Photo of the Day - American Chestnut Tree Bloom

Photo of the Day - Container Garden in Orange

A Snap is Back

At the church garden all the annuals are removed in latter October. Dusty miller will come back, but it returns lanky and blooms yellow. But once in awhile there are surprises in the garden and it is often those which delight the most.

This tall snapdragon, hiding in the monstrous Asiatic lily patch has returned to bloom--something of an oddball. This year, short snaps have been used and so it will be the only tall snap in the garden. The placement and the color combo offends me a little, but as I took this photo at 9:00 PM, around the time of the summer solstice, with the sun glowing low in the west, it also pleases me.

Summertime...and the living is...

Sunset over Lake Michigan, with zoom.

This weekend, summer showed up--boldly hot and beastly humid. The garden plantings that have been a little timid this spring will be enjoying a growth spurt--as long as their nitrogen and moisture are holding up.

Gardeners will be glad to see the rapid expansion of their new pots and plantings. The perennials and shrubs are already over-sized, from the abundant spring rains--four inches last weekend!

 It is probably too late for most cutbacks on the perennials. I have hacked down tons of tall asters, pinched myriads of mums and even dared to snap off some autumn joy sedum by one-third this year. And I did battle with a giant forsythia.

This weekend, however, I resumed two things--spending time indoors as much as possible and worrying whether everything in my outdoor world is adequately watered. I am not at all sure that I am ready for this kind of heat (or insane sprinkling).

On this past Tuesday, just before summer broke, we had a perfectly cool and sunny day. I was lucky enough to have the time to drive with the husband to our beautiful Lake Michigan, viewing the "great flatness" from Grand Haven State Park. We breathed in the cool lake air, let the sand scrub our sandaled toes and waited for the (not-so-spectacular) sunset.

On the way home a hot fudge sundae from Mickey D's satisfied at $1.29--no longer on the dollar menu, but still a good treat.

 Summertime. Is your living easy?

Photo of the Day - Shock Wave Denim Petunias

New this year at the church garden--this purple petunia fades like a pair of denim jeans!

Photo of the Day - Roses with Pink Campanula

Photo of the day - Pink Asiatic Lily

Photo of the Day - Iris

Photo of the Day - Poppy

Photo of the Day - A Dog in the Garden

Photo of the Day - Yellowwood Tree in Bloom

Today at Aunt V

Photo of the Day - Iris with Japanese Maple

Today in the church garden

Photo of the Day - Austrian Pine

Austrian Pine in my front yard

Theme Park Gardens

Mother's Day this year found me at Epcot in Orlando with two of my three daughters. It was the final days of the annual Epcot Flower and Garden Show.

Upon entering the park all who were perceived to be a Mom (I was flanked by two 30 somethings--pretty obvious, I guess) received a white carnation. It was a wonderful day of beauty (and Beauty and the Beast), simulated rides, topiaried characters, and wonderful food--topped off with a gourmet meal at Monsieur Paul in France.

There were flowers and topiaries all over the park, but a highlight was an extra tour, Behind the Seeds. The plants grown in what looked like sand were indoor and bug free. With ideal watering and fertilizing conditions, they were perfectly productive--a little Disney magic in this park as well!

Enjoy the photos and plan to attend next year if you love growing things, theme parks and are willing to spend a few dollars. Or if you have daughters and it's Mother's Day! Credit goes to a certain daughter's phone for a few of these photos.

"Cinderella" pumpkin needs a hammock

zucchini

winter melon

Our tour guide offered us some crisp cucumber slices.

Perfect Bananas!

Perfect pansies! Oops, violas

Jack Fruit

Flower Show entry

Lion King topiary

Wednesday Wildflower Walk in the Woods

A patch of trillium

ramps

The usual garden club April wildflower walk was postponed  because April was indeed a month of showers. On Monday I had  lunch on an outdoor deck, enjoying some celery and parsnip soup with a garnish of ramp pistou--that was a new one! On Wednesday the temperature approached the mid-eighties and the wildflowers were (almost literally) popping out from the forest floor. The trillium were in full glory, and I saw ramps growing wild.

celery and parsnip soup with ramp pistou

After  lunch we checked out the still over-flowing river:

On the Wednesday walk in the woods I learned a few new wildflower names, but can't remember them all. I will have to look them up. But here are some of the lovelies I have names for:

trout lily

Bloodroot

Dutchman's Breeches

                                                                                     

Mayapples

Photo of the Day - Hedge of Forsythia

A Good Year for Daffodils

A section of the hosta garden at Aunt V

The daffodils were out today in full glory. I think winter's back has finally been broken. One sunny daffodil brings cheer but a whole patch of them is pure joy.

Another view of this large hosta and sweet woodruff garden that has been raked and tidied a bit this spring--the daffodils masking the emerging purple hosta pips. The garden awaits a top dressing of fresh new teak-colored chips that are in a giant pile and will be spread as soon as the hostas reach six inches or so--maybe not until June, depending on the weather. But I think this garden looks pretty good for a late-spring April.

A closer view of the nodding heads basking in late afternoon sunshine.

Red Amaryllis Rising

With a long winter and slow spring--and no trips to warm climes, I have had very little floral beauty to capture so far this year.

So I took a lot of photos of my amaryllis. My one and only. Blooming indoors. Year three. In triplicate. Natural light, nighttime flash, or full sun through the skylights--it was a beauty.

February 16, 2013

April 10, 2013

April 14, 2013

April 15, 2013

April 16, 2013

Added this year was that third bud, which grew to full size.

April 19, 2013

Purple Crocus in April - Photo of the Day

Geraniums Bud in the Bag - 2013

3-16-13 

This year only 2 geraniums lived for another day--out of about a dozen. Why some live and sprout and others turn into dead dry stems is something that I have not figured out in all these years. My methods are certainly not ideal, but I always like to try a city yard waste bag full of them--toss them in once the dirt dries a little, close the bag and throw it in a corner of the basement! If they die, I just set the bag out on the street when pickup resumes in April.

As you can see outside the sun room window, it is certainly not springy yet. It's hard to imagine the 80 degree days we had in that spring heat wave last year. Come soon, Spring.

No Flowers in February

I always overwinter a few plants in my basement laundry room, such as the pot of succulents above. Over the weekend I brought a few upstairs, sprinkled them and set them near a sunny window. I also have several geraniums in pots--but nothing is in bloom.

I checked with the the site of Chicago Botanical Gardens. Of course they have indoor tropicals etc. blooming, but outdoors it seems they have a bit of witch hazel that was beginning to bloom in the January thaw, but not much else.

So we are all awaiting Spring, here in the Midwest, longing for a color fix, or even just some sign of green growth sprouting!

Saturday it was sunny and I treated a few lucky basement plants to a day in the sun.

New growth on a bergenia cordifolia was welcome--I uprooted it in fall cleanup at my aunt's house and since it barely had any roots attached, I decided to pot it up and try to save it indoors.

Bergenia cordifolia with new green growth

I again saved the amaryllis that bloomed for Easter last year. Nothing is sprouting yet, but I have been treating it to some upstairs warmth and natural light and expect something from this large green bulb soon:

The red & white amaryllis

I don't know how this pathetic little african violet has survived in such a small pot:

Tiny African violet

I am so starved for growing things that I even set this red onion in a pot, since it seemed so eager to grow:

Next month will officially be Spring. I will have to enjoy looking out the window at the snow while I can. Check out the Martha Blog--she has 72 gorgeous photos of her farm in the newly fallen snow, posted February 15, 2013.