Good Night, Garden

After a hectic day Saturday, I was happy to be home in time to see the garden in her prettiest light. I was tired but I know my blogging friends were depending on me...haha! The lawn was so lush and green, too, after HH's first mow. Okay, I am not complaining here but it just seems crazy to me that we had driving rain (and hail!!) last Wednesday, and now...a heatwave! These poor cool weather blooms will not know what to do. Hopefully, they'll hang in there so I can enjoy them a little while longer.

My daffodil border, along the driveway, is at it's peak. Peonies will be in it's place in another month or so. I like how the buds are reaching towards the sunset.

Can you tell I LOVE bleeding hearts?? I made an arrangement last week and these were not ready for the vase...

Cool how this white bleeding heart took on the glow of the sunset.

I swear the buds on this magnolia were tight just a few days ago.

So I was sitting there trying to get that perfect sunset photo (again) when Linus, our neighborhood stray, decided he wanted to say hello!! And I guess he's telling me he's tired too, and ready for bed.

So from my garden, to yours........Good Night!

The Renee Award!

After a fretful night's rest, I crawled out of bed feeling a tad grumpy. The day will be a gorgeous one (high of 80!), but with a schedule full of (stuff!), and knowing I would not be in the garden did not help my mood. Poured my coffee, sat down at my desk, logged on...and what do I see...an Award...for ME!! So this gal is turning her frown upside down and heading out the door with a skip and a grin!

The Renee Award
It is one of the most meaningful awards in blog world because it honors someone who is incredibly inspirational in her intelligent and witty writing. And by doing so, this award celebrates women's smart, strong and inspirational spirit! It honors women who spread joy and love like an Acorn......a small package growing into a tall and sturdy oak tree which gives more acorns.............. I am so honored to receive this award from my dear bloggy friend, Rain Gardener, Linda (http://gardeningbytrialanderror.blogspot.com/)

So, in tradition, I'm passing this honor on to the five deserving friends below:

Cherry (GA)

http://gagirl46.blogspot.com/

Linda (IL)

http://gardengirl-lintys.blogspot.com/

Tatyana (WA)

http://tanyasgarden.blogspot.com/

Melanie (LI)

http://melaniesoldcountrygarden.blogspot.com/

Rhonda (TN)

http://adventuresinmygarden.blogspot.com/

So THANK YOU dear friend, Linda! You've made my day!! So now it's your turn to pass it on, girls!

Eye Candy...

..WITHOUT the calories..HA! This is my favorite time to visit garden centers. They sure know how to catch your eye with displays such as these...you can't help but be reeled in! I was surprised to see so many geraniums in stock this early...they were big and beautiful, too! Sure was tempting but I resisted...go me!...well, at least on this trip.

However, I could NOT resist these beautiful columbines (double form) so a few found their way into the basket.

Trays upon trays of pansies. Had to laugh, though, when another customer came up to ask me a question and I (embarrassingly), had to say "sorry, don't work here".  So why was I deadheading the pansies? I just HAD to!  You know that impulse!

Has anyone grown ranunculus? I love the papery look and feel of the petals and just look at the range of colors!

Flea Bane, Phlox and Lilies...OH MY!

I really liked this kneeling angel. Hmm...the birthday wish list getting longer.

Wished I had more time to browse but someone kept pulling me away...
Note to self: next time, don't bring Hubby!

Missing in Action...

The last four days without internet have felt like an eternity! Especially now that I've become so fond of all my new gardening friends...yes, YOU! and I have missed visiting your blogs and seeing photos of the latest and greatest in flora and fauna. So Yippee(!) we are up and running and I can't wait to see what I've been missing...

But first, here's what's blooming in my yard today.

These pretty blossoms are from a purple plum tree.

Hyacinths and pansies under same plum tree.

Sunglasses needed...these primroses are ALMOST too bright!

My mail-ordered bare-root roses and new perennials have arrived...which means a mad scramble to get topsoil delivered and new beds to prepare. And, can you believe, everywhere I look, I see weeds! The MADNESS begins....and don't I just love it! Doing the happy dance!

Here comes the SUN!

Pretty much the same subjects in bloom from my last post but on a SUNNY day, the colors just pop!

Back lit by sunshine, this hellebore just glows!

Crocuses still blooming strong...the yellow variety is half the size of the purple. A beautiful day sure makes this gardener jump for joy!

Some Macro Fun

A cute little bee-hind...

It's a Star....

...Magnolia that is! This is a wonderful shrub..or tree in this case. One of the very few plants in this yard when we moved here 12 years ago and has tripled in height. She has a sweet, but subtle fragrance. If I'm lucky, the blooms lasts 2-3 weeks. Foliage is lush and green and turns a golden yellow in the fall. Cool fuzzy, pussy-willow-like buds open to a 4" creamy white flower. The only drawback I could think of is (because she blooms so early) she's very susceptible to frost (quick, knock on wood!). Oh, and a tad messy when petals drop but I definitely think worth having. The same buds a few days later...

This photo,taken minutes ago, through the window at my back. As you can see, she towers over the 9 ft. clematis arbor.

A mish-mash of blooms.....Tete-a-Tetes (and Bandit)

I hesitantly divided my hellebores last fall and this clump was planted too deep. Chock-full of blooms but it's much shorter than it should be...but I'm SO happy it bounced back ok. I ordered these (hellebore mix) from a catalog a few years back and don't know what the cultivars are. Any ideas?

And wait, do my eyes deceive me..is that a dandelion?? In bloom...now?? Notice though it doesn't have the telltale weedy foliage...actually, there's no leaves at all! I'm afraid to let it go to seed and can hear HH chanting "pull it, pull it now!"

I guess it'll be history soon..but it's kinda pretty up close...wait, do dandelions have those clusters of thingies in the center..?  Hmm...I'm definitely stumped!

Here's another quiz...can you identify what these blooms are? Don't peek below!

Okay, so you knew it was a Pieris japonica, Lily of the Valley shrub, andromeda, fetter bush! That was WAY too easy! A wonderful evergreen shrub with leathery foliage and new growth is tinged in red. Also, they make excellent fillers in flower arrangements. I would love to get the pink-flower variety. It's too cold to venture out today so guess I'll do some blog gardening to take the edge off...

have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Wordless Wednesday...