Gotta Garden

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Not Quite Summer, Not Quite Peak....

Lots of rain of late and with that, some great blooms...larger than normal and more intense colors. It's hard to keep up as each day more and more open. Peak will probably be in a week or so, as a guess. The only down side (besides extreme weed growth) is that getting to the seedlings on my hill is near impossible. The bottom bed is especially difficult and that's the one I must make the difficult decisions on. Ah well...their fate will have to be decided on later blooms...

Here's some of what I'm seeing...

Surprise!


Scurrying to get away....


thinks he/she is safe now, hiding under the peonies...


I was trying to photograph this one, JAN'S TWISTER, when I surprised Mr. (Ms.) Turtle...


SUGAR PLUM JAM...


GREEN MYSTIQUE, not showing any green...


...unlike GREENWAY...with great green edges (can't get enough of this one!)...


BLUEBIRD BUTTERFLY...


TREMOR...


KATHRYN JUNE WOOD...


PEACE BE WITH YOU...


FOREVER REDEEMED...


WONDER OF IT ALL...


VIOLET BECOMES YOU, more purple than this picture shows...


Poly on TRICOLOR...


BANSHEE WHISPER...




YOU BET YOUR SWEET BIPPY...



YOU BET YOUR SWEET BIPPY from an angle, showing the blasted scape ('fixed' with green duct tape) and, if you look down, the instant rebloom scape coming up....


SAN IGNACIO...quite tall this year...


Clump shot of PEPPERMINT PINWHEEL...


closer...



BENCHMARK...more vivid this year...


Clump of BARBARA MITCHELL...


MISSOURI MEMORIES...


ETHEL BUCCOLA...


GLEAM OF TIME...


For grins, here's the pollen I collected this morning...

Monday, June 15, 2009

Sad...

Last night, my father passed away. He had fought hard for the past three months, but it wasn't to be. My father had just turned 80, so he had a long life. I feel blessed to have had him as my father and am grateful that I was able to spend that 80th birthday with him.

How this intersects here is that my father enjoyed growing plants. For a number of years, he propagated African Violets and when my parents owned their home, had a vegetable garden every year. I remember his enthusiasm for roses which waned, I suspect, with receiving virused plants that we later learned were problematic during that era. I could talk a lot about my dad, but what I am actually here to write about is something that happened today.

I was lying in bed thinking about my garden for comfort and, in particular, my daylilies (surprise). I had the thought that I would very much like to name a daylily for my dad. My seedlings (it's early yet) haven't exactly been superlative so far (as some of you might know from various forums) this year. It bothered me a bit that I realized I didn't even know my dad's favorite color.

As I pondered this, I thought that it must be a daylily that stands out...not because it is unusual or bizarre (which my dad wasn't)...but one that is sturdy, strong and works its heart out, never giving up. I realized this could be difficult and might take a few years to find out. It would give me comfort to have one to keep an eye on, though. I thought maybe it shouldn't be a tall one (because my dad wasn't) but just average height. It should be one that makes you glad to see it.

Okay, now those are generalizations, but you get my drift. Upon arising this morning, I took the dogs out front and looked around at what was blooming (not seedlings, those are in back)...I felt a bit nervous because I soooo wanted to find something, now that I have this thought. I'm pretty patient with my seedlings, but today is different.

I came inside and took a peek out the window...

I must say, it did catch my eye...and I was very excited to go down and have a look...(you know, the mud...)

Cutting to the chase...


I'm liking it!

A pretty good looking scape....


Now, this is the ffo (first flower open)...ever...on this seedling...it has lots of challenges to go through...but, I gotta tell you....on such a sad day, I feel a bit of hope...and, I guess, maybe a tad encouraged...

Here it is again...(that's self-seeded parsley behind it...in the seedling bed...I am, apparently, running a swallowtail butterfly farm...)...


Well, who knows...but, for today...it's enough...

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Today's Finds: 061409

Last night brought a big old thunderstorm, so things are really wet today...starting off with...

AERIAL APPLIQUE...


FEMININE INTUITION...


YOU BET YOUR SWEET BIPPY (ffo...and on a blasted scape)...


WONDERS NEVER CEASE...


TERRY LYNINGER...


HERMITAGE NEWTON....


WALTER KENNEDY...


ETCHED EYES...


ARCTIC LACE...



BECKYWECK...improving...



and, an odd one...FINAL TOUCH...which is a late bloomer. I did move it and last year it didn't bloom at all...so, I'm thinking these two scapes are from last fall...(edit)...This appears to be CHORUS LINE, not FINAL TOUCH. Somehow, these two are growing together. FINAL TOUCH is now blooming (in late July) as it should. Awkward....I'll have to dig them out and try to separate them...later...


Still have seedling pictures to go through, but a nap calls...

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Still Muddy....

Not so many to show today (it's very early still)...

CELESTIAL SHORE....


FLAMBOYANT EDGES...ffo


FLIGHT OF ORCHIDS...ffo...


SMALL WORLD ALLI...ffos...


TILTING AT WINDMILLS...



MOON OVER MONTEREY...(not being eaten...much better!)...


...and now, for a bit of seedling fun...I posted a tale of woe on a forum and building on that...let's just say that what you get might not be what you expect...

First up....Barbie in Pink x Leslie Renee....now one might expect pink...and large...but, look here...


And, then....this one...Trump Card x Bridey Greeson...one would expect color here...but...two siblings....



Welllllll....better luck with the others, right? I can see a tall pink one out there today but I can't get to it...the mud...


and the steep slope combine for bad conditions...(maybe I can figure some way to get there...lol)
Related Posts with Thumbnails