A Walk on the Wild Side!

This was a Granddaughter weekend and four of them were here. The four middle ones to be exact. The two older ones are usually working or spending time with their friends and that's alright. That's what they are supposed to be doing at their age. The youngest was with her step grandma enjoying learning to ride a horse. And that is alright too, as we have to share. (I guess)

Papa was busy helping his brother plant corn. That left us free to have an adventure. After a nice lunch out, we decided to take a walk in the woods just south of our town. These woods, about 20 acres, are owned by The University of Illinois and are left completely natural except for a few semi cleared paths.



Our adventure starts.

There are always one or two who like to lead the way. :)

We were on a search for wildflowers. I was inspired by Lisa's post on wildflowers found in her area. These are wild phlox and the woods was covered in them.

The ones in more sun were lighter in color.

We found yellow violets! I would love to have some of these in my garden.

As well as the purple ones which are Illinois State Flower.

And a butterfly! Surely a survivor from last year this is a female Spicebush Swallowtail. The females have blue hind wings where the males have more green. At any rate, we were thrilled to see such a beauty.

And other wild creatures were found. This slug on a walnut was the subject of much discussion and wanting to bring it home with us. We left it where we found it. :)

Earth worms are wild creatures-aren't they??

A stink bug? We couldn't be sure.

Deer tracks were found and again were the subject of much discussion. The mud made for perfect impressions of these and what we thought were raccoon tracks. Also, we saw a huge paw print that was either of a very large dog or as Papa said later, could have been a wolf's tracks.

A very small pond was found and....

proved to be very interesting and...

full of new life. The girls tried scooping up the tadpoles to get a feel of them.

Oh no! A misstep and into the mud! Bottled water saved the day and was used to rinse mud off both feet and flip flops.

Jack-in-the-Pulpits were blooming.

Such a pretty sight.

May Apples were not blooming yet but their foliage was a brilliant chartreuse.

Someone decided she needed to collect walnuts for our squirrels at home.

I told the girls this was a gaul, but now am not sure. Any ideas?

These will soon be in full bloom. What a mass of them!

Trout lilies or Adder's Tongue are so delicate. We only found one blooming but it's beauty has us going back in a few days to see that whole area in bloom.

This is the leaf of a tree that...

had these almost spent blooms. I couldn't tell the girls what tree it was. Does anyone know?

I thought this a weed, but the girls said it was another wildflower. Does kind of look like a wild cleome doesn't it?

A small glade that is perfect for picture taking at the end of our walk on the wild side!

GBBD April 2010!

Wow! This is one of those glorious springs where everything is blooming with a vengeance. I don't remember one nearly so perfect in many, many years. I certainly hope your spring is as lovely as ours. And thank goodness because it is that time of the month when we get to show off all our blooms thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens.




I couldn't resist taking a bouquet into work. Besides brightening up my little cubicle and smelling wonderful, I get to show what is blooming in my gardens. The response has been great. One young man stops by 2 or 3 times a day just to take a whiff. :)

This is one of my favorite tulips- Angelique!

These are First Impressions and thanks to all the help I had in the fall of 2008. I have them blooming in every bed. They have really put on a show this year.

I've been told the name of this plant many times but have a mental block. You'd think I'd write it down. Vining out of a container a few years ago, it has spread into several areas and is a great ground cover.

I bought yellow and purple pansies. That orange one just appeared. Hmmm...now how did that happen?

The daffodils have been truly spectacular. I am so pleased with the variety of different blooms. I add a few here-a few there-what ever strikes my fancy at the moment or when I am plant shopping with Rose. :)

I love this pure white one.

And this double pink and white! (ignore that old woman's hand) The blooms were so big and heavy, they almost needed support.

The single pink and white is such a delicate bloom.

Last but not least is the traditional yellow. My grandmother called these 'March flowers'.

Another bloom I am so happy with. These bluebells were given to me by a neighbor last spring and I worried all summer and winter whether they would return. These wildflowers were my Mother's favorite.

Our ornamental cherry tree bloomed it's heart out this year. Last year the frost got it and we had almost no blooms.

The ornamental plum is gorgeous. This photo does not do it justice, but I can't seem to get one that shows the true colors of pink blooms against dark maroon leaves. What a color combination!

Creeping phlox and vinca have mingled. I am very pleased with the color combination.

Lilacs are at least 2 weeks earlier this year than last. This old fashioned one sends it's scent all over the back yard.

This smaller one have a heavenly scent as well. I wish I could have gotten photos of the bees that were swarming these blooms. The bees were very flighty-zipping from one to another bloom almost too quickly to get a taste of pollen. But then, maybe it doesn't take them long.

A teaser of what's to come. The wisteria is loaded with blooms this year and barring a late frost will surely be covered in a few days. This is another plant that didn't bloom last year due to a frost.

Violets are everywhere! In the gardens, in the grass, even growing in cracks in the sidewalk.

And finally, a poppy! I had not seen it growing just a couple of days ago, and when I went out this evening to take a few more pictures-there it was! What a gift from the Garden Gods! It survived our winter beautifully. With any luck, it will continue to grow and bloom and maybe drop seeds to grow next year.

Have a great gardening week and be sure to visit other GBBD posts!

If Only...

Oh, if only there were more hours in the day. If only...I had more energy. If only I had ....more imagination. I could go on-and on-but you get my drift. I am forever 'if onlying".

So starting today, no more 'if only'!

I will give myself permission to not have the house spotless and will be happy that I can at least walk through it. I won't worry over my gardens and the weeds. (Well, not as much anyway)

I will accept the gifts of family, friends, and spring with grace and humility.

And I will enjoy each and every moment of everyday that God has given to me!

These photos are a tease for GBBD and were all taken by 2 of my granddaughters this past weekend.

May you enjoy each day and count each of your blessings as you enjoy your gardens this week.

GBBD March 15, 2010

It's that time of the month when we share with others what is blooming in our gardens. GBBD is brought to you by Carol of May Dreams Gardens-be sure to check out the list and visit some of the incredible posts.

On a recent browsing trip, Rose and I saw this very appropriate sign. We had a few very spring like days last week, but are now back into the rainy and gray days of late winter. We so enjoyed those days-an almost tropical feeling breeze blowing in the warm sun shine...just a tease from Mother Nature of what is hopefully coming.

While there are no blooms in my gardens yet, I do have a few indoors. I thought I would show you this one in stages. After planting the amaryllis that was a Christmas gift from Rose, I waited for weeks to see a bud stem. When it finally got to it's full height, a real bud appeared.

From there it progressed quickly taking only a day or so to get to this stage ...

and the next day I had two glorious 'Apple Blossom' blooms. From there it went to four! I was in heaven.

For the first time ever, I tried my hand a forcing a bulb. I read somewhere in blog land that Big R had them and the vases on sale for $1.99. When I found them they were only $.75 at out store. I called Rose and between the 2 of us, we decided we needed 7. Unfortunately this is the only one that made it to bloom stage. Either we didn't do them right or the bulbs were just to dry. I prefer the 2nd excuse as we are excellent gardeners. :) But I am thrilled to have this one! My kitchen smells of spring!

This impatiens was a surprise. It started blooming this week in the peace lily that sits in my kitchen garden window. I summered this lily outdoors last year and when I brought in in for the winter, seeds from nearby impatiens must have stowed away in the soil. When the sun and the temps were just right, it started to grow and finally produced blooms that also say spring is coming. I learned, though, that these must be fairly easy to grow from seed and am intending on finding some to start indoors. Do you notice a theme here? Pink, pink and more pink. It is strictly by chance, but very fortunate for me as I LOVE pink!

Now to my gardens. When the snow melted in the front beds, I found a couple of bunches of daffodils poking their heads out of the ground. Thrilling!!! There was also a tulip or two. Come on spring.

No, these aren't mine. I wish, though. Visiting a favorite cousin farther south a couple of weeks ago, I found several of these in her yard. Now, these really do say spring.

While we were visiting, we went to a family baby shower. I was so taken with the decorations that I took photos(of course) to share. Notice the miniature daffodils and the hyacinths and ivy and the baby bottle filled with spring colored almond M&Ms.

The room was like walking into spring. A delight to the eye and the nose. This was a door prize-not won by me. :(

Even the cake shouted spring! I knew it was all about the baby, really I did. But it seemed more like a spring shower. :)

I hope you all have an early spring and a wonderful week in the garden!

Sky Watch Friday, March 2010

A glorious sunset is a thing of beauty no matter the time of year.




Don't you just love a beautiful sunset?

See more great Sky Watch photos here.

GBBD February 15, 2010

I know... you are all in shock at seeing a post from me, let alone a Bloom Day post! I had fully intended to do Valentine one, but grand kids , little sleep, and a disappointing Illinois basketball game got in the way.

The one actual blooming plant I have is a violet that followed me home a few months ago. I love it's dark purple with white edged flowers. Of course there was no name on it or any of the others-just simply said 'violet' on the tag. Maybe I should buy them somewhere other than the large discount store. But the the price was right and I could hear it calling my name.

This bouquet was my Valentine gift from Hubby. He is such a sweetie! We both love this florist. and think she does exceptional work. There is always a little something extra or eye catching in her designs. And one more thing, she always uses the freshest flowers. Her creations last longer than any others I have had.

These yellow roses are absolutely gorgeous! I have never seen so many petals. Did you know the color yellow in a rose means 'joy', 'happiness', 'friendship', and ' I care'? All of these pretty much sum up our relationship. He is my best friend, he brings great joy to my life, and of course I love and care for him very deeply. Isn't he smart!

I couldn't resist a macro of the center-just look at all those petals still to open.

I am sure you know what these are. But have you ever seen any this size? I was amazed at these and now have great hopes for the bulb Rose gave me. I just need to learn how to care for it after it is done blooming. The bud stalk is growing every day and when it does bloom, I will share with you.

Yes, you guessed, they are Amaryllis. We went out for a Valentine breakfast and there were several huge pots of these in the restaurant's green house room. This double white was at least 10" across. Needless to say, I want one!

And this red was the size of a meat platter! All of these gorgeous blooms were just what I needed to start chasing away the winter blahs. Of course, the 2" of snow we got that evening made spring seem a long way off again. :)

For more bloom day posts go to Carol's at May Dreams Garden.

Have a great week and hang in there-spring will surely come one day.

When Mother Nature Gives You Snow....

I hope all had a joyous holiday and are having a good New Year. Dragonfly Corner was very blessed during the holidays with lots of family and friends joining in the celebrations. We even had 5 of the grands here for a week. Lots of time to just enjoy.

As for my lack of postings and comments, I do apologize. I lost my muse...and of course there is the tiredness factor. I have reached a point where working full time and energy for it are not equal. I do think part of it is the cold and dark days of winter. By 5:00 in the evening, I am ready to put my pjs on and just veg for the remainder of the night. (And I'm not doing much in the way of cleaning house either!)


Hopefully with the days staring to get longer and now a mid-January thaw, I will get some of the 'zing' back. I am looking forward to getting that packet seed exchange seeds. Monica does an all out wonderful job of organizing it. Last year, Rose and I spent a long afternoon going through all the different offerings and planning where to plant the selected ones. We are going to do it again this year when the packet comes. I saved more of a variety of seeds this year to use for myself and to put in the exchange.

And Rose and I are planning our trip to the Chicago Flower show in early March. We enjoyed our trip last year-it was just the thing to get us in a gardening mood. I came home and immediately started seeds indoors. This year I am going to wait a couple of weeks, though. My seeds came up fine but it was too early when they were at the optimum planting stage. Lesson learned!





As many of you know, we have had some snows here and of course bitterly cold temps. Our last snow was the light fluffy kind that did not make for snowmen or snowballs. But now with the warming temps it has settled into a much more agreeable building medium as you can tell in the photo above.

No, I did not build this adorable 'Snoopy' and doghouse. It is just down the street from me though. It was built by the same talented kids who built the elephant last year.

Isn't this fun? If you look closely you can even see his feeding dish in front. Such imagination! Evidently these youngsters have more energy than they know what to do with-way more than I have at any rate. And more cleverness, too. :)

I can't promise this is the beginning of steadier posting, but I will try. Maybe the muse will return with the sun. In the meantime, I am enjoying all of your posts and starting to look forward to spring and another season of gardening.

Let's hang in there, only 2 months til spring. :)