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Labor Day

Well, there went summer.  I finally caught up with the weeds since we had a break in the heat and humidity, and I actually felt like gardening for a change.  I should have taken a photo of the piles and piles of crabgrass, hogweed, etc.   Yuck.  There have been a few bright spots the last few weeks despite the groundhogs and rabbits ruining some of my planned color combos.

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Kim’s daylily and the bottle tree

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The new porch is looking spiffy  – need to thin those lilacs

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Yarrow and Faith’s phlox – with an interloper to be removed

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The Brugmansia bloomed – I think this is year 8

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The humidity has brought out lots of cool mushrooms

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I grew a heart shaped tomato

 

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 This funky dragonfly showed up

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And these guys returned…..

That’s it for now.  I’m looking forward to cooler days and better gardening weather.  We still need to landscape around the new porch, thin out the lilacs, prune back the forsythia hedge, transplant stuff, etc. etc. etc.

 

 

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July and August

Summer is speeding by!  The garden has taken a back seat this year due to travel, the porch project, family visits and our new grandbaby.  Plus it was hot, and then the monsoons came.  Things are growing but due to neglect, weather, and varmints this has  been a challenging summer.

In July, we traveled to the Canadian Rockies and the Bugaboo Mountains for some hiking.  I saw lots of wildflowers. The scenery wasn’t too shabby either.

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When we returned home, we found the daylilies were in full bloom …

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We finished the porch…

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In August, we had visits from this mama and her babies

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And the groundhog was back.. see him just to the right of the birches?  Grrrrr

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He hasn’t gotten the tomatoes yet…

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Today I finally did some weeding – here’s before

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And after…

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The rains are returning… maybe I’ll tackle the back garden tomorrow…or not. Summertime…..

 

 

 

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A new blossom in the garden…..

Here it is the end of June and I have had little time to blog or anything else.  But its June, you say,  there are flowers busting out all over!  The reason for the inactivity is that a new granddaughter was born on June 15th, and I have been spending a lot of time away helping the new little one and her mom, dad and big brother get back on their feet.

The garden (and weeds) continued to grow in my absence, the woodchucks climbed over the fence and got into the the veggie garden.  Rabbits and chipmunks helped the woodchucks munch lots of stuff  in the perennial beds… no rest for the weary gardener.

In honor of my new granddaughter, here are some of the pink flowers that are blooming now.  I didn’t realize I had so many.

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Iris Ensata ‘Hanakaido Pink’ – its a bit washed out from today’s rain

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Penstemon ‘Husker Red’

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Gaura

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Mexican Primrose

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Perennial geranium

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Another perennial geranium

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Coral bells

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Dwarf coral bells

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‘Wild Pinks’

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Talinum

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Anemonella

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And a lovely shrub rose

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Welcome to the world, new little child.  May you grow and blossom.

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Wildflowers and a turtle

We took a walk along the local rail trail today since it was cold and damp and buggy in the woods.  The wildflowers were incredible!!!

Pink ladyslippers

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White ladyslipper

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Wild Geranium

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False Solomon’s Seal

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Star flower

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Fringed polygala

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Wild columbine

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Bluets

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Wild lupine

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Painted turtle laying her eggs

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Back to the garden tomorrow….

 

 

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Fairyland

Fairyland.  That’s what the garden looks like right now.  All the little spring things are blooming and there is magic happening.  The plants sure like the cool spring weather we are having and the blooms are lasting a long time.

Lilac

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Flowering almond

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Primroses and primula

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Iris cristata

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Dodecatheon (Shooting star), primroses, epimediums and flowering almond

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Hens and chicks

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Androsace primula “Chumbyi’ in the rock garden

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Lewisia, columbine, and sedums

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Epimedium ‘Domino’

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Epimedium (also called Fairy wings)

IMG_1406 Some fairies showed up too

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Garden Therapy

I lost a dear friend last week.  We were gardeners, grammas, knitters, and friends.  We often talked about our gardens being the places we would go when we needed to sort things out – like when our parents passed or when other problems arose.  Now, I go into my garden to grieve and try to make sense of things and find peace.   I have many plants in my garden that my dear friend shared with me.  They aren’t blooming yet, but they are growing and thriving and give me great joy.  My friend will always be with me when I am in my garden.

Spring has come…. here are a few beauties:

Hepatica

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Primula

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Miniature violet in the trough graden

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Hellebore buds

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Primrose in the trough garden

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Bloodroot buds in an embrace

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More later……

 

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A surprise

I purchased a yellow Clivia miniata many years ago from Logee’s Greenhouse in Connecticut.  It never bloomed, it got scale, it looked lousy, and yet I couldn’t quite part with it.  This year, I put in the basement and left it for the winter with instructions to be watered once a month.   When we returned the first of April, there was a bloom spike.  Ta da!

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Outside it is not so lovely. We are forecast to have freezing rain and possible icing today and tonight.  The daffodils have buds on them so I will be out covering some of them with buckets so the weight of the ice doesn’t ruin them.

The Hepatica bloomed Friday when we had a warm interlude.  I think I will cover them as well.

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Ah, spring in New England.  The roller coaster ride continues……..