lovely weekend

We are in the midst of a lovely autumn weekend. Our city does a clean-up every spring and fall that allows residents to get rid of the junk. Today was the fall clean-up. Mark cleaned out some stuff in the garage and put it out by the curb yesterday. This morning some guy came by and took over half of it. One person's junk is another person's treasure!!

One of our neighbors who has given me leaves in past years knocked on the door last night asking if I needed more this year. NO!!!! I'M DONE! Yeah, that's what my brain was screaming at me, but this morning I headed over there and brought home 13 bags of oak leaves. I'm pathetic.

We have had a stack of logs on the side of the driveway since last summer when we trimmed up a maple tree. This afternoon we rented a splitter, split all the logs, and hauled them back to the firewood pile. I still have to actually add them to the pile, but the hardest part of the job is done at least. And the driveway looks much nicer.

It's supposed to be near 60 tomorrow - key word "supposed to be" - so I'm thinking I'll take the opportunity to put hooks in the porch to hang Christmas lights this year. On one of our drive-arounds last year, I picked up some cool ideas for lights, and I can't wait to try them out. The lights won't be turned on until after Thanksgiving, but it is way nicer to put them up when it's 60 than when it's 30!!

If it does hit 60, I want to get down to the Arb for a walk - I haven't been there for awhile, and I think it would do my gardener's soul some good. Maybe I'll even remember my camera - although I think most of our leaves have fallen. I picked Mark up at the airport yesterday and was surprised to see quite a few trees that still have leaves near there. Mark is hoping to get in a motorcycle ride if it's warm tomorrow. Gosh, we seem to have a lot riding on tomorrow's temperature! :)

A few things are still blooming in the gardens. I emptied out the last of my containers today - very sad since they're still blooming. I left this one with the geraniums - I'll pull them after we have a hard frost. The first two photos are "Hawkeye Belle" - this rose is peach to lt pink in the summer - but now with cooler temps it's a little deeper color - very pretty. The next photo is my green leafed snakeroot. These have a ton of bloom stalks - but just started to bloom. If we'd had an earlier frost, they wouldn't have bloomed this year. And the bellflowers are blooming again. I really wish things could just keep blooming away until next April when the tulips start in again!!

looking for Mr Sun

Another grey, rainy day. I need some sun!!!! I know we need the rain - a very dry summer means all of the gardens and trees and the lake are loving this rain. But I'm ready for a break.

I thought I would show you more of my tuberous begonias. They waited most of the summer to take off, but they are adding some nice spots of color in the gardens now.

a lot of stuff blooming!

Finally getting caught up with all the photos I've been taking the last week or so! In the coming days, I want to show you overviews of all my gardens - most of them are looking really pretty right now - but wanted to kind of catch up with individual blooms first. So, here we go!

I have iron window boxes hanging on the fence between the house/patio and the driveway. Two are in sun and planted alike. This is one of them: now that the petunias are draping over the front and back, they're looking the way I envisioned them back in May.

This is rudbeckia "Herbstonne" - it has a wonderful bright yellow flower, and the plant is over 6 feet tall. Yarrow - I used to have a lot of this, but then it kind of disappeared for a few years, and is now coming back. I love when plants do that! (well, not the disappearing part so much!)

The Rocket - ligularia. This photo has kind of a busy background - sorry! I like these tall yellow blooms. The plant itself is extremely thirsty and kind of a pain, but I still like it.

I love the color of this daylily - the blooms are very small - maybe 2-2.5 inches across.

This is my only double daylily - so far! I like the yellow a lot.

This is one of my favorite daylilies. Beautiful color.

whiskey barrels

We have a new house going up kitty-corner across the street from us. It's been under destruction and construction since last November. I don't know that they're really close to getting it finished. We're very ready for it to be finished.

There have been a zillion BIG trucks and not so big trucks on the street during all this. During the winter, we store one of our boats in the driveway, so our driveway was fairly safe from big truck traffic. However, once the boat went in the water, we needed a defensive measure, and we settled on half whiskey barrels. The barrels can be moved if we need the parking (Mark put a false bottom in them, so they're only half filled with dirt - so pretty lightweight). After we put them in place, we realized that the drivers of the big trucks wouldn't be able to see them, so we also had to put in some steel rods with reflective tape tied to them. We've actually become quite fond of the tape blowing in the wind - it's not a classy look by any means, but it's not trashy either. If we decide to put the planters out next summer, I'm thinking Mark should make some nice heavy-duty shepherd's hooks, and I'll have some hanging baskets instead of using reflective tape. Maybe a little classier! The driveway expanse actually looks way better with the barrels there, so it may be a look we use for a few years. Next year, I need to put more drape-y plants to hang over the edges of the barrel, but for a spur-of-the-moment, quick trip to Home Depot, I thought they came out looking okay.

Anyway, they're looking kind of good right now, so thought I'd show you what I did.

One of my neighbors gave me a pot of purple fountain grass for my birthday, so I used that in the end one - with persian shield and double red petunias. The persian shield isn't super showy with the fountain grass, but I'd definitely use it in a container again.

The next 2 barrels are planted the same: red cannas with a purple sage and some white spiky flower around the bottom. Now that the cannas are starting to bloom, it's looking good. My first time trying cannas, so very fun.

At the other end, I have a Knockout rose and a purple sage of some kind. I love the rose and plan to put it in the gardens this fall.

By the mailbox, I put a barrel full of coleus. It gets very little sun there, and it's filling in very nicely.

seven random things about me

A while ago I was tagged by Tracy at "Outside" to do a meme on "7 random things about me." With my parents visiting and nice summer weather and gardens to be weeded etc, I am just now getting to it. So guess hot humid days that end with a little rain are good for something! Tracy, thanks for tagging me - sorry it took so long for me to get this done.

one - I love gardens and gardening. this may not be a surprise to those of you who have read my blog since things finally started blooming. But you may not know that I love all the work involved in doing my own gardens. I love having people visit my gardens - in person and on the blog. I love visiting other people's gardens. I love seeing how they combine plants - how they've used common plants in fun ways - what their thought process is. I could talk gardening for a very long time without getting tired of it.
two - I would love to live in Europe. Not full time or forever - but a small part of each year or for a year or two. I would love to be passably fluent in any number of languages. I would love to soak up all that history and see my own American world differently because of it.

I have been lucky enough to do some traveling in Europe - but a week or two is not what I really crave.

three - I have a tattoo on my ankle. It's a small purple flower with green stem and leaves. It looks kind of like an upside-down hanging bellflower.

After I got it, I was back at the tattoo parlor and the artist who did it asked to see it again. THEN he told me I was really lucky because purple ink often turns brown.

I was 47 when I got the tat - I wanted it and I am very happy I have it. After you've picked out a design and made an appointment, margaritas are a really good idea - mine didn't hurt a bit.

four - 47 was a big year for me - can you say mid-life crisis? I also learned to snowboard that year. Well, I tried to learn - I had some very impressive bruises all over my body. I learned to downhill ski when I was 23 - that will remain my main mode of transportation down a mountain.

five - I grew up on a farm and went to a one-room country school through the fourth grade. I was an extremely shy girl. Going from a rural and small town school environment to college (the Univ of Iowa - go Hawkeyes!!) was painful.

I have made a huge recovery from those days. I can (and do) talk to anyone and everyone now. I have no problem starting conversations with perfect strangers wherever I am - about pretty much anything. It feels much better really. And now I would love to have a small farm - 20 or 30 acres. I would fill it with gardens and wildflowers, of course!

six - I am a terrible procrastinator. I might be getting better - but I might not. I am always pushing things to a deadline.

A good example: last week my parents were coming on Friday morning to stay for a couple weeks. I pretty much let my house go until Thursday - and then was planning to vacuum Friday morning before they arrived - because I wanted it nice and clean, of course, when they got there. The vac quit working on me after one room. When they got to our house, I was at Sears buying a new vacuum cleaner - and my mom pretty much finished cleaning my house for me later that day. I might have learned a small lesson from that - or I might not have.

seven - I love to read. I used to stay up all night reading rather than put down a good book. I don't do that so much anymore. But I have on more than one occasion sat in a hotel room finishing a book instead of going out to dinner. I only read one book at a time - I am in awe of people who can have two or more books going at the same time.

I'm not going to tag anyone for this - but if you'd like to do a list on your blog, I'd love to learn more about you - let me know!

in the gloaming

Isn't this a fun photo? I was sitting on the porch steps watching Mark work and the dogs play, and decided I should probably get some photos while the wind was calm and I still had some light. The landscape lights by the porch came on while I was shooting, and I thought the way the lights lit the Jackmani clematis on the lattice under the porch was very cool.This is one of the yellow lilies by the porch that just opened. I love when the lilies start - I have a good collection of colors, and they are all big clumps, so lots of color around the gardens right now.

This is Madison - a short but sprawly rosebush. (Is "sprawly" a word?) It will bloom pretty heavily from now until it freezes. The blooms are quite small, but the color and number of blooms really make this a standout. A neighbor has Madison right next to the road, and it survives winter salt and sanding - a great city rose!

A repeat blooming daylily - it opens a light lemon color and ages to a light gold. I'm interested to see how long it actually will keep blooming. I like the bloom time of Stella de Oro - but I don't like the gold color as much as I like yellow in my gardens - so I'm hoping this will be good.

Old fashioned single hollyhocks. I love these flowers.

A very pale pink lily.

Alexander MacKenzie. I bought this rose 3 years ago and planted it in a bad spot - not enough sun. So last fall, I cut it way back and moved it. The blooms are pretty small this year, but it looks healthy, so I think it will make it. Maybe by next year it will be ready to really take off.

This is my Annabelle hydrangea. I've had it for at least 10 years. The first 2 or 3 years I moved it many, many times. Once I finally left it alone, it just took off. The plant is huge and blooms like crazy. Every spring I think I'll cut off a chunk or two and start a new one in another garden, but that has yet to actually happen. I cut the dried blooms in the fall and decorate outdoor containers, wreaths, the Christmas tree, etc - and I leave some blooms on the plant for winter interest. In the spring, I cut it back to the ground, and it just shoots right back up - taller each year.

I think this is some kind of coneflower or rudbeckia. It's a volunteer in the lakeshore garden. I have 2 lakeshore gardens - one has the potential to be wet all the time in high-water years. That one has siberian iris, monarda (bee balm), turtlehead, etc. The other side is usually very dry - who knows why! Anyway, this is on the dry side. The leaves are skinny and hairy or fuzzy. If anyone knows what its proper name is, let me know!

The purple coneflower are starting to bloom. I used to have 2 gardens that were full of this great plant - but I've taken out a lot of it now. It self-seeds like crazy, so when I decide it's time to fill the gardens again, it will be an easy task!

I just did some whiskey barrel plantings for the driveway - more on that project later! For one of them I bought a Knock-out rose for under 10 bucks at Home Depot. When I bury Gertrude Jekyll next fall, I'll stick this guy in the same hole, and then find a permanent spot for it in one of the gardens next spring. I am very impressed - in only a week, it's growing and blooming like crazy. Could be a keeper.

This is an annual I picked up to use in another barrel - with some purple fountain grass and double red petunias. In a few weeks, this could be a cool group, I think. Anyway, I threw the label without really looking at it - but totally cool leaves - green with purple - and it's kind of irridescent. I like it.

Happy Summer to everyone - hope you totally enjoyed this longest day of the year!

it's been windy here

It's been so windy here that I couldn't get out and get photos of the things blooming. So I'm going to do 2 or 3 posts. I have to show all the photos, of course! But I'll give you a little break! I bought this red lupine at the Arb sale this year. For some unknown reason I planted it by the Vivid Pink peony. I can tell you, not a great color combo! So, the lupine will move this fall. But it's still a pretty bloom, so just ignore the peony in the background.

The astilbe are opening in the west porch garden. I have more down by the gazebo in a shadier area, and they aren't open yet. Hard to photograph, but I love these plumes.

Another hard plant to photograph - beard tongue. This is "Husker Red" - the stems and leaves are a gorgeous dark red and the flowers white. It's very showy. For years I had my two beard tongues right next to the false indigo. The false indigo would get huge and basically bury the beard tongue. So they never bloomed, but they never died either. Last fall I finally dug them up and moved them to a space they could call their own, and I have two very, very happy plants blooming away now!

Here is the other beard tongue - I don't remember the name, but I love these bright pink blooms. They've been like this for a week now, so I'm wondering if they open into a flower or if this is it? I'll report back.

I have gallardia planted in the lakeshore garden - but it's planted over an 18 inch thick cement pad that we buried under a foot of topsoil because we couldn't remove the pad. I have a ton of plants that are just happy as clams in this dry part of the lakeshore garden. I love the gallardia because it blooms a really long time - like from now until it freezes. However, it is right in front of my Therese Bugnet rose - and I am not happy with this yellow and orange flower in front of my lovely clear pink rose. So I'm deciding if the gallardia will have a new home next year.

Another container. I bought these great window boxes at my iron place. I have 3 of them hanging on the fence between the patio and the driveway - 2 in sun and 1 in shade. The sun ones are planted out with red geraniums, purple wave petunias, potato vine, and what Zoey at Perennial Passion told me is a fan plant - a cool vine with small white flowers. So on the Fourth of July, I will have exactly the right colors going here!!! It's pretty and showy - I love that you can see these bright geraniums as you walk down the street toward our house.

more roses

When we added a screened porch to our house 10 or 11 years ago (replacing a deck), I decided to make this corner into my rose garden. It gets south and west sun, so perfect for roses. Of course, since then one of the ash trees has grown so much that it now barely gets enough sun for roses, but... what're you gonna do!

I have 6 rose bushes in here and that lovely anemone peony, plus delphinium, clematis, veronica, lilies, asters, sedum, siberian iris, mountain bluet, wild geranium, mallow - and, gosh, who knows what else! This is the fountain garden and behind it I have another rose plus a hibiscus and veronica and some coreopsis. So when it all fills out, it's really pretty.

In the above photo you see Carefree Beauty on the left (back) and Nearly Wild on the right. They are nearly the same color - but Beauty is a lovely double and Nearly Wild is a single - so they play off each other fairly well. Nearly Wild will have good bloom for the rest of the summer. Beauty will have another mild flush of blooms in July and then heavy blooms from August through a killing frost. This was one of the first roses I ever bought, and I still love it.

This is J.F.Quadra - I put this in last year, so really my first year with blooms. It's looking really promising right now. It's filling out and getting taller - and has more blooms opening every day. The blooms seem to be lasting quite awhile - and they are a great deep red that softens just a little as it ages. The blooms are fairly small (at least so far), but I have a good feeling about it.

Here's another container I did - finally perking up a little! Just a ton of petunias, so nothing special - but I love these two colors together (a deep purple and a magenta). At the base of it is Johnson Blue geranium - really going to town! And to the right is a spiderwort.

When we bought this house, the woman who lived here left us a lot of stuff - kind of like anything we agreed to have left!! She left a great iron bench and two of these iron urns. They were rusty and I cleaned them up and painted them black back in 1980. But now I'm totally into the rusted iron look, so they are slowly aging into a really great look. Thanks, Dolly - I still absolutely love the urns and bench!

P.S. A THERESE BUGNET UPDATE: I stopped at the Norenberg Gardens today (fabulous place - I'll have to do a post on it soon). They had a group of Therese Bugnet roses - they were all well over 6 feet tall - maybe more like 7-8 feet tall. They were a beautiful shape - like a bouquet - skinny at the bottom and full at the top. The bottom would have been easy to underplant - and they were loaded with gorgeous blooms. This is much taller than I thought they would get - so if any of you are thinking of getting them, just wanted to let you know!!

raindrops on roses

Country Dancer opened today (at least partially!). I planted this shorter, rambling rose last year, and was amazed at the amount of bloom I had the first year. Hoping for similar results this year.

William Baffin this morning. I would guess maybe half of the buds are open now. I wish I could get a super great photo to show you. It is unbelieveable how many blooms this very large rosebush has on it. (Click on photo to see a little better)

Another peony opened today. Pretty sure this one is called Gay Paree. This little beauty is having trouble getting a hold in the garden, but each year is a little better. I think the center is very fun.

Here's my green urn by the back door (street side) planted out. It will look better as all of this starts filling in, of course. Fiesta "Salsa" double impatiens and some vine that has purple or white flowers on it. I put one of each in this urn. The window boxes on the fence have only white. And it doesn't show in this photo, but there is a purple wave petunia on the side where the urn gets some late afternoon sun.

Goat's beard. I really like this plant. It's pretty large. I grow it in shade so mine is about 3 1/2 feet tall - but if you grow it in the sun, it will get up to 6 feet or more. There are different varieties - I have the full-sized one. It blooms early with astilbe-like white plumes. I have it planted by the fairy under the river birch clump - and it adds a bit of brightness to the area when it's blooming.

This bird house is in the garden by the porch. I think the holes are too big for wrens, but last year they filled it with sticks (probably as a decoy). This year someone just stacked a bunch of sticks in front of the opening - too funny. I'm thinking this bird keeps house like I do in the summer!

These next 3 photos are for Tracy (but feel free to look at them if you like - she won't mind!). They are Capt. Sam Holland in various stages. I think these were taken the third year I had this gorgeous rose. I loved the color - the climbing habit - the amount of bloom. If memory serves me right, it had a long bloom time and did some lighter repeat blooming throughout the summer. As soon as I can figure out where to put one, I'm definitely getting this rose again. (It croaked when I had to move it when they came to replace the retaining wall. My fault - it was in full bloom, and I couldn't bear to cut it back. Also it had a zillion very long roots - so it may not have made it anyway.)

Wasn't it a gorgeous backdrop for the fountain??? Beautiful.