Summer delights for motivation

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Mominthegarden

Hi there! It is February and thankfully the weather has eased up a tiny bit. I was able to get out into the garden more this week and every minute was such a blessing. And while I do have pictures from this past week, instead of sharing those, I’m going to share my pictures of some of the flowers that I am looking forward to seeing in just a few months. I’m using them as motivation! I’ve started with my feature image at the top of the page, which is what the garden looked like in July last year!

I’m joining Garden Ruminations for the Six on Saturday meme. 🙂

I hope you enjoy my motivational trip down memory lane!

In Peace,
Dana

collage of fruit from the garden including strawberries, blueberries, pears and apples

1 – Fruit from the garden. Last year we finally caged up our blueberries. What a harvest we had! Up until then, the birds were the beneficiaries of the delicious blueberries. We had a decent harvest of strawberries, too. The strawberry ice cream we made was quite a treat! It was the best harvest yet for our pears. My husband made a pear and almond torte (twice!) that was absolutely delicious – and well worth the work that went into making it. Finally, our apples: red eating and yellow/green cooking. There is something quite satisfying about eating an apple from your own tree! 🙂

collage of David Austin roses: colors coral, light pink, medium pink and dark pink

2 – David Austin roses. Clockwise from top right: Princess Anne is a beautiful deep pink rose, Boscobel is a pretty salmon color. The next one is either Olivia Rose Austin or Ancient Mariner, I have both, but at this point, I don’t know which is which and they are very similar. The last one is Harlow Carr, and this I know because it is *very* thorny! They all are scented, which is something I look for in flowers. I had a super rose season last year, and I have to give credit to Uncle Tom’s Rose Tonic, which I used for the first time. Per the label: it contains pure potassium phosphite. It’s not cheap, but I did see an improvement in the health of my roses.

collage of iris grown from February through July

3 – Iris from February through July. We can start with Iris reticulata (bottom center) that blooms in February. Mine aren’t blooming just yet this year, but are up from the soil. We then have a bit of a break until May when most of the others start to bloom. We have Dutch Iris (top right), bearded Iris Benton Storrington (middle right), and the Siberian Iris ‘Shirley Pope’. The Siberian iris (top left) also blooms in May/June. And lastly, to finish out the iris season, we have another variety of Dutch iris that blooms at the end of June through the beginning of July. It is planted among the Incrediball hydrangea. I usually use it in a fourth of July arrangement.

4 – White balloon flower. This simple little beauty is happiest in sun and provides sweet white flowers, starting in June. They will continue to flower with deadheading.

5 – Allium. Starting in May and going through June, allium are a treat in the garden! I planted some en masse and I really like how they look. I usually cut some to bring inside as they dry beautifully, too. I’ve even spray painted them! My favorite type is Purple Sensation, but the ones en masse (bottom three photos) are a really neat star-like shape which I find to be as pleasing as the coloring of the Purple Sensation!

collage of poppies colored orange, red, pink, lilac.

6 – Poppies. Of course we have poppies! Each year they seem to find a new spot in the garden. We have had a range of colors, including: orange, red, lavender, pink, and coral! The seed heads are also fun to work with in arrangements.

That was so much fun! I hope you are as inspired as I am. Which is your favorite flower? And of course, thanks for stopping by!

Summer has arrived!

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Mominthegarden

Hi there, and welcome to my blog! Summer has finally arrived to Ireland and I must say, not a minute too soon! We had cold and windy weather with gray skies for part of this week, making every picture that I took look rather ‘blah’. Thankfully, towards the end of the week the weather not only warmed up (we hit 23 degrees C / 74 degrees F), but the sun even came out every now and again. What a treat! Long may it last. 🙂

What’s happening in the garden? The hydrangeas are starting to fill out, poppies continue to bloom everywhere and some lilies have begun their show. The roses had an amazing first flush of blooms and I can’t seem to keep up with deadheading them. New buds are already forming, so more beautiful blooms should be following soon.

There’s news on the squash and pumpkin front, too. The plants are growing! We’ll have to wait and see if they flower and then if they actually form pumpkins. But at least there is a chance that they will. The sunflowers are doing well. They aren’t very tall, but they all have multiple buds on their stems. While it was definitely tough going, with multiple plantings, I’m very happy to see that we will definitely have sunflowers! (You can see them in the feature image above on the far right.)

I will be joining The Propagator’s meme Six on Saturday. Feel free to join in, or have a visit of some of the other gardens!

Enjoy the tour!

dark and light pink lilies and coral poppies

1 & 2 – Lilies and Hydrangea. These are the first of my lilies to bloom. The light pink ones are very pretty and delicate looking. The darker pink ones are more, dare I say ‘basic’ looking? The bugs really enjoyed eating them before they bloomed, so they aren’t doing quite as well. The mophead hydrangea is just ‘wow’ this year! I’ve been feeding it, and keeping it watered, which pays off with these guys. I will cut many of those blooms in the fall, to dry for wreaths, so I’m happy to have the multi-colors. I’m afraid I don’t know any of the names of these three plants.

Incrediball hydrangea red poppies and Dutch Iris

collage of Incrediball (strong Annabelle hydrangea), Dutch iris and red poppies.

3 & 4 – Incrediball / Strong Annabelle Hydrangea and Dutch Iris. I started with one Incrediball, but it turned brown mid-season every year. So last year I moved it and it’s baby off-shoot to under the cherry tree where it would get morning sun and filtered afternoon sun. Whereas before I’m sure it was getting too much sun, I’m not sure it is getting enough now! I added a new plant to the mix this spring, so there are three under the tree. It’s the one with the most well developed flowers – possibly because it is getting the most sun in that position. I have been watering and feeding them and they seem to appreciate it. While our weather has been cool, we have not had great amounts of rain.

These are the very last of my iris to bloom. That was a very long season of iris! There were six different iris varieties and these Dutch ones are the finale. I like the red, white and blue of this bed.

5 – Poppies! Again 🙂 The pink one on the left is the ‘hybrid’ which showed up this season. It is in every bed, too, which is kind of fun. I love having the different colors! The hybrid is a mix of the frilly, double coral one on the right, and the single lavender one which you can see in the top of the left picture. I’ve had those two varieties for many years, so it is interesting that the hybrid showed up this year.

teasing Georgia David Austin roses cluster early July

6 – Teasing Georgia, David Austin rose. I wasn’t even a fan of yellow, but thought it would look nice next to our red playhouse. I have since become a huge fan of this lovely yellow rose! The buds are so pretty with their dark orange-red coloring. There are always clusters of flowers, too. I have to say that using Uncle Tom’s Rose Tonic seems to have really given them a boost. (Thanks to The Propagator for that tip!) I hate to mention black spot, but it would normally be rampant at this stage and that is not the case so far this year. The rose tonic isn’t cheap, but if this all natural method works to keep them healthy, I’m in.

And that’s what happened in the garden this week! I hope you are able to enjoy your weather, no matter where in the world you are. Thanks so much for stopping by!

In Peace,
Dana

Poppy: a beautiful flower, or just a weed?

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Mominthegarden

Hello! You are very welcome to my blog. The topic today is poppies, because the garden is just now entering a phase where poppies are everywhere! I once had someone casually refer to poppies as weeds (this was right after I mentioned that I’d planted a mix of poppies in my main flowerbed). Despite this, I do not consider them weeds. I enjoy their fleeting beauty – and it really is fleeting. I also love that there are so many varieties! And if you don’t like where they decide to grow, they are easy to pull out, as long as you don’t wait too long.

I confess that I don’t know the names of any of my poppies. I just refer to either the red ones, or the pink ones, or the ones with the white centers … 🙂 In case you don’t know, they self seed, at least usually! I have a favorite one. It is bright pink with ruffles. I planted this variety quite a few years ago and since then I’ve always had *many* of these pretty ruffled petal flowers every summer. But this year, the area where they normally flower is rather over grown and unruly. So unfortunately, there are no poppies in that bed. But, alas, I recently discovered a single one of these poppy plants growing right in front of my compost!

Slight diversion here, as I tell you about my compost. I have a lot of compost! There are 4 sections, but they look like one big heap. I also have two tumblers, which I use just for food scraps, but that is another story. I throw grass and garden cuttings in the compost – but no weeds. It takes about a season to get dark brown, soil-like, usable compost, which is filled with worms. I recently used the end of last season’s compost, emptying that section, which was perfect timing as the other sections needed to be spread out and turned. But I held off on this job when I noticed the poppy growing right there in front of the compost area. I didn’t want to disturb it. 😉

Finally, the poppy bloomed and I felt it was safe enough for the compost to be taken care of. My son was kind enough to do this big, messy job for me. There was fantastic compost underneath the freshly added grass cuttings! Yes, this is what I get excited about – rich, worm filled, compost! O.K., diversion finished. Back to poppies.

I have a few varieties throughout the garden. Last year I let the lavender colored poppies take over my rose bed. You can see those pictures here. That wasn’t a great decision, although they were fabulous to see when they were all in bloom! So this year I’ve kept them distanced from my roses, and I’m trying to keep the numbers down. Trying.

They might well indeed be considered to be weeds by some, but certainly not by me. I have them growing around the entire garden, and every one of them has their own beauty – whether their delicate or ruffled petals, their markings or lack of markings, or their different colors. Best of all, they are all loved by the bees!

I have a few pictures of my poppies to share with you below. I hope you enjoy them!

In Peace,
Dana

Pink poppy with compost — Pink poppy in front of one section of compost.

poppy-compost-heap — A mess of a compost heap with red and lavender colored poppies. Those are sweetly scented Elderflowers hanging above the compost to the right.

Turned Compost — Freshly turned compost.

First poppy to bloom from this single plant.

pink-poppy-with-bee — Pink poppy with bees.

Pink ruffle poppy open — Pink ruffle poppy.

Red poppy + bee — Red poppy with black center and a bee!

orange poppy white center + bee — Orange poppy with white center and a flying bee!

Red poppy black center — Red poppy with black cross center.

Red poppies forming a tower — A cluster of red poppies.

lavender poppy single — Lavender colored poppy.

Thanks for visiting!

Probably my most favorite time of the year!

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Mominthegarden

Peony ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ bouquet July 9th

Well hello, and welcome to my blog! There is something about summer that creates a feeling of being carefree, don’t you think? The bright evenings and, when we get it, the warmth of the sun energizes me. The all too busy family schedule takes a bit of a breather, which is a welcome reprieve. Best of all, we get to spend more time with family and friends. The garden, on the other hand, is full steam ahead!

Peony bouquet up close Sarah Bernhardt July 9

Peony ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ bouquet July 9th

The peony season was fantastic this year! The very last of my peony (two ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ plants) finished blooming just this week. Oh they were so pretty!

Peony ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ July 9th

Also coming to an end this week were the poppies growing in my rose bed. There were hundreds of flowers! I was surprised how strong some of their roots were, which I discovered as I pulled them up. One ‘two handed pull’ had me landing on my backside when it finally came free! 🙂 They were pretty, but the downside was that they didn’t allow any air circulation around my roses, which I think was quite unfortunate. I will have to thin them out next year, and not allow them to take over the bed!

Purple Poppies in full bloom in the Rose bed – Where are the roses?

Just a couple of blooms of the Purple Poppies left in the Rose bed

the Poppies I pulled from the Rose bed

A look at the Rose bed just after pulling the purple Poppies (and after a bit of weeding)

I did manage to get some pictures of some very pretty roses (ones that weren’t hidden by poppies!). Over the past few years I have planted quite a few David Austin roses. All of them are scented, some more so than others. Sometimes their blooms can be so heavy that they face down, and therefore are harder to photograph (if you see me crouching on the ground, this is why!). But other than that, I think they are absolutely wonderful!

David Austin ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ Rose

David Austin ‘Teasing Georgia’ Rose

David Austin ‘Boscobel’ Rose

The hosta are in bloom with tall lilac colored flowers. Hosta would prefer shade, which I have very little of in my yard. For now, they seem to be doing OK.

Hydrangea, Lilies, and Hosta in bloom

Lilies in a pot, Hosta flowers in bloom

The area in the background of the above picture was originally all brambles and weeds. Over the past two years, after clearing the area, I’ve added some really hardy perennials to see if they will overtake the weeds. This year looks pretty good! The perennial geranium, bergenia, and Lychnis coronaria (rose campion) came back and are doing well!

Lychnis coronaria (also known as rose campion) is a real eye-catcher in the garden!

There are different varieties of hydrangea in the garden, and the Incrediball is just now coming into ‘color’ bloom (creamy white), which you can see in the picture below. The pink lupin (or lupine) to the right of it is just about finished, and there is some Lychnis coronaria (also known as rose campion) in there, too. The hydrangea paniculata is still forming its blooms, with no color just yet, while the lavender is perfect for harvesting (to dry) right now!

Our Front Gate Garden July 18

Front Gate garden hydrangea lavender lupin

The same Front Gate Garden the week before: with pink lupin (or lupine), hydrangea ‘incrediball’ and lavender

Lavandula angustifolia – Lavender July 18th and ready for harvesting (for drying)

Phew! There is so much going on in the garden! And the lavender is just calling me to do something creative with it. 🙂

I hope you are enjoying your summer, too!

In peace,
Dana

Peony ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ fully open July 9

Gardening – it’s worth the effort!

Posted on June 4, 2019 by Mominthegarden

Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’

Hello there! It is a rather funny name for the post today, but as I was working in the garden most of the weekend, it seemed apt. Maintaining and growing a garden *is* a lot of work, and I think even more so when you do it organically. This is worth it to me, though, as I absolutely love being in the garden and seeing how it is transformed and how it brings such beauty into our lives. And when things start to not balance out, it’s time to change things up and find easier plants to maintain!

Playhouse garden with yellow lupine, Iris ‘Benton Storrington’, and bleeding hearts

The weather hasn’t been great recently, so I haven’t been keeping up with the weeding. It reached the point this weekend, though, that my husband even pointed out to me that “those flowers would look much nicer if there weren’t so many weeds! How sweet of him to notice 🙂

early stage pears

You’ve heard me say it before, and it remains true, that we like to grow what is easy (to grow and maintain)! Our fruit trees are a prime example. We’ve been very fortunate with an abundance of pears and apples the past few years. We’ll see how it goes the rest of the season, but as of right now we have a bumper crop of pears! All of this with just composting on a regular basis and light annual pruning.

Iris ‘Benton Storrington’

I try to add some new flowers every year. This Iris was added in 2016 and has done really well in my yard. I started with just two rhizomes, and last year we divided what had developed into a huge clump. I was actually trying to find spaces around the yard to fit in the divided plants! We planted several rhizomes around the yard, all of which are now ready to bloom.

Purple Sensation allium

The Purple Sensation allium is a new addition which we added into two beds last fall. Actually, I bought “Purple Sensation” allium years ago, but it most definitely was not Purple Sensation as the color is quite light, which you can notice in the picture below.

Purple Sensation allium and NOT Purple Sensation allium

a view of the main rose bed to the right of Abies Koreana (Remember when I planted those boxwood plants? Spring 2018)

The longest blooming flower in our garden is the rose, so we created a second rose bed a few years ago, and filled it with David Austin roses. The empty space between the roses was filled in no time with poppies (I didn’t plant them here, they “moved” from different beds in the garden, and possibly from my compost!).

Rose bed filled with Poppies (with a few allium “popping” up!)

Poppies love my yard. I’m not sure if I’m going to be 100% happy with them in this rose bed. They’ve grown incredibly tall, but thankfully they are also sheltering my rose plants from the harsh wind we’ve had recently. Pity you can’t really see the rose plants here though!

David Austin roses (the far side of the poppy invasion)

David Austin Standard Tree Rose Princess Anne

My first Standard Tree rose went into the garden last fall. It is rather tall and the roses are bright pink and very much visible!

Poppies in the Rainbow garden

The Rainbow garden is filling out even more with the addition of two varieties of Iris last year. Poppies are definitely hogging the stage at the moment, though.

Iris among the poppies

A full view of the Rainbow garden (with one chicken)

the chickens love to roam the garden!

Hawthorn trees in bloom (Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’ is the bright flowered shrub) + chicken about to jump!

this flower bed at our front gate is filled with Hosta, Sedum, Iris, Roses, Asters, Lavender, Bergenia, and the White Lilac is visible from the other side of the fence. We added the Bergenia (at the very front) last year.

front gate garden today

This little ‘Front gate garden’ has Aster, Sedum, Foxglove, a new Climbing Rose, and two new Primula capitat subsp mooreana, Woodlander (thank goodness for plant tags!). They are right on time for blooming now and should go until July (we’ll see!). My one variety of peony has just finished blooming – the blooms usually fall through from the other side of the fence and give a splash of color here (you can just see the spent redish flowers on the other side of the fence).

Primula capitata subsp mooreana, Woodlander

I’ve already made many “new flower/plant/tree” purchases for this season! Hopefully, everyone will settle in and adjust to our garden (and not be eaten/dug up by the chickens). There is just so much going on in the garden! The next flowers to bloom should be the rest of my peony plants.

Garlic beds with sweet pea planted in the middle.

Oh! and I almost forgot that we’ll be harvesting our garlic in July! I’ve planted some sweet pea down the middle of one bed, and sunflowers down the middle of the other. I’ll find out soon enough if that was a good or a bad idea!

So the main point I make to myself, on a regular basis, is to keep a balance. I can’t spend all of my time in the garden. I’ve learned to be O.K. with weeds – I’ll get to them eventually. The garden is a long term project for me anyway, no point in rushing! 🙂

I hope you get to spend the perfect amount of time in a garden and enjoy every minute of it!

In peace,
Dana

Thank you!

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Mominthegarden

a poppy with lots of ruffles

I want to take this moment to thank you for reading my blog. I’m so glad for you to stop by and visit! I thoroughly enjoy writing about my gardening adventures, and I especially love photographing every aspect of it. So I appreciate when others share in my journey. A special thank you, too, if you are following my blog. If you are not yet following, please feel free to click on the link on the left side of the page. 🙂 I would also like to invite you to leave comments, as I would love to know what you think about the different topics that I write about!

some of my most hardy tulips gifted to me when we moved into our home

The garden is one of my favorite places, where I can go to clear my head, be creative, and marvel at how the circle of life in nature promises that the garden, although dormant in winter, will again bring new life every spring time. For me, the garden is a place of hope (there are no guarantees!). Although I will admit that I work quite hard in my garden, it is never with disdain. I hope that you will continue to enjoy my writings!

My wild flower garden in July

I have a few new (big-ish) plans for my garden this year! One section just really needs a change and 2019 is the year to make it happen. I have already started on that project, so I am quite excited that it will come to fruition! Stay tuned …

our garden in October with mums, pumpkins and sunflowers

Finally, I’d like to wish you only the best in 2019: Health, Happiness, Prosperity, and fresh organic compost from the garden!

Our garden on a frosty, foggy morning

In peace,
Dana

Gardening Goals: Got this one

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Mominthegarden

“before”

Well isn’t it nice of me to pop in to blog-land for a visit? I was beginning to wonder what was going on … But here we are now, ready to share some pictures and a gardening story.

I made a gardening goal for myself as part of my New Year resolutions. It was to finally clean up this bed. REALLY clean it up. I figured without making it a top priority then it just wasn’t going to happen.

This is my “messy garden bed”. The above picture is from late summer when the poppies were in full bloom. I love the color that poppies provide, but I’m weary of the mess of them.

Part of the problem is that the border around the bed hasn’t worked. I originally had a small stone wall around the bed but we couldn’t keep it neat. I have two flower beds which have boxwood for a border. There is a third bed (between the first two) which will also have boxwood. I love the shape and neatness that the boxwood gives.

boxwood around the first rose bed

a small stone wall at the front of the ditch wall garden

we’ve managed to keep this low stone wall at the front of the ditch wall garden looking somewhat neat

So I’ve removed the stones and we will eventually plant boxwood. I’m going to make sure to have enough space on the outside of the boxwood to allow the mower’s wheels to fit! We just don’t have time to ‘strim’ around the garden. I’d like to have more time enjoying the garden, and not all of my time spent working in the garden. That balance needs a little tweaking for me.

in full bloom in July with Philadelphus (Mock Orange), Globe Artichokes, Deutzia (scabra), peony, bergenia, potentilla, and various wild flowers

in full bloom in July with Philadelphus (Mock Orange) on the left, Globe Artichokes in the middle, Deutzia (scabra) on the right, peony on the right, bergenia, potentilla, and various wild flowers

We’ve had quite a time figuring out this center garden bed. It can get *really* wet and the soil was anything but well-drained. It has taken time and lots of compost to get the soil in a fairly decent state. We’ve lost many a plant in this bed (nick-named the plant graveyard)! Some plants I have managed to save just by moving them to a different part of the yard.

what a mess

So with the help of my son and husband we’ve been working on giving this bed a proper shape and getting rid of the grass, weeds and wildflowers. I just have to clear away this mess! It simply bothers me.

(mostly cleared) on the left is a Buddleia BUZZ (butterfly bush) and on the right is a potentilla

It has been a lot of work. I go out for an hour at a time to turn the soil, pull out the grass, pull out the weeds, turn the soil again… arduous! But I think it is so worth it. I want to be able to really enjoy the plants that are in the garden, which this year I think I will be able to. These guys are tough, and have proved to me that they can survive this soil!

digging out a shape. The newest addition to the garden is a Cornus (florida) what I would call a Dogwood tree which is near the middle of the bed.

If I can manage it, I’ll pull the oval out just a tiny bit more. I’d like to get it right before planting the border. But I’m really happy with how it has evolved. I like the different shapes within the bed, and the different heights. I’m looking forward to seeing how the colors look this summer.

Hellebore

And that is what has been keeping me busy this last while! I hope you’ve managed to keep some of your resolutions!

In peace,
Dana

a frosty and foggy view of the garden in February

Sunshine on a wild-flower garden.

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Wild-flower garden.

I have a wild-flower garden. It certainly isn’t a typical wild-flower garden. Mainly that’s because its location is in the middle of my front yard. Yeah, I know, that is weird. I really enjoyed the flowers, but not the wild garden look! I had just prepared this center bed and was still figuring out what to plant in it when a friend asked me if I’d like some wild-flower seeds. It was as simple as that! I thought I’d give it a go for a season and see how it looked.

Lots of poppies in my wild-flower garden.

Orange wild poppy.

Some of the flowers have been so pretty! I love the orange wild poppies.

Orange wild poppies.

For a season it has been fun seeing what would grow and bloom. There were a couple of cute surprises!

A single red flower.

Beautiful blue cornflower.

Lovely yellow.

A bit of a mess!

So the above photo is really what the wild-flower garden tends to look like: A mess! I do like my poppies and daisies by the back of my wall. They certainly are anything but neat and tidy. But they are at the back! I’m afraid this garden is too central to be so messy for me.

Wild orange poppies looking quite wild.

Wild orange poppies.

Well it definitely was fun having such lovely flowers, especially to photograph!

Just a bit of blue (blue cornflower) …

I love poppies in the evening sunlight!

Poppies before the storm.

Too many pictures of poppies?

The skies cleared again.

Another learning experience for me! But I am delighted to have had the chance to photograph such beauties. I hope you’ve enjoyed them too.

Dana

Blue cornflower.

End of June Roses & Poppies, but wait! Asparagus & Brussels Sprouts too!

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868).

Now that is a picture to get me started! I love roses. Especially pink ones, but really any color makes me smile. These just fill the little rose garden with color!

The rose garden.

This has been a very good season for black spot, unfortunately. I was away this spring, when I think I should have been tending the roses to prevent black spot. I still have not found an organic method, which annoys me. This is my garden story as I grow and learn, black spots and all. I think it would be quite misleading to leave out the rough patches that might be involved in gardening. While I’m at my confession, I’ll add that I didn’t prune my roses this year (yikes!). I just was completely unsure of how to go about it and procrastinated too long. Then it was too late!

Burgundy Ice Floribunda Rose.

Burgundy Ice Floribunda rose.

I think pruning them is helpful to prevent black spot (gives better air circulation). I have been cutting away as much of the black spot as I can manage. I was really surprised this week when a bunch of roses bloomed – I thought they were too far gone! The worst affected were the Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868), but they weren’t the only ones.

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868).

Rosa Jacques Cartier (1868). This rose is incredibly fragrant. The walkway to the front door smells beautiful! How lucky to be able to plant them there!

Zephirine Drouhin (1868). In this picture you can see the black spots on some of the leaves. (I must get out there and cut those off!) These roses are at my front gate.

Zephirine Drouhin (1868).

I need some more color in my rose garden. 🙂 There must be some more varied shades of pink out there!

Silver Anniversary Hybrid Tea rose.

Iceberg Floribunda rose.

I do like the white roses, too, though. I would really like to get a better handle on this black spot situation…

Poppies on the other hand, have no problems like black spot. My only problem with them is their falling over!

Poppies.

The center of that big mess of greens holds a very large bunch of fallen-over poppies! I’ve tried to pull them up. I’m not sure yet if it is going to work. I will (humbly?) point out that the fence has been painted again this year. My daughter was a big help with this job. I have to say that I enjoyed doing it. I really like how it brightens things up!

A “relaxed look” garden.

I like seeing the bright red flowers when I’m in the yard. The red really jumps out, even from a distance. It is a very relaxed looking garden, nothing formal here! The daisies are just about ready to bloom next to the never ending poppies.

Poppies.

A very wrinkled looking poppy!

As for some of the vegetables in the garden, things are growing! We started planting asparagus two years ago. That means that next year we’ll be able to actually eat some! There really weren’t too many stalks, so this year we planted a full bed of different varieties. Through some research we learned that asparagus like mushroom compost. If our experience is anything to go by, this is certainly the case! What an amazing amount of growth we’ve seen this year.

A look at the growing asparagus.

Just about every crown we planted has grown. These are one year old crowns. This is much, much nicer looking than the few crowns that had been limping along the past two seasons. I’m giving full credit to the mushroom compost we used this year. We are really hopeful for a good crop next year!

Asparagus (the first year planting 1 year old crowns).

Asparagus planted 2 years ago, peeking through.

That purple guy was planted two years ago. I cut the stalk down last week because it was too tall and was falling over. I think this would actually be ready for eating – if it was a one year old crown when planted. It’s a bit funny just having one spear though!

Baby asparagus!

You can really see the difference in thickness of these and the purple guy. My soil looks really dry. It isn’t actually, but we get a lot of wind which dries the top layer (quickly!).

Brussels Sprouts.

This year we are trying Brussels Sprouts! My blogging friend Claire over at Promenade Plantings http://promenadeplantings.com/2013/04/03/all-about-brussels/ gave some really helpful hints on getting started with sprouts. I’m not sure if we started early enough, but my fingers are crossed! The main thing was to really pack down the earth before planting. I wish I had a photograph, because my husband and daughter really had fun dancing on the bed to prepare it! It was well packed down to say the least! 🙂

Brussels Sprouts.

The next big job we had was to take off any critters (worms). We, actually my girls did this job, took off a bunch of worms this week. So now I’m keeping a close eye on the plants. Funny enough, the pigeons haven’t eaten the leaves, which they apparently like to do. I’m counting my lucky stars, because there are so many pigeons around here!

Brussels Sprouts.

We’ll see how it goes. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Have you tried anything new in the garden this year?

Dana

Too pretty to leave behind!

Beautiful Poppies from July through October!

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Mominthegarden

Late blooming poppy.

I planted poppies from seed this past spring. I had my doubts that they were going to take. It seemed that they took forever to bloom. But once they started blooming in July, they have kept at it for the entire summer and continue even now during the first week of October! I don’t really know the different varieties. I’d say these are pretty plain. I planted Poppy Flanders/Corn American Legion, Poppy Iceland Nudicaule Blend, and Poppy Oriental. None of them describe a white center, though, so I don’t know what kind the flower above might be. The deep red ones are the American Legions. Poppies are such a delicate flower. I’ll admit their stems can look a bit messy up close. These guys are at the back of my garden though, so I can really enjoy their color without seeing the mess! I’m so happy with them.

Right next to the poppies I’ve planted some Shasta Daisies. My father-in-law started them from seed for me in his greenhouse. I planted them as seedlings. I think they fit nicely next to the poppies.

Moving right along the ditch wall, I’ve planted Rudbeckia hirta, Black-eyed Susans. They were given to me from a friend’s garden. She is a very special friend!

Finally, you’ll see some horrible cardboard. I’m killing some more grass/weeds along the wall. I’ll have a big job ahead of me this winter, as I’d like to uncover a lot more of the hidden wall!

What is your favorite flower for prolonged blooming time? I hope you have lots of color in your garden!

Dana

Poppies.

Oriental Blend Poppies.

American Legion Poppy.

Poppies & Shasta Daisy flowers.

Wildlife 🙂

Poppies, Daisies, Black-eyed Susans & Cardboard.

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Tag Archives: poppies

Summer delights for motivation

Summer has arrived!

Poppy: a beautiful flower, or just a weed?

Probably my most favorite time of the year!

Gardening – it’s worth the effort!

Thank you!

Gardening Goals: Got this one

Sunshine on a wild-flower garden.

End of June Roses & Poppies, but wait! Asparagus & Brussels Sprouts too!

Beautiful Poppies from July through October!