A Year in My Garden

Purple Coneflowers and Daisies
 June 2011

One year ago today I started this blog and it's hard to believe I have kept with it every day for a year (except for weekends).  I began blogging as a way to take photos of my flowers, to keep track of what was blooming throughout the year, and to talk about garden stuff I like.  I like to look at other people's gardens and I thought it might be of interest to some people to look into mine.  I told myself that I would blog for a year...and so now while I may not feel the pressure to post every single day,  I think I will keep it going for as long as I still enjoy it. It's fun for me to see the garden in photos throughout the  year, and so I have looked back and  picked out my favorite garden photos from the blog over the past year.

Pots
 July 2011

Zinnias
August 2011

Sweet Autumn Clematis
September 2011

Frosty Zinnias
October 2011

Rosemary and Pumpkins
November 2011

Poinsettias
December 2011

Paperwhites
 January 2012

Amaryllis
February 2012

Viburnum Carlesii
 March 2012

Me and My Tree Peonies
April 2012

Larkspur and Roses
May 2012

Weekend at the Beach

We went to the beach this weekend for the wedding of Liz's daughter, Katy. The wedding was on the beach on Saturday evening, so we left on Friday morning so we could enjoy some beach time,  too. We walked on the beach, wandered around Lewes and Rehoboth, ate some great seafood, met up with friends at a bar on the boardwalk, and even got in some crepes (Nutella and bananas, and bananas with sour cream and brown sugar!)  for breakfast at my favorite little creperie.

The wedding was at 6 pm on Saturday and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. There were blue skies, gentle breezes, and even some dolphins for entertainment. The reception was on the top floor of a hotel overlooking the ocean, with beautiful views. Liz has a wonderful family and several of her friends from England came too, so it was fun to see everyone and be part of their happy celebration.

Katy and Paul get married

Rehoboth boardwalk in the morning (before the crowds)

Nutella and banana crepe--yummo

Heading home over the Bay Bridge

How Perfectly

How Perfectly

How perfectly and neatly opens the pink rose

This bright morning, the sun warm on my shoulders,

Its heat on the opening petals.

Possibly it is the smallest, the least important event at this moment

In the whole world.

Yet I stand there, utterly happy.

--Mary Oliver

Lovely Lavender

The lavender is in full bloom right now. I can hardly walk to my front door because of the bees buzzing about. I can remember when Julia was little her friends would be afraid to come to our door because of the bees.  I have about six plants in this small hedge and they thrive in this spot. I've had them since I began the garden over 20 years ago, and have only replaced two plants in all those years. Mine are the 'Munstead' variety, but I think there's a 'Hidcote' in there too (it's the darker blue).

Back in the day I used to cut it and make sachets and lavender bundles. When Julia was young and in the crafty mode, she  made lavender wands. But now I just admire it.

A Perfect June Morning

Sweet peas

Today is a perfect June morning, crisp and cool.  I was up and out the door by 7:45 for my walk and I was amazed at how many people were already out walking or running.  It has been a beautiful week so far, sunny and cool, and you can just tell that the flowers are happy. 

Here are a few of the fleurs around town this morning.

This house has the most amazing hydrangeas

Hydrangeas

Boxwood borders

Love this apricot daylily

Smoke tree smokin'

I loved this rose that was climbing along a fence. I looked it up and it might be Rosa 'Fourth of July.'

Hydrangea Heaven

It is truly hydrangea heaven around here right now--they seem to have all popped in the last week or so, although two of my smaller ones, 'Limelight' and 'Endless Summer' are not quite blooming yet. The ones below are lacecap hydrangeas, with the flatter blooms. Some people don't care for the lacecaps, but they have always been my favorites. They are a little airier and more graceful than the mopheads.

Hydrangea serrata 'Bluebird' 

This lacecap is one I propagated from stem cuttings from my first lacecap about 10 years ago. Now it is bigger than the original!

On the shadier side of the yard is my oakleaf hydrangea. This one is particularly heavy with blooms right now. I just love the creamy white flowers and their big oaky leaves.

Hydrangea Quercifolia

A different variety of lacecap that I have is the variegated 'Mariesi' variety. It's not as heavy a bloomer as the others. You can see its variegated leaves.

And of course I have the more common mophead varieties (Hydrangea macrophylla), shown below. I love their changing colors. These will bloom all summer, gradually changing colors from creamy white and lavender to the darker blues. 

The next one I want to get is the 'Annabelle' variety, with huge white blooms 10" or more across. I just have to figure out where to put it! And then maybe a long hedge of hydrangeas somewhere...

Sunny Weekend

Tom and Evie were in town visiting Jill and her family this weekend, so yesterday we went out to Jill's house for a cookout. The weather was beautiful and we were able to sit out on their deck, surrounded by woods, which was so nice.  They really have a great yard, and have a lot of landscaping plans in mind. Hayden and Halle both had dance performances on Saturday, so Tom and Evie were in town as the proud grandparents. We had a yummy dinner of barbecued chicken, sauteed beets and greens, corn on the cob, and farfalle! It was great to see everyone, especially the girls, who keep getting taller! And on Friday night, we got to see my nephew Pat's son, Jack (I guess he is my great nephew?), for dinner. We went into DC and met Jack at Matchbox for dinner and got to hear all about his internship in DC, which it seems like he has enjoyed and he definitely has liked living in the city. He leaves next week to go back to school at Cincinnati. We had terrible storms on Friday night, so it was kind of a harrowing drive downtown.

Tour de Cure through town

Yesterday morning we took a long walk through town, which was interesting because this was Festival Weekend, so there was a lot going on, people setting up their booths, getting all the rides ready, the food stands were opening up, and there was a 10K race going through town, as well as a Tour de Cure. So there was a lot happening even before the Festival actually opened for the last day on Sunday. A lot of us who have lived here for a long time are totally over the Festival and pretty much stay away from it all weekend.  We can hear the music and watch the fireworks from our house, so that's good enough for me.

Garden on June 1

Well here we are in June--the time sure does go by fast these days. The garden is really at its peak right now--with roses, lavender, larkspur, coreopsis, perennial geraniums, all in full bloom. Just starting are the hydrangeas, daylilies, coneflowers, daisies, astilbes. The past few days have been perfect, sunny and in the low 80s, perfect for working outside. I spent a good part of yesterday in the garden, deadheading things, weeding, moving pots around. I need to be extra vigilant with the deadheading this year, as I am trying to maximize the blooms for garden tour time in late June.

And here are some other fleurs blooming this Friday morning.

First daylilies

Purple Coneflower

Daisy

Snapdragon 'Rocket'

First zinnias