Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - May 2010

Not only has our spring weather been topsy turvy, with hot summer temperatures one weekend and rain, wind and snow the next, but life in general has been a roller coaster ride for us lately.

On May 6th my dear hubby was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and diagnosed with pneumonia.

That day was the scariest of my life. He is on oxygen 24/7, so breathing is never easy for him.

He spent the next 5 days in the hospital before we were able to bring him home. Our oldest daughter came up from the city to stay with me, and what a blessing it was to have her cheerful presence to lift our spirits.

Our son and daughter #2 were in touch daily, as well as family and friends. We're so very grateful for all the tremendous support and prayers.

The nurses were wonderful - cheerful and caring. They took such good care of him. His day nurse was our own special angel, with the sweetest smile you could ever hope to see.

We're praising The Lord for his loving care.

Hubby is recovering his strength and feeling a little better each day.
Needless to say, blogging has taken a back seat these past few weeks.

Meanwhile, the garden is bursting with blooms!
Click on any of these photos to enlarge for a better view.

Those 2 large lilacs are showing off their lovely flower clusters and permeating the air with their glorious scent.

There are still some tantalizing tulips providing bright spots of color.  

Purples and pinks are looking lovely in the Lily Garden.

Hannah and Jasmine were tiptoeing through the tulips, providing me with plenty of Kodak moments. Actually, they were chasing each other through the tulips and I had to shoo them out before they broke something.

These Angelique tulips are in the lower Rock Garden. The Johnny-jump-ups and yellow perennial Alyssum make pretty companions and are especially beautiful backlit by the afternoon sunlight. 

I'm very excited to see 2 Poet's Daffodils/Narcissus poeticus blooming in the Rock Garden. I planted them in the fall of '08 and, to my disappointment, they didn't bloom last spring. Perhaps next year, with a little luck, there'll be quite a few more.

Another very exciting new plant is Spanish Blue Bells/Hyacinthoides hispanica, blooming beside that lovely yellow-flowered Lamium. Both were given to me last year by our niece. 

These deep purple iris blooms never cease to amaze me.

The Spring Garden is overflowering with Bleeding Hearts, both pink and white, plus Arabis/Rockcress, Forget-me-nots and a few tulips. The Bleeding Hearts were knocked down by a hard frost on May 11th. They're looking a little sad but they'll recover and perk up after a while, although they won't be quite as perfect as they were before the frost. 

In the Pink Garden those soft pink tulips are wowing me once again, accompanied by

Creeping Phlox, and purple-flowered Lamium.

There's also petite and pretty Aubrietta/purple Rockcress beyond the Lamium. I love this dainty plant. Those lovely green leaves to the left are a dwarf Campanula, not yet blooming.

I hope to post pictures of more blooms soon. There are quite a few more blooming plants but I didn't have time to photograph many of them today. My hubby is so happy to be home enjoying the gardens and our many feathered friends visiting the feeders each day, and I'm extremely thankful to have him here.
We saw our first hummingbird today! What a treat to have them back!

Be sure to visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in other mid-May gardens worldwide.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Read more ...

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September 2010

 Our days have been cool and windy lately, but Monday and Tuesday gave us warm sunshine in the afternoons and that felt very good. Today was mostly cloudy and gray, with a very nippy breeze...not condusive to gardening, but I managed to force myself to go out for a little while and tidy some edges, which always seems to need doing.

As autumn approaches we still have quite a lot of color in the garden.

Jasmine follows me around, hoping for a photo op. 

She's a real ham!

The annuals are blooming beautifully in the Lily Garden, along with late perennials, filling spaces where daylilies bloomed earlier.

Sedum Autumn Joy has grown into a larger clump than I expected, hiding the 2 small Knockout rose bushes in this bed. They'll grow taller next year with a little luck. The Buddleia/Butterfly Bush is attracting plenty of butterflies with it's fragrant blooms.

Queen Elizabeth Rose is looking beautiful in the Rose/Clematis Garden, and those pink petunias, Homestead Purple Verbena and Alyssum are still making a pretty show. I cringe at the thought of frost.

 Obedient Plant/Physostegia Virginiana is gorgeous in the Pink Garden.

Japanese Anemones have replaced the Shasta Daisies in the Daisy Garden, and Gloriosa blooms still keep coming.

Hannah wants her picture in the post too! I love the color of this Chrysanthemum.

It's beginning to look a lot like autumn here on the farm and we're feeling sad to see the summer end.


There's lots more blooming - window boxes and containers are still looking colorful - but this is at least a small glimpse of how the gardens look in mid-September. I hope to post more photos soon.


Thanks again to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for inspiring Bloom Day. Visit her Bloom Day post to see gardens far and wide, as our seasons change once more.


Happy September Bloom Day everyone!

Read more ...

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2010

Hot is the word that comes to mind on this July Bloom Day: hot weather and hot colors in the garden.

Although not so much here in the Lily Garden, where several daylilies are blooming exuberantly. 

We've had a taste of Texas weather this summer, or at least that's what the oppressive heat, humidity and dry conditions of recent weeks put me in mind of. As garden bloggers congregated in Buffalo, NY for the Buffa10 Meet Up last Thursday, upstate NY was experiencing one of the hottest days I can remember. I'm sure those southern gardeners weren't expecting to be sizzling in an upstate NY summer!  I was disappointed that I couldn't be there to meet all the wonderful bloggers and see the beautiful gardens of Buffalo. Judging by the posts I've read so far, they had a fantastic time.

Today is cooler and much more comfortable, for which I'm very thankful...

perfect weather for a little tour of the gardens to see what's blooming.

Persian Market is one of the earliest daylilies to bloom, and wow, does she put on a delightful show!

The lovely yellow Atlanta Moonlight and pink Mariska are not to be outdone.

Looking over toward the Driveway Garden we see a riot of color.

Beautiful Cleo is one of my favorite daylilies. She never disappoints with her tall stature and abundant blooms.
Yarrow, Monarda, Phlox and Gloriosa Daisies are providing plenty of color in the mid-July garden. 

The Lilac Garden in the background is mostly red and white,

but let's look the other way for a moment.

Reds and yellows are the stars in the fence garden at this time.

Ellen's Lily (named for my friend who generously shared it with me) is gorgeous next to the self-sown Gloriosas.

Now we're up behind the Lilac Garden trying to beat the heat in the shade of the big sugar maple.

Red Monarda and white Shasta Daisies compliment each other nicely.

Chicago Star provides some hot contrast.

I found this black swallowtail feasting on the Monarda. It's a big favorite of the hummingbirds too.

Centerfold, an Asiatic lily, is stunning with the other colors.

Hannah prefers to wait in the shade while I do my photo tour.

This shot of lilies at the top of the Driveway Garden was taken after a welcome early morning shower on July 10th. The reddish-pink Asiatic was just finishing its bloom.

The bright orange-red lily is gorgeous at the moment. I don't know how it found its way into this garden but I'm becoming reconciled to the gaudy contrast...mainly because I haven't had time to move it. Might as well just enjoy the beauty :)

Let's walk over toward the south lawn.....

Coneflowers and Phlox are offering some lovely pinks here.

I spotted this friendly little skipper feasting on the coneflowers.

Charles Johnston and an unnamed purple daylily are adding their beauty to the other bloomers.

Over here by the side porch Summerwine daylily is a stunner alongside Shasta Daisies and Gloriosas. Please try to ignore the brown daffodil foliage that still needs to be cleaned up. A gardener's work is never done!

Clematis Jackmanii is always a star, and Clematis Carnaby continues on throughout the summer with a few blooms after the big show in June. The perennial Sweet peas are particularly pretty in pink this year.

Lamium has gone wild in this garden and needs to be ruthlessly thinned out to make room for some colorful annuals.

Queen Elizabeth is one of only 2 of my roses showing much growth this summer. They were off to a very slow start and the hot, dry weather has not helped them.

Pink Morn Petunia and a purple calibrachoa (Million Bells) are good companions in the window box.

If we look behind these enthusiastic Gloriosas and Shastas....

.....we find Joan Senior blooming her heart out.

This daylily is a wonderful performer. 

Several Dahlias are still in pots, waiting for a space to be cleared for them. This pretty pink one is Park Princess....a real beauty.

The afternoon light is delightful in the Top Lilac Garden, where Phlox, Daylilies and Monarda are blooming. 

This was a blessed sight yesterday afternoon.....rain in the garden! The welcome showers continued into the evening and gave us relief from the heat and humidity of the day. I imagined the plants sighing happily as they soaked up the moisture.

Here is Jasmine sitting on the front porch watching the birds after that early morning shower on July 10th.

She is fascinated by their antics as they feed safely out of harm's reach.

A female hairy woodpecker enjoys a breakfast of suet, and do you see that beautiful plant?

It's Lophospermum/Creeping Gloxinia and new to me this year. I've admired it from afar for a couple of summers and decided to give it a try.

Aren't those wine red blossoms gorgeous?

The Pink Morn Wave Petunias were so beautiful in this basket last summer that I repeated them, but this time I added a white trailing Lobelia instead of the lavender one. Do you see the downy woody on the chain and the purple finch on the tray? Jasmine isn't the only one who enjoys the feathered entertainment.

Much more is blooming in the summer gardens and I hope to find time to share more with you in the following weeks. Isn't it ironic that when we have the most to share our gardens keep us too busy to blog? I'm hoping to find time to visit you all and catch up with your summer activities and gardens soon!

Many thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for bringing us together for the Bloom Day show on the 15th of each month. Visit her for a list of beautiful blooms being shared for our enjoyment by gardeners all over the globe.

Busy bee on Cranesbill Geranium

Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Read more ...