What's Blooming

Just took a walk around the garden to see the flowers and managed to snap a few pictures just before the rain started. This basket used to hold socks in little one's closet, but then he started using it to haul toys around and broke the bottom. So I lined it with a plastic Target bag and filled it with Miracle Gro soil with nutrients. He brought home a spiky tall yellow plant that was a seed project at school (you can just see it peeking out from the center), and then I filled in the rest with red geranium, white and purple alyssum, orange zinnia, and bright blue lobelia. This sits on a step to the back porch.

I'm also working on some miniature flowers for my Etsy shop too - so this week is all about gardening.

Chives are planted by the steps to the back porch. Love the smell and those pretty purple flowers are always a sign that summer is on the way.

This red patch of Dianthus (Sweet William) was planted by the gardener that used to own this house and it seems to get bigger and bigger every year.
My Mother's Day present from last year, the lilac has been blooming for a couple of weeks now. Not too tall, only 4 feet or so, but it's getting there! This one is growing next to the chicken barn.

The peonies! My favorites...well technically my favorites are daisies and lavender, but I have a huge soft spot for peonies. This one blooms in a bright pink fuschia color and it looks so pretty in front of this weathered old picket fence section. There's an herb farm and flower shop just down the road from us that a lady started out of her old barn. She has a ton of these fence sections leaning up against the wall for $5 each and I had to have one. Her husband was standing by to load it into the trunk for me (I think hubs and little one were making friends with a turkey they had in a pen) and when I selected this particular one because it was so chippy he said "A fine choice!" which struck me as really funny.
This year it's multi colored Impatiens in the window boxes. There are two big ones on the front and two of these smaller ones on the side of the house. Shade dominates the front so Impatiens are about all that will grow. Last year I researched shade plants and wasted about $90 on various gorgeous flowers and they all died. And you couldn't really see them anyway, too shady. So this year I'm keeping it simple and spent just $20 on two flats of these guys and had enough left over to plant two hanging baskets for the front porch.

What's going on in your garden?

Beautiful disaster; last year's window boxes:

TGIF

Friday already! Well, this week went by rather quickly. I've been meaning to take some pictures around the garden and post what's up and what's about to bloom, but the days got away from me. Also, it mostly rained this week so there was that as well. First sunny day, I'll do it.

My favorite time of year is peony time. Our house was home to a serious gardener before we bought it (I still get her seed catalogs in the post) and some deliciously gorgeous flowers come up for us every year. Currently, in the side garden there is a fuschia pink peony bush that is heavily in bud so any day now we're going to get massive flowers. Can't wait! I never knew about peonies until we bought our first house roundabout 1999 and that came with three giant peony bushes too. Peonies are lovely and the blooms last forever. They are kind of like giant cottage roses.

Last weekend was relaxing, by the way. I forgot to grab the camera for the entire thing but we had all weekend of sunshine and 80 degree heat. We got all the yardwork done, cleaned the gutters, then the fun part. We went to a local carnival that sets up every year for Memorial Day and drank fresh lemonade, ate soft pretzels, and sampled yummy homemade Italian ice (I chose mango). Little one rode the rides, we sat and listened to live bands, and the two bigger boys ate their weight in rainbow cotton candy. I gave little one enough tickets to play three of those games of skill. He won two inflatable guns from the duck pond and on his last turn at the water gun races, he won the grand prize. Free choice. You should have seen his face, I'm pretty sure it made his entire year. He chose a bright blue toothy shark that is a little bit bigger than he is. He named him "Jawsy"

The rest of the weekend we set the pool up (one of those 14 ft blue above ground deals - still saving the pennies for the inground) and then just before the rain on Sunday we went out to Volcano Falls which is a local children's tiny amusement park for some go karting, video games, and Lazer Tag. I got to do my favorite penny game and some Skee Ball. Home to some more barbecuing and then the week began again. I never did get some ice cream but maybe this weekend :O)

Have some fun everybody!