My Garden Path ~ Early July

 

One red poppy! All my pink ones have disappeared but this little red one is a survivor!

Sweet honeysuckle. 
The pink one in the bed by the garden shed is about to bloom too - it gets a little less sunlight.

 

Delicate old fashioned Columbine

Rose

Daylilies from rescued from my grandmother's garden many years ago.

Blue geranium will bloom in a week or so.

Huge patches of Siberian Iris in purple and lavender.

Lady's Mantle

Climbing Hydrangeas are pure romance!

My peonies are spectacular this year! There are about 12 of them in the garden
and EVERY one of them has bloomed! Shades of pink, white and fuchsia are magnificent
and the fragrances, some sweet and some sort of peppery, are
simply beautiful!

 

 

For the life of me, I can't remember the name of this plant!
But, it is a beauty!

Enjoy!



On the Kitchen Table

Happy Gerbera Daisies!

 

[ps.  I joined Instagram this week - love their editing tools!]

summer...

In summer, the song sings itself.

- William Carlos Williams
'

What's blooming today?

Mary Mary quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells

And pretty maids all in a row.

*****

It's great to be back in my garden! With the building of our new cottage and plans for changes in the yard, it suffered from much neglect last summer. Overgrown and wildly out of control, I was not that motivated to do anything~ now, with the trucks and equipment pretty much gone, I've been right into it for more than a week. After hours of raking, weeding, cutting, tying up, edging beds, adding compost, moving and rescuing, digging and planting
(and worth every ounce of effort), my garden is beautiful and ready for summer!

A few years ago, I went to an auction in a village close to town~ it was at an old farmhouse on a winding country road. Alongside the barn was a huge patch of solomon's seal that I fell instantly in love with...I started my own patch under the flower boxes on our garage wall. They are blooming today!

Sweet forget-me-nots...enough this year to be considered a 'wave' of little blue and yellow flowers!

My lilacs are about 12 years old and are finally what I'd call a hedge! I remember a beautiful row of lilacs dripping over the fence from our neighbor's yard when I was a child...I'd cut some for a sweet smelling bouquet. This bouquet from my bushes is sitting in the morning sunshine on my kitchen counter. I'll be planting some more along the wall of the new cottage along with an old fashioned hydrangea vine as soon as the bed is dug~ can't wait!

A friend and I visit a beautiful garden early each summer~ it's owner is an amazingly inspiring gardener. She told me about a plant called sweet cicely, with little seedpods that taste like licorice. Last year I got a piece of her huge plant. It survived the winter and has spouted fern like leaves and wee feathery white flowers~ so pretty!

sweet cicely

...and last but not least, bleeding hearts in pink and white~ just gorgeous!

*****

The weekend forecast is sunny and warm so today, I'll be planting some of my flower boxes...heading for the garden shed NOW!

thanks for stopping by...karon

Happy Mother's Day

A flower from my garden for you~ have a wonderful day!

My Garden Journals

With our early spring and all the recent lovely weather, I've been spending more time in my garden. Everything seems to be budding and blooming earlier than most years and I've found myself going back to some of my old garden journals, checking dates and blooming times from past seasons. I have fallen in love with these old journals again, the story of my garden, summers at the lake and the unfolding of each season...

For many years I searched for the perfect garden journal~ and I found may lovely ones, full of pockets and pretty pictures and pages labelled with what to record...I was never able to 'fit' my garden or myself into those books. Finally (although it was so obvious, I'm not sure how I missed it!) I bought a blank book with a textured cover and beautiful paper on which I wanted to write and draw and plan and dream...

They also contain the stories of summers at the cottage~ reading, relaxing and family times...

...and hundreds of photographs and captions...

...dried garden flowers and notes from Esmerelda, our garden fairy...

...and yes, it turns out everything is early~ by about three weeks~ I hope it doesn't snow in August!

New in The Garden Shed ~ w h i s p e r

'None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.'

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

.........

A cloud of soft pink filipendula whispers in the light summer breeze ... w h i s p e r is a short photographic series of these gorgeous, delicate flowers and the first two are now available in my photography shop,

The Garden Shed.

w h i s p e r, 5 x 7 Photograph

The Garden Shed ~ NOW OPEN!

*Grand Opening Celebration ~ June 30 to July 14*

Please visit The Garden Shed ~ a fresh, soft and flowery corner of etsy where you’ll find my original garden and nature inspired photography, notecards and on occasion, a few vintage garden collectibles! I hope you'll wander in on occasion and enjoy my garden...

*~*~*~*~*Opening Specials*~*~*~*~*
* Free 4x6 photograph (choose your photo from any shop listing!) for each customer between June 29 and July 14! Just let me know your choice, by title, in the notes to seller box at time of purchase. I’ll confirm your selection with a follow up note!
* Free shipping on second (third, etc) items until July 14th…savings will be refunded to your paypal account.

...and a big thank you to you sweet things who have been so encouraging over the past couple of weeks as I prepared to open the shop! It' s been much appreciated!

karon ♥

What's Blooming Today? Peony, Poppy and Foxglove

Early summer brings my favorite time in my garden... fully grown, yet still fresh and blooming in all corners! I captured this salmon oriental poppy after the petals dropped but I love the center...there's a line from 'Where is Your Heart At?' by Rufus Wainright ~ " Your satin flip-flops are hidden in the pockets of your velvet dressing gown..." ~ which this flower reminds me of...I'm sure there are satin flip flops hidden in there somewhere!

.........

The peonies are holding their own in all the rain we've had recently...one of my favorites is this fuchsia single with the bright yellow center. How could a person be blue in the face of that????

~ a little foxglove having a drink...

What's Blooming Today? Forsythia!

Forsythia is pure joy. There is not an ounce, not a glimmer of sadness or even knowledge in forsythia. Pure, undiluted, untouched joy.

Anne Lindbergh (1906 - )

When this little forsythia blooms I know that spring had finally settled! We've had several days of sunshine and warmth which has literally popped tiny leaves, green grass and baby lilac blooms peeking out from their protective leaf buds...purple ones so far! The birds are singing for all their worth ~ I can hear them with the windows CLOSED! A plump red robin drew me to the window this morning with her happy song. She was perched at the top of our maple tree surveying the neighborhood...looking for a man, I think! Two little finches have set up housekeeping in a birdhouse I have sitting on the porch railing. It was never intended to be a permanent home (very wobbly in the wind) and now I'm afraid to move it in the event they are quite settled in...I'll have to keep an eye on them and secure it when they go out to eat!

Also blooming are my little, frilly anemones, starflowers, bluebells and the first daffodil!

...

I spent a fair bit of time in my cottage garden this weekend and made lots of progress! We cleared and planted two new large beds last fall and there are bits of green poking out of the ground, telling me they survived the winter...We are planning some big projects there this summer, including building a new cottage. I'll keep you posted! :)

Tulips

My passions for color, photography and flowers are reflected here in these
photos of frilly, delicate parrot tulips in early morning sunshine. I almost
always have a beautiful bouquet on my kitchen table.
Happy Spring!

Flower Child Earrings

Here's a photo of another pair of my popular Flower Child earrings...visit my Esty shop and check them out! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21477786

Zibbet's Featured Seller

I am thrilled to have been invited to be Zibbet's Featured Seller...Check out the interview at Zibbet's home page http://www.zibbet.com/ . Have a look at my recent listings while you're there!