Water Lilies for My Mother's Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom! 

Hope it is the greatest!

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Gift

BY SKEETER
The best gift in the world for me is to receive a gift card from a Garden Center. I can take that card and turn it into something new for my Georgia Gardens!
The Saints sister sent me such a gift for my birthday last month. As usual during the month of March, I am so busy playing in my gardens that my birthday just seems to creep up on me. I spent the day playing in the garden and even though the Saint wanted to take me out to dinner, I had him run for Sub Sandwiches and we ate them at the patio then back off to the gardens I went. My kind of birthday! I was not expecting much as my gift will be a bit later with a Trip to Ashville in May! So, What a surprise to find a gift card in a birthday card from the Saints sister!
I failed to snap a before picture as I really did not know what I was going to do until I did it. That is how a lot of my project's come about. I had cleared the debris and mess from in front of the planter in the Semi-Formal Garden and then the idea struck. A rock garden to break up the small area! This photo is to the far right going right up against the upper level of gardens. Creeping Phlox has been transferred from another spot in this garden with pulling sprigs. They should take off at some point. You can barely see them just below the Begonia. I had that one odd plant remaining from a 6 pack and it kind of got stuck there. There are also two daffodils in this spot that happily bloomed last month. I shall add more bulbs this fall.
Moving a bit to the left of that picture, we see one of two stepping stones and some creeping plants. I haven't a clue as to the names of these plants. The names were printed on the containers and I recycled them before thinking to write down the names. All are creeping plants and perfect for a Rock Garden.
Moving on to the left a bit more and you see both stepping stones and more creeping plants. I put the stepping stones so as to have a spot to step while tending to the plants in the planter above. I need to add some of these to the large Rock Garden as I am walking on the Lava Rock all the time thus pushing it into the ground more and more with each step into the Rock Garden.
To the very left of this Garden is where the Lavender begins. I stopped the Lava Rock at that point and started to pick up the Cypress Mulch. I have mulched most of the Gardens with Cypress this year. The Saint had this idea instead of Pine Straw to see how differently it would act verses the Pine needles. The theory being, thicker layers of mulch will keep the weeds down and last longer then the pine needles. Only time will tell but I think the Saint may be onto something. I have spread about 100 bags of mulch thus far and I have one more area yet to work on. I will say it is a lot easier to work with verses the Pine Straw.
Here is a view of the little Rock Garden from end to end. I like the way the Lava Rock breaks up the area from the planter to the walkway and adds another type garden in between. Neat and clean looking just the way I want this garden to be.... Sis B, Thank you so much for the wonderful GIFT, In the Garden...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

The Fabulous Ornamental Vegetable Garden (aka Pot-AH-ger)

I must say my Vegetable Garden/Potager has given me my most joy this year. It is not because it is doing fabulously, or looks good, or attracts butterflies and wildlife. I do enjoy all of those things but the main reason I love this garden so much has to do with my husband. He, being of the manly kind who prefers greasy cars and boats to wonderful smelling dirt; does not take much of an interest in my gardens. He enjoys them fair enough and knows they add to our home and property but generally they don't interest him-except for the potager. I always know when he's been browsing in it; which he does daily. I come into the kitchen and the counter will be filled with fresh vegetables from the garden courtesy of Mr. Fix-it. I simply love it that he takes an interest in this garden and this is why my potager gives me so much joy. 


While preparing this post on the potager I happened to look up at my large PVC arbor and spotted the crossvine 'Tangerine Beauty' blooming. Wow on it as it is my favorite native vine. In fact, I will soon (already done) be chopping down my wisterias in order to replace them with this lovely and less aggressive and less heavy crossvine. The crossvine  blooms in the above picture are about 15 high and were very dark so I used a fill flash. I like how the effect of these blooms came out against the cloudy sky. Crossvine is a rebloomer, reliable in sun or shade and not picky about soil or moisture. It is a lovely vine I've been growing many years so I would recommend it to others. It will spread pretty fast once happy so even though it is less aggressive than wisteria it still needs a strong support as it is no wimp in the garden.

Today was the day I finally removed the screen from my upstairs dormer and took a few aerial shots. Here I show you the vegetable garden in its entirety from the second story window. I wish pictures could give you the feel of the whole garden but they don't. However, I do think this long and high picture helps out with the scale of my backyard and the vegetable potager. We live on one acre and the amount of real estate in this picture probably encompasses only about one twelfth of the property. I try to fit lots of plants and gardens into my little one acre as you can tell. The PVC arbor is in the left hand corner of the picture and this is the east side of the vegetable garden proper. To the right of the vegetable garden is my very full Sunny Perennial Border. This border is about four feet wide and traverses the entire northern and eastern sides of the vegetable garden. To the north and south of the gardens there are multiple mature oak trees; which provide shade for the vegetable garden (tongue in cheek because of course you want NO shade for your vegetable garden says I). I'll orient you to what is what as I walk through the garden on my morning walk.

We enter one of three gates into the enclosed vegetable garden from the east under the PVC arbor which holds a crossvine and gelsemium as well as annual vines like cypress vine and hyacinth beans. The brick pathways are obscured by self seeders I allow to grow. The multiple self seeders in this walkway and picture include: 'Chocolate' eupatorium, chives, great blue lobelia, lambs ears, and beautyberries. Additionally catnip, sedums, flowering tobacco, verbena bonariensis, dill, zinnias, cleomes and cosmos grow among the cracks of the bricks in this garden. If you should spot a weed growing amongst the self seeders just let me know! I hate weeds here that's for sure. The plants soften the bricks and help to create a more diverse garden so I leave most of them and pull only those plants that I don't wish to self seed anymore or which are in my way when I walk in this garden. 

Many readers ask about the wonderful metal gates adorning my vegetable/potager garden. I was fortunate enough to purchase three of these gates (two are identical and this one stands alone) at the Nashville Flea Market several years ago. I painted them yellow with a good quality metal paint and have really loved them in my garden. If you are local and have not been the Nashville Flea Market you are missing out. I once read in one of my women's magazine that the Nashville Flea Market is rated as one of the best in the country. It is a wonderful place for great architectural finds for both the garden and the home. If you are not local but planning a visit to the region the Nashville Flea Market is generally held on the last weekend in each month except December. Check their website for more information.

Looking to the left as we enter the garden we see two beds. The first one contains blackberries (only one of two survived) I mail ordered from Farmer's Seed. It is a thornless type but I can't remember the name at this point. I also  transplanted another blackberry from another area in my garden to another location in the potager which will not be shown in this post. Among this bed are self seeding beauty berries. I will soon be digging them for the Montgomery County Master Gardener Plant sale scheduled for 8 October at the Habitat ReStore on Madison street. Directly behind this bed looking to the west-southwest is another bed you'll see better below. The chives, lamb's ears, lobelia and other plants in this area are all self seeders. This bed used to be my nursery bed until I moved the blackberry plant there.

Looking to the right I do not show the three 'Sunny' knockout roses or dwarf irises under the PVC arbor but take my word they are there. That small garden containing the roses is just to the right of the 5 gallon bucket you see in the picture. I leave a few buckets in this garden to not only catch rainwater but to tell me when I've reached one inch of water when I water with my sprinkler once per week.You can also use tuna cans set about in your garden to measure the amount of water your garden receives from sprinklers. 

The bed I focus on in this area contains the cantaloupes and vining crops and is not visible due to the sprawl of the vines. The vines have trickled onto the brick pathways. Normally I would train the vines to grow up my A-frames but for some reason I was negligent in doing this in this particular bed this year. Actually though, cantaloupes seem to do better when left to sprawl and I do not mind their sprawl because those fresh cantaloupes are just so good! We've picked one, lost one due to not picking it in time and still have four more cantaloupes to come. There is also a watermelon or squash vine growing in this bed. I won't know until the fruits are mature exactly what it is that grew but I do know I threw out both squash and watermelons here.

Looking back to the left past the blackberry bed with its self sowers we see a long bed containing carrots and zucchini (in the foreground under the A frame) that were successive sown in late June. They are doing well. On the other side of them are my four 'Better Boy' tomatoes. We are consistently picking tomatoes to eat fresh daily. Mr. Fix-it always eats tomatoes and cucumbers with his dinner. I'm not sure if this is something he established for health or not but it is a healthy habit. We obviously enjoy the fresh picked ones very much during the growing season. I have found that four tomato plants are just about perfect for our family of three. I have enough to eat daily but not quite enough to freeze; which I would like. But nonetheless it works out for us with our small vegetable garden.

This round bed used to hold bananas. It was the focal point of my potager but I decided to remove the bananas last year. It took a LOT of work to completely remove them since they were so well established but I don't regret taking them out. I decided to consolidate my fruits and vegetable all to one location this year so all edibles would be fairly centrally located. Here I have planted two 'Bluecrop' blueberries from another location in my garden then I added two new blueberry bushes last fall. They are 'Powderblue' and 'Climax'. You'll see a ripe 'Powderblue' below. 'Powderblue' and 'Climax' are rabbiteye bluebeerries (Vaccinium corymbosum) and the 'Bluecrop' is a northern highbush blueberry. I have found the 'Bluecrop' never needed a pollinator but I did have two of the 'Bluecrop' and they apparently worked together to produce a good crop each year-once they matured after about four years. The 'Powderblue' and 'Climax', the rabbiteye cultvars (Vaccinium ashei), are recommended for the south but in my experience I like the 'Bluecrop' or highbush berries better for my garden. To be fair it may be that the two new rabbiteyes I just added last fall need more time to mature but so far their ripening dates are a bit out of order for me. The 'Bluecrop' was ready for picking in late June to early July (even though the robins ate them all). I like the large crop at this time. So far this year the 'Climax' really did not produce and the 'Powderblue' are producing but it doesn't seem like the berries are coming at a logical time. They are just now ripening up nicely in mid August. To me that is late but I guess it can be good considering the blueberry season is very long in my garden. Now if I could just get more than a handful or so I'll be content with the rabbiteyes. I'll give all the bushes time to grow. As we all know gardeners have lots of time and so we'll see how it goes for the blueberries. Remember, blueberries must have a pH of between 4.5-5.2 in order for them to do well. Be sure to soil test prior to planting these berries.

Just past the bed that houses my Pumpkin on Stick is another long bed (the northern side of the potager). Here is an ornamental self seeder I did not mention already. It is of course night blooming jimsonweed, aka Datura stramonium. It is a wonderful ornamental that provides the southern nighttime fragrance that is heavenly. The flowers only last one day and bloom in the evening to late morning then they are gone. These flowers positively glow at night. I never know where this night bloomer will sprout up but tend to let one or two of them grow so I'll have plants for next year because this plant is a tender perennial. It will not return in my Zone 6B garden next year. In and amongst its leaves you can see basil that is going to seed, and if you look closely you'll see the cucumber plants growing in this bed. Again, my potager/vegetable garden is an ornamental as well as functional garden for me. I believe in mixing things up in the garden and have the art down pretty well after all these years of gardening here in my Tennessee home. My garden is not going to be a designed garden because I wish to grow everything and anything and mix it all up in different ways. Ways many gardeners might cringe at but as is my gardening mantra, gardens must reflect the gardener and please only the gardener. If they don't and you have a garden then you either have an outside gardener or are a business person looking for curb appeal or to keep up with others or you are not a gardener. But my feelings on gardens might best be left for another post. But truthfully, who would garden if their garden did not please them and they did not strive to produce a garden they like?

Now on to close up of veggies. The pepper plants are growing under the A frame containing the many cucumbers and they are doing quite well. There is a tomato leaf in front of the pepper. I did not plant this tomato-it was a volunteer from last year that self seeded in the bricks and I just let it go to see what I would get.

The cantaloupes are doing quite well. They will most likely all ripen at once like they did last year. Here you can see some cosmos and flowering tobacco leaves. The cantaloupe vines spread into the self seeders but surprisingly all are working well together.

Here is the 'Powderblue' berry I promised you above. I ate this berry and a few others as soon as I was done taking the picture. It was a special treat.

We in the Ramsey family just celebrated a major milestone in our lives. Our baby Jimmy just turned 17! He is a senior in high school and will be graduating next year. It's so hard for us to believe. Here we are singing him Happy Birthday and getting ready for him to open his gifts and cut his cake. He returned home late after having a nice dinner with his girlfriend. You know during the teen years girlfriends are really important to young men. Jimmy had a fantastic birthday and we are looking forward to a good senior year and his graduation in the spring. It will be the first graduation both Mr. Fix-it and I will be able to attend. When the older three children graduated he and I were both deployed. Since our retirements we know that won't happen again. My mother also recently celebrated her birthday. There are lots of August birthdays in our family so let me just say to all a Happy Birthday....


in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Cornus Kousa 'Wolf Eyes' & A Birthday Wish

In my garden Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes' is not known for its blooms but lookout for the foliage! I must say I really like this little shrub. I have been growing this 'Wolf Eyes' for four or five years now and it is a little tree/shrub that I really love in my garden despite the fact it has not bloomed in two years. I think part of the problem with the non-blooming this year can be directly tied to the drought we had here in Middle Tennessee last summer. I'm not sure what the problem was last year though because we had a great summer in 2009. Sigh. It is still a keeper....

in the garden....

I wish for the happiest of birthdays to my twin daughters who turn the big 3-0 today!

The handsome young man on the left is the girls younger brother Jimmy, then Christine (the oldest by one minute) then Elizabeth. Happy Birthday girls!

Thanks everyone for the kind words about our BJ. We miss him so very much.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Lillies and Lovelies For You; Or Shall We Say Tango 4 You?

With a name like Tango 4 U how could you go wrong? I love this lily! I purchased a few pots as a markdown at Lowes last fall and look what I got. I had to do a close up just to show all the speckles. This lily is a peachy pink color. Who would've thought there was a such a color? I love lilies and this year they are looking pretty good so I thought I'd display a few for you!



This is a longer shot of the Tango 4 U lilies. They are planted at the front of my new Non-Pool Garden. Behind them grows coneflowers along with some permanent flowers in the form of wine bottles mounted on rebar.



It's hard to show the context of the gardens in pictures so I always try to include long shots. Here we look past the coneflowers and lilies to the back of this large garden toward the hydrangeas. Oakleaf hydrangeas and mopheads are coming into bloom now. Since we did not have a late freeze this spring it is looking to be a fantastic year for most of the hydrangeas. Annabelles also grow in this garden and are also nearing their bloom time.



Back to our Tango lilies. Looking down the path we see these lilies glow. Along with the colorful foliage in this bed there is quite a tapestry here.

Not to be forgotten though are a few other lilies. In my gardens the lilies come and strut their stuff for about a month then slowly fade away into obscurity. That is, they go dormant after they bloom. I don't mind this trait at all because by the time they go dormant the summer perennials have taken over.

I have no idea what cultivar of lilies these ones are but they've been growing in their part shade spot for several years now. I'm always happy to see them come back because some lilies have not done well here. I believe most if not all of my lilies are Asiatic lilies. They seem to do well. It is the oriental lilies like 'Stargazer' that have not done well here. Unfortunately none of my Asiatic lilies have a scent.

But they sure do shine in the garden.


Not many plants do well with shady conditions but the Asiatic lilies seem to be an exception. This cluster is planted on the north side of my home and gets only a few hours of sun. This area is most challenging but the lilies and penstemon seem to do okay.





Here we have some daylilies and crinum lily flowers. I don't know the cultivar of this crinum but I purchased it at the Nashville Lawn and Garden show in the spring of 2010. This is the first year it has bloomed. I am hopeful the other crinum bulbs I purchased will also bloom this year. Also blooming are the St. Joseph's hardy amaryllis. The reds stand out wonderfully with the tango lilies.






Finally a new bloomer (just yesterday) and this is the first year this lily has bloomed. I asked the Jimster if he thought this was a pretty lily. He said it made him want some pink lemonade. A good thought indeed. 

There are more lilies coming including some Skeeter passed along to me (Tiger Lilies), some white lilies and of course more daylilies. They are all so sweet to tango with....

in the garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Hibiscus Luna

By Skeeter
Things are hot and very humid here in my Georgia Garden. Luckily, we have had a few afternoon showers to give everything a nice drink filled with vitamins and minerals that the hose cannot match. I don't usually purchase plants for the garden this time of year but some times, we get off our garden normal.

As I walked through the garden center on my way to pick up a few items at Wally World, I noticed they had some plants marked half price. I just had to stop and take a peek as to what remain on the shelf. I found this beautiful green healthy plant.

I had no idea what it was due to lack of a tag in place. But hey a half price bargain is a half price bargain ya know. Plus this was sitting on the Perennial rack so I could not resist.
The leaves are a heart shape and I just love hearts in the Garden don't you? Later on, I spotted the name "Hibiscus Luna" and "Pink Swirl" printed on the container. I still had no idea what I had purchased. To the Internet I went to find out that I have a Hibiscus Moscheutos, Also known as Rose Mallow and Swamp Mallow. I planted Luna in the ever growing Wishing Well Garden yesterday. This Gem of a plant will have large blooms, attracts Butterflies and Hummingbirds. Is heat tolerant and low maintenance.It loves the sun and can withstand temperatures low as -20 degrees! It will grow to a height of 24"-36" and will be about 24" wide. Me thinks me has a winner!Hopefully with 2 more months of heat, she will have time to establish before the cooler temps set upon us. Look at that bud of HIBISCUS LUNA, In the Garden...Update: Here is a Hibiscus Luna bloom that I saw in Tina's garden last summer. I wonder if mine will be white or a pink color? Only time will tell so stay tuned...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO OUR CRAFTY GARDENER DAWN!
Go over to C&G Design and give her a birthday greeting if you have a minute...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,In the Garden

Bloom Day-June 2010

From In the Garden

'Glowing Embers' Hydrangea

This month's Bloom Day post sees many things blooming in the garden, too many for me to keep up with but I'll try to list them here. Mainly the hydrangeas are showing us a HUGE show. The best since I've lived here. I have a total of about 50-60 hydrangeas (all kinds) so I am really loving them. (More on the hydrangeas later). Let's look at some other blooms and some gardens here at Tiger Gardens-including more hydrangeas. The only hydrangeas not highlighted here are of course the paniculatas. They bloom in July/August in my garden. They include ('Pink Diamond', 'Tardiva', 'Limelight', and 'Grandiflora'). I'll spotlight them when they are in bloom. Today we talk of mopheads, oakleafs, and smooth hydrangeas.

From In the Garden

Speaking of hydrangeas, this one has been growing on the north side of my home for seven years now and is quite the monster. Several small hydrangeas have started from it and that has been a delight. I believe this cultivar is 'Maresii' variegata. A lacecap big leaf hydrangea. It is hard to tell from the photo but the plant is about 7-8 feet wide and four feet tall. It is loaded with flowers this year. While they don't stand out looking at it directly, from above these flowers look like stars.

From In the Garden

Here is a dry but sunny part of the Northside Shrub Border. I thinned this area out last year and did a way with a lot of wildflowers like Queen Anne's Lace. Right now you see daylilies, a beebalm (perhaps a native one-does anyone know?-it is the pale purple flower, shasta daisies and 'Homestead' verbena. These plants seem to compete well with the tulip poplar roots growing in this garden area. The soil is very poor.

From In the Garden

This is the opposite corner of the Northside Shrub Border. This area is mostly shade and is a moist area-a complete turnaround from the above pictured area of the garden. Here we have a hydrangea, with some 'Husker's Red' penstemon (not blooming it is the red foliaged plant), and lilies just opening up. I really enjoy this part of the garden because it is a large area just ripe for anything, though they have to be most shade tolerant. Goldenrod, a 'Tardiva' hydrangea, 'Mt. Airy' viburnum and Joe Pye weed are also visible in this picture.

From In the Garden

Stokesia, daylilies, yarrow, 'Sunny Border Blue' veronica, and coreopsis share the spotlight in the Sunny Perennial Border.

From In the Garden

A close up of the stokesia, a new addition last year (Thanks Gail for showcasing this wonderful plant!). I'm liking that I found one!

From In the Garden

'Moonbeam' coreopsis and 'Royal Candles' veronica in the Sunny Perennial Border. Love the veronicas! 'Sunny Border Blue' is coming along too. Dianthus is blooming across the path in the Rear Center Garden in the above picture.

From In the Garden

The 'Annabelles' take center stage no matter where they are planted. Here we see them in the 'Greenhouse Garden' sharing the spotlight with a Japanese maple, astilbes and daylilies. This view looks thru from a center lawn area past a relaxing area to the greenhouse. Three gardens are shown here. The relaxing area has its own garden where a 'Red Pygmy' dogwood, hostas and 'Stella' daylilies grow in full shade, and the immediate front garden garden is a full shade garden surrounding an oak tree. Here autumn ferns, astilbes, and colombines grow, along with a special sweetshrub called 'Hartlage Wine', a Raulston introduction.

From In the Garden

Here is the right side of the relaxing area looking thru the trees from the sunny area of the garden toward the deck. Red hot pokers are happy here. These are a later type and vary in color from the normal orange/yellow ones that have already bloomed and are past their prime. These ones still bloom wonderfully. Looking toward the relaxing area we find the right hand garden. This garden sports a 'Vaughns Lille' oakleaf hydrangea, an azaleas, ferns and hostas. My favorite hosta of all time is growing here. I'll disclose it at a later date but think about what your favorite hosta is-how do you choose just one??

From In the Garden

Another view of the 'Annabelles' by 'Burgundy Flame' in the Greenhouse garden. Some garden writers refer to 'Annabelles' as cartoonish. I say bring on the cartoons because these shrubs are splendid performers in my garden and most that I've seen. Besides, white goes with everything and who can deny these whites?

From In the Garden

Sidalcea 'Party Girl'. According to Paghat's Garden this little flower is a native of the northwest. It has struggled a bit in my garden but might actually start to come along now that it has been growing here for more than one year. It is similar to hollyhocks but much smaller.

From In the Garden

Astilbes in the Woodland/Heuchera Garden. Astilbes love it here for some reason. They even do well in the dry shade. I think shade is key for them.

From In the Garden

Northside Border with 'Homestead' verbena, Daylilies catmint, and Yarrow blooming. The lilies in the foreground are getting ready to bloom soon. This border is approximately 110 long by 11+ feet wide. It has been a challenge and has undergone many changes; like all gardens I guess. My challenge is the conditions all along it are different. Some areas are dry shade, some are wet shade, some areas get dry sun and other areas get part sun, still others get full shade. What a puzzle. The entire perennial border is backed by shrubs so I guess it is a mixed border; like all of my gardens. To the right of the Northside border and barely visible in this picture is the Crabapple garden. This circular garden in my sideyard has been a challenge as well, but it blooms nicely all year so I guess I can't complain. What good would it do anyhow since I'm the gardener??

From In the Garden

The Front Center Garden. A wonderful garden placed smack dab in the middle of my front yard between the front door to the house and the road. There is another view of it as if looking out the front door below. This is one of two borders that kind of shield the home from the road. The road would be to the left in this picture. It is an interesting story on how this garden evolved, perhaps I'll tell it one day. So much to talk about and so little time. Sigh. Blooming here are: yellow primroses, 'Blushing Bride' hydrangeas, oakleafs, catmint, Asiatic lilies, oxalis, daylilies and heucheras.

From In the Garden

Butterfly weed is blooming in a big way. I planted about 6 pots late last summer (not this kind). Those plants were awesome last fall and the monarchs flocked to the flowers. The plants did not return:( I think they left behind tons of seedlings though. Please let it be so that I don't have to admit I am nurturing weeds.

From In the Garden

'Pink Beauty' Hydrangea macrophylla blooming in the Hydrangea garden.

From In the Garden

Campanula and oakleaf hydrangeas

From In the Garden

Asiatic lilies, oxalis, catmint, 'Snowhill ' salvia, 'Blushing Bride' and oakleaf hydrangeas in the front center garden.

From In the Garden

Campanula.

From In the Garden

Iris brevicaulis? Growing in my bathtub pond.

Also blooming: oxalis, catmint, hardy amaryllis, lantana, geraniums, pelargoniums, primrose (yellow and pink), merrybells, daylilies, salvia, phlox pilosa, hydrangeas (oakleafs, mopheads, lacecaps, Annabelle), red twig dogwood, campanulas, heucheras, strawberry begonias, foxgloves, cleome, lilies, sidalacea, 'Diamond Frost', salvias, creeping blue star, coneflowers, cleome, bee balm (red as well as light purple), impatiens, melampodium, spiderwort, crepe myrtles (white), mums, sedum, verbena and petunias (Proven Winners), hostas, hollyhocks, bee balm, and that is all I can remember for now. I have put a lot of info in this post-more for me than anyone else. I plan to slow down on my blogging but hope to keep up with my weekly posts so I am trying to make them pretty inclusive-hence the length.

Yesterday was my twin daughters birthday. It is incredible to believe that they are both now nearing 30. I can hardly believe it and have to do a double take each time I think about how the years have flown. I wish them both many many more birthdays! And send all my love...

in the garden....


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden