Tropicana

This has got to be one of my favorite Cannas. It's amazing both in bloom and in leaf. It's at the back of our property on the little porch between the General Store and the Library. Catches the morning sun there. and what a beautiful sight when those first rays touch and light up the leaves. So even when she's resting and taking a break from flowering, still a great part of any garden. She's been living in a large pot for quite a few years now. This fall we'll have to take her up and divide her. She's a bit cramped right now, so her blooms are getting fewer.

But the colors are outstanding on both blossoms and leaves. If you live in a fairly warm and sunny climate, this beauty deserves a spot in your garden.

Glowing Morning Glory

The other morning, as I was out "visiting" the garden to see what's blooming, found these lovely morning glories. So ran inside and grabbed my camera. As I was getting ready to snap my picture, the sun had moved a touch higher in the sky and all of the sudden a ray of sun lit up the center of the morning glory in the most amazing way. I did my best to capture it. The heart of the flower was literally glowing as it it had an LED lightbulb deep inside. What an amazing sight.

Miniature Daylilies

It's that time of year when the daylilies open. These two are minis, very sweet and small. The yellow is called "Cupid's Arrow", the deep colored one is "Cranberry Baby." Though daylilies merely look like grasses for most of the year , now they bring forth new flowers each and every morning for several weeks.

Waterlilies

Since adding Mosquito Fish to a small water feature, the waterlily who lives in that pond has thrived beyond belief. It was always very modest in size. But the last few seasons, with the help of the little fish tickling it's roots, it blooms and blooms. A few blossoms was the norm, but these days we get 20 or more luscious flowers on it.

I was given just a few of the little fishes by a friend. They have multiplied as well. The only drawback, they are very hungry for tadpoles, more so then mosquito larvae. So I wouldn't get any more of them, ever. Nor release them in our creek ,which teams with tadpoles in the spring months. But for now, we'll enjoy the pond as is, with new waterlilies greeting us every few days.

Happy Mother's Day

Gathered a bouquet of flowers and thought I'd share them with you. The roses are amazing this year. loaded with blossoms. At the moment rain is threatening, but they shine, even on this grayish day. What a joy!! Though the garden work seems to be endless, what a wonderful, scented reward in the end.

Wishing you all a Happy Mother's day!! And yes, those with fur children only do qualify! ;-)

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Easter Wishes to all! Hope on this rainy Easter Sunday you will still find many bright spots to greet you. As I did, wandering the yard in the fine mist. Finding blooming things, turning their faces towards the sky , drinking up the delicious watery bounty. While we might mutter at the long rainy season, Nature savors each and every drop, as do the many flowers in bloom.

Lavender Bumble Bee

I know this picture isn't terribly crisp and clear. But I loved the way that Bumble Bee was hanging onto the Spanish Flag Lavender. His heavy, striped body, dangling on slender legs, with his wings down behind him, translucent. You can see the flower head behind , through the "windows" of the wings. And though they are plump of body, they move rapidly from blossom to blossom. So very difficult to capture them sitting still for a moment. By the time I would focus and bring him up close, he would usually be gone again.

Autumn

The Honeysuckle on Mom's terrace was pushing out some more blossoms, even as the berries of the earlier blooms were ripening, ready to be nibbled off by passing birds. Autumn is definitely in the air.

Snails

It's been a while since my last blog entry. On vacation in Germany, visiting Mom to celebrate her 80th Birthday with her. So many pics to catch up on. But wanted to share this wonderful little pic of two pretty snails, making their way across a bunch of rosehips . Rugosa rosehips are huge. Loved the markings on the snails as ours are just simple garden snails , not fancy striped ones. I've always been fond of snails, unusual for a gardener I know. I love the way their little horns come out and retract in an instant. :) I found these especially attractive.

Sedum

I love Sedums. Have quite a few Autumn Joys, but this delicate beauty, who's name escapes me, is an especially nice sedum. They do well here for us, as they can withstand the extreme heat much better then some of my other favorites.

What I like about this one is the delicate coloring of the blossoms as well as the burgundy stems. They set of the green leaves very nicely.

Four o'clocks

Through a trick of photography my Hummingbird bench by Rusty's pond came out a lovely Monet-blue. I was going to fix it to reflect it's real appearance of cast iron and aged oak, but then I decided I really like that color in the background, with the brilliant Four o'clocks in front.

So decided to share it that way.

Bumble Bee

Found this fat bumble bee wiggling it's way through the golden heart of a Rugosa Rose during my last visit to Berlin.

Wandering through a beautiful private garden, open to the public on certain days. It's on the edge of the Havel, one of the many waterways in and around Berlin. So we sat there, with a lovely breeze coming off the water, having a delicious lunch. Taking in the scenery, enjoying a beautiful May Day.

Hummingbird Delight

There's nothing that delights our Hummingbirds more then the first Salvia blossoms of the season. All winter they've subsisted on our feeders, but finally, after a long, wet spring ,the first delectable blossoms are much appreciated. The "flying jewels" hover above the plants, which are thriving in a spot near one of our little ponds, darting often from the flowers to a quick dip at the nearby waterfall, tumbling into the pond.

Exotic Blooms

Doesn't this Peruvian Daffodil look like some sort of exotic Reef Dweller? I am always amazed when the tall stems come up each year, and then one day these wonderful blossoms open up.

They do bloom later on in the year. Usually in later July, though this year, so far only the green has come up. But I am hopeful that it was merely our long, cool spring that has held up their blooming. Or maybe they needed a rest. They are coming up with small versions all around the motherbulb, so I am thinking that maybe they're working hard at naturalizing. That would be wonderful.

Flowering Linden

Nearly a decade ago, I special ordered a Linden Tree, also known as Lime Tree to some. I grew up with these magnificient, fragrant trees. Early each summer they would burst into bloom and the air would be heavy with their wonderful scent.

Now our young Linden, a little leaf variety, gifts us with it's flowers every year, early in summer.

The bees adore this tree. They check daily on the ever fattening buds, until one day the star shaped flowers open, one by one. And then the feasting begins. The tree turns into a veritable hive from dawn until after dusk. It hums with activity for those weeks while it's in flower. The bounty those bees must be hauling back to their hive. Alas, I must be satisfied seeing them enjoy our tree. Though I did hit the jackpot recently, finding a jar of Breitsamer Linden Honey all the way from Germany. So while it's not my own homegrown honey, it's Linden all the same. :)

Butterflies

Butterflies, such wonderful visitors to the garden. The way they just lazily float through, with little effort. On a breeze it seems, gliding along. Captured this one while feasting on my white lilacs. They visited for days until the flowers were finally spend.

Bees

Though bees seem to be in real trouble these days, thankfully our garden is visited by them in huge numbers. The moment a blossom opens, there they are, carefully slipping into the often barely open flowers, ready to wiggle around, gathering pollen on their legs and food for the hive.

I am sure glad I captured this lovely, flowering Hen and Chicks before a deer and her little fawn snacked on it. This little plant had been quietly sitting in it's pot for years. Then all of the sudden a stem started rising above the others and one morning the beautiful blooms started opening, one by one. What a surprise!! As Mom only ate the flower stalks, I am hopeful that we'll get more flowers as time goes by. If not, so be it.