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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)

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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……..

 

 

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April 2018 – back home

We have returned from the sunny south.  I was eager to see the garden and to assess the winter damage.  Moles and voles were busy this winter and something nibbled the hens and chicks.  The deer left hoof prints in the dirt and perhaps they were the nibblers. The storms left some tree damage.  Oh yes and we had snow…….

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Luckily it melted fast.   This birch had split and needed to be removed..

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And it was added to the burn pile

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The turkeys are strutting about doing their thing

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We took a walk in the woods this morning and there was hoar frost – beautiful but ….

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Spring IS just around the corner though … these bluebirds are checking out the nesting box.. sorry for the blurry photo.. I was so excited to see them that I didn’t get a good shot

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It is supposed to warm up the next few days.. maybe I’ll find a few buds or blossoms to photograph and share.  Despite the late spring, it is nice to be home.