Are they Real??

My buddy Mr. Gum Paste Joel (the same one who went to the botanical gardens with me) made this beautiful dahlia for me.. He made it out of sugar.. It is a gum paste flower. I am honored he would do something like this for me.. It takes a lot of time and patience to make these. He also does cakes that are amazing as well. My boys and hubby thought it was real, when they first saw it.. One thing I wasn't prepared for, it was heavy!! Very top heavy, thus why it is lying down.. Fun fact, I brought it home in a tissue supplied box and belted it my youngest car set, so I wouldn't break it..

Ladybird Beetle and Angel Trumpet

Angel Trumpet seed pod.. Don't touch it will prick you.. Frightening looking really.

I use ladybird beetles, AKA ladybugs in my garden to naturally dispose of aphids and other such pests.. KC MO garden guy over at Midwest Gardening tried some out for his first time not too long ago..

I am very careful as to what ladybugs I introduce into my garden.. I make sure they are the native to North America ones. There are some on the market that sell Asian ones and they can interupt the environment. Kind of like Kudzu and Wisteria down here in GA.

I release about 1500 of them at a time three times throughout the summer. In the morning so they have a chance to settle in.. As for the Angel Trumpet, ONE STINKING bloom. It really didn't like the triple digit temps here.

Four O Clock (Marvel-of-Peru ,Beauty-of-the-Night (Mirabilis jalapa))

So heavy the stalks are close to breaking.


I love this flower.. Every year it comes back with abundance.. Here in my garden it is an annual/perennial depending upon where it is planted.. I have stalks of it that come back bigger and bigger every year. Large bush sized that are South facing.. The North facing ones are annuals, that reseed themselves hardily.. Mine are all the hot pink color.. I love the smell of them when they open up in the evening.. Hence the name Four O Clock. They sleep like I do in the morning and day and then come out to play at night..

Crazy Picture Challenge (Psychedelic Sunday)

Disco Inferno Starring Coneflower
I would like everyone to pick one photo from this summer and change/edit it to make a new funkyone.. Then come up with a fun name for the picture.. Leave us a link and why you chose that photo in the comments.. How wild and crazy can you get with a flower photo??

I chose to do the coneflower because of the purple and orange hues it already had and just enhanced them to make it funky.. This flower can be a standout in ones garden.. But has to be watched here because the volunteer rate of this perennial is astounding.. Esp. if the Goldfinches have their way with it.

Thanks Skinny Garden for the P. S. title.. :) awesome!!

Larger Scale Pairings

Don Juan and Jack Mani

Nikko Blue Hydrangea and Good Old Fashioned Ditch Daylilies Another pairing of the view up the side of my house, from the neighbors driveway.. The blues and oranges have always stuck out to me.

Early Summer Bouquet

Early Summertime is my favorite for blooming perrenials.. My favorites you can guess, by this collage.. Lilies.. I love daylilies, orientals and asiatics.. I would love to get my hands on some of the Tiger ones as well. This time of year with the oppresive heat, I find myself thinking back to when the whole garden was in bloom, not just the tired, droopy annuals.

Christopher Marlowe By David Austin

Christopher Marlowe by David Austin has to be my favorite rose in my garden.. The differences in the colors when it opens is spectacular.. I grew up where the roses were huge!! I have become very fond of the English Roses myself.. Their fragrance and ability to resist mildew and black spot make them even better. Their blooms may not be huge, but the bush is usually packed in the spring and fall. This rose is my most abundant producers, in its third year, it has not disappointed.. I also sometimes wonder where the name comes from.. Anyone know?

As for the weekend, it was another wild one at work, hence the no posts.. I had to choose sleep vs. blogging and the sleeping won out.. Working til 4-5am sure messes up an sleep schedule one could have.. The good news, it rained a good amount over the weekend, so I really didn't miss out on any gardening..

Peeking Through the Foliage

I was goofing off with my camera yesterday after a nice Thunderstorm and took pictures of the flowers at many angles.. Some of the best photos of that bunch came from randomness. It comes to show how wonderful flowers are and photogenic at any angle.. Unlike humans.. These two flowers are my favorite Nikko Blue Hydrangea and my wishbone/monkey flower that volunteered in a pot of mine this year..

Long Gone Clematis

I find that even though the color and vibrancy of my white clematis are gone, it is a very interesting plant to look at.. The color and especially the texture are unique.. Too bad all flowers can't have something along the lines of clematis when their petals fall off.

Oriental Lily Black Beauty

She bloomed on her first summer after planting.. What a great thing!! I was thrilled to see the huge stalk and all the buds on the end.. This morning... I caught my first up and personal glimpse of her.. I loved how she had petals that curved similar to tiger lilies. The smell is sweet and not overpowering like some Orientals. are.. My daughter loved it as well and couldn't stop smelling it.. This flower is one that my grandmother (who passed on the green thumb to me) would have loved in her garden.. I know she is please with this picture and smiling from heaven..










Quick update.. I have pledged to change my lightbulbs, as a step in the right direction to decrease my "footprint".. I will replace two lightbulbs today.
http://action.earthday.net/dia/organizationsORG/EDN/signUp.jsp?key=2108&Country=US

Neighbors Daylily

A neighbor of mine was getting rid of daylilies last year, because she was so "overrun with them", so I gladly took them off her hands. This is one that she gave me, the color is so vibrant I wish I knew it's name.

One of Many

I am obsessed with flower pots. I like to make my own instead of buying them.. I have found that hanging baskets are a bit harder for me.. I have birds who seem to always want to nest in them.. Even with the cats around.

This basket has petunias, which are one of my basket staples. I try to mix perennials in the pots as well, so when next year comes, I don't have to fork out as much money to fill them in.. Homestead verbena is my favorite perennial in pots.

Pots everywhere and pots to water daily everywhere.. The kids run when I ask them to go get the hose and sprayer fired up. Some run to do it for me and others run away.. My poor neighbor who watered them daily for us while we were on vacation for 10 days.. That was sure nice of her..

Hydrangea Stages

We had a very late freeze last spring (more like early summer) and at that time my Hydrangea was loaded with flower buds and new growth.. Well guess what happened.. Most froze overnight, even covered with a sheet and turned brown the next day.. Some a very small some survived and that is where my blue blooms come from.. The survivors of the freeze.. However the plant has buds and blooms in all sorts of stages, which provides a much longer blooming time for this plant, which for me is usually a one time show in June..

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)

Who has heard of the wonderful medicinal properties of the echinacea?? I have friends who would live and die by the stuff, esp. when they get sick.. This flower is native to the Eastern US and grows like wildfire if left to propigate itself.. I had one plant of it last year, which turned into 15 new ones this year.. I really don't mind.. I like the flower. It does tolerate a variety of climates, which makes it ideal for growers all over..

I suspect this was another medicinal plant used by my ancestors when they crossed the plains on their pioneer trek.. It is one of the most widely used herbs now and was then as well. It's claims include helping one with their immune systems, before and after an illness begins. It is too keep one in "Good Health".. Personally it doesn't work for me, what are your takes on it?

Monarda (bee balm, horsemint, oswego tea, or bergamot)

BZZZ, BZZZ, BZZZ is the sound you hear when you are near the Bee Balm (that is what I call it).. If you are lucky you may even catch a hummingbird. These flowers/herb are very attractive for bees and hummingbirds. These are native to North America and the one picture is a genuine wildflower, I found on a hike in Illinois. Many cultivars have been made for the home gardner like myself..

In my own garden my cultivated variety spreads like wildfire and needs divided every couple of years to maintain the health and vigor of the plant. I put it in the back of my beds to encourage the pollenation by the bees for the other plants. They are in the back because they have a tendancy to get about 2 1/2 feet tall. I also find that it pops up in places I haven't put it too.

What fascinated me was the use of the monarda. My ancestors who crossed the plains going West used the plant for medicinal purposes. The plant was found all along the trek, so it was in good supply. They used it to treat headaches and fevers. They would crush the leaves and steep in hot water to make a tea. I wonder what else they used it for?