garden — Page 203

Hello, Saturday

May 31, 2014 at 8:27 am by Claudia

How are you this fine Saturday morning? Other than my internet connection being sluggish (have to call the cable company) and returning a big old bug to his proper place outdoors, the morning has been fairly quiet. The sun is shining, the garden is thriving, my coffee tastes really good, and though I have more than a few worries at the moment, morning always brings the promise of a new day and that, my friends, is a little miracle.

bye bye lilacs

So long lilacs. You were especially beautiful this year.

clematis unfurling

Hello, Clematis. You’re awfully exotic looking.

peony with ants

Soon. Maybe in about 3 or 4 days? Which would take us to the first week of June. Like clockwork.

quince fruit

Remember the Weigela turned Flowering Quince?

Yep. That’s fruit. I guess that once the bush bloomed in the Spring every year, I didn’t really take the time to look at it closely again. This year I did, and darn it all if there isn’t fruit developing. Let’s see, I not only thought it was a Weigela, I insisted it was because there were no thorns or fruit.

This year I found thorns.

I found fruit.

I stand corrected.

rose bud and bug

The rose bushes are developing buds. Oh happy day!

For those of you who might have missed yesterday’s post, I’m giving away two passes to the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck. Just scroll down for all the information. Or click here. I want to clarify that there will be two winners, who will get one pass each. (I like to spread the love around.)

My friend Heidi, whose shop Hi Ho Home Market closed this year (sob), will have a booth there. She is also giving a presentation!

And, my dear blogging friend Elyse is also presenting on Saturday. She’ll be sharing some crafts from her new book, Seaside Tinkered Treasures.

To read about both Heidi and Elyse, visit this link. Elyse is #2, Heidi is #8.

And don’t forget the other giveaway that’s going on here at MHC. Visit my post, Gardening with Hydrangeas from the Endless Summer® Collection for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card.

Happy Saturday.

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Yet Still I Post

May 25, 2014 at 8:04 am by Claudia

hiking

It seems like everyone is on a long weekend hiatus…yet still I post. What can I say? The daily ritual of writing a post has become as necessary as eating and drinking. I like the discipline of it. It forces me to focus and, in the midst of whatever challenges are going on in my life, appreciate what I have.

Yesterday, we managed to squeeze in a hike between rainstorms. We’ve had a lot of rain in the past 4 days and I’m over it. More weeds have sprung up everywhere. The grass needs mowing. Everything is soggy.

But the hike? We managed 4 miles yesterday and for some reason, it kicked my butt! My foot developed a cramp during the hike, my allergies were not being helpful, and when I got home, I just wanted to sleep. Today I woke up before 5:30 am. So I’m still tired!

stonesteps

Remember the stone steps that Don and I had to climb to get to the trail? Visualize irregular steps going up the side of a mountain, zig-zagging every which way, sometimes seemingly hanging over a sheer drop into nothingness. I had Don take this picture yesterday of the beginning of the path going back down the mountain. Honestly, sometimes you can’t figure out which stones are actual steps and which ones are just stones. When we were chatting with a park ranger about them later that day, he told us, “Those steps are used mostly by rock climbers.”

Oh, that explains it. A rock climber I am not.

yellow blooms

From the garden.

white flowers under hosta

I’m going to do some weeding and some mowing today. We’re watching The Normal Heart tonight on HBO. Based on the play by Larry Kramer, it focuses on the HIV/AIDS crisis in NYC during the early years of the eighties. I cannot begin to tell you how many friends I lost to AIDS during the eighties and nineties – brilliant, talented, wonderful people who died much too young.

One of my favorite actors, Mark Ruffalo, is in the cast, as well as my sweet Jim Parsons. It will be powerful, of that I am sure.

Reminder: Tomorrow is the May edition of the Christmas Critter Felt Along, so be sure to drop by and link up with your creations.

Happy Sunday.

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Welcoming My Prodigal Plants

May 23, 2014 at 8:47 am by Claudia

tulipfromabove

I have three graceful pale yellow tulips in the yard. They have the most wonderful scent. They’re particularly beautiful this year, but I can see they are starting their inevitable decline. This was shot yesterday, in between thunderstorms.

Nature is the best designer, don’t you think?

We had a doozy of a late-in-the-afternoon thunderstorm, by the way. Lights flickering, thunder, lightning, wind, torrential rain. We sat on the porch and watched it rage around us. That brings back memories of my childhood, where we often sought refuge from a storm on our porch. We’d sit there, with little drops of rain occasionally hitting us, watching the fireworks that are part of a thunderstorm, trying to see how long we could outlast the rain that would inevitably start to cover more and more of the porch until it was impossible to remain outside any longer.

I love a summer thunderstorm…though it’s not summer yet, officially. It felt like it yesterday.

The gorgeous bridal wreath spirea has blossomed.

bridalwreathspirea1

bridalwreathspirea2

bridalwreathspirea3

Perfection.

I feel like a mom who is welcoming the return of her prodigal plants. “Welcome back,” I say. They’ve been gone for a long time. One by one, they return. The winter was especially tough. A mammoth tree limb fell in the middle of the large garden bed last September. Yet after all of that, here they are, willing to come back and be a part of the family once more.

I should be standing on the porch, my hair in a bun, an apron tied around my waist, eyes peeled on the horizon, waiting for any sign; a leaf, a bud, a blossom. It could be a painting in the style of Andrew Wyeth or Norman Rockwell.

Awaiting the Return of the Prodigal Plants. That’s the title.

Thank you for your kind words and wise advice yesterday. Treasures you are, all of you.

Happy Friday.

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Hello, Saturday

Yet Still I Post

Welcoming My Prodigal Plants

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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