Outdoor Garden Party

One way to always have guests

on your patio would be to have

these evergreen deer topiaries.

These two won't eat all the greens

and flowers either.

They have done a great job

shaping and trimming their antlers;

haven't they?  

Too cute!

Next time someone asks to get

a puppy or a kitten and you feel you

have enough already, get them

an animal topiary or two.

Nearly Black Daylilies

July is the month that the heat loving
plants come into play.
The darkest daylilies I have are nearly black.

Yesterday it was above 100 degrees

outside and these flowers stood tall, strong
and never thought about wilting.

(It's been around 100 for a few days now.)

By itself the color might seem too bold,

but put them next to green boxwood,

lemon-lime-colored angelina sedum

and a little variegated silver queen

and they look rather subdued!

This weekend I was reading

that daylilies are edible.

Succulents and Warm Weather

The weather has been fabulous here. Unusual for March. Today it hit 78! It's hard to stay inside when it seems like we have been inside all winter. Plus the time change gives us extra time in the evening to be outside. Check out the succulents. The colors are super!

We've had the lawnmower going, the rototiller going and the hedge trimmer! This is the time of year when everyone walks around with a big smile on their face! (I mean don't we always?)

Thanksgiving Bittersweet Berries

I was fortunate to get these beautiful branches loaded with berries from a perennial vine called bittersweet the day before thanksgiving. They really add color.




Did everyone have a good time with family and friends? We did...and still are...still eating and having a good time. I'm going to bed earlier tonight.






The weather was great today. It really cools down at night though. We are ready and have marshmallows. Big decisions...in the hot chocolate or toast by the fire.

Documenting my Garden and Weeds

Maybe you noticed the new banner picture. A little blossom of Russian sage with some dainty flowers that we call weeds here. I have been walking around noticing how beautiful some of these dainties are amongst the perennials. We gardeners think that plants look better in larger numbers with bold washes of color. It's true it does look great, but when you photograph flowers they look better dainty and by themselves. Soft, sweet and dreamy.

I've been a bit sick and the doctor said today I have pneumonia. Accck! No more bold cleaning supplies in our house. I read somewhere that it is so much safer outside than in a normal house because of fumes from carpets, floor varnish, etc. then we clean with such harsh chemicals with dangerous fumes. I want to look up green cleaning supply recipes! Bring on the lemons, limes and lavender with the hot soapy water. I think I could climb into a tub of that right now.

Sedums For Everyone

Sedums are grown for their foliage and are getting more popular grown in pots. They look like succulents, but are very winter hardy, first to come up in spring and die down last in the fall. No green thumb needed.

Gather up a few different varieties and plant them together in a large pot or for the center of your outdoor table that gets full sun. They are super in sunny windowboxes. This year I am going to put a few cannas in the very center, for height, with the sedums. You could use ornamental grasses with them with wonderful results as well. Or a small topiary shrub. One thing about gardening everyone creates their gardens a bit differently and that is exciting.

My cannas I started earlier are starting to finally get going and stretch upwards. We've had so many cool rainy days the last two weeks that has almost put them back to sleep. Yesterday afternoon it got up to 80 and today is to be hot so they will shake a leg and get moving now. I think they give the garden a tropical exotic touch.

Growing and Feeding Topiary

Let the snow fall. We will garden indoors with an outdoor attitude! We garden in our imagination, in our waking hours and in our sleep. We garden on paper and canvas, we garden on cupcakes! It is a passion. Even our westie dog has caught the gardening fever.

Topiary standards are little living green works of whimsy. They are fairly easy to grown and maintain. If you don't have a green thumb you could always have a moss covered topiary form instead. I like the real living plant myself.

I would love to have a stainless steel covered table like the one above for gardening. Wood tables are okay, but I guess it European-ish to have one like this. Even in the kitchen. Say like the kitchen in Julia and Julia where Julia Child's in this stainless steel kitchen in Paris. Cook like a pro and garden like a pro.

My yew shrubs that I bought last year are extremely hardy and still in their pots outside. I have not yet figured out how I want to shape them. They are a wonderful deep forest green. The mercedes and bentley's of hedges and garden topiaries.

The title of this painting is "I Heart Gardening" and is for sale on ebay now.

A Walk in the Garden Foliage & Cuttings

This cool 49 degree chill makes for brisk walking unless you are looking at perennials and shrubs. Then I dawdle a bit. I picked a few leaves and cuttings to bring inside. Rather holiday colors---the burgundy foliage and evergreens that I love. Burgundy and lime green are very catchy colors.

From bottom left moving clockwise in the ABOVE photo is euphorbia, hydrangea leaf, ruby fringeflower cutting, yew cutting, purple sage, bugbane, cedar cutting, coral bells leaf, cypress cutting.

I didn't bring in all the burgundies. That way I can flutter around, from plant to shrub, and gather another little "foliage bouquet" on my next walk. Why don't we wear foliage boutonieres? Or carry foliage nosegays?

After I took the picture I put them on the tablecloth and the red made the green color pop out. This is what every gardener does...walks around with leaves to match or contrast foliage. Some designers do it in their head, but it's so much better to actually walk around outside holding up leaves and comparing in the garden while the leaves fall like confetti on you and the woodpecker keeps a steady beat. The squirrels chitter-chatter and scramble up trees that no longer hide them.

Somehow in the fall the squirrels think the gardens are theirs! That is when our westie doggy boy is inside the house. They keep a very low profile when he is running with his nose to the ground. The ground that is still waiting for more tulip and daffodil bulbs to be planted...sigh

Elegant Toad Lily Flowers

A beautiful fall lily flower blooming now. It loves moist shady areas and is a good companion for hostas and ferns. It reaches a height of 18-24-inches and arches gracefully. The leaves are a beautiful kelly green.

I felt this was good for our garden because our westie loves toads (how did it get the name toad in it?) and because our westie's mother's name was "Lily" and because the perennial flowers are welcome at this time of year. If you can read between the lines it's also because I like it! Think of reasons later to justify it.