Shade Garden & Barney

When we moved here this spot outside our lower porch door was gravel and it was messy looking. Gary spent hours digging out all the gravel and relocating it along our driveway. We brought in some topsoil and planted some low growing and low maintenance plants to enliven the entryway.

I chose hosta, Japanese painted fern, variegated liriope and burgundy glow ajuga. The first three plants die down in the winter but come back up every year. The ajuga or bugleweed spreads and gets spikes of blue flowers and is spreading nicely. The hosta and liriope also flower with spikes. By the electric meter we have a hanging basket to camouflage the meter but the vine it's planted with, is not long enough to hide it yet. I may put some lattice work there to hide the electric and phone meters.

The only thing I would have done differently was to plant the hosta in front of the ferns because the ferns this year are taller than the hosta. These were planted two years ago from tiny pots and they have really filled the space and are welcoming. To complement the blue bunny and brighten the area we found a metal sun at a flea market and we sprayed painted it the same turquoise color as the bunny.

Here's Barney with his left cheek (on your right) shaved because he had an abscess which cost over $200 to get fixed (that did include his annual rabies shot). Of course Barney is well worth it and he's been healthy for over 4 years since we've been here.

The vet said Barney is probably about 12 years old and is in real good condition. Over the years vets have always remarked at how healthy our cats or dogs have been. They can tell by their coats when animals are fed well. I try to buy the best cat food for Barney both wet and dry. I read the ingredients just like I do for human food. If the dry cat food has too many fillers or too much grain I get a different brand. Lately I've been getting Beyond grain free and canned fancy feast.

No matter how much good food I give Barney it doesn't deter him from hunting. This week I found a mouse head left on the back porch. Earlier in the week he brought a baby squirrel to the front porch. He ate the mouse, apparently squirrel was not to his liking. I wonder if the squirrel was the culprit which scratched or bit his cheek. Ugh.

Barney's latest habit is jumping up on the dining room chair, opposite Gary and I, when we have a meal. He lies on the chair while we eat, usually morning and afternoon. So now we leave the chair pulled out so he can be part of our dining time together. The other day we were having leftover salmon and I could see him sniffing the air. He usually does not beg. But I gave him a piece of salmon and he liked it. Of course I gave him several bites till he didn't want any more. Barney lives like a king. I know you probably think I'm crazy, what can I say. Ha. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.