Journeys In and Out of the Garden

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend in your gardens. It was very wet here with lots of rain, wind, cold temperatures and even a few snow flurries. This is after a glorious Friday with highs in the upper sixties. Ah, March in Central Illinois!


The weather was much nicer today after a nasty frost last night. The sun was out and the wind was calm. The temp. reached 58 and would have been perfect to do a little more cleaning of garden beds. But as so often happens, life gets in the way.

I spent the better part of the day taking care of the last few details of moving my Dad. I made the decision a few weeks back that he really needed more help than I was able to give him. After his bout with Shingles, hospitalization for infection and then again for dehydration, I talked to a Social Services person. She suggested Assisted Living and gave me the name of a place. I called, went for a tour, and was VERY impressed. To make a long story short-everything fell into place very quickly and he has been ensconced in his lovely new apartment for a little over a week. Today I met, again, with the nurse and director to see how he was doing from their view point, to get his medications out of his apartment and into the CNAS' hands permanently and to give them a check for his first month's rent. ( Worth every penny!)

They assure me he is settling in very well, eating good and starting to mingle with some of the other residents. And I think he is. I stayed and had a great evening meal with him and he didn't even try to get any of those little 'digs' in that have been common the last couple of weeks.

This has been a very difficult time for the both of us. It is hard to see a parent become infirm and needing help-more help than family can give. While I have the approval of all the family, it is ultimately left to me, the oldest daughter, to make the final decisions where he is concerned. This is a heavy burden to bear. I will say, now that it's done, I am more at peace and know in my heart it was the right choice. As I said, everything fell into place so easily and quickly it was meant to be.

But on the other hand, I know this is has been extremely hard on Dad. The move represents a loss of independence-however little he did have. He is no longer driving as he could not afford his car there. That one fact takes away his 'freedom' to come and go as he pleases. I know I would be devastated if I were unable to go when and where I wanted. I know he is grieving for his former self. I will be patient and with the staff's help, he will get through this and hopefully adjust. Giving himself a chance, he will no longer be lonely, no longer lack the drive to get up in the morning and he will not have to face days with nothing to do. He will be with people who remember the things he does and his stories and theirs will provide him the opportunity to feel there is a reason to live. That is my hope for him-a chance to see he is still important to us his family and to others.

Thanks for listening to me. As I commented to Mary, who is also dealing with an aging father, writing this down and sharing it has been good therapy for me. Mary's therapy was also sharing her great photos of flowers and of course the Licker Sisters. So now, I will show you mine-flowers that is. :)

The daffodil above is in my garden. Tomorrow, I hope to see it in full bloom. And this evening while searching for that blooming daffodil, I found the tulip bud above. Just one though. I am hoping more will join it soon! On my errands, I noticed a few magnolia trees in bloom. I think the wind and heavy rains have hurt them some, but they are still a wonderful sight of spring.

This bud was just a perfect example. And besides, it gave me an excuse to usethe macro feature on my camera.

This of course is the magnolia bloom up close and personal. And another opportunity to try super macro. They really are very delicate looking-and oh so beautiful! I may frame this photo.

Okay, we've had photos in my garden and out of my garden and now we are inside my home in the garden window. My cactus, a Mammillaria Elongata is in bloom. And this year I can actually show you what the blooms look like. I posted last year on March 27th about it and showed some very blurry pictures here.

I hope you enjoy these much clearer photos. I am amazed by this cactus's innate ability to know when it is time to bloom.

Always in March, just as if it were in the desert of Arizona! Maybe Rose will see some of these in her travels out there this week.

Now I just need Aiyana to tell me how to transplant it!

Thanks for coming along with me on my journey with my Dad, and in and out of the garden. I hope you get to spend some time in your garden this week!

My Early Spring Show and Tell!

I have had these pictures loaded for several days now-just haven't had the time to add narrative. But tonight, after reading so many spring blogs, I so wanted to add mine to the show and tell.



Isn't this a lovely flower? I love the blueness of it. Anybody want to take a guess as to what it is?

The forsythia stems my cousin sent home with me a couple of weeks ago have provided many smiles for me as I do the dishes. I have the vase sitting in my kitchen window and the bright yellow blooms are so cheery. (I am hoping they will take root!)

I did get a couple of flats planted on the 10th. I planted several varieties most of which came through the seed exchange or from very generous bloggers.

Sunflowers are up in 5 days.

As well as several others.

A week ago the these tulips were just a couple of inches tall.

60+ degree temps and they are growing very quickly!

All of the iris I transplanted from my Mother-in-Law's last summer have new growth. I am SOOO happy.

And in the few days since I loaded these pictures, I have seen day lilies sprouting, green shoots of yarrow, and new growth on the Silver Mound Artemisia! Yea spring. I think it is truly here.. :} I hope you are enjoying spring in your gardens.

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!

April, Full of Promise-Gone So Quickly!

I can't believe April is almost over. Where did this month go? Is it because we were so busy in our gardens that the days just flew by? Days of sun and warm breezes tempt us out to our gardens where time is lost to us. We clean and dig. We plant and pull weeds. We marvel at the growth of each flower and eagerly await the next bloom. Gardens are indeed, I think, pilferers of time. As time will go by anyway what ever we are doing, I would much rather have my time flee while I am in my garden.



Fat Cat is enjoying her time in the garden. The blooming vinca makes a comfortable bed while she awaits her prey. Today it was bumble bees.

Our ornamental plum is blooming and attracting it's share of honey bees. This tree always puts out leaves before it blooms. I think it is because the tiny pink flowers show up so well against the dark maroon leaves. Mother Nature has a very artistic side to her.

The blue bells are in full bloom(in my neighbor's yard). These were one of my Mother's favorite flowers. I have tried many times to get them to grow in my gardens, but have finally settled for seeing them next door.

I have long ago forgotten the name of this plant. It vines and I originally had it planted in some of my barrel planters. Like the vining vinca, it spilled over the edges and has become a perennial in several places. This is the first time I can remember it blooming though.

A new color of tulip has bloomed in the last couple of days. I wish I knew their name so I could find more of them. I love their color and their growth habit.

I am so happy with this part of the garden. It is a small 'rock' garden area. I planted creeping phlox in and around them a couple of years ago, using very small plants. Look how it has grown and mixed with the vinca. I love the color combination and the spilling over effect Just to the top middle is the fern leaf tansy. If you click on the picture it willl show it larger and in more detail.

The lilacs are on hold. I suppose it is the cooler temperatures of the last few days. Although the flowers aren't fully open their perfume is caught by the breeze and comes clear across the yard. I think I will cut a few stems from the back side of them tomorrow for the house. I still say nothing says spring like the smell of lilacs!

And finally, more wood violets. I have several small bunches of them spread throughout the yard and gardens and I leave them. They are lovely to see and always bring a smile. Maybe it is because they are so tenacious. They survive sprayings, pullings and mowings, still managing to spread and bring forth dozens of tiny perfectly formed flowers.

We had a good weekend, although not as restful as hoped, it was relaxing. And hubby's birthday was celebrated with family and good friends. He even got a call from his mother who is in the nursing home. That pleased him. We are sure someone reminded her and dialed the phone, but she knew him long enough, today, to wish him a Happy Birthday.

I hope your week is filled with sunshine, warm temps, and lots of blooms!

And Spring Has Come to Central Illinois!

Last Thursday, while taking my Dad to the VA clinic for a check up, we saw trees like this one in bloom all over the campus. To my surprise, I knew it was a Star Magnolia! Thanks of course to the garden bloggers. The thing I don't know is are there different colors of them? Most of the ones I have seen on posts look very white and this one definitely has a pink cast to it. I stopped the car and went to take closer pictures to post and find out if I was correct about the kind, and ...

to show the pink! I'm pretty sure my Dad thought I was a little nuts for taking the up close pictures.

Spring has come in a rush the last week. I am constantly amazed, as I walk in the gardens each day, to see how quickly everything is growing. The hostas look so pretty at this time of the year. This green one just says spring. I think it is time to divide some of them, but do I do it now? These were pass along plants and it seems I did transplant them early in the spring.

I finally have a blooming tulip! It is just the one, but several more will be opening in the next few days. Carol posted about not really caring for the red ones in her back yard, but I only have a few of these and they are early ones. But the time the pink and mauve ones bloom the red are gone.

Oh, by the way, most of the close up pictures today are courtesy of one of the granddaughters. She turns 15 this week, and she ask for and got a new camera. She and I had fun learning how to use it. It not only has macro mode- it has super macro mode! I want one, too!!

The dwarf flowering cherry on the south side of our patio is just coming into bloom. Friday, I tried to get a close up of the buds...not worth showing, but today, look! Blooms.

Isn't this a glorious picture!? She is really getting the 'eye'. I may frame this one.

And speaking of trees, the maple is starting to leaf out. This is the one we have a small sitting area under. It has a long branch that almost touches the ground, thereby affording us privacy right by the street. A few years back, someone gave us some of those round stepping stones and Hubby designed a small triangular patio under it with them. In the summer we sit there and cool off as it is very shady. This shade is where I have most of my hostas. I am working on finding other pants that do well in that deep shade and will tolerate the poor soil condition.

And one last picture, I promise, of the daffs!

The lilacs are budding and getting fatter each day. Maybe this year we will have some of their delightful blooms. Last year, at just about this stage of development, we got a killing frost. Of 2 bushes, I had maybe 3 bloom and they were small and had little scent. The forecast looks great for several days... so here's hoping.

This was the weekend with the granddaughters, so little in the way of actual gardening was done. This week, I hope to get lilies, perennial sweet peas and some summer bulbs planted. I received one of my on-line orders last week and need to get them in the ground. I wasn't expecting it quite yet as most of it should be planted after chance of frost. But the condition of the plants warrants an earlier planting. They are sprouting and look very pale. So frost or not, they must be planted.
Here's wishing all of you a glorious time in your gardens this week.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day April, 2008

Yes, I am showing my daffodils, again! I am just so happy to actually have something blooming outside in my garden to show. I love the pale yellow trumpet against the white petals.
My vinca has really come to life in the past few days. It's amazing what a few rays of sun and rain can do.

Of course, there are some blooms not yet open, but are showing great promise.

And does anyone know what this is? It looks a little like the Tansy Lisa showed, but I'm not sure.

Happy Bloom Day!

Spring Fever Cure!

My friend Rose of Prairie Rose's Garden and I went to a local garden center today for a day of pure spring joy. The center was hosting an open house with seminars on plants and planting. The sessions were small and informal but filled with lots of practical information, ideas and of course plants.

Session 1 "Fun in the Garden" was hosted by a professor of ornamental horticulture at the University of Illinois. She is also the host of 'Illinois Gardener' a PBS television program in our area. She started out with a pink potted tulip which she set in a decorative wooden box. She told us she was going to use pinks and purples (her personal favorites) but any color combinations could be used. She explained the trendy "new wave" idea for gardening was to use gradations of the same colors. You can use bulbs, perennials, and annuals together as long as you repeat color, textures and habit...height and shape.

To the tulip she added a pink mandovilla on a short trellis and a Martha Washington geranium, which would be planted in the ground. She added a small silver gazing ball and suggested using a garden stone for another accent. We were slowly working our way down the planting bed. Next could come Leucanthemum Becky a Shasta daisy(one of my personal favorites!). This grows in zones 5-9 and blooms profusely in heat and humidity. The blooms are 4" across on very sturdy stems reaching to 40" tall. Cutting and deadheading encourages more blooms from mid summer to fall.

Our next plant was a pink and white variegated leafed Weigela 'My Monet'. This grows in zones 4-8, has a tighter habit with larger blooms and flowers mid spring. It reaches a height of about 20".

Still working our way down the garden, she suggested bringing in a purple. The 2008 perennial of the year, Geranium 'Rozanne'. Growing in zones 4-8, it blooms from early summer to early fall and can tolerate partial shade to full sun, and it gorgeous!

In and around these she suggested Coral Bells in varying shades. You can find them from deep purple to chartreuse. This one Heuchera 'Sashay' has ruffled leaves with dark green topsides and pale pink undersides. The rosy-mauve blooms on long slender stems grow 12-18" tall in zones 4-9. It tolerates partial shade to full sun , is drought and deer resistant and attracts butterflies and birds.

The Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' grows in zones 3-7 blooming in spring with delicate bluish flowers with leaves of apple green that turn silver as the season progresses. She suggested that the foliage on this would "pop" in with the other colors and the shape of this is similar to the weigela as it grows to about 18' tall by 18" wide.

Another beautiful plant she showed us is the Columbine Aquilegia 'Dorothy Rose'. Again a variation of the pink color. This stunning cultivar grows in zones 3-9, blooming late spring to early summer and is 24"to 30" tall by 24" wide. Rabbits do NOT like this pant but it does attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Bee Balm or Monarda 'pink supreme' is a very compact variety that butterflies and hummingbirds love! Growing in zones 4-8, it blooms from mid summer to mid fall. Although this can be an invasive plant growing in moist to wet soils, she suggest it be planted in less hospitable ground and by placing stones around it , it can be contained.

One of the last plants she talked about and this one is a purplish one, is Nepeta 'Walker's Low'. A cat mint. This was the 2007 perennial of the year and is fragrant and drought resistant. It blooms in zones 5-9 from late spring to late fall. This one could be spread out in and among the others to add more of those 'pops' of color.

I think her main theme was try unusual varieties along with the tried and true. Spice up your gardens and use garden accessories in new ways. Trade out non-blooming for newly blooming by using pots within pots. And don't be afraid to do what feels right to you.


We had 3 other sessions today on other aspects of gardening and could have attended 2 more. By the time we finished with our 4th one, we were in need of food and coffee! We did stay long enough to check out some of the spring annuals, and purchase some wire baskets. Next Sat. we are signed up for 2 more and will have time in between to go crazy... buying!