Friday Favorite: Evening Watering
I really love watering right before dusk. It’s quiet and peaceful, the perfect way to unwind after a long day. I usually water by hand because it’s good exercise and it helps me keep on top of how all the plants are doing. This time of year however, if it’s as dry as it’s been, I’ll set up a sprinkler in one zone every night. While the sprinkler is going I spend my time watering things that can’t be reached by the hose or by the sprinkler.
I also like to spend mornings in the garden, but generally I weed and do other garden chores in the morning. For some reason I really enjoy watering in the evening!
Do you have certain times of the day you like to do certain garden chores?
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Friday Favorite: Hydrangeas
If I had to pick one flower to be my favorite it would have to be a hydrangea. If I had to pick a specific hydrangea it would have to be ‘Annabelle’. I don’t know what it is about them, perhaps the wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Maybe it’s the way they will bloom in different colors depending on the pH of the soil. Or maybe it’s just the fact that they’re so easy and carefree. One of the reasons I have so many is because my gardens are 75% shady and hydrangeas love this.
I think one of my first official plant purchases was an ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea. Two of the hydrangeas in my garden were here when we moved in and were in kind of a sad state. They’re both planted a little too close the house and should be moved, but the thought of digging up 15 year old hydrangeas has never been very appealing to me.
I’ve been collecting hydrangeas for quite a while adding to my collection throughout the years. I have hydrangeas of all shapes and sizes from a huge 12 foot tall ‘Limelight’ to a few new ones that won’t bloom for a year or two. I have hydrangeas that bloom in June, some that bloom all summer long and some that wait until fall to produce their showy blossoms. I have hydrangeas from all the varieties: mophead, lacecap, panicle, and oakleaf. I have pink ones, blue ones, red ones and white ones. I have some that bloom in early summer, some that bloom all summer long, and some that bloom in the fall.
I should take a count, but I think I have around 25 hydrangeas in my garden. I’ll have to try to get some photos of each one at the height of it’s bloom so you can see them all. This year I have added 10 news ones (not all different varieties) and those most likely won’t bloom for a year or two.
One of the only things I dislike about hydrangeas is that most of them are sterile, they do not produce seeds for the birds, or pollen or nectar for the bees. Oakleaf hydrangeas do produce lots of pollen though, so the bees love them. If you’re looking for a hydrangea for your garden that’s useful and beautiful try an oakleaf. They’re also less picky about having enough moisture, they actually prefer it on the dry side. I’ve also noticed that they can take more sun.
If you had to choose one, what would be your favorite flower?
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Friday Favorite: American Apparel
I’m a huge fan of American Apparel t-shirts. Why? For one, they’re made in the USA – no sweat shops here. They have 100% organic cotton shirts and they use as much organic cotton as possible in their non-organic shirts. That means no GMO’s, which is a big deal to me.
Of course all the above things are fine and dandy – but if the product isn’t good quality or comfortable it doesn’t matter. The main reason I love their shirts is because they’re super comfortable. We’ve all had that perfectly comfortable shirt: it’s old, it’s soft and you find yourself wearing it whenever it’s clean (and sometimes when it’s not). That’s how American Apparel shirts feel from day one! I also appreciate that they line dry beautifully. No crispiness here, they come off the line just like they come out of the dryer, soft and ready to wear.
If you peeked in my shirt drawer, you would find the majority of shirts in my drawer with their label. The ones that don’t are older shirts that will be replaced with American Apparel shirts when the time comes. I’ll warn you though, they are cut on the small and slim side, so if you come across a site that sells their stuff order a size up. You can guarantee if I ever have Chiot’s Run shirts made the’ll have the American Apparel label!
This is my newest addition to my collection, I purchased this lovely shirt from Wire & Twine, a small design shop in SE Ohio. It’s my current favorite shirt to wear. I’ve always been the type of person that has a favorite item of clothing and I’ll wear it all the time for a spell. I can distinctly remember specific dresses and shirts from my childhood that I loved and wore so much that my mom would have to pry me out of them to wash them. I have especially fond memories of a t-shirt with a mouse on it.
Do you have a favorite article of clothing?
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Friday Favorite: Open Windows
This past week the weather has been really nice here in NE Ohio. I’ve heard people complaining about how cool it has been, but I for one LOVE it. It’s the perfect weather for keeping the windows open all day long: in the high 70’s during the day and dipping down into the low 60’s or high 50’s during the evening.
I really enjoy having the windows open so I can hear the birds, feel the breeze and enjoy the fresh air in the house. Sadly, here in NE Ohio it can get pretty hot and humid during the summer months and our home is not built to cool off when it’s hot. We open the windows whenever we can and close everything up when it’s simply too hot to handle. We’re hoping to install a whole house fan this fall or next spring so that we can keep the windows open more often during the summer.
Are you and open window person?
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Friday Favorite: Motoring
Mr Chiots and I are very practical and frugal people. We’re also very busy. That means that we don’t make trips out very often, unless we’re in need of something. When we do head out we maximize our trip to get all of our errands done. This saves us lots of time and money. Every now and then however, we play hooky from gardening and work, throw caution and frugality to the wind, jump in our MINI Cooper and go motoring (when you own a MINI driving is called motoring). Wednesday evening was such a time.
We hopped in the MINI, rolled down the windows, opened the sunroof and motored into the setting sun. It was around 8 when we set off, the “golden hour”. That time of the evening when the sun is low in the sky and bathes everything in a golden glow. It was a beautiful evening!
We ended up in New Baltimore, OH at a small ice cream shop. It’s the most wonderful little dive, they make their own ice cream and they pile it high on the cones. I’ve blogged about this place before. This is one of Mr Chiot’s favorite things – good ice cream from little shops off the beaten path.
After savoring our ice cream we motored home, happy and relaxed after enjoying a beautiful summer evening!
Do you have any great little ice cream dives you like to frequent? (I’ll be sure to add them to my Google map so we can stop if in the area).
