Sharing The Flowers!

This has been such a busy week! I've been thinking of you all, but I'm sorry to say I've hardly had time to visit anyone or answer any e-mails. I miss visiting your blogs and finding out what's new. After today though, things should get better! We're switching to DSL (high speed Internet). No more waiting for ages while pages load with dial up. I can't wait! I hope to be able to post more often and visit more often!

I've enjoyed the gardens so much more this summer, being able to share them with all my blog friends. It's so much fun seeing what others grow in their gardens all over the world. We learn a lot!

It's raining here again today. We had another big storm yesterday afternoon...the second one this week. Last Saturday our road flooded again and there was other flooding in the surrounding areas. The rain fell out of the sky so fast, it was amazing, and most of it on Saturday morning. The floods receded quickly this time and didn't do as much damage, thank heavens. The road crews had just fixed our culvert 2 days before! I feel sorry for them having to do it again...and so much more to fix!

I'm posting some of the dozens of photos I've taken over the past few weeks, mostly of the day lilies. The new ones are all planted and all but one have bloomed, so I'll be posting pictures of those too, later.

Believe it or not, I thinned out these shasta daisies last fall. I need to do it again! I give them away, right, left and center but there's always more!



Astilbe is such a pretty, feathery flower and wonderful for shady spots



This argyranthemum is new to the garden this summer. It reminds me of the Marguerite that my mum used to grow, so naturally I had to have it in my garden!



Malva is the tame version of the wild mallow that is looking just beautiful on the roadsides this summer, along with the tiger lilies and other wild flowers. Apparently they're loving all the rain we've had.



The gloriosas (Black-eyed Susans) are biennials which sow themselves liberally. Yes, Zoey, they are rudbeckia hirta. They put on such a wonderful show! They're funny...sometimes they come back in droves and sometimes there are not many, sometimes none at all, as you experienced. Keep trying! Maybe next time you'll have better luck.



The red monarda (bee balm) looks pretty with the shasta daisies. I have several shades of monarda, the others are mostly pastel pinks and purples. I love it, and as I mentioned before, so do the bumblebees and hummingbirds. I love the scent! It's part of the mint family.



This was an unnamed lily given to us free with our first purchases in 2004 at Hawthorn Hill Farm. I just found out during last Sunday's visit that it's probably Bali Hai.



By Myself. Another one bought in 2004 from HH Farm



Cleo, which I've showed you before, is yet another from HH. She's tall at 48"



An unnamed lily I planted over 15 years ago. Pretty, soft color.



Another unnamed lily planted at the same time as the previous one. This has been such a vigorous grower and bloomer. I love the color!



Chicago Star. The bloom is huge at 8". Another from HH. It's wonderful!



This lovely pink is one of my 3 originals planted with the other 2 all those years ago. It looks suspiciously like Catherine Woodberry, which we just bought. I didn't realize this until we brought CW home last Sunday! Maybe CC a little more lilac than this one, hmmm, don't know. Some of them are so close.



Ruffled Apricot - another beauty from HH



Janice Brown from HH. She was my first choice during our 2004 visit...it was love at first sight!



You can see the clematis on the other end of the enclosed side porch. It's beginning to wind down now, but has been blooming for more than a month.

That's Toby coming for a cuddle



And this is the top end of the side porch



After much chasing, this tiger swallowtail actually posed for quite a few seconds for me. A very cooperative butterfly indeed! Or maybe it just felt sorry for the idiot chasing it :)

Hope you all have a great day!

Hawthorn Hill Farm

In one of my first posts, back in February, I think, I wrote about the first visit we made to this absolutely glorious daylily farm two years ago. The farm is on a hill above Cooperstown, NY, in a very picturesque setting.

Dick and Sandy DeRosa are the owners and what a wonderful job they do! They're warm, friendly and helpful, ready to answer any questions and offer advise.

We wanted to go back last summer, but sadly, didn't get around to it. On the spur of the moment after church today, we decided to go.....



And were so glad we did. This is what greeted us! If you're obsessed with daylilies, this is the place for you! I wasn't obsessed until my first visit here. Now I am!



You go from lily to lily gasping "Oh, look at this one, and this one, and oh, look at THAT one!" At least, that's what I do. My husband just follows along, smiling, and writing down the prospective 'picks'. He's a very patient man :) In truth though, he loves the place as much as I do. It's like being in Paradise.



Can you imagine trying to make up your mind which ones to buy????

This is Dallas Star, one of my final choices.



I'm not positive, but I think this is Cherry Cheeks, another pick. If it isn't, it's very similar. I took so many photos, I don't really know what's what, except for a few that stuck in my memory (not much of anything does these days :)



That yellow lily below is very tall and the blooms are huge. It's called Mary's Gold. I have a large yellow already called Chicago Star (it's a bit shorter and has flower that is more yellow than gold), so this one didn't come home with us. We ended up with 5, including a rose pink with a red eye named Persian Market, a deep cherry red named Charles Johnston, and Catherine Woodbury, a light orchid pink as well as the two named above. Both Sigrun and Karen have this beauty (Catherine Woodberry). We were also presented with a free bonus lily named Butterpat, which has cute little yellow blooms.



This gorgeous thing was one of the most expensive at $15. The prices start at $5 and there are plenty of beauties at that price, which makes them very affordable, unlike some of the very expensive daylily growers. The highest price is $15, but most of them are less.

Karen, you would love this place. You should add it to your list of places to plan a vacation around. It's not so terribly far from you!

My dear husband took me out afterwards to Brook's BBQ in Oneonta for a belated birthday dinner. The restaurant is a very popular one and was so busy the line stretched out the door for quite a way. We opted for takeout, which had no waiting, and brought it home. Mmmm, SO good!!! This is some of the best barbecued chicken you'll ever eat! You should all add it to your "Things to do before I die" list. I'm not kidding!

Our daughter, Kylie, came to stay overnight on Saturday for a 'birthday visit' and it was lovely fun having her here. She made me a delicious chocolate cake. It was a rather calorie-laden weekend!

All in all, it was a lovely weekend and my Sunday was overflowing with blessings.

I hope yours was wonderful too.

Once Upon A Time....

.....when the world was a little younger, I was born on this date.

Happy Birthday to....me!

Here I am with my brother. I think I was about 4 and he was about 6 and a half.

I had a very pleasant surprise phone call from my dear friend, Alice this morning. She was trying to call me while I was on the Internet checking my e-mail, reading her e-card birthday greeting, and sending one back to her.

She was watching the clock tick towards her bedtime while willing me to get off the Internet so the phone line would be free!

When she finally reached me we had a wonderful chat and she was rather late getting to bed :)

All in all it was a lovely day, and I got just a little bit of gardening done.

Two of the front gardens, blooming profusely



Chasing butterflies.....I managed to get this one to hold still for a second. It's a tiger swallowtail. I'm seeing a lot of them this summer.



Gloriosa Daisy (Rudbeckia or Black-eyed Susan) with Achillea (Yarrow) Cerise Queen



This Monada (Bee Balm) is all dressed up in her Sunday best, with a pretty hat :) I've never seen one sprout a 'hat' before.

Whoops!

This shot was supposed to be included in the post below!

Pink delphinium with evening primrose in the background

Colors Of Summer

There are so many flowers blooming now and the gardens are looking very colorful. It's hard to keep up with my posts at the moment because there's so much to do outside.

The asiatic lilies have almost finished blooming. They were beautiful! Now the day lilies are blooming!

Asiatic lily....This one is very tall



A shorter lily, slightly different shape

.


Amazingly, this is the same short lily...it fades to a pretty pink after it's been blooming for a while. The blooms have lasted for a couple of weeks.


Another one in a lovely bright orange



Hemerocallis (Daylily) Cleo. It was the first daylily to bloom. This a one of my favorites and my most vigorous grower.



Bright Summer Phlox, daylilies, monarda and cranesbill geranium



Monarda (bee balm or bergamot) The bees, butterflies and hummingbirds love this flower. I have it in several different colors



Delphiniums, gloriosa daisies and a pink mystery flower planted as a seed mix in our vegetable garden last year. My best guess is Collinsia, but the plant is much shorter in my plant encyclopedia. Can anyone tell me the name of this flower?



The Gloriosa daisies (black-eyed Susans) and Shasta daisies are blooming madly. They always put on a great show!



Coreopsis and achillea (yarrow-Cerise Queen)



Close up of the achillea..lovely color!



Faithful Pete, keeping me company



I love the color of this delphinium!

The picture above of the this same delphinium with the evening primrose in the background was supposed to be included in this post, but my finger slipped and I hit the enter key, instead of the key above it, which lets you queue photos for a post.

Apparently most of the plants loved all the rain we've had because they're blooming extravagantly this summer!

Sunday Blessings

I always love to read Sue's Sunday blessings posts. She is such a positive and uplifting person!

Last Sunday we were blessed with a visit from our youngest daughter, Kathy, and her friend, Brandy.

The girls have been close friends since their high school days, when they spent as much time together as they could. They roomed together their first year of college.

Brandy was married last year, and Kathy was one of her bridesmaids. They live a couple of hours apart now, but still get together quite often.



The girls had great fun with the kittens, of course, and the clematis made a nice backdrop for our photos.

Kathy (and her two siblings) are cat lovers (how could they not be...growing up with so many barn cats over the years?). They love to come home to the farm in the spring and summer to see the new crop of kittens.

Brandy badly wanted to take Murphy home, but her husband tells her he's allergic to cats. She'd like to test this claim to see if it's genuine, and not just a ploy to avoid having a cat....but, she decided she'd better not. Maybe next time :)



This is such a typical Kathy expression. I love this photo!



Brandy graciously took several photos of the three of us, trying to get at least one good one, where we all smiled and didn't look cross-eyed, or too wrinkled (in my case) or something :) The kittens were not very patient, but Toby always loves to be held (the gray cat that Ross is holding).



Are they gone now?



'Cause we're tired of all that picture taking...we need a nap!