Mish Mash Monday!

I know this is late for a Mish Mash Monday, but had a few things I wanted to share.  MMM is brought to you by Monica and a thank you to her for it!

 Thanks, also to Rose. I now have a new look to my blog after over 2 years of the same format and colors. I have also started using the new editor on Blogger.  Because of that, these photos may be hard on your eyes and your sense of composition as I am still in the learning curve of how to use the new editing features. But I do want to thank Rose for explaining all of this to me. She is much more computer savvy than I. :)

The first poppy of the season! I so love these gorgeous crepe paper looking blooms. These are in my MIL's garden and will not transplant to mine. I have tried unsuccessfully for years to get a start and now accepting the fact they will not grow for me, I enjoy them in her garden.                                                                     

Lily of the valley is another plant that multiplies in my MIL's garden but will not come to live in mine. However, I do enjoy the delicate blooms and love taking photos of them.

I think this must be the Year of the Lilac and Wisteria here in Central Illinois

Cheryl, this photo is for you! :)

I did a board at work for Earth Day. I find free coloring pages on the Internet and have parents and grandparents at work take them home for the little and not so little ones to color. They put their names and ages on them and I display them on the board. I take photos of the board and send them back to the kids so they can see their artwork displayed. We all enjoy their efforts and their artistic abilities.

More lilacs, tulips and wisteria at work. I love being able to take in bouquets. The fragrance was wonderful. I can't believe how long the lilacs have lasted.

While I am on the subject of work....

I got permission to do 3 planters in the front of the building. This is the'yellow' container and I have a pink one and a purple one. As they fill in I will show you more.

Back in my garden, I have Bachelor Buttons blooming. This was a pass along plant from a favorite cousin a couple of years ago and is doing wonderfully. I also have pass alongs from another favorite cousin and will share those at a later time. Lucky me to have such green thumbed cousins!

Couldn't resist a photo of the pansy. With the cooler weather, they have stayed so fresh looking and continue to bloom profusely.

Last, but not least. the first iris of the season. This is an unnamed one, probably a very old variety that has been passed down through many generations of flower lovers. My MIL gave me this one. While not very flashy, it is dependable and it's blooms fill in that gap between spring bulbs and summer flowers.

Do you have antique pass alongs in your gardens?

I hope everyone has a great gardening week!

 I do apologize for the spacing ! Bear with me while I learn. :)

Mish Mash Monday!

Happy August! Can you believe we are on the downward side of summer already? It seems like only yesterday we were looking through seed catalogs and tentatively planting our first pansies. Now we are preparing for fall plantings. There are a few flowers who don't know they are supposed to be done blooming for the season though.


The Ruby? lilies are still blooming strong. This variety has really come into it's own this year, and is ready to be divided. In fact I think I can get two good sized fans-one to share with Rose and one to start a new bed. Well, maybe not new, but I have plans to enlarge a bed adding this day lily and a few other plants.




Introducing.... 'Andrea's Dragonfly'. This is the unnamed lily Rose gave me in memory of Andrea and said to name it in honor of her. Dear Hubby came up with the simple, but heartfelt name. We have plans to put a plant marker by it. I may have told you this, but Rose was Andrea's Godmother and also loved her very much. The gift of this lily has meant so much to us.

This is another unnamed lily we bought together and split. I have named this one 'Dragonfly Corner'. A little corny maybe, but it is next to Andrea's and I thought it fitting. This fall or next spring, I plan to add some ivory colored lilies to this area to break up the orange a little.

The last new lily I purchased from 5 Acre Day Lily Farms was ' Orange Slush'. Isn't she gorgeous?? I know- a lot of oranges, but this one is in a bed with lots of other colors.

Did you know sweet potato vines bloom? I had never seen one bloom before, but this dark one which was just marked 'Ipomoea' has several of these lavender blooms on it. I am so pleased. :)

One, just one of the red mix sunflowers I planted indoors made it. Really sunflowers need to be direct sown as they develop a long tap root that does not do well in the little peat pots. I am going to plant more of these next year because of the color and the height. This one is maybe 10' tall!

And look what bloomed in my garden. A poppy!! After all my complaining about not being able to grow these, one has surprised me. I think this is from some seed that Cheryl sent me, but can't find the packet. Seems like they were Icelandic?? I also planted parsley indoors this spring and put them out for the butterflies in various spots in the garden. Well, it turns out these poppies have foliage very similar to that of the parsley, so I have at least 2 that are poppies instead of parsley. I am SO HAPPY!

The finches have been literally fighting over the sunflower seeds. They have been a joy to watch, but oh so hard to get a good photo of. As you can see by this head, a lot of the seeds are already gone. Never fear, I have many more blooming and they should keep the beautiful birds around for quite a while.

A few-and I do mean few butterflies have come to the garden. This skipper, a Silver-Spotted one is very common from Canada to Mexico. But I am glad she is in my gardens and enjoying the Verbena Bona that Cheryl sent. I have loved seeing these plants in my garden. They are light and airy and draw the eye upwards.

This is the biggest bee I think I have ever seen! I watched him for a long time and each time he flew away, he would come right back to the Victoria Blue saliva. Another plant I have been extremely happy with!

Finally, a Painted Lady has come to visit. Last year we had dozens of these all over the cone flowers. This is the first one I have seen this year. Maybe she will send word to the others that there is lots of pollen now at Dragonfly Corner!

But look what was here and I missed her. The Monarch has laid eggs and the caterpillars are out eating their way to becoming a pupa. I know these are Monarch larva because they have black, yellow and white stripes. The Queen's larva, which resembles the Monarch, has brown and yellow stripes.

There were six of these eating their way through the fennel I planted for them. Yeah!!

We have tomato! Our very first, a 'German Queen' Heirloom tomato. And it was grown in our very own Topsy Turvy. :)

And lastly, another mystery plant. I know all of you are wishing I kept better track of what I planted and where. :) But I do not remember planting this, nor do I have any recollection of ever seeing anything like this. It may be a weed, but it looks very interesting. Especially what I assume is the flower bud-which has been like this for days. Any ideas?

I hope I didn't jump around too much, It's just that I had a lot I wanted to share. Maybe If I could find time to post more often....

Have a great gardening week!

Wordless Wednesday

I have missed Mish Mash Monday, didn't post in time to be a part of Blooming Tuesday-so I am going for Wordless Wednesday. But you know me, I'm not too wordless!



One of the beautiful crepe paper poppies at my Mother-in-Law's.

Angelique tulips still blooming and looking great in the garden.

And of course a super macro photo of them.

A cornflower in bloom. Notice anything unusual?

I hope you are having a wonderful time in your gardens! Spring Fling starts in 2 weeks and 2 days. Better get packing and get your walking shoes on!

Doves and DIPT!

Yes Momma Dove is still sitting! Are those eggs ever going to hatch? I worried about the nest in the winds we had yesterday, but all seems well.



Speaking of the wind... it was a nasty cold rainy windy day here on Mother's Day. Our yard and the front(north) side of our house looks like someone went through the trees with leaf chopper. Bunches of battered leaves are laying everywhere. Bits of leaves are now stuck on windows and siding. Poor trees really took a beating!




My last stand of tulips. I don't remember planting these...but I surely did as they are a full 2 weeks behind the rest of them, and are a different color. There must be a term for garden forgetfulness-DIPT? That sounds good The DIPT syndrome. Did I Plant This?

The wisteria is making up for no blooms last year. The frost came just as the buds were about to open. Another of my 'to do ' projects is to get this trained on a better and higher trellis.

The lily of the valley is blooming. I love the fragrance of these tiny treasures.

MIL's poppies were saved from most of the wind. The are on the south side of the house with huge concrete steps blocking the westerly winds.

I hope you take time each day to enjoy the wonders of spring!

* a family matter has me gone most of this week and this weekend we have the granddaughters so I will not be posting for a while. I am going to try to keep up with reading though-I might go into withdrawal if not!

New Blooms, and This and That!

It feels more like summer than spring here today. The temperatures were in the low 80's. But the sun was out ,the breeze was gentle, and to sit in the shade and sip a cool drink was heaven.

I have been embracing the weeds, but they are gaining ground! I am still trying to find places for plants, the ones I've bought and the seedlings I have left. And I am watering every evening. With the horrific winds of late and the hot sun, they've really needed the water. I'm already getting tired of that chore. Maybe, hopefully, it will rain soon. I've begun to wonder if I haven't tried to do too much too soon in the gardens. But then I see something new bloom, or a newly planted plant get new growth and I am thrilled. I will do what I can, when I can, and in the end it will all work out.

My new bloom... Wisteria!

The dove is still sitting on the nest in the wisteria.(if you enlarge you can see her better)

I know you are probably getting tired of my lilacs, but indulge me a few more pictures, please. These next three are at my mother-in-laws. I think I will try to get starts of them this fall.

Did you know there are over a 1,000 varieties and they can live for hundreds of years? Originally from Europe, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had lilacs in their gardens.

Another bouquet with all 5 kinds. .. her 3 and my 2.

A bouquet of fragrant lilacs is heaven!

Look what else is just beginning to bloom at MIL's. Poppies!

I had to hold this one up to get it's face. They look like crepe paper flowers.

I hope you enjoy this time in your gardens.