Snail mail

Look what I found when I was trimming the fern! I have found many more since then.

"The brown garden snail (European brown snail) Helix (Cyptoomphalus) aspersa Müller, was described by O.F. Müller in 1774 from specimens collected in Italy. This plant feeder has been disseminated into many parts of the world intentionally as a food delicacy, accidentally by the movement of plants, and by hobbyists who collect snails. It was introduced to California in the 1850s as a source of escargot. (Capinera 2001). " via here

It's weird, I don't remember seeing them in our garden/yard in Pennsylvania, not sure if they are native to more Southern gardens?

I was lifting some leaves of a fern to trim it, and found the snail in the moist, shaded soil under the leaves.

Here and here is some info on what I think I found - the brown garden snail.

Liriope gets a haircut

See the pattern, yet? Ok, ok! I think I'm finished with the haircut series after this post.
I really felt like the liriope needed to be pruned. It was messy and tired looking. Here, here, and here said it was ok to do it. I think it would have been so much easier to do with hedge clippers, but I used a hand pruner.


Here it is looking tired and messy.

 Here you can see the difference trimming makes. The ones in the front have been pruned. The ones in the back have not.

Since I was using a hand pruner, I had to sort of grap a clump and twist to get a good cut. I really felt like I was doing exactly what the hairdresser does for the really styled cuts!

Under this clump, was a sprinkler head. I'm sure it was beneficial for me to cut away the growth that was covering it.

All done!

 

Inspirational pic of liriope:

via here

via here

Mondo gets a haircut

Here, here, and here say it's good to prune mondo grass.

Here are two really, really strange videos about dwarf mondo:

Here's the dwarf mondo in our yard before pruning:

 Here is is after pruning via weed-whacker:

Here's what our little girl thinks of the freshly cut mondo:

Some gorgeous inspirational pics:

via here

via here

Ornamental gets a haircut

Oh, we're mental, alright!
Here's a clip about pruning ornamental grass:


Here, here, and here talk about pruning ornamental grass.
I'm not really sure the type we have in our yard. Not sure if it is pampas, or what.
Before in our yard, you can see a lot of dead fronds. I wanted to get rid of those so that new growth could push through:

Pretty much, you just cut it back with whatever you have. My father-in-law used a weed-whacker, then went back over it with some hedge trimmers.

After in our yard:

Baby daylilies

Check out my sumo hairdo!

I just smushed the dirt a bit

We bought two pots for the front of our house way back in the fall. They have been standing empty except for a few weeks when they had pumpkins in them for seasonal decor.

I bought two Leyland Cyprus trees at Lowe's last week. I placed the tree pots right in the decorative pots just to make sure I liked the look.

Then I took each cyprus out of its plastic pot and placed it in the decorative pot. The dirt clump was a little wide for its container so I just "smushed" the dirt a bit to get it to fit snugly in the urn.

I also think these will need to be watered regularly to the dirt doesn't dry out!

Sprinkle a little on top

I think it's appropriate that I named blog Sparkling Clover and I'm starting posting during St. Patrick's week.

I planted our first herb container garden. I'm hoping they grow! We use a lot of fresh herbs in our cooking and I would love it if they were "homemade."

I started with the sunniest place in our yard, because herbs need a lot of sun! Our backyard is bricked in, and right along the brick wall is where the sun lasts the longest.

I used two pots that were filled about halfway with Styrofoam peanuts. Filling the pots partway with peanuts keeps the container lightweight and easier to move later on. Also, it's a great way to use peanuts since they won't decompose for thousands of years.

Then I put some yard waste in the pot as filler. These were bunches of leaves that I had been cleaning out of my beds.

I covered that with Miracle Gro Organic Choice Potting Soil. Although I love that is was organic, it happened to be the only kind that Kroger was selling.

Next it was time to plant the seeds!

I sprinkled the seeds on a layer on top of the soil, then I layered some more soil on top with my Young Avenue Deli cup.

The one thing I'm a little worried about is I may have provided TOO much drainage. I'm afraid that the soil may dry out because there is such a thin layer of it. I'm going to need to be diligent about watering.

Hopefully I'm start seeing some little sprouts soon!