Beauty in the Garden (the show) begins!

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Mominthegarden

Hi there! Are you an excited gardener? I sure am! Because it’s happening. While there were some pretty blooms in the winter, now is when the real show-offs emerge from their slumber and start the show that we call Beauty in the Garden. We’ll get to enjoy fabulous displays of color and texture throughout the garden starting now and lasting right through until late fall! How amazing is that? The anticipation for all of the new bulbs planted last year, or the new beds waiting to be planted, or just to see the old favorites again this year, well, it’s intoxicating!

Primroses, hellebores, pulmonaria, and iris reticulata – these beauties are gracing my garden at the minute. There’s been lots of prep work going on for the later blooming plants – the rose shrubs have been pruned, as have most of my hydrangeas. They’ll also be getting a good feed shortly. I’ve been tidying up the garden and clearing away the finished sunflowers from last year – with still more to do!

I’m joining the Six on Saturday meme through Garden Ruminations. It’s nice to join the group and see what is growing in different parts of the world.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy the tour. 🙂

In Peace,
Dana

1 – Pulmonaria ‘Opal’. Whether this is truly ‘Opal’ could be up for debate. Nonetheless, I love this plant. The spotted leaves are quite quirky – which is right up my alley. These tiny, pretty flowers look lovely with daffodils, which is what they are planted among. Still waiting on the daffodils, though!

2 – Iris reticulata. More pretty, tiny flowers, although they are substantially bigger than the pulmonaria. There are four flowers, for 20 bulbs, so I’m hoping more will still bloom. They look a little bit lost where they are. I have made a note to at least get more bulbs to fill that spot. I’m still working on that bed, and possibly expanding it, so there’s lots of potential. 🙂

Ornamental grass cut down to 18 inches with primroses around the base

3 – Ornamental grass – cut! I love when we cut back the ornamental grass. I almost prefer it this way than in full grown-out bloom as it is so much easier to control now. It is a big job to cut it back, especially when I want to keep it small and manageable. I’m thankful that my husband does this job! I planted these primroses last year and was delighted to see them back this year. Small joys.

4 – White hellebore. It is quite disappointing to not have the exact name for this plant. I do have the name that was on the tag, Aspen High, but given the markings on the white petals, that isn’t right. It is very pretty, though!

5 – Helleborus Harvington Double Apricot. I used four images of the same plant because it is so pretty and looks different at every angle. The plant is filled with blooms and is well established since planting it in February 2021.

6 – Helleborus Anna’s Red. This hellebore is fabulous for having flowers that don’t hang down, facing the ground. You can see the inside of the flowers from across the garden! It is such a striking color, too. And last but not least, the leaves on this plant (which I’ve cut off for now, due to black spot) are so unusual and pretty. They are what drew me to this plant in the first place. It will be lovely to see them again later in the season.

Thanks again for visiting! Which is your favorite plant? Better still, which plant would you recommend from your garden, as your favorite plant for this time of year? Thanks! 🙂 Dana

Enjoying a beautiful winter color palette

Posted on January 21, 2023 by Mominthegarden

Hello! Welcome to my blog. Every week, before I start writing a new post, I always go through my photos first. That is usually where my inspiration comes from. I go out into the garden all week long, at different times during the day, and I take pictures. Unfortunately, taking pictures is all I’ve been doing in the garden lately. I can’t wait to get started in some actual garden work, which will hopefully happen very soon.

What has really struck me recently, though, has been the colors in the sky. The morning sky has been beautiful shades of pink and purple on the far side of the house, while near the chicken run, we’ll see darker shades of orange, red and purple. It is amazing! And then, just like that, the sun is under a blanket of clouds and the show is over. I’ve learned to appreciate the sun whenever it shines, and to take the pictures right then and not wait for a better shot later!

I am joining in on the Six on Saturday fun again, hosted now by Garden Ruminations. It’s good to be back!

I hope you enjoy the garden tour. 🙂

In Peace,
Dana

hellebore: Winter Sunshine, Double Ellen and Anemone Picotee

1 – Hellebores. Mine are not really ready to be photographed just yet, but we’re getting there. The one on the left is Winter Sunshine. This is probably the best opportunity for me to use the word floriferous, as it is always *covered* in flowers. There are a load of buds on it at the moment. I do need to cut away those ugly brown leaves, though. While most of the green leaves are ok, some are showing signs of black-spot, so they also need to be cut away. The top red plant is called Double Ellen Red. Its flowers are especially pretty. The smallest hellebore, in the bottom right corner, is called Anemone Picotee. The flowers will be white with purple. It has a more delicate flower.

2 – Primroses. I have to say that I was a bit surprised to see these lovelies in the garden. I planted them last year just to fill the space. I’ve not had great luck with primroses returning, so this was nice to see.

morning view of the flower arch with a pink sky

3 – Daffodils pushing through the soil. Can you see them in the large front flower pot on the left? It is in high gear with loads of green growth. I’m not sure what the hurry is though, as they shouldn’t bloom before March. It is so wonderful to see what is coming next. It bring hope that there will be more to come. You can see that I have not yet taken away last year’s sunflowers or sweet pea. 🙂

4 – Sunrise over the chickens. I don’t really have much to add to this picture. The sky looks amazing. As the sun rose, though, the clouds covered everything and it was a rather dark day.

5 – Pink tinted morning view of the playhouse garden. I love mornings like these! It was a little foggy and frosty and was so beautiful with that sky! Just being in the garden on mornings like this brings a sense of peace. ❤️

collage of new bed view in frost and non-frost in sun

6 – Newest bed view. While the main view is of the newest bed, the dogwood off to the left provides a lovely splash of color! I don’t know the exact variety of cornus that it is, but if I had to guess, I’d say midwinter fire. It is a mixture of mostly orange but with some red. This new bed isn’t fully planted out yet, but right now we can see the cherry tree on the left, a burning bush (Euonymus alatus compactus) to the right of it, and then two hazelnut trees. There are some snowdrops starting to push through the soil here, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I have had to look outside the box to find beauty in the garden this January. But I think it is still there. Don’t you?

My First Weekend in the garden and boy was it lovely!

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Mominthegarden

Pulmonaria

What a wonderful weekend I had in the garden! The weather was perfectly spring like. There was so much weeding and cleaning up to do it was a bit overwhelming at first. Ever feel that way? All I could do was start with one little job at a time.

Primrose

There are lovely signs of spring.

Anemone Mr. Fokker

I also had some new plants to plant, and others to move around the yard. My husband is very good and does the planting for me, even the movings around of plants (sometimes more than once).

Anemone

I had forgotten that I had some very pink anemone growing in a container. What a lovely surprise to see them this week!

Anemone

Our strawberry plants are in a mess. You should really clean up the plants around September. Some how our schedules got in the way of our gardening last fall. So we are now in the process of cleaning them up and what a job it is!

Strawberry beds in need of attention

I cut back all of the green leaves of my Hellebores. Some of their leaves were turning black and it wasn’t pretty. They have been flowering all winter, so if you are looking for a winter blooming plant, this is definitely one to get (and so many colours to choose from).

Hellebores

Our winter garlic is finally up, growing and doing well. And look at that, another strawberry bed in need of attention! (arg!)

Garlic bed

Garlic

This is the first daffodil in my yard. It is kind of lonely all on its own. Hopefully the others will be up soon!

Daffodil

I’m so happy to have had time in the garden this weekend! I hope spring has sprung for you, too (or will soon)!

Happy spring!
Dana

In a Vase on Monday: Mr. Fokker Anemone & Primrose in January

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Mominthegarden

Mr. Fokker Anemone & primroses

It is cold, wet and windy outside! So goes our January. The wind would knock your socks off! Nevertheless, the sun has made several appearances so really I shall not complain.

Waterford crystal candle holder with anemone and primrose

I took a little break from my blog over the Christmas holiday. I wasn’t really taking a break from blogging but rather making more time for the family. I like blogging and was looking forward to getting back to it! So when the sun was shinning bright on Saturday I decided to run outside and see what I could find for the meme In a Vase on Monday, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the garden (http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com). It was COLD outside!

Mr Fokker Anemone in the garden

I have loads of Mr Fokker Anemone in the garden. Unfortunately, where they are in the garden doesn’t see the sun until the very end of the day (if at all). So they are closed up most of the time. It was lovely to watch them open after being placed in warm water in the candle holder (their vase).

The flowers opened up in the warm water

The colours are lovely. I kind of squished the primrose into the vase. That bright pink is fabulous in the yard. I have to say they look rather lonely though, as everything around them is pretty much in sleep/winter mode.

The candle holder usually sits in a room which we rarely use. So the only job it has is to collect dust. I’m glad to put it to better use.

floating flowers

It is always fun to try and be a little creative with what is in the garden and what vase to use. I hope you’ve enjoyed my In a Vase on Monday post!

bright pink

I have to say that it is nice to have flowers in the garden in January.

primrose in the garden

I hope you have a good week and that you are nice and warm, wherever you may be!

Peace,
Dana

Winter Blooms in my Irish Garden (An anemone steals the show!)

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Mr. Fokker Anemone

When I think of winter certain things come to mind: snow, cold temperatures, skiing, sledding, ice skating, hot chocolate! Living in Ireland has changed that idea a bit for me. Our winters are usually fairly mild, with only a quick cold snap. Snow is unusual. Cold is cold, but not like what I’d be used to while living in Central New York. And the winter is short. Really short if I look back to my days of having snow around until March! I do miss the snowy side of winter. But the tradeoff is having flowers in my garden even in January.

A frozen anemone

We had a deep freeze the other day: -5 degrees Celsius. I took some pictures in the morning, and by the afternoon the rain had come and everything thawed out!

First morning light over the frosty field

This close-up of the crystals is my favorite

Today was yet another mild day, 8 degrees Celsius, and sunny. I am not complaining, I just hope it has been cold enough to keep the slugs at bay! My garden has a few flowers which are blooming. The anemone have multiplied over the past few years. They don’t seem to mind that it is January. Also giving some color in the garden are a few daisies and a black-eyed Susan plant! I think they are simply confused. The primrose are a lovely bright color. There is also a lot of green in my ditch wall garden from poppies. Lots and lots of poppies!

The day after the frost

This is flowering in January.

A sunny winter day

January in the garden

Dogwood plant has lovely red branches

Our area has really been very fortunate with the weather. Even just seeing the sun for a bit of the day is refreshing to the soul.

Evening view from the front yard

The very last rose.

Do you have any flowers growing in your winter garden?
Happy winter!
Dana

Happy Birthday to me with a Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula” tree!

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula”.

The proverb “good things come to those who wait” came to mind as the Yellow Furze nursery delivery truck pulled into our driveway. Ever since taking notice of trees around me; their shapes, colors, sizes, I’ve wanted one of these “droopy” trees. As it turns out, my neighbor James has a mature Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula” in his garden. I was able to see what it looks like after 25 years (it is beautiful!). So for my birthday, which was back in September, I ordered this conical tree. It just arrived today! I didn’t mind the wait since September, though. That gave me time to put some newspapers down to kill the grass. I used our “turtle sandbox” cover on top of the papers to keep them all in place, and to give me the round shape. My husband kindly dug the hole for the tree. I love it. I think it fits in perfectly.

Marked area ready to be dug up.

My new droopy tree!

My favorite thing about it is the droopy look of the branches. It has a character all its own! I don’t mind the small size for now. It will grow in time, and as it does the garden will grow with it. Such simple pleasures! 🙂

Tagged.

The other saying that keeps popping up in my head these days is “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Yeah, maybe you can guess that I’ve been working on pulling down the ivy from my Hawthorn trees? It really is mentally challenging! The brambles and ivy are completely entwined with the trees and surrounding front and back areas. I wasn’t sure if I’d find any more of the ditch wall, but surprisingly a few sections of it have been uncovered!

The new (pink!) gloves my kids gave me for Christmas to protect me from the Hawthorn thorns! And a view of the back of our trees where all of the brambles & ivy seem to thrive!

I would love to write about how easy it is to pull up the ivy, and cut the brambles, and that the hawthorn “thorns” weren’t sharp at all. Yeah, except that would be lying. 🙂 For me it is enough that my husband has taken note of the laborious work entailed in freeing up the Hawthorn trees. If the rest of the row of trees looks as good as the first tree I cleared last year, we’ll be delighted with the results!

Uncovering part of the ditch wall!

Boy do I wish I had a finished “after” photo to show you though! (This is where I chant “Rome wasn’t built in a day”…)

Looking for some encouragement here … Go Dana, Go Dana, Go Dana…

A dark day, but we can see through the trees!

And here is what I still have ahead of me 🙂

This is what keeps me going – The first Hawthorn and section of the ditch wall which I uncovered from ivy.

I found a little bit of color in the garden today. These primroses weren’t recognizable when I moved them into my little “nursery” garden from the front gate garden this past summer. The slugs *love* primroses! I threw them into the nursery to see if they’d survive, and it seems they did. The slugs still enjoy eating them, but at least they are recognizable for the moment.

Primroses.

Primroses, with a bit of a slug signature.

I’m so happy with my little droopy tree (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula”)! Yes, I think it is worth waiting for what you really want. I hope if you’ve been waiting for something special, that it finds its way to you!

Dana

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Tag Archives: primrose