Friday, May 24, 2013

May Showers. .AND May Flowers!

Oh My!!
What a whirlwind of activities!!
School is now officially OUT. .
And summer vacation is IN!
We have been to play day for Devin. .
Preschool graduation for Camille (complete with the caps and a processional). .
And though the weather hasn't been perfect for gardening. .
We are getting some of that squeezed in!
We had nearly 3 inches of rain last weekend after high school graduation. .
See how my back yard looked after it came in a torrential fashion?!
We also had hail with it. .
But not as large as the hail that broke through multiple panes of my greenhouse the week before!!
We have had quite a bit of rain this spring. .
and cooler temperatures than the last two years at this time. .
So, we are hopeful for a break in the drought pattern!
The rains filled my pond to the brim!
And the pasture pond that belongs to our neighbor!!
It's been a while since there was water there. .
And it was a beautiful site for sore eyes!
We enjoyed a little pasture tour the one beautiful evening we had. .
And found some great wildflowers. .
that I don't even think we saw last spring!
This is what I love about Kansas when it is nice. .
Big, wide open spaces. .
and super blue skies. .
The yucca plants are nearly blooming. .
I will have to go out this weekend and see if I can capture a photo. .
They are SOOO gorgeous in full bloom!
The yard is starting to explode with color too. .
I have been hard at work planting, planting, planting. .
and watering, watering, watering. .
over the last several years. .
But THIS year. .
Things finally seem to be coming together. .
and it is looking like a garden instead of random plants and bushes!
Two of the three honeysuckle bushes survived. .
I thought they would be fragrant. .
but they aren't.
I was going to yank them back out. .
but they have a nice dense habit, that will be good for wildlife. .
And they do produce some red berries, that always seem to get eaten. .
So they will stay. .
not to mention,
I am liking the upright structural element that they are finally providing in their garden spots!
The spirea that I snatched from my mother in laws hedge are ready to bloom. .
and the dwarf spruce trees in the background are turning that wonderful shade of 'new-growth blue'. .
The spiky foliage in the foreground is a red hot poker, and I noticed in the last couple days that it will be blooming soon too!
The iris are blooming. .
This peach one is probably one of my favorites. .
I don't think we had ONE iris blossom last year. .
But the plants are loaded this year. .
I even found this pink and white bloom. .
that I think came from my friend Sally. .
I've never seen it before!
The Russian garden is looking pretty pathetic. .
but better, after Grant spent some time weeding out the cheat grass!
I was pretty surprised to find this long, tall bud in the Texas Red Yucca plant. .
The surprising part was, that the same type of plant right next to this one. .
which is about quadruple the size of this little guy. .
Has NO blooms yet. .
It should finish opening any day now. .
And is more red than the pink color it was at the beginning of the week when I snagged the photo.
THAT should be a hummingbird magnet for SURE!
My other hummingbird magnet. .
The orange honeysuckle. .
 is blooming and climbing up the structure. .
but I haven't noticed any hummingbirds coming near it. .
Maybe this weekend as I have time to sit, I'll see one!
The neighbor said she has seen several already.
Nellie Moser clematis is blooming. .
And so is the primrose plant that I got from Garden on Sherlock Street last spring. .
Speaking of GonSS. .
I was hoping for a real live tour of her Garden tomorrow. .
That was. .
until Miss Thing ended up with the stomach flu this evening. .
Now I'm just hoping for a little sleep tonight. .
and that the Lysol and Clorox will effectively protect the rest of us!
Sickness wasn't what I had on my agenda for the weekend. .
But. .
It is what it is!
And. .
in between some cleaning tasks. .
and a little gardening. .
I hope I'll find time to just sit still. .
And enjoy all nature has to offer!
Hope you have time to do some of that too!!
Enjoy your long weekend!

5 comments:

  1. Can't believe you had water pool like that. Hope some of it soaked in well.
    That pink iris is so sweet. Looks like a lot of plants are really finding their stride right now. My primrose is getting going too. That pink is such a cool contrast with the blue clematis you have. That is very pretty.
    Bummed we have to postpone our visit, but take care of everyone so you can all enjoy some weekend. Cute succulent containers together. I bought a new succulent which was not labeled at the garden center. All it said was 'hardy.' Maybe a post one day to get some ID from our fellow garden bloggers.

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  2. Hi Melanie-sorry about the change in your weekend plans--you take good care of Miss Thing.

    Love all the photos--and especially those wide open spaces. That's what we always loved about Nebraska. Folks that have never seen such "space" can't imagine the beauty (and peacefulness!).
    Have a good weekend.
    I was hoping to plant some things, but looks like more frost in the forecast.
    :(

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  3. Wow, you got a flood! That's so good to see water, though, after the last two years. Hope everyone's feeling good.

    Now ... that picture of the yucca, with the sky and clouds? YOU MUST ENTER THAT IN THE COUNTY FAIR. :D Beautiful!

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  4. Great post, wonderful photos:) Greetings

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  5. That's a LOT of water. We have yet to see that much this year. I sure hope we break the drought, but I am still holding my breath!

    I have this spot on the northwest side of my house that we are having some trouble getting the grass to spread to, so I am hoping to get a little section of native Kansas wildflowers growing there. It might be next year before I get around to that though.

    We saw a hummingbird here on Sunday afternoon, and we don't have any plants! So honeysuckle and a feeder are on our short list of things to purchase asap!

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