Author: grammapenny

by

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.

P1140149

Kim’s daylily and the bottle tree

P1140147

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

P1140148

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

IMG_2425

The Brugmansia bloomed – I think this is year 8

IMG_2436

The humidity has brought out lots of cool mushrooms

IMG_2507

I grew a heart shaped tomato

 

IMG_2515

 This funky dragonfly showed up

P1140164

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.

 

 

by

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.

P1130427

 

P1130449

P1130822

 

P1130467

P1130613

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

P1130963

P1130968

IMG_1963

We finished the porch…

IMG_1962

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

P1140116

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

IMG_2395

He hasn’t gotten the tomatoes yet…

IMG_2364

Today I finally did some weeding – here’s before

IMG_2405

And after…

IMG_2406

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

 

 

 

by

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.

Asiatic lilyIMG_1717

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

P1130205

Penstemon ‘Husker Red’

P1130206

Gaura

P1130207

Mexican Primrose

P1130218

Perennial geranium

P1130219

Another perennial geranium

P1130216

Coral bells

P1130214

Dwarf coral bells

P1130221

‘Wild Pinks’

P1130212

Talinum

P1130213

Anemonella

P1130210

And a lovely shrub rose

P1130217

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

by

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

IMG_1491

White ladyslipper

IMG_1476

Wild Geranium

IMG_1492

False Solomon’s Seal

IMG_1484

Star flower

IMG_1483

Fringed polygala

IMG_1482

Wild columbine

IMG_1488

Bluets

IMG_1493

Wild lupine

IMG_1485

Painted turtle laying her eggs

IMG_1487

Back to the garden tomorrow….

 

 

by

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

P1130101

Flowering almond

P1130123

Primroses and primula

P1130119

Iris cristata

P1130126

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

P1130104

Hens and chicks

P1130128

Androsace primula “Chumbyi’ in the rock garden

P1130117

Lewisia, columbine, and sedums

P1130116

Epimedium ‘Domino’

P1130121

Epimedium (also called Fairy wings)

IMG_1406 Some fairies showed up too

P1130131

 

 

by

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

P1130041

Primula

P1130046

Miniature violet in the trough graden

P1130045

Hellebore buds

P1130047

Primrose in the trough garden

P1130044

Bloodroot buds in an embrace

P1130043

More later……

 

by

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!

IMG_1296

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.

IMG_1304

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