Lupines & Daisies: June GBBD

Hello friends! I'm happy to linking up to Garden Blogger's Bloom Day once again.

It's a good chance for me to take a look around and see what's happening in my garden--and in yours.

 

Up on the back slope, lupines and daisies are coming on strong.

Both wild and fairly indifferent to work projects all kinds, not to mention unruly children (who, mine?) running roughshod over and around them.

The best part is: they compete with all the weeds and weedy grass up there!

Go! Go! Go!

 

[That little yellow lupine in the corner is one I planted, in hopes of starting a bicolor display. I'm sure I'll have to put in a few more if that's really going to happen.]

[Will somebody plant me, please?]

This lovely hollyhock is destined for the new flowerbed that will be built soon out front.

The dirt is there already. The blocks...not there.

On order, though! There is hope!

So in the meantime, it gets to live on the back deck.

I'm quite enjoying it back there. I hope it survives to live in its new home.

I've already put it into a bigger pot once.

One of these days maybe I'll learn to not buy things until I have a space for them!

We can't leave the backyard behind without a salute to the peas.

Soon, very soon, we will be picking peas straight from the garden.

And loving every minute of it.

 

 

Let's head to the front, shall we?

 

Front Flowerbed

Dianthus, 'May Night' salvia, plus a pink salvia--'Rose Queen,' maybe.

This flowerbed makes my heart happy.

Pretty soon purple phlox, shasta daisies, and yellow daylilies will join the show.

Maybe for next month! 

 

 



 My Dutch irises bloomed!

(Behind the salvia.)

 

Dutch iris.

I have only 5 of these, and now I'm thinking I need to scatter more little groups of them throughout this whole front flowerbed.

The dainty height they bring on those long slim stems is just perfect. 

I have to give this tough little viola a mention.

This is growing in the ground in front of the wall you can see above.

It was planted there last summer.

It has been neglected, walked on, covered with gravel, surrounded by weeds, frozen and snowed on--you name it, and it has probably happened to this viola.

Look at it! Blooming like it hasn't a care in the world.

Every time I see it down there, I'm impressed all over again.

And I make sure to step over it.

I'll end with a mystery.

Does anyone know what kind of bush this is?

Each branch has those flat clusters of small white flowers along the top side.

 

Happy June everyone!

Crocuses, daffodils, and more

So much difference in just a few weeks!

 

Back flowerbed, March 19

One solitary crocus blooming 

 

Back flowerbed, March 31

crocuses

 

overview: daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses blooming

 

daffodil

 

A bunch of the mini daffodils blooming out, with more to come.

Back slope crocuses:

March 19

 

 

March 25

 

Chinodoxa, March 31

You could barely see these last year, the blooms were so small.

Now look at them! About the size of the crocuses.

Shade garden (behind the shed):

I wasn't expecting the stripes!

 

 Spring has brought me such a nice surprise...

 

Finally, by the front mailbox:

one more patch of crocuses

I love this little flower.

Every year I think I need more of it. 

 

 Striped squill coming up next to tulips.

I didn't know what this little beauty was until I noticed these look just like the squill I have coming up in the flowerbed. I did not plant these by the mailbox. There are 3 this year, where last year there was only 1. I hope they keep spreading!

Sunday Walk: Finding Beauty in Everyday Places

I'm linking up with the No Winter Whining meme again this week.

The theme is "Nature in Winter."

If that means weeds, cattails, and dirt icebergs, we're covered!

 

Within the last week most of our snow has melted, so the 2 older kiddos and I got out for a walk.

It was a bright, sunny day, and we all looked for things we thought were beautiful or interesting to take pictures of.

 

 

 

I was quite taken by this mossy rock. 

 

These, too.

 

"Look, Mom! The moss looks like little flowers!"

 

And then there was the dirt iceberg fascination.

 

(This one was my 5 year old's request.)

Interesting? Perhaps.

Beautiful? Not so much.

 

When I asked my 3 year old why I should photograph this particular one she said,

"Because it looks like a frog....with a hat on!"

 

Imagination is a beautiful thing. 

 

Then we reached the cattail park.

Oh, the joy to be had here!

There were even some fairly close to the path.

Our shoes [mostly] escaped the mud.

 

 

  

Yep, we did our part in keeping the cattail population alive and healthy.

You're welcome, city parks department.

Anytime. 

 

Mystery weed.

About the only green thing growing at the moment.

 

I believe these [hard to see] wavy dead weeds may have been thistles in a past life. 

 

Oh yes. Let's not forget the mysterious black cat roaming the far side of the park.

Wild animal it was not, but the kids were thrilled.

They tried to call it over, to no avail.

 

Finally, one big fat robin to end the walk on.

Does that mean spring is on the way?

Here's hoping!

Pretty Weeds

I've been thinking all along this was clover.

Nope, just found out it is vetch. Terrible name for such a pretty plant.

Officially a weed, but a pretty one.

All those shades of pink and purple on the same plant. 

I think this breed of tiny daisy deserves another mention.

I'm hoping to get it transplanted to the slope still.
[I belive this one may be dog fennel. Still investigating.]

Don't know what these purple flowers are, but they are pretty too.

Many of the hillsides in town are covered with them.
[And what do you know? This is another species of vetch. I guess now that I think about it, the leaves are the same as the clover-like vetch up top.]

Transplanting candidates

These lovely roses bloomed while we were gone.

I couldn't remember from last summer what color they were.

The deep maroon/fuschia will be perfect in front of the wall, when we get that flowerbed prepared. Since last summer, these have been trampled on repeatedly and even run over by the tractor.

Perhaps that is their preferred treatment! I only remember getting a handful of blooms last year, and just look at them going now!

I'm hoping to transplant them this fall into their new location.

The lavender bush that ate Manhatten.

This thing is way huge and not very pretty in this location anymore.

At the very least I need to take about 2/3 of it out and transplant elsewhere.

I'm thinking slope, of course, as that is my fallback whenever transplanting comes up these days.

Plus, lavender does well in dry conditions, and full sun.

Perfect for the upper slope. And again, perhaps it will compete with all that grass!

This specimen just keeps getting taller and bushier.

It has an herb-like smell to it, but I'm not sure what it is.

No flowers to speak of, just these finely serrated leaves.

This one might actually be a good choice for the flowerbed alongside the shed, if we even get one put in there. Although I am thinking about making that area the children's garden.

So it will probably also end up on the slope. Higher up, where it can get as tall as it likes. 

I loved these tiny daisies last year, but never got them transplanted up to the slope as planned.

Won't they look sweet close to their larger cousins?

I'm pretty sure they are actually a weed, but that's okay. I'll move them up anyway.

Heck, they'll fit right in with all the weedy goodness going on up there.

See what I mean?

A Few Flowers

Front of house

 This bush out front is starting to bloom.

Not sure what it is at the moment.

This was before pruning. You can see quite a few dead branches in there.

Once I got up close and started pruning, I cut it back quite a bit.

It opened up the middle and unfortunately, cut off many of the branches with flowering tips (that were dead or very scraggly until further down.) 

Slope

 Lupines and daisies

 Wood hyacinth behind the shed

 Some violas came back after all!

These are in front of the apple tree behind the shed.

transplanted geraniums blooming, but almost covered up by weeds 

East side of house

In case you missed it earlier: a whole side of the house filled with wild daisies!

I love these! They are so cheerful. They also spread quite well.

I may transplant some more up onto the slope to compete with the grass.