Blooming!

    So many blooms in the gardens now. Summer is really here. Hard to believe that at the beginning of the month things were just starting to fill in. Now the parade of blooms has begun and will continue until frost strikes this fall. For now I will enjoy the show.

    I also have containers planted and the vegetables are warming up with the sunshine's arrival and thinking about doing some serious growing. I am still busy trying to keep the rapidly growing grass and weeds from taking over too much but all in all things are looking good.

    Last week I spent another pleasant afternoon visiting a couple of our favorite nurseries with my gardening angel, my mom. I cherish the days when she can go with me as she has slowed down a lot since turning eighty last fall. She still supports my gardening passion and I don't know what I will do without here someday when she's no longer around to share this with me.

Peony time! 'Kansas

two similar(if not the same) bushes together in the veggie garden

unnamed variety that came with our home 33 years ago-the oldest  plant in our yard I think

A banner year for the honeysuckles on the back fence. Never had
this many flowers ever!

 

Ninebark 'Diablo' also with an abundance of flowers

Baptisia 'Twilite Prairie Blues'
and
'Starlite Prairie Blues' below

'Alan Bloom' hardy geranium

Iris that also came with our house many years ago

Penstemons and 'Biokova' geranium

'Java Red' Wegeila

Thalictrum, cushion primrose and tiny coral bells

'Tinkerbelle' Lilac

My favorite 'William Baffin' beginning to bloom

'Dance Ballerina Dance'

An indoor bloomer, a Streptocarpus in my garden window in the kitchen

Realized I hadn't posted these great spring blooms yet either.

Bleeding heart

tiny cushion primrose

'Beauty of Moscow' Lilac

'Sensation' Lilac

'Dappled Dawn', a variegated Lilac with great double flowers

Finally Growing Season!

Finally Growing Season 

Less than a month ago we had our second snow day of a never ending winter and we had our last measurable snowfall just a couple of weeks ago . Yesterday it hit 90+ degrees here in Minnesota, yet some lakes a little further north of us still have ice on them.

Needless to say it's hard to get into the gardening mode again when there is snow in May. I haven't blogged since last fall either. I did have my hibiscus shown as part of a gardening segment on a local TV station this winter.Two seconds of fame!

I started spring cleaning tonight after a quick trip to a local garden center after work. I did the garage side of house and the front gardens. There's still a lot of gardens left to clear but it's a start. 15 more school days before I have much more time to spend in the garden so I'll work on them when I can.

More regular posts to come!

April 19, 2013 Snow Day!

start of garden bed cleaning

front of house-things starting to pop

cleaned out gardens in front of house

Solomon's Seal poking up along with columbine

Jack in the Pulpit

flowering cherry

side of house not yet cleaned out

Pasque flowers-a favorite in springtime

a casualty of the long winter, this cute birdbath lasted  quite a few  years, crumbled

same garden area as first photo, just less than a month later

August Blooms

Hydrangeas from left to right- Tardiva, Quickfire and Pink Diamond(tree form)

Perennial Hibiscus

Eupatorium

Aureole and Natural Feelings Phlox

blue Delphinium

Phlox Laura

William Baffin Rose still producing blooms here and there

self seeded Gailardias of varying shades

Pinky Winky and Little Lamb Hydrangeas getting more pink 

Hillside with mostly coneflowers in bloom

Cucumbers finally producing after a slow start from old seeds

tomatoes have been mostly branches with few leaves but are producing several fruits now. Enough romas to make some fresh salsa with now,

Hard to believe it's mid August already! In a couple of short weeks I will be heading back to work at my school after an extended medical leave during which I missed the end of the last school year. I have had more time to be in the gardens but it was a very warm summer here so I tried not to work too hard in the heat. It has really cooled off here in August. Nice for gardening but too cold to take a dip in the pool. The cooler weather also helps with not having to water as much.