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!

A Walk in My Gardens

Cheryl at My Wildlife Sanctuary suggested that we all take time to enjoy our gardens today no matter the weather. Thankfully, the weather here was perfect. Sunny, a light breeze and a temp of about 60F. My kind of weather!

To all of you who are having bad weather-storms, blizzards and flooding, my heart and my prayers go out to you.



After doing some cleaning and clearing in the front garden beds and picking up sticks and limbs the recent winds blew down, I took my garden walk. And surprise! My vinca is blooming. I know we complain about this ground cover spreading everywhere and choking out other plants, but in the spring it is sooo lovely to see all it's delicate blue-lavender blooms. In a few more days I should have a cheery carpet of blooms against their dark green glossy leaves.

The daffodils are getting so close. I had hoped one would pop this afternoon so I could get a picture. I guess I will have to wait a few more days. Everyday, though I notice more are coming up. I think they are the ones we planted last fall when I had all the help from the kids and grand kids. Some may just be later, but I have a feeling some were planted a little deeper than recommended. Good help is so hard to find. :)

Lilacs are budding! I am so excited and can't wait for them to flower. I love the scent of lilac more even than hyacinths. This is the pale lavender that has the big blooms. Sorry no name.

This is the darker one that has smaller blooms, but oh such a heavenly scent! No name for this one either. I planted these long ago before I knew you were supposed to keep track of the names-silly me. I trimmed each of these bushes drastically last year. They were getting way too tall and all the blooms were high on the branches. I was a little worried they might not do to well this year, but they look great and are both loaded with buds all the way up.

This is oriental lily just pushing through the ground, reminds me of an artichoke!

The purple plum trees is also putting on buds. Soon the dark pink blossoms will appear and we should start seeing bees.

Does anyone else see the ragged edges of these tulip leaves as evidence of critters in my garden??? I shouldn't complain too much as I only saw a couple of these and the nibbles won't really hurt the blooms. But lets not make a salad out of my garden, please little rabbits!

This no name clematis is putting on leaves, another surprise. I hope it blooms this year so we can find out what it is.

The hen and chicks, Sempervivum Brannii I planted last year is a little worse for wear. But I think it will come back and fill in.

And now I need help. I think this was a pass along, but can't remember who or what it is? Anyone??

Same goes for this one.... I know I should have written down names and locations.

And finally we have this very healthy looking plant. It is coming up close to where I had the gorgeous blue delphinium last year. But is that what it is, or... is it just a very fast growing weed?

I hope you enjoyed the walk around my garden as much as I did. Spring is a wonderful time of the year-go on take a walk in your garden today!

GBBD November, 2008

I know this post is a day early, but this is the weekend with the grand girls and I wasn't sure I would have time to get it posted. So better early than not at all. GBBD is brought to you by Carol of May Dreams Gardens. Thanks Carol!



It is raining-again. Not a heavy rain, just a cold, wind blown, chill you to the bone rain. Typical November weather. And notice the dark gray skies? We've not seen the sun in days. I guess that is what we get after having such a mild beautiful and fall.



Most of the crops are harvested and a lot of the fields have been worked and spread with lime. But there are a few fields ,such as the one below, where there is still corn waiting to be picked. For those farmers it may be a while. Kind of like me with my gardens. I think my opportunities are limited now as to what clean up I will get done.





Bloom Day, November 2008 finds little in my garden still blooming. But I will admit to being surprised when I went out to look. After a few nights of hard frost I had little hope of finding anything but brown, brown and more brown.

The ground cover vinca is sporting a tiny bloom here and there. I think it must be a bit confused. Usually I only see blooms on this in the spring and early summer.

And this is Delphinium x Magic Fountain Lavender. At least that is what the tag said. It has never been lavender, but has produced several stalks of these pretty blue flowers. I can't imagine that the frost hasn't reduced this to mush!

Bless it's heart, this Superbena dark blue( it really is a darker shade of purple than the camera shows) still has a few valiant flowers blooming. This annual has done so well this year-my first year to try any verbena-that I am putting it high on my list of 'must haves' for next year.

That is all I could find with any color in the gardens. I told you picking were slim!

I had to show you the fern though. I finally got it hung between the main living room and the front area where we have a skylight. After an initial adjustment period where it lost a few fronds, it seems to be doing well. And even though it does take up a lot of space, it and all the other house plants will add a much needed touch of the outdoors during the long dark winter.

Do you realize that Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away? And then it is only 4 more weeks til Christmas! Time to make out those wish lists with all your gardening wants.

Happy dreaming of next year's gardens!

** still not a lot of improvement with the rash. I take dose 3 of the new meds tonight and am hoping to see some sign of it getting better soon!

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!

Banana Bread and Daffodils

Notice: All work in the garden and lawn area has been temporarily suspended due to a recurring delay in the arrival of Spring. For an ETA, check local weather forecast for frequent updates. This message super-cedes previous announcements that Spring has arrived.


The weather was a cool 40 degrees this morning compared to almost 70 yesterday. The sky was a dark grey and I could have sworn I saw a snowflake or two. Not wanting to spend time on mundane chores, I decided to bake. That always warms the kitchen and produces wonderful aromas. Out came my recipe box and I finally found "Nana's Banana Bread". A favorite I found on the Internet site, All Recipes and have used many times, especially when baking my Christmas breads. I had enough bananas in the freezer to make a double batch and if you are going to dirty up dishes anyway... While I was looking for the banana recipe, I found one for "Apple Breakfast Bread" (also from All Recipes) and decided I had enough apples to make that one, too. The baking went very well, and in a short time I had the oven full, was drinking coffee and reading garden blogs. I'll admit it was hard to wait for the breads to cool some before I cut a piece. Warm banana bread and hot coffee can chase away the gloomiest of days!
Won't you join me?

By mid-afternoon, the sun had come out and the temps had warmed some. I took my camera, of course, and Fat cat and we went out to see how to see how the gardens were doing. A light rain during the night left everything looking fresh and smelling clean.

Can these daffodil buds get any fatter without opening? A few more rays of sun should do the trick. Unfortunately we are expecting 2 days of heavy rain, and then much colder temps.

But the promise of blooms is there.

More day lilies are coming up. This is a new one planted last fall and is called 'little business'. It's a red dwarf variety. I'm anxious to see the color and how well it does.

My Vinca Minor, Bowles is blooming and really spreading. I may have to trim or dig some up for pass along plants to have space for some of the new plants this year.

And speading!


And last but not least, I found several clumps of hostas poking their heads through the ground. I know this looks to be a sunny spot, but after the trees leaf out, it is in deep shade. They are going to get company this year. Brunnera Macrophylla, Jack Frost with it's leaves that turn silver should add some spots of lightness in the shade.

A Spring Day Equals Work!

Yesterday was one of those wonderful sunny, breezy, glorious days that herald the beginnings of Spring! The temperature was in the middle 50's and the outside was calling my name.



Out I went, prepared to do battle with the leavings of winter. Where to start? Begin with small...it has been a long winter and I am so out of shape. That settled, I did start with the smallest flower bed. I had trimmed the Russian Sage last fall and thought I'd done a fair job of raking leaves. Apparently not! But, brave of heart, I began. I raked, and raked and raked! Fat cat came out to help or at least lend moral support, or so I thought. Instead she decided to rest, and keep an eye out for birds while I worked.

I did find green! Unfortunately it was the dreaded Vinca Vine, growing merrily along under the leaves. Years ago, I planted some in a container and "oh look, it's rooted in the ground. How great!" We have been fighting it ever since. Somewhere on the identifying tag it should have said," Will be very invasive!"So once again, I cut and pulled and pulled and cut. Don't worry, it will be back!

I finally got the leaves, vines and trash (yes trash... candy wrappers, a drink box, and assorted paper, but from where?) raked to the edge of the street. What a pile!

Not wanting a strong wind to undo all my work, I lit it on fire. Smelled more like fall than spring, but the smoke blew away from the house. A good thing because I had forgotten I had windows open. And yes, we can still burn leaves in our small town.

Two hours, and many sore muscles later, the bed was clean! I even put out a new garden flag with, what else, Dragonflies! Still a bit bare looking, but ready now for warmer weather, new plants and blooming flowers.

If only I had the other gardens cleaned!