Saturday, May 26, 2012

It’s All Happening in the Garden

Yep, my life lately has been spent more outdoors in the garden than in my studio.  But when the weather is nice, one must take advantage.  This weekend (Memorial Day in the US) is cool and rainy, though, so I will be catching up with my Etsy shop special orders, new listings (more new laces!!).  I also attended a fantastic Estate Sale yesterday, and am busy sifting through it.  Perhaps I can share pictures, LOL. I can`t decide what to keep and what to sell.  :-)

So, here are some garden pictures.  For this post, I will concentrate more on the front yard, which is done, and the blooming roses and irises.  Later posts can show you the backyard, but right now everything is in the “before” stage there; even the vegetable garden is just barely poking up.

Front steps with our colorful Mexican Talavera pots. They are so cheerful and I love them so!

Closer view of some of the pots and the Mr. Lincoln rose tree.  

Some of the pots with bleeding hearts blooming in the background.

We always get comments about our “flagstone” walkway.  Like, who can afford flagstone??  This is a cement walkway and steps that were embossed and dyed by the contractor at the time of installation (at least 8 years ago) and it is fabulous. And only a little more expensive than regular cement.


I love this flower bed to the left of our front door.  We had a rose tree there for about 9 years, but lost it last year in a very mild (but dry) winter.  So, to replace the color at that level, I added a shepherd’s hook with two basic pots of petunias.  We have planted another rose tree, but it is a miniature, barely visible in the right of the photo.  The purple salvia is blooming, and the various lilies will be coming on soon. In the meantime, we are enjoying their lush greenery.

The mow strip, also cement, matches the walkway and steps.  Different contractor, done 4 years after the steps. Pure serendipity.

The irises in the front planter along the front window are in their full glory.  And, like most of my other irises, they need thinning. That is on my To Do list for late July/early August.  All the neighbors and family are on alert, LOL!


Irises in bloom on the west side yard.




This iris is a hybrid called Champagne.  It blooms and multiplies profusely.

I know that I said earlier this year that we did not have any bird nests in our grape arbor this year, but this one was built right after I said that. Same exact place as last year!  No, it is not the same one, because I took the other one down to preserve it in the fall as a decoration.  The picture doesn’t show it, but the birds used some white paper in building this nest.  Perhaps next spring I will scatter threads and fabric scraps and see if we can get a crazy quilt nest, LOL!   Oh, there are no inhabitants of this nest.  There are a pair of robins - a Mr. and Mrs. who visit the yard regularly, but this is not their home.


This is the back wall of our yard.  We have a lilac, climbing roses and tulips (in season), then irises. And a concord grape.  The big blank space was left by the clematis we also lost over the winter. I now planted a climbing hydrangea there, which does not need supports because it supposedly attaches itself to walls. We will see.  But, don’t you love those iris colors?  I should probably stake those heavy blooms. Or cut some to enjoy indoors.   The dirt there is part of the planted garden. More of that in another post.

Concord grape bush and irises.
I love irises!!


This one is soooo showy!!

Don’t you love this color?  We go every few years to the Iris Society sale in July and buy unusual rhizomes. 

Another one of my favorites, LOL (like kids, they are ALL favorites!).  There is a hosta there, too.  I should plant more there to fill in some of the areas along there.  Mental note made.


My famous (hehe) Daybreak Rose bush, which I blogged about last year here.    They are blooming one month earlier this year!


I saved this picture as my screen saver.   Feel free to do the same with this one or the next one!



This is an old rosebush in the backyard that is just coming on.  

This pink rose bush was a weak and wimpy thing the first year or three, but now is wild, blowsy and very fragrant.  It needs to be supported, though.  But it is my friend, so that is OK!  :-)

Hiding behind the rose in the above picture (not directly behind, but just not visible) is this delphinium, below.  Wait until it begins its show next month!!

Pictured below is my east side yard.  Making progress.  That mess of a lavender bush is gone and I partially pruned the snowball bush after it bloomed.  Now I can get in there and get all the grass out (very few weeds; mostly just grass).  Then it will get mulched.  I haven’t decided what is going to go there.  Maybe some of those irises?  Miniature roses?  Or just head to the nursery and see what speaks to me??



Have a wonderful Memorial Day (or plain ol’ weekend, depending on where you are!)

Hugs,
Cathy maroon

6 comments:

  1. Your front yard is glorious! Certainly well worth all your hard work. I've been in the garden too, pulling weeds mostly so far.

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  2. How beautiful! Thanks for sharing your garden with us.

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  3. wow, I wish you lived in MI, I would love to trade some Iris tubors with you! Gorgeous

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  4. Lovely! Can't wait to see it in person. That rose bush is just amazing, year after year!

    Hugs,

    Bev

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  5. Your flower gardens are lovely, but the prize is that stunningly gorgeous rose bush! If I close my eyes I can just imagine the beautiful smell of those roses! Just love them.

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