More Blooms

In one of my earliest posts, I wrote about the Mophead Hydrangea pictured above. It was planted in the spring of 1965. At the time, it was just a florist's potted hydrangea that had been sent to our family at the time of my father's death in January of that year.  It has grown quite large over the years and is one of my pride and joy plants.  Yesterday morning, it was covered with blooms in various stages, as shown below.

 Just opened; still greenish white.

 Beginning to show a bit of blue.

 Getting there. Green gone; now pale blue and white.

 All blue, and about 6" or 7" across.

Other plants now in bloom in my front garden are:

 Heuchera Southern Comfort (coral bells)

I love those huge, bronze leaves!

 Variegated Hosta



Calibrachoa (million bells)

a gift from Gardening Daughter.

I do love this time of year!  

I suppose I could have used these photos for several posts, but other plants will be blooming tomorrow and in the following weeks.  I'll have "Springy" blog fodder for a while before the interminable summer heat arrives.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Mother's Day - 2011

My 'local' children, Elder Daughter, Fantastic Son, Gardening Daughter and their respective spouses/families gathered today in Elder Daughter's home to treat me to a Mother's Day lunch. Delicious! All the good, home-made sorts of stuff that I really like, including strawberry shortcake.

Youngest Daughter, who lives in Nebraska, sent flowers yesterday (photo above -- I wish there were smell-a-vision, they have a wonderful, house-filling fragrance) and I had a good, long telephone conversation with her.

Having missed church on Easter Sunday and the following Sunday due to illness, it was good to be back in church this morning.  Spending the afternoon with most of my children was also a blessing.

I hope you had a wonderful day, also.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Spring Is All Around - And Eaglets

White daffodils, Kwanzan Flowering Cherry, wisteria, Japanese Painted Fern, pansy, Stars of Bethlehem, wild strawberry bloom, violets, Japanese Maple.

About half these photos were taken in Gardening Daughter's yard, the others at my place. My Japanese Maple tree has leafed out very nicely.  I was a bit worried about it after it suffered so much from last summer's heat.

The eaglets are hatching at Decorah, Iowa.  The first was out of it's shell early Saturday morning; another may have hatched since I last looked (I've been watching sporadically) and the third egg has a peep hole, already. It's exciting!

Tomorrow is also a day.

More Spring Things

Carolina Jessamine - my garden

While I was outside yesterday looking at violets, I could not help but notice that the Carolina Jessamine on my fence was loaded with blooms.  It seems like only a week or so ago that I was taking photographs of the dried seed heads. Ah, Spring! 

The air was still, for a change, while I was out, and for the first time since I planted this vine (almost 20 years ago), I could definitely smell the fragrance of the blooms hanging in the air. Perhaps it was because there are so very many blooms on the plant this year.  The fragrance is light and lovely, unlike other jasmine varieties whose perfume I find overwhelming. 

Bees are attracted to the blossoms, too, as I captured below. 

Carolina Jessamine blossom with Bee

I followed one bee around to a dozen or more different flowers in the couple of minutes I was photographing the vine.

It was nice to see this burst of bright yellow. My forsythia, for the second time in as many years, has short-changed me in the blossom department. My huge plant, which is about 8 feet in diameter, had fewer than 100 blossoms on it.  I think I need to cut it waaay back and see if it makes any difference next year. Or, maybe it just needs some vitamins.

While I was at Gardening Daughter's home a few days ago, we were 'touring the property' looking at the new growth on her plants.  She pointed out to me that her Russian Sage was putting out blossoms and said, "The hummingbirds will be here within a week."  She says her sage is a sure indicator. 

She called me yesterday afternoon to let me know that the hummingbirds had arrived, just as she predicted. "Make some nectar and get it out, Mom. They're here." She can be uncanny, sometimes.

That's about it. 

Tomorrow is also a day.

Bits and Pieces

Wild Violets - my backyard

Item: First, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for my granddaughter. While not completely free of all symptoms, she felt well enough to return to school on Monday after her release from the hospital. She has been to school every day this week, taking her own home-prepared food for lunch.  Even after all the tests, including the nuclear scan a week ago, no conclusive diagnosis was made. Gardening Daughter says she doesn't know whether to continue to be frustrated by the lack of a diagnosis or just to be thankful that her prayers were answered and there is nothing seriously wrong.  It's still a more than slightly troubling puzzlement.

Item: I had hoped to get some much needed work done in my back yard during my blogging break. Alas, it was not to be. I was first hindered by the onset of cold, rainy weather which lasted for days; I think that, until today, we had only about 10 minutes of sunshine during the entire week.  We had a brief hail storm one afternoon; I could see the effects of it when I finally got outside. The tulip magnolia blossoms  are really tatty looking and a couple of early blooming Irises also showed damage.  The second hindrance was that the older I get the more severe my pollen allergies become and they hit in full force on Saturday.  I chose to exit the church service right after the sermon on Sunday because I was, in my opinion, being disruptive by my almost continual sneezing and subsequent tissue use.  Amen - sneeze, sneeze, sniff, sniff, honk, honk!  I made an immediate trip to a pharmacy for some Claritin; it took a couple of days for that to kick in, but most of my symptoms are allayed and  I'm feeling like a human again.  I have decided that I should never be without some Claritin on my medicine shelf. I probably should start taking it when the trees begin to bloom, and before my symptoms become severe.

Item - regarding the photo above: One of my blogger friends "Mimi Foxmorton,"  The Goat Borrower, posted this morning about wild things, particularly wild violets.  She likes'em!  I'll let you read the details of how much she likes them.   I like them, too, and have allowed them to take over a good-sized section of my back yard.  I don't mow in that area until the violet blooms are gone. I've offered to send her some roots; her neighbors will not be amused.  Can you imagine? -- there are people in the world who consider them weeds!

I can't remember when I haven't liked violets; I like the dark green of their leaves, the variegated purples and violets of their blooms, and their fragrance.  Ahhhh!  

Unearthed from somewhere in my memory is the image of Joan Crawford, fur stole thrown about her shoulders, and wearing violets on her furs.  That memory brought to the forefront another memory, the melody and words of the song, "Violets for Her Furs."  I leave you with this rendition (with a change in pronoun) by Miss Billie Holiday.

If you liked the melody, but Billie Holiday is not quite your cup of tea, you might enjoy this YouTube instrumental rendition by the John Coltrane Quartet.

I hope you've had a wonderful week, and are looking forward to a great weekend.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Lace Cap Hydrangea - Today's Flowers #136

Lace Cap Hydrangea (with visitors)

photographed in July, 2010, Fremont, Nebraska

Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and currently hosted by Luiz Santilli, Jr., Denise in Virginia, Laerte Pupo and Sandy Carlson.  I invite you to visit Today's Flowers to see lovely flowers from all around the world. If you have a flower photo of your own that you'd like to share, information about how to participate may be found on the  'Procedure' page.

Today's Flowers - March 6

I am truly sorry that I do not know the name of this magnificent Bearded Iris.  It's one of several gorgeous flowers of that species that grow in my Gardening Daughter's yard, and one of the most striking blooms of its type that I have seen.  I'm growing very fond of Iris although I have only two or three varieties in my garden.  I hope to be able to add to my collection when my daughter divides her clumps.

Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and currently hosted by Luiz Santilli, Jr., Denise in Virginia, Laerte Pupo and Sandy Carlson.  I invite you to visit Today's Flowers to see lovely flower photos from all around the world. If you have a flower photo of your own to share, information about joining the group may be found on the 'Procedure' page.

Things Past, Things to Come

Reminders of Last Year's Blooms -  Autumn Clematis, Carolina Jessamine, Sedum

 New Growth - Magnolia, Daffodil, Lilac, "Oklahoma" Rose, "Knockout" Rose, Carolina Jessamine

The air was balmy and the sun shining brightly when I took my "lunch break" today, so outside to my back yard with the camera I did go.  A close look revealed evidence of last year's flowers and the promise of flowers to come.

My Carolina Jessamine vine, which covers about 20 feet of the fenceline on the east side of the yard had some dried seed pods on it.  These are pictured bottom-left on the first photo. I don't recall ever before seeing these; I think they're interesting.

The obstreperous squirrels have broken several of the stalks on my King Alfred daffodils as well as a still-supple limb on the Magnolia tree.  The latter, which had several buds on it, was connected to the tree only by a minute bit of bark and a gentle tug on my part severed its connection.  The squirrels can now munch on the emerging blossoms to their hearts' content without having to climb the tree.

I enjoyed another round of "Sweetie-Duty" this morning while Gardening Daughter worked a few hours at the florist.  Sweetie is very fond of using Google to look up things in which she has an interest. I'm teaching her to use the keyboard to enter her own searches. That activity helps teach her to spell, also. Today's searches included "One-Eyed Willie" the pirate, weasels, ferrets and prairie dogs.  She was aghast to learn that ferrets love to dine upon prairie dogs.

Lunch break is over.  Tomorrow is also a day.

Tiny Todd Asiatic Lily

Lilium asiaticum 'Tiny Todd' PP16170

 

Last year, I planted several of these pretty pink Asiatic lilies in a bed on the west side of my carport.  They seem to enjoy the bright sun they get during the day and they, in turn, brighten my day when they start to bloom.  Although the plants are relatively short, the blooms are not tiny, as the name might lead you to believe, but are are about 4.5" across, not as large as some lily blooms, but still of substantial size. 

I've been checking periodically to see if there are signs of new growth.  I hope they overwintered and will bloom again, even more abundantly.

Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and currently hosted by Luiz Santilli, Jr., Denise in Virginia, Laerte Pupo and Sandy Carlson.  I invite you to visit Today's Flowers to see lovely flowers from all around the world. If you have a flower photo of your own to share, information about joining the group may be found on the 'Procedure' page.

Hurry, Spring

2010 flowers from my garden

It's not that it's been so cold today (the temperature is well above freezing), but it's gloomy, damp, and breezy.  I am so ready for warmer weather, and it's still a couple of months away.

I buried myself in church accounts, as I do every Monday, until almost 1:30 then came home for lunch.  It was not very satisfying (to me) to eat leftover spicy vegetarian rice casserole, however tasty it may be, when what I really wanted was a big, juicy hamburger and french fries. :::sigh:::  After making three or four meals out of that particular dish, it's all gone, but I still have one serving of another leftover which needs to be my supper.  It's my own fault -- I don't know how to cook  food for just one person.

Because I had a bit of church business to attend to, I made myself go back out into the world after lunch although what I wanted was a nice nap.  That being taken care of,  I made a fun trip to the nearby scrapbook store.  I don't make scrapbooks, 'tho I probably should with as many photos as I have. I do have several old-style photo albums, but these bear little resemblance to the beautiful scrapbooks some folks make these days.

What interests me in this particular store is the lovely patterned paper they carry.  I bought several sheets of Christmas paper at 50% off, and some beautiful new Valentine papers.  Nearly all the patterned papers I buy can be used in making greeting cards, which is my craft of choice. I have some projects in mind; it remains to be seen if I follow through.

I'm currently reading and, amazingly, enjoying the multiple forewords on the Kindle edition of The Travels of Marco Polo (1903). With all the footnotes, revisions, biographies, illustrations, chapter definitions, etc., the actual book must be a foot thick.   Oh, the marvels of the digital age! I hope to reach some of Marco Polo's own accounts soon. However, I fear it will be a while before this one is posted on my 'Books Read in 2011' list.

Tomorrow is also a day.

New Flowers and More Drip, Drip

The photo above is of a pair of blooms on my "Christmas Cactus."  I suppose I could rename it  "Epiphany Cactus," as it began to set its first buds only last week.  I've had this plant, a gift from a church member, for several years, but this is the first time it has had more than one or two flowers. 

I always assumed that it was the amount of light the plant receives that plays the major role in bud-setting.  If only I had taken the time to do a bit of research, I would have learned that it is also lower temperatures that encourage buds.  Optimum bud-setting temperature for this plant is between 58 and 65 degrees Farenheit.  In my efforts to conserve on energy costs, I've been keeping my thermostat set to the 65 degree mark during the daytime, and cooler at night.  It seems to have worked.

I also learned from the weekly gardening column in our state newspaper that this plant can be placed outside during the summer, kept watered and occasionally fertilized, then brought inside in the fall.  I (more or less) know what to do with daylilies, but most of my houseplants live or die on their own.

The sun was bright from sunrise to sundown and the outside temperature climbed above the 50 degree (F) mark.  There was a continual run-off from my roof, a most welcome sight and sound.  The only remaining snow appears to be in mostly sun-free spots on the north side of the house.

We're supposed to have several days of rain this coming week but, so far, there is no snow in our forecast.  However, as one of my banking friends used to say, "A thing is not a thing until it's a thing."  I don't think we can assume we will have no more snow this winter. One of the heaviest snowfalls in the Little Rock area since I've lived here occurred on February 20.

That's about it for this 15th day of the new year.  Tomorrow is also a day.

Real Things of Beauty

Rose Bouquet

 

 

Gardening Daughter (GD), as you might imagine from my previous mentions of her, is a lover of flowers.  She has taken a part time job, which she enjoys very much, with a small local florist.  Her boss was invited to attend a seminar sponsored by the largest wholesale florist in our county, and she, in turn, invited GD to attend with her. 

My daughter enjoyed the seminar, which lasted almost a whole day, and was very interested in the presentation of one of the featured demonstrators, a commercial rose grower from Ecuador who is trying to create a market here in Arkansas.

GD was quite taken with the Ecuadorian roses, a generous quantity of which she was able to bring home.  She brought me the arrangement pictured above, which is no more than a bunch of roses in a vase; nothing more was needed, in my opinion.

The grower maintains 10 hectares (almost 25 acres) of greenhouses in which nothing is grown but roses.  What a heavenly place that must be.  I can only imagine what it must look like when the roses start to bloom.

One of the roses (a separate photo below) is the largest I have ever seen.  It does not have quite as much "rose" fragrance as the smaller ones (which are not "small" except compared to this one), but it is remarkable for its size.  I wonder how many of these beauties grown on one plant?  I placed my gnarly hand to the side of the blossom to show relative size.  A huge flower, is it not?

The red roses are particularly beautiful. There must be hundreds of petals in each bloom; I've never before seen a rose with so many. Photo below.  Observe how the petals swirl.

I've had the bouquet for an entire week and all the flowers save one are in excellent condition.  The huge rose has opened up even more, and while it's not as beautiful as it was the day it arrived, it is still lovely -- hasn't shed a single petal.

Amazingly, although the cats have been very interested in the flowers, they haven't taken any actions which would damage the flowers.  That's not always the case; I've had several bouquets in the past that have been picked apart in a few days, despite much scolding.

I hope you're having a lovely weekend.

Lycoris Squamigera

OR "Naked Ladies"

After almost giving up hope of having any flowers this season, I spied a solitary bloom peeping out from behind a basket of Lantana, which I had inadvertently placed on top of the place where I planted several Lycoris bulbs last year (see here for details). It remains to be seen if any of the other myriad bulbs I planted will flower this season.

The dear people from whom I received the bulbs, Carol and her husband of "Coward's Corner with Luckie" told me that I might not have any blooms the first year. Carol shared a gardener's wisdom - "one year to rest; one year to grow; one year to bloom."  Perhaps I am still ahead of the game by having any blooms at all.

The photos above were not taken in situ, as the flower stalk had been severely warped by the Lantana container, so I clipped it and brought it inside to place in my kitchen window, and I love looking at it. 

I'll be closely watching other places where I planted bulbs in hope that some others may show their colors this year.  I do so enjoy these beautiful flowers.

Blessings

Yesterday was a busy day. It started off somberly, and ended joyously, with blessings on both ends.

One of dear young (47) church members died in his sleep last week. He had been courageously battling cancer for some time, but his death was unexpected and a shock to us all.

Blessing #1: At church yesterday morning, we had a lovely and well-attended service to celebrate his life. Members of the Arkansas National Guard, of which he was a member, were present as the honor guard and conducted a military service -- twenty-one gun salute, Taps, and all -- after the church service. Afterward, the ladies of the church, and a gentleman or two, did us proud with delicious food brought in for a luncheon for the family and friends. About 50 folks stayed to share the meal and visit with the family.

Gardening Daughter had created a beautiful arrangement of glowing salmon pink roses for the altar. I regret that I do not have a photograph of the arrangement; as I knew I would be actively engaged in the service and then helping with the luncheon, I didn't take my camera to church at all.

As is our custom, we offered the altar flowers to the family, should they wish to have them; they graciously declined since none of them live in the local area. We decided to share these flowers in the same manner as we share our Sunday flowers. Each week, we take the altar flowers to shut-in parishioners, or to a local nursing home, or to someone in the hospital, etc. Upon this occasion, we decided to take the flowers to the Arkansas Veterans' Home in southwest Little Rock, even though it is about 25 miles away. We divided the arrangement into two large and two smaller arrangements, since the original altar piece was too large to transport easily.

Blessing #2: I am very glad that we decided to take them to the veterans' home. Not only was the staff delighted to receive them (I think the home gets very little attention from the public at large), we garnered very nice comments from nearly all the residents who were outside their rooms as we carried the arrangements into the building and down the hall to their "rec room." They seemed surprised and delighted that ladies were bringing them flowers. It was a real spirit-lifter for us, and I'm sure our departed friend would have been glad to know that the flowers were taken to that particular place.

As I said: blessings on both ends. Thank you, Lord.

Today's Flowers - July 19

One of my new Tropicanna canna lilies has graced me with a flower. It's the only one, of the six lilies I planted, to have a bloom, so far. I'm hoping that all of them will mature enough to bloom before summer ends.

I bought the lilies more for their foliage color than for the flower, but I do like its bright orange. It's a perfect accompaniment to the leaf colors.

Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and may be found here. Please visit to see others' lovely flower photos. If you have a flower photo of your own to share, please join us.

Back to Basics

I've now logged over 200 posts since I first began my blog in April, 2008. Whodathunkit? I've recently been having great fun taking photos of my day lilies and other flowers in my yard, and posting them for all the world to see and yawn over -- yeah, yeah, another flower! So what?

However, I recently had an email from my youngest daughter, who currently resides on the island of Okinawa, Japan, telling me that my flowers were "pretty" but she would really like to have more "stories." That comment reminded me of why I started a blog in the first place. Forgive me, I quote myself from Post #1:

"It's the discovery of those other sites which has encouraged me to begin my own journal of remembrances. At age 73, I am still blessed to have a good memory that, at present, goes back quite a long way. I decided that while I still have that capacity, I'll jot down a few random remembrances of my life, along with some current happenings. Fear not! I'm not going to post a chronological listing of all my life's events. Some are best forgotten, anyway!

I hope at some time my remembrances will be of interest to my family, and perhaps to others, as well. I don't make any assurances that they will be "fascinating," however!"

My father used to tell me (regularly) during my formative years that if I could not excel at something, "for heaven's sake have the decency to be an abject failure. Nothing's worse than being 'average.'" (Daddy had very high standards, for himself, his wife and children, which was a bit hard to tolerate at times, and made nervous wrecks out of several of us. Daddy died when I was 30, but his words had a lasting effect: at the age of40, I received an "average" performance rating from a supervisor for whom I had worked for one whole month. I was devastated and, I'm sure, shed more than a few tears -- in private, of course. It was the only such performance rating I had ever received, or did in future receive, in my entire career.)

So...I've done a bit of soul-searching during the recent blog-dry period. I have accepted the reality that I will never, ever, ever, take as beautiful and beautifully composed photographs as Kate, Abe, David, Hilary, Klaus, Mojo, the East Gwillimbury WOW, and myriad other wonderful photographers, nor will I ever be able to put into words and share the deep, heartfelt and beautifully expressed thoughts of Janine, Ruth, Jeannelle, and countless others, nor be as witty, funny and clever as rhymeswithplague (who is also erudite), Arkansas Patti, and Flurrious, nor write poetry like Jinksy. (Note: most of the myriad 'others' have links in the sidebar of my blog.)

Therefore, I am taking cowardly refuge in something I know I can do better than any of the above mentioned -- to write the remembrances of my life, since no one else has lived my life, and no one else can report my memories. Whether or not they are written "excellently" is of little import. They will be what they will be.

How strange! I think that's what I intended to do in the first place! How easily I was led astray!

Oh, I'll still post some flower and other photos, but I'll (try to) save those for Today's Flowers on Sundays.

I'll close this post with one very recent memory: I distinctly recall having called the refrigerator repairman before noon yesterday. He assured me that he could have my problem fixed before the day was out, but he would have to pick up some parts in Little Rock. At 5:30 I called to remind him that I needed to leave for my mid-week church service. I distinctly remember that he said he would be here at 10:00 a.m. this morning. My clock says it's almost eleven, and I haven't heard from him. Am I losing my memory?

Tomorrow, Lord willing, a story.

P.S. The repairman just called. He's on his way. Guess my mind wasn't playing tricks, after all.

ADDENDUM: He came, he stayed, he fixed it and it set me back $160.00 (notwithstanding the "senior discount." Oh, well!

Today's Flowers - June 7

Spiderwort

I first saw this plant growing wild by the wayside in southern Arkansas, and fell in love with its blue/purple blooms. A wonderful woman who worked for the client I was visiting at the time (back in the days when I was gainfully employed) heard me expounding on this "ditch" plant, and dug a clump and kept it in her office to give me on my next visit. It's been in my garden for about 10 years.

Spiderwort is an interesting plant, with many attributes; parts of it are edible and it is also used in herbal medicine. For more information, if you're interested, go here. Good ol' Wikipedia!

Today's Flowers is a weekly Meme created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. and may be found here. Please visit to see others' lovely flower photos. If you have a flower photo of your own to share, please join us.

Music for my Eyes - May 29

Today's Programme

Opening Number:

Solo in Yellow and Orange

Ladies' Trio

Soloist: Youth under 4"


The Wayside Showgirls



Finale: Apple Blossom Trio with Backup Singers

Today's Lilies

Just Arrived!

Where there were only buds yesterday, this morning there were open blooms. Every day now will bring more new flowers.

I can't remember exactly when I became enchanted with day lilies, but it's been at least 20 years and I still very much enjoy them. Perhaps it's because they are so hardy, needing very little care, and that they multiply like rabbits, bringing me more and more beautiful flowers each year. I've been saying for the past three summers, at least, that the lilies need to be divided, but I've delayed doing so, putting forth a number of excuses: it's too hot, it's too cold, it's too wet, my back hurts, I don't have a new bed to put them in, etc., etc.

Well, I have a new bed, at last, courtesy of my gardening daughter, so I need to get over my weak excuses and get the lilies thinned out as soon as it's time to do so. I'm sure they would like a bit more room to breathe.

Today's Lilies

New Blossoms, May 27

The center photo is of the same plant I pictured in yesterday's post. This afternoon, there were several blossoms open instead of just the one. As I posted in a comment to yesterday's post, each blossom lasts for only one day; blooms that open in the morning are drooping by eventide, and are completely withered and ready to fall come the next dawn. I suppose this is for the best; I don't know that my heart and soul could stand to be surrounded by such beauty if it endured for a long time.

I also commented yesterday that these lilies have no appreciable fragrance. Again, probably for the best. They make up for it in color and plentiful pollen.

My gardening daughter recently gifted me with two fragrant Oriental Lilies, Tom Pouce and Stargazer. I've not yet experienced the fragrance of Tom Pouce, but I know that one single Stargazer bloom will perfume my whole house. I am most anxious for those to bloom; I have only to be patient.