November 2007 - Page 3 of 5

November 14th, 2007

I will admit that the pansies aren’t in their finest form.

But I do take exception to the fact that Miss P took it upon herself to re-purpose one of my shabby pansy planters. After all, a flower is still a flower, no? And a flower with a cat sitting on it is nothing more than a squished flower.

But Miss P has taken more than one liberty since we wooed her into switching homes from under a kudzu-covered bush and into our home. I suppose she figures that since we tolerate her slovenly grooming habits, her preference for warm and furry food, how she can get away with occasionally whomping up on an unsuspecting dog and how she can rouse us at 4 a.m. on the coldest of mornings to open the back door so she can enjoy the early morning air, she can get away with anything.

But really, my pansies?

Perhaps it’s time to think about re-planting these containers or putting them away for the winter anyway. The problem with re-planting is that the options are fairly limited when the temperatures outside dip below freezing.

Let’s see…what are my choices?

Helebores in November

I have had very good success with hellebores. It took a couple of years for them to get established, but they are now growing nicely on the shaded north side of the house. They are green all winter long and bloom dark pink to purple flowers starting in February. But given that they take time to get established and these are rather shallow containers that perch on my deck rails, I doubt that they would be suitable.

I could plant with some English ivy. That seems a bit dull and one dimensional though.

I know!!! I could go the route of some creative, color-loving souls and plant faux flowers!!!

(Hah. Just kidding.)

If you have any great ideas for me, please let me know.

Oh, yes. I managed to coax Miss P out of the pansy planter. Much better, don’t you think?

Bzzzz November 11th, 2007

I very much love sending my imposing 10 pound Papillons to chase the deer away from our yard and garden.

Who knew that a little ball of fur could be so scary? Remember seeing Sarah terrify the deer and sending them scurrying?

Well, I am sad to report that the deer just might be catching on that my Papillons have their limits. We had a bit of a Mexican standoff this morning. Since the grass was wet, Sophie and Sarah were loathe to wade in to eat the deer.

Mexican%20Standoff.jpg