Tuesday, May 1, 2012

New Blooms on the Block

April showers bring May flowers you know!!
And we have really enjoyed the April showers that are happening nearly weekly!!
Soft colors inferno strip from High Country Gardens is going to town!!
Except that. .
I can count on one hand, how many times I have taken shelter from tornado warnings in my LIFE. .
And twice, during the month of April. .I found myself in a basement with people who were not part of my family. You may remember the episode I talked about at the beginning of the month, when my gardening buddy, Gardener on Sherlock came for a visit and we ended up sharing quality time in the basement with Grant and his video game.
The short pink flowers to the left are Fragrant Persion Stonecress, the taller lavender plants are Napeta (walker's low catnip) dark purple-Cardonna salvia, bright pink blooms are Jupiter's Beard.
Last night. .
At the high school awards banquet. .we joined all of the people in the cafeteria in proceeding to an underground weight room to hang out while we waited for the dangerous weather to pass. .concerned about the coaches, bus drivers, and our kids that had been 1 1/2 hours away at a track meet. .who were hiding out in a church basement!!
Kansas weather. .one just NEVER knows!!
And praise to God, who kept us from danger both times.
Elfin pink penstemon in the inferno garden. .while it is touted to attract hummers. .and I actually saw a hummer over the weekend in the yard. .I haven't seen a hummer on this plant!!
We had a pretty laid back weekend. Tristan got his foot surgically fixed on Friday. .And it went better than expected. After the podiatrist got into his foot, he decided that no canals through the bone needed to be drilled. .and no cartilage grafting either. Just cleaning out bone fragments,and shaving off a bony overgrowth was enough to fix the problem, he thinks. No weight bearing for him until he is seen this week.
He used some camo duct tape to "trick-out" his crutches. .and he has been SUCKING up the attention from any female in the school willing to give it to him!! We are hoping that he can be at least partially weight bearing by Friday, as the one act play that he has the male lead in for forensics, will be performing at state on Friday!!
The only thing that would make this set up a little better, would be solid sides. .so we couldn't hear him!! His mouth moves NON-STOP!
We are still loving the chickens. .One died last week for an unknown reason. .it was the largest plain white one. The others are at a horrifically U-G-L-Y stage of their lives. .and I keep thinking that I need to get some photos. A chicken raising friend looked at them over the weekend and said they looked perfectly normal to him. .I was starting to worry about their big patches of bare skin and hideous appearance!
Here is our home as you drive into the driveway. .the knockout roses are truly a knock-out this year!! Too bad they don't do vases!!
The peach irises are in their glory now. .They, fortunately, do tolerate vases well. .and make a great team with the white peonies and purple larkspur!
The unmarked hot pink peony just has a couple blooms this year. .but we are enjoying them. Cami helped me make a couple floral arrangements Friday. .she got to run the snippers. .and I am lucky to still have all my fingers!
This mini rose bush was given to me by my MIL several years ago after the passing of my first grandma. It is a reliable little pop of color!
Bridal pink rose bush only looks nice this time of the year. .the blooms usually do well in vases. .but I haven't actually gotten any into the vases! Soon the heat and insects will not do nice things to any blooms left. .and the slated high for Saturday is 1-0-2!! WHAT??
This tropicana rose bush is a bright spot out of my kitchen window. It is planted all by itself in a bed that I finally covered up with fabric and mulch to get rid of the bermuda grass. .The bed is in a great spot on the east side of the house. .and has morning sun with afternoon shade. .I haven't decided what to put in the spot yet. .but will be working on that in a year or two. So tropi stays there for now, but will likely move in the future.
This. .has been incredible!!
It was one of the bulbs that I ordered last fall from Brecks. I have never tried allium before. .and this year I planted 2 kinds. .I am so sorry I never grew them before!! This particular variety is Beau Monde (I think. .I'll correct it later if I find an error).
You can see. .
It is HUGE!!
It has been blooming for nearly 2 weeks now. .and has been absolutely covered in butterflies and moths.
Speaking of butterflies. .I have never, EVER seen the winged creatures in the numbers that are in my yard already this spring. All types. .monarchs, red admirals, moths of all types, a number of dragonflies, and I even think I saw a black swallowtail yesterday. .though I never got close enough to ID it. Cami tries to catch them, but is rarely successful. I had to ask her not to chase them through the inferno garden, as she was tromping down the plants, and they weren't recovering!
The sea of larkspur has started. My original clump of butterfly milkweed is among the sea. It will probably be in bloom by next week. It is a pretty striking, the vibrant orange with the hues of blue. A few other milkweed that I started from seed should also be big enough to bloom sometime this summer.
We are at the point of spring, when I have to take an extra moment to inhale deeply as I walk into the backdoor, or around the west yard, as the fragrant honeysuckle are in bloom. The hummingbird I have caught fleeting glances at, goes from the white to the orange and back again. I am hoping that I will have enough other food in bloom to entice him to stick around when the honeysuckle gives it up.
I was happy to find that Devin had taken initiative to fill up the pitcher pump water feature while Missy and I were antiquing a couple weeks ago. .I have really enjoyed listening to his small trickle while mulching and weeding!
Rocky Mountain Penstemon and Cardonna Salvia

Speaking of mulching. .I finished (mostly) mulching in the new memory garden, in which the inferno garden is the main highlight right now. As I dream about what it will look like as it matures, I can hardly wait to see it.
The Amethyst Falls Wisteria vine is blooming. .It should bloom for several months. .I hope so. I haven't really noticed a scent, and the buds seem smallish. .but I see great potential. .and the winged creatures are enjoying it too.
Every day brings new promises of what's to come. .buds on the cosmos, and some coneflowers. .as well as the buds on this Red Hot Poker. I chose it from HCG last year for the foliage, and the promise that hummers liked its blooms. .I'm looking forward to seeing this in it's full glory!

The schedules are beyond hectic now. .
with Jeremy and I having to divide forces to watch kids or take them places. .
so every ounce of serenity and quiet beauty that the gardens and their inhabitants have to offer. .
are a great source energy and refreshment.

 And. .even though this last month of school and everything it brings is just starting. .
I already feel like. . .
THIS!!!

Happy Monday. .
The FIRST day of May!!


Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

7 comments:

  1. This has been one of the most spectacular years for roses that I can remember! They are just gorgeous!

    But 102??? Yikes. It's WAY too early for that!

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  2. Your roses are incredible! I'm so envious-I've finally given up completely on them. When a person kills a Knockout rose, it's a sign that roses aren't their thing!

    I don't miss sitting in basements. When I lived in Illinois, that seemed to be a weekly occurence. Michigan may have endless winters, but we also don't have those twisty twirly things---and I'm glad!
    Have a great week, Melanie! I've so enjoyed seeing your blooms, they're gorgeous.

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  3. The school year is almost over!! We can DO IT! I think I may need a new pair of tennis shoes and some new tires on my car after this is all over. Sheeesh!
    The butterflies have been A.MAZ.ING this year!!

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  4. Here I am, saying once again, how impressed and in awe I am of your flowers! I hope you don't get bored of me saying that...cause it's all I can say...it's true...you are so gifted with growing all of these things...I just want to compliment you all the time about it. I love the alliums. They are stunning! I would like to try to grow those some day.
    My biggest problem is that I start out excited about stuff like that and then somewhere throughout the summer I get lazy about it and I don't like that about myself...so I have been avoiding planting anything pretty for the past years. I know I will again someday though, because it is so beautiful and so worth it! P.S. I can't believe the differences in your daughter from the time I started reading your blog until now! She is just growing so much and she is sooo adorable and so pretty!!

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  5. Your garden is looking so good. All the colors!
    As for the tornados...I think we usually take cover once a year so I'm good now, right?
    Chickens do have that ugly stage. Sorry you lost one. Hope they get more handsome soon.
    You really have great roses, something not in my garden. I usually enjoy our amazing gardening neighbors. Her grand daughter continues to care for them. Alliums are fun! One thing I notice is that the balls get smaller each year and eventually, I replant them. I don't know if they want to be divided every year or what. I just get 'em going and then add new ones when I want letting the smaller ones keep going with them until they putter out. They dry really nice too if you want them in an arrangement in the house. You can cut them with the flowers or when they make the little pods. I always cut mine before they make seed.
    Where did Cami get her silliness?
    Enjoy the flowers and stay cool!!! Looking forward to a cold front on Sunday.

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  6. I'm glad you have been spared from the tornadoes. I think of you all when ever I here the news from your area. I wouldn't want to hang out in a basement. I remember as a kid from MO, basements were so creepy. Your flowers are so pretty! I love peonies, they reminder me of my grandma. She always had them.

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  7. Beautiful plants, and I really like that pitcher pump!

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