It's hot and still no rain..................

This Spring I found these wonderful

bulbs , I had never seen before. So I

bought and planted all 100 of them.

Some in pots

with red petunias and blue lobelia at their base.

Here is a close up of these wonderful little bulbs.

They are called Acidanthera. This one is Murielae. They have performed 

beautifully in this heat and no rain to speak of. The ones in 

the garden bed were nibbled on by bunnies , with a little help from

 and his girlfriend

It has been fun watching this courtship.

They come almost every night and I

really love them, even when they eat my flowers.

I am hoping for rain we need it so badly and my 

prayers are with the fire fighters.

You know we need rain when you see bunnies running

through the sprinklers.

Spent My Birthday in the Tulips

 Went up to the Skagit valley to see the tulips.

 It was a sunny 70 degrees.

 The colors were spectacular.

 So many flowers ...so little time

One of the biggest treats of all . The snow geese were in the fields. Magnificent birds. What a glorious site to see

Had dinner on the waterfront in La Conner. I would say I was

spoiled rotten by my son. He made my day very special.

Enjoying the Fall Weather

You wouldn't think it was coming into Fall

what with the temps in the 80's. When the sun

goes down it cools off just enough.

But soon it will turn chilly as it is already showing

in my Japanese maples with touches of red and orange.

But the pots on the  deck are giving their last hurrah!

The flowers are spilling over and enjoying the early morning sunshine.

I love the fact that the elk can't get to them. I know they

would if they could. LOL

Have been painting deck rails and botanicals. I prefer the botanicals.

So that's what I have been up to besides praying for a mild winter.

That would be nice.

A Page From My Journal

Just enjoying the weather and my gardens.

I Can Hear Them Growing.....

Let's start with Mothers Day.

I was so very sick  and are plans had to be put

on hold but my son wanted me to have these

complete with a chocolate orchid. What a

sweetheart.

  Ok. I broke down after 10 days of this and went

to the Dr. Acute bronchitis,bad cold, yadda yadda yadda...

Now on drugs that make me worthless and sleepy.

I am to remain quiet and sedate.... people who know

me know that might be difficult....

This is the photo coming to front door.

 My bedroom window (upstairs) looking down

onto front garden

My Iris growing through the weeds

(I can hear them growing the weeds that is) 

 My yellow Exbury azalea... yes it is orange but I bought yellow some 20 years ago....

 My sweet hostas rescued from the mouths of those sweet 

deer, now living in pots on our deck ( the hostas not the deer) 

Pink Ballet rhodie by the pond off our deck.

When I moved here 24 years ago I planted over 50 rhododendrons, some 

around the house a lot in the woods. It really paid off beautifully. So nice to 

walk and come upon these beauty's. I love them one and all (even the orange one the
thinks it's yellow)
Well I am off to be sedate and quiet...
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Please make some noise in my honor. :-)

Spring is Almost Here...

I was working in the yard and this little lady caught my eye.  A sure sign of Spring coming soon.

Back in the house, I just had to share my orchid with you. Every year it starts to bloom at

Christmas. Well this year it has just kept on blooming. There are now 30 flowers on it.

This one has been blooming since last March when a girlfriend gifted it to me for my birthday.

I spent some time in the studio making (playing) backgrounds for some future art.

The sun is out and shining bright so I shall be in the yard. 

They say we are to get some snow over the weekend.

I sure hope not.

April 30th... Really?

I woke up to snow and it is still snowing.

They say we should be at 82 degrees by 

Saturday. Sure we will....

The family room looks like

a garden shop because last night I

thought it was getting way too cold so

I brought all the hanging baskets in.

So much for planting early.

I hope you all are having better weather.

:-)

Another New Journal.

The person who bought the last journal asked me 

to make another.  This is a terrible photo as the glare 

of the finish distorts the depth of the colors. It has 

extremely vibrant colors. Could be the fault of 

the photographer as she (me) was in to much of

a hurry. I had to run outside and take down all

 my hanging flower baskets as it was snowing.

I was tricked into thinking it really was warming

up. After all it was in the 70's. Now it's in the

30's. I had spent the week planting all these 

lovely baskets with annuals. Now they are all

huddled in the corner of the deck under a 

warm blanket. I give up. What's a girl

to do......

WANTED FOR DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR...

For those of you who have followed my blog this

furry little creature named Chester has been 

with us at Wildflower for some time now.

 I have treated him with great kindness such as 

gourmet meals , a warm little box with a soft

furry warm blanket when it got cold,etc. He in 

return has been a little gentleman until now. 

He has decided my violas are his. He digs them up 

and heaven only knows where he takes them. This 

morning I caught him in the act as he was skipping 

away down the garden path. He dropped his treasures,

so I replanted them. A little while later he reappeared,

and  disguise or not I would recognize him anywhere...

Any advice on this subject would be so very welcome!

HELP...

Day 18 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Watercolor,pen and ink.

Slowly warming up here. Last night we had freezing fog.

Rather interesting to watch as it swirled about the woods.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Day 11 Cheery Bright Flowers on This Very Cold Day

Boy is it cold outside. It must have snowed a tiny bit last

night as there is snow on our frozen pond.

Thought some sunny flowers were called for. 

Drop over to Leslie Saeta's blog to see all the 

great paintings this group are creating.

This is a watercolor.

Sketching Some Flowers

I am always happy when I find  the tiny wild violets

growing in the shade near the woods. They are just 

precious.

I planted Hollyhock seeds last year and they

grew...but no flowers. When they popped 

up this year they decided to bloom. I 

was unaware that they usually wait 

for the second year to bloom.

What a sweet surprise.

Floral Watercolor Necklaces

         Continuing  with my watercolor jewelry.

Here we have the Dutch Tulip.

The Snow-drop flower.

The Rose.

The Periwinkle (Vinca Minor).

On the backs of each I have written 

quote about the individual flowers.

example.

These all hang on silk cording w/clasps.

Have a great weekend!

I Scattered The Seeds...

"I perhaps owe having become a painter

to flowers." Claude Monet

This Spring and all the way through June

it RAINED.

This caused most of my vegetable seeds

to rot.

I was very upset... my time weeding,

preparing the soil, tenderly  planting 

somewhat straight rows, and all I had 

was a sore back and hands.

SO out of frustration I mixed all my 

old flower seeds I had been saving...

and wildly threw them everywhere in

my beloved veggie garden.

Up popped Painted Daisies, CA poppies, Bachelor Buttons,

Gypsophilia, Wild Owl Clover, Veronica, the list just goes on and on...

Bee Balm which brought some honey bees (yea) and

hummingbirds by the dozen.

Liatris just opening.

My favorite Black-Eyed-Susan vine.

(I must admit I bought this vine)

more daisies and

Love -Lies-Bleeding 

(which is just opening up. The flower will have 

long chenille like flowers in a few more week. 

I used to grow a lot of this for dried flower arrangements) 

Zinnia's from my friend Monica all the way
from Italy.

Look what showed up down under all the flowers.

Every day something new opens up and 
brightens my day. I just had to share
my "veggie" garden with you!
Have a wonderful day.