Category Archives: The Garden Path
More blooms…..
The Rhododendron in my front garden is in full bloom right now and it sure is magnificent! The (3 varieties) of Coreopsis and the Purple Cone-flowers are also about ready to bloom right beneath the Rhodie. You can even see how the pots I planted just over a week ago have begun to fill out nicely already! 
Here’s a triple header. In the foreground is a beautiful Clematis vine, behind that are the bearded Iris and beyond that you can see the stunning Siberian Irises. I have hundreds of them and they are just starting to come out. I LOVE them! Such eye candy!
The Poppies in my Son’s yard have popped along with some Siberian Iris and the Coreopsis is threatening to crowd them all out. I better get transplanting!!
My Son’s Clematis are also in bloom. I planted these years ago when I owned his house and they are still thriving (on his neglect I might add…lol) The Hummingbirds and bees are very happy around our yards! Hope your garden is also alive with that wonderful music…hummmm, buzzzzz
the beginning of the blooming
I always enjoy filling the pots around the house and garden with annuals and taking pictures to compare with later photos of the same. Right now they all look pretty because we are so starved for color after the bleak winterscapes we’ve been seeing through our windows. But truthfully, they are just “okay” until they start to fill in and radiate with color. 
I do put a good variety of flowers and colors in my pots but this year I went a little heavy on the Snapdragons for some reason. When I went to the nursery, they took my eye because they were so huge. I got bright yellow and white ones and a flat of a different variety that were mixed colors but had not yet popped so they will be a surprise! The center always gets a nice tall flower…in this case dark violet “Angelface” which I have come to love. Of course they are surrounded by other flowers including my favorite…Verbena. I love the graceful fall of the stems of Verbena and the beautiful fluffy booms in so many beautiful colors. I’d say that they are always the “star” of any pot!!
Couldn’t find any Polka Dot plants to put in the side pockets of my strawberry pot where I always plant a variety of Coleus so I planted some Bacopa which will cascade and form a pretty frame for the Coleus. 
I’m predictable with the hanging plant that I put next to the shed each year because the good old Fan Flower, which is like a hybrid weed, really looks nice and does well in that location. I seriously think you could grow this plant on a door knob!
I went with these pretty Fuscia hanging plants for the front porch this year primarily because I couldn’t pass up the bargain price of $6.99 a pot!!! YIPES! They were in a tent sale at my local supermarket so I snapped them right up. =)
The Columbine is a favorite early bloomer with it’s showy profusion of exotic looking blooms. These are happy in the bed on the sunny side of the house.
Our Lilac bush is young but producing nicely! What a treat to pick an aromatic bunch for in the house!
My son-in-law made this divider to hang plants on for the patio. I put a nice variety on it and in another few weeks they will fill out and form a floral “wall” out there. A nice backdrop for patio dining!
The bearded Iris have just popped out and I love them. They are so “old fashioned” and I do love the Victorian era that it reminds me off.
Growing down across the road from our house you can find a nice selection of wild things in bloom. Well, things that over the years, have naturalized themselves to the surroundings. In this photo, you can see Flocks on the right, some Columbine on the left that seeded itself all along our road and a beautiful pink Honesuckle bush in the background. 
Here’s a closeup of the Honeysuckle. There are a lot of white/yellow bushes and vines along the road as well. The bees and Humming Birds love them too!
Years ago I used to purchase Vinca Vine to put in with my pot arrangements and would then put them in the ground at the end of the summer. So now whenever I want to put them in a pot, all I have to do is go dig a few out of the garden! I noticed that a plant this size sells for $5.99 at the nursery!! Yipes, I have a gold mine in my yard. lol
This mound of beautiful little white flowers is an early blooming perrenial in my front garden and I cannot remember for the life of me what it is. I have to look when I go to the nursery next time to see what it is but it sure is pretty and is spreading nicely.
So, just like these Oriental Poppies that are just ready to “pop”, things are really starting to bloom around the garden and I am really enjoying my morning walks…with cup of coffee in hand! Hope your garden is blooming as well. Get out there and enjoy every bud and blossom because , as we all know, it will soon be a snow covered memory……
Pop’s Peppers
I came home from visiting my Mom last evening to find this lovely arrangement of freshly picked peppers sitting in the middle of the dining room table. My husband is proud of his garden and this little harvest of veggies prompted him to set up this lovely display on a pretty plate. I was touched by his wanting to share the beauty of this bounty. To me it was as lovely as a big bouquet of flowers!!
Flocks & Iris
I have a multitude of Siberian Iris in bloom right now in my back garden. They are so beautiful and they have spread like wildfire. I know that could be troublesome for certain areas in a garden but it’s just perfect for where they are in my yard. I wanted to cut some for in a pretty cut glass vase but I needed something else to put in with them so I took a walk with Maggie and we brought back a nice bunch of Flocks which grow along our road in great abundance in many shades of white, pink and purple! I tucked a few of the Chives which have gone to flower in there for another shade of purple. You will notice that I also found a few “Yellow Flag” Iris to include in the bouquet. They too are growing wild along the road. At some point, the Township dumped a load of dirt and there must have been Iris tubers in the dirt because they have been spreading nicely through the years. We also have loads of columbine in a myriad of colors growing along the road. I feel so lucky to live where the flora and fauna have so much to offer. 
In this shot you can see the Siberian Iris spreading among the Bee Balm (not yet in bloom), the Chives and the Coreopsis which will soon be popping out with waves of bright yellow flowers. It is so beautiful back there right now and this is only about half of the Iris!
Close up of Siberian Iris
Ah…Spring!
back garden path
Here we are again..it’s Spring and we are on the garden path. To be exact, we are on the back garden path. This is the area of our gardens that sits above our back patio. In the foreground you can see a circle of flat(ish) rocks that form a little area where we have a metal fireplace for bon-fires. We have a garden bench that will go next to the fireplace when we get the energy to haul it off the front porch, where we keep it (relatively out of the elements) for the winter. To the left of the path is the mulched area that is under the bird feeder and that goes up to the treeline beyond which is woods. (and the animal cemetary) On the left of the path is a line of Hostas which, you may remember, I divided last spring and planted all over the neighborhood. As you can see, they could be divided again as they grow well there! The path itself is small red rock and (especially after a rain) it looks so pretty between the lines of green. The right side of the path is the bank that rises up from the patio below. That bank is covered with Creeping Myrtle, which right now, is covered in tiny purple flowers. 
Here’s the back birdbath (we have 2 others). It’s next to the woods and conveniently, right next to the back bird feeder…a sort of one-stop plaza for the wildlife! Notice the circle of transplanted Hostas from last year! In the background you can see an old fashioned “tiller” and no, my hubby doesn’t use that kind in the garden! It’s just a decoration. =)
Bleeding Hearts
Also in the area of the feeder and the tree line, because they do so well in a partially shaded environment, I have these gorgeous Bleeding Hearts. If you have them in your garden, take a look at them up close. They are so beautiful with the droplets of moisure showing through the tender transparent part of the blossoms! What a treat for the eyes!
a profusion of plants and textures
One of our side gardens is pretty shady. The whole mound is mulched so a lot of the mulch is just bare texture which I love to see in a garden as it gives it some visual interest. In this particular shot you can see where the Lilies of the Valley are just marching right through the Euonymus fortunei, Emerald Gaiety. And what have we here? A lovely baby pine tree has taken root right in the midst of it all. I don’t know if I have the muscles necessary to dig it out and transplant it but I guess I’ll have to try or “deal” with it when it gets out of hand!! =( Here is another bird bath for those discriminating birds, squirrels and chipmunks that might like a little more privacy….=) Notice, again, the hostas! lol!
flowering almond
I am so thrilled with this flowering almond bush that I transplanted from it’s former location on the back bank where it just did nothing for two years. Since I relocated it, it is such a happy, pretty little shrub! If something in your garden is just not thriving, move it to a new local and you may be surprised at what happens!!
Sunflower Patch
Sunflower bud
You know that Fall is can’t be far away when the Sunflowers start to bloom. The Donald planted a nice little patch of them..where else but up in that hodge podge garden on the back bank! They really do look pretty there peeking out from behind the over bloomed Bee Balm though.
I always think of the Sunflower as that little voice reminding us that Summer is winding down and we’d better enjoy these last warm days while we can!
Tomato wilt…
medium sized tomatoes
All around the county you hear folks complaining about their tomato leaves curling up and dying. The Donald’s garden is no exception. As you can see, there are no lush leaves surrounding the lower tomatoes on these vines. That’s because the wilt starts at the bottom and works it’s way up. He picks off the wilted leaves when they become too much of an eyesore but, as you can see, the tomatoes are still growing pretty nicely.
mini tomatoes
Even the small varieties like the grape and cherry tomatoes are subject to this leaf wilt. While at the Farmer’s market recently, the Donald asked the Master Gardeners about it and they said that he would have to get rid of the soil and disinfect the pots next year and start with fresh soil. That sounds like a pretty easy solution to me but I guess that’s a lot of potting soil to replace when you think about it!! Oh well, the potting soil companies have to survive too. Small price to pay if you are serious about getting rid of the wilt. Happy gardening!
Garden Journal
Trumpet flowers
I keep a Garden Journal of when the perennials bloom each year in my gardens, anything new I plant and the locations, how many annuals I purchase each year for the pots and the cost of those annuals, etc. I’m pretty good at writing in the journal in the early spring and summer when the excitement of new growth is still high. Then I tend to neglect writing down when the later spring and autumn plants begin to bloom. This year I am trying to be more consistent! Here is a classic example of two beautiful plants pictured above and below. The trumpet vine, which you can see growing on a white arbor that my son-in-law made, has a heavy, woodsy trunk from which the shoots spring forth in abundance each year and within the past week (first week of August) has bloomed gloriously! In the background, you can see the Bee Balm also in full bloom. The Hummingbirds and Bees just love these plants and being located so close to the hubby’s veggie garden, they are a real plus for pollination! This is the eye candy which is the reward of your gardening efforts!
Trumpet Vine & Bee Balm
A visit to the garden..
A visit to the garden always starts with the proper attire and tools!!
Okay, let’s go! Up the garden path…
This path of red gravel, bordered on one side by Hostas and the other by the bank of Creeping Myrtle, was one of my first landscaping marvels! I was so proud of myself when I dug this path into a dusty clay bank at the “birth” of our back garden!
The Bee Balm is at the very top of my loosey goosey back garden. This garden is home to anything that won’t grow anywhere else or the “over flow” from other beds and has become a wild profusion of Coreopsis, Trumpet Vine that escaped from the trellis, Vinca vines, Italian Basil run- amuck, Siberian Iris, Wild Strawberries and Bearded Iris..just to name a few!!
At the back of the patio, I have this wonderful old wagon that my Step-Dad gave to me just before he died. My husband has faithfully restored it for me and I love to fill it with flower pots each summer. This year, with all the early rain, a lot of the old fashioned variety of Snap Dragons didn’t make it but as you can see I still have Snap Dragon hybrids, Bocopa, Nicotania, Lantana, Petunias and my favorite…Verbena. It’s a nice backdrop for patio dining.
As I said, Verbena is one of my all time favorite annuals and I couldn’t resist hanging this big one next to the shed.
Here we are back at the front garden. Here I have three kinds of Coreopsis. The tall gold one, the meduim yellow and a pretty pink one that grows close to the ground. The Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea purpurea) grows like crazy here and I have to keep it in check! The Rhododendrons like this location as well.
To end our walk in the garden today, here is a honey bee working busily at a cone flower. Hope you enjoyed the gardens!
God, the Gardener
Queen Annes Lace and Tiger Lilies
On our road, we are lucky to have many varieties of wild flowers. Among them are the beautiful Queen Annes Lace, which is an herb of the parsley family. It’s a common weed but widely naturalized in North America and the Eternal Gardener has seen fit to team it up with the hardy orange Tiger Lily on our road. It’s as lovely an arrangement as Martha Stewart herself could come up with! Some other wild flowers on our road are the very fragrant and multi hued Honesuckle, Mock Orange (again, very fragrant), Creeping Myrtle, a wonderful ground cover with shiny dark foliage and purple flowers in spring, Crown Vetch (which I hate as it is very invasive if it gets into your gardens) , Daisies, Buttercups and a host of others as well. We also have rasberries, blackberries and strawberries growing wild along the road. The strawberries were especially abundant this year. One summer when my son was very young, we looked up wildflowers in the library and with books in hand, we set out to discover what we could identify in our area. I wish I could remember the names of all those flowers we studied back then! There is a major brook flowing near our home that is fed by a big dam and there is abundant flora and fauna along it’s banks to study. Guess I should revisit those banks and see what is still there and what may have taken root since those long ago summer days…..
