Monday, June 1, 2009

What's Blooming


Just took a walk around the garden to see the flowers and managed to snap a few pictures just before the rain started. This basket used to hold socks in little one's closet, but then he started using it to haul toys around and broke the bottom. So I lined it with a plastic Target bag and filled it with Miracle Gro soil with nutrients. He brought home a spiky tall yellow plant that was a seed project at school (you can just see it peeking out from the center), and then I filled in the rest with red geranium, white and purple alyssum, orange zinnia, and bright blue lobelia. This sits on a step to the back porch.

I'm also working on some miniature flowers for my Etsy shop too - so this week is all about gardening.

Chives are planted by the steps to the back porch. Love the smell and those pretty purple flowers are always a sign that summer is on the way.


This red patch of Dianthus (Sweet William) was planted by the gardener that used to own this house and it seems to get bigger and bigger every year.
My Mother's Day present from last year, the lilac has been blooming for a couple of weeks now. Not too tall, only 4 feet or so, but it's getting there! This one is growing next to the chicken barn.


The peonies! My favorites...well technically my favorites are daisies and lavender, but I have a huge soft spot for peonies. This one blooms in a bright pink fuschia color and it looks so pretty in front of this weathered old picket fence section. There's an herb farm and flower shop just down the road from us that a lady started out of her old barn. She has a ton of these fence sections leaning up against the wall for $5 each and I had to have one. Her husband was standing by to load it into the trunk for me (I think hubs and little one were making friends with a turkey they had in a pen) and when I selected this particular one because it was so chippy he said "A fine choice!" which struck me as really funny.
This year it's multi colored Impatiens in the window boxes. There are two big ones on the front and two of these smaller ones on the side of the house. Shade dominates the front so Impatiens are about all that will grow. Last year I researched shade plants and wasted about $90 on various gorgeous flowers and they all died. And you couldn't really see them anyway, too shady. So this year I'm keeping it simple and spent just $20 on two flats of these guys and had enough left over to plant two hanging baskets for the front porch.

What's going on in your garden?



Beautiful disaster; last year's window boxes:

6 comments:

  1. Wow it looks wonderful. Irv, my hubby started all of our flowers from seed in the basement and we have a yard full of you name it. He was even trying to give away some sunflowers to the neighbors yesterday because he had too many!

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  2. Your flowers look lovely. My DH does all our gardening because I don't like playing in dirt.

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  3. Okay, I'm slightly jealous that you guys have gardening DH's. I'm lucky if mine doesn't mow the flowers when he gets going on the tractor lol

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  4. My DH gardens but I still find myself spending over 4 hours every day out there with one thing or another. Often I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing though in this weather! Wish I had a tractor because we push mow an acre of grass every week. He swears the outside is man's work and the inside is womens work. He sure married a sucker cause I'm doing both! Anyway, I love your yard photos Jen, we share a lot of common flowers that are new to me being new in zone 5. Will you post the peonies again? I sure hope so! Enjoy your weekend, Cathy

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  5. I can sympathize Cathy, my DH is a little busy this summer and I've inherited his mowing duties. And I don't get along with his tractor so I've been push mowing an acre too. Free workout, that's what I'm telling myself what about you? lol
    I'm new in this zone too, I have irises that are taking forever to bloom and they've come and gone where I'm from in NY. Strange to get used to new plants, new bloom times. But it was great there were no late lingering frosts to kill everything. Spring stayed spring and I could put out tender stuff in May with no worries.
    Try and stop me posting those peonies, the best part of the garden.
    Post some of your garden too so we can check it out okay?

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  6. You bet! As soon as anything changes in the yard I'll definitely post. I'd call the lawnmowing "shoot me now" you can keep the workout:)

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