibiscus's you buy today are from their efforts such as Lord Baltimore and Lady Baltimore,Kopper King,FireBall,Old yella,Plum Crazy,Fantasia,and the Robert Fleming,They dedicated more than 50 yrs of their lives to hybridizing perennials and they loved the hardy hibiscus.Monday we will try and clone a fireball hibiscus
                                                      

                                                           My FireBall Hardy Hibiscus

                                                                                                                                  

PorchSwing(part3-finished)

Today I put the final coat on the swing and a new coat on the floor and band board.I'm gonna add a seat cushion to the swing,when I went to get the stain yesterday,I found some hanging baskets and couldn't pass them up.Laurie has said she would like an Adirondack style chair to match and table so I'm checking for plans for that.I got the lawn all mowed today also,it was getting rather high.I really enjoyed this project and I know she is gonna enjoy the end result,it turned out rather sweet.Hopefully the vegetable garden will dry out by Sunday so I can finish it up.

Stormy

I'm sure everybody has been in the same boat,some much worse,heartfelt sympathy's to all the people that have been impacted by the weather..Its been a rough couple of days.We did get sunshine this evening and I got the porch swing its first coat of stain and pulled the vinyl siding off the porch ceiling and reframed the ceiling to hold the swing and went ahead and hung it up,that was a job.I powerwashed the two sides and the front of the house and the porch area.I retilled the garden before I left for work yesterday afternoon,so the vegetable garden is ready now for the warm season vegetables as soon as it drys out.Its a good thing because some of the tomatoes are begging for more room,they've outgrown their cups..I'm not gonna show you the swing till tomorrow,I want to get the second coat on it and restain the porch floor,I will do all that in the morning and that project will be done..Ive got foxglove blooming and bachelor buttons and the roses have buds,will be getting pictures here shortly,the plants are growing like mad right now,its looking like a jungle around here..

PorchSwing(part2)

Made good progress today,the only thing left is to sand it,stain it and hang it..I think it turned out pretty well and I was surprised how quickly I got it to this point.Very easy project and once its stained its really gonna look nice..

PorchSwing (part 1)

Today I got a lot more tomatoes potted up and the straw watered and then I finally went and picked up all the material for the porch swing.I built one a few years back for my daughter and when I finished it,I was wishing I had one just like it so now I will.The plans came from BuildEazy.Com,they are free and they have great woodworking plans.

That's a lot of wood for 1 porch swing,I chose pine because of the price,cheap,my kinda price,I'm good at finish coating so I know I can get away with using pine and it will last with a good finish coat.

I started by cutting all the side pieces,If anyone wants detailed info I would be glad to explain the details..These plans are pretty straight forward..I used a flower pot to draw my curves.I used a jigsaw for cutting the curves.I used a miter box for all my straight cuts and a palm sander for all sanding and shaping..Other than that I used a speed square,pencil,drill,drill bits, and hammer..every thing will be fastened with decking screws that will be countersunk and wood filled and galvanized carriage bolts and washers and nuts.

I know it doesn't look like much yet,but trust me you'll like it..
Building things is like putting a puzzle together,the only difference is you have to make the puzzle pieces first..

Easter

I just now finished watering the straw,never was there such a boring job.Today was a very good day,Laurie and I went to my daughters and had a cookout with us and her inlaws and their family and also my son Matt was there.We played all day with the children,hiding eggs and laughing at the babys and eating some good food..Ive laughed so much today and ate so much that I'm sure I will sleep well..It was a grand time indeed,one of those days that you look forward to and backward on...