Sunshine at Last!!!

 
I do not think I can stand the excitement with the forecast for three or four days without rain. LOL!
The sun is shining and Grumpy Gardener has fled the premises. I know you all are glad since you have heard me complaining so much.
Got a hike in today with the daughter and feel much better.

The new “Color Flash” Astilbe is getting buds. I love the leaves on this new astilbe.

The Purple Clustered Bellflowers are finishing up now. I wished they lasted longer.

  But the Becky Shasta Daisy’s are taking their place in the beds.

This is “Crazy Shasta” daisies that I grew from seed last year. They are getting their first blooms this summer and I really like the frilly petals on them.

This is the first year that I have grown Brachycome or Swan River Daisies from seed. I am not impressed with the how tiny the blooms are. They  came in a  assortment of colors and they are not the prettiest colors all but for the blue ones. They are a pretty powder blue so I may save some seeds from the blue to use for container fillers next year.

 
“Mesa Yellow” Gaillardia

Missouri Primrose with a hitch hiker on board.

Monarda “Petite Wonder” Beebalm is only about 10 to 12 inches tall and likes the front of the beds.

Echinacea “ Summer Sky” is lovely now. I have it tucked into the Pole Bed with Hot Papaya Echinacea and  Apricot Delight Achillea. Maybe I should call it my “ Seventies” Bed instead. LOL!  Visions of brown, orange and olive green. Yuck!

The two year old Lily Bed along the Woodland garden is looking fair now although all of the rain has them falling over. In a few years this should be a very pretty bed.

 
The window box got hung back up Monday and I even got to get the window frame painted before hanging it.
I did have one little mishap when I went to the garage to get the drill……
I stepped on this monster below which I did not see until I started to step down and stepped right into its middle.
The brain registered snake! copperhead! as I stepped on it.
Needless to say this old fat lady can  jump pretty high and move fast when the need arises. LOL!
I grabbed the hoe and killed it so this is one that did not get away. No shotgun required this time since the how was closer.
Not a copperhead but I am clueless as to what it kind it is. Milk snake?
I could care less just as long as it is a dead snake.
Did I ever tell you that I HATED SNAKES!!!!!!!
So the misadventures and mishaps of the lady who hates snakes continues. If you missed my posting you can catch up here.

 
Everyone Watch out for the Snakes
And Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

Technorati Tags: Gaillardia,Echinacea,Primrose,Lilies,Monarda,Bellflowers,Astilbe,Snakes

Dawes Arboretum Japanese Garden

 

Here are some more pictures of our visit to Dawes Arboretum this Spring. These are from the Japanese Garden there.

When we saw this we wondered how many children may have ran through it to leave their footprints. LOL!

  Japanese Irises were in bloom were stuck in among the boulders to soften the look.

 

The lake in the Japanese Garden was just so beautiful. We could see very large Koi swimming all around in the lake.

From the rains that day the rocks of this rock bridge across the upper end of the lake were really slippery looking so we did not attempt to try to cross them.

 

The paths around the lake were beautiful with Azalea’s and other flowering shrubs lining them. We saw many locals who were using the many paths at the  arboretum for their daily walks. If I lived nearby I would be among them. It was such a tranquil place to walk and I can imagine there would be something new to look at every day whether from the many plantings or from the many animals and birds who called it home. I noticed they did have a lot of fencing around some of the smaller trees to keep the deer away from them.

I think these were Duetzia shrubs although I could not find a tag for them. I am certain some of you wonderful gardeners will correct me if I am wrong on this one. They were filled with small white blooms.

Kerria japonica variegata white edge.

We both loved this  Osakazuki  Japanese Maple. There was a slight edging of the leaves with red and the seed pods were red.

Allium cristophii Star of Persia

I have just the right spot for one of these gate arbors if only I had a fella who could build it.  LOL!

The temperature is 64 degrees and raining again here today but they are saying we will be getting hot weather this week, but alas the rain will still be continuing.


Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

Technorati Tags: Dawes Arboretum,Japanese Garden,Iris,Allium,Azalea,Japanese Maples

Every Day This Year

 

Every day this year has been an adventure. The only constant has been the rain and it has me shaking in my shoes to see what will happen next weather wise.

 Aristo Petticoat Pelargonium

Yet another round of storms went through yesterday.
My  routine here lately has consisted of the dumping of excess water from every container and pot daily.

 Mandevilla Red Parasols

Only I forgot to check the window boxes to dump out their excess rainwater. After the storms yesterday I ventured out to dump water and one of the window boxes had pulled loose from the weight and was laying on the ground just missing the Nikko hydrangea growing below it.

 
Calla Lily & Ipomea Vine

And just to add insult to injury today it is 62 degrees.
It is Summer isn’t it? My memory is very lacking on any given day. As many of you can glean from my mistakes and apologies so far this year.

 
Roma Petunias

Now the talk is no longer about Global Warming but now its turned to not enough sun flares this year and returning to the Ice Ages.

Is that why this Sunpatiens has not bloomed yet? Lack of sun and too much rain????

Silhouette Red Star Double Impatiens

And just when I thought the Grouchy Gardener was gone for the year she has slinked back with a vengeance.

  Hydrangea Macrophylla Mariesli Variegata

Maybe its because she has ran out of plant stakes…

Yellow Asiatic Lilies

and the lilies are sagging.

Maybe its not just the ruined window box and plantings…

Blue Clips Campanula

but  it is because she had to toss away the little wooden plant ladder because of rot.

Pink Astilbe

It could be she returned because of all of the Irises she planted last Fall only one bloomed..

Brindle Beauty

Or may it is something simpler like the last of the Foxglove blooms.

But just give her one full day of sunshine and maybe a rainbow 

 
or two and Grouchy Gardener will fade away again.

Or maybe some cute, fluffy, little swan signets will do the trick.

 

Ahhh, I feel much better now but you all may be depressed. LOL!

Since it is Friday already
( time flies while your dump rainwater) 
I will be joining in on “Fertilizer Friday” over at “Tootsie Time”. So join us in ‘Flaunting Your Flowers’.

And I mean it when I say….

Everyone Have a Wonderful Weekend &
Happy Gardening!
Lona

 

Technorati Tags: Swans,Signets,Campanula,Iris,Mandevilla,Hydrangea,Foxgloves,Lilies,Calla Lily,Ipomea,Petunias

Lily Days are Here

 
We have been having days of rain again and I can see some of the flowers are getting distressed by all of the water around their roots.
 
You know it is a wet season when toadstools are growing in the grass. With the rain and humidity  the siding on the house is greening with algae which I have to scrub and hose off and the outdoor furniture cushions are turning black from the mildew. I had to spray the cushions this morning with a bleach water solution to get rid of it. This is the first year my outdoor cushions have mildewed.

But on the brighter side….

the lily bed along the Woodland garden are starting to bloom and there are many buds.
By the way the string in the picture runs all around the circumfuse of the Woodland bed to deter the deer who love to munch on them. The string breaks up the deer’s paths that use to run through this section. It is suppose to be built of an invisible twine to spook them when they run into it but here in our small community I could not find any and used a nylon crochet thread but it has helped. I also use a deer repellant and garlic clips which I hang onto the string. 

An assortment of Asiatic lilies were planted here in this section so I do not know some of their names. There are many of the orange lilies here.

The pollinators seem to really love the orange ones, me not so much. LOL!

There were also a few red ones that bloomed earlier.

 
There are these white lilies which have a tinge of green to them.

 
There are also some pure white ones in the assortment that I just love.

  The pink and white are also a pretty lily.

Other lilies now blooming in the garden beds are…

“Elodie” pink which the little Earwig seems to fancy.

 

  “Prairie Blue Eyes” daylily

 

“ Garden Pleasures” orienpet

I can see this lily has browning edges which may be weather related.

The “Lolipop” lilies are finishing their blooms now.

 

“Stella de Oro” daylily is blooming in several locations about the garden. This one has been divided several times over the years.

               I had to throw in one rose to this posting..

“ Roma Bella” rose is not liking the rain and humid weather and she is tinged with brown and it really ruins the beauty of this rose.

I hate to complain about the wet weather we are continuing to have because it could turn into a dry spell and any moment here in Ohio.
But tropical plants would do well here this year in the garden if I had any and of course the weeds just love the wet weather. On the bright side the weeds are easier to pull when it is so wet. LOL!

 Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

Technorati Tags: Lilies,Bella Roma Rose