Sunday, July 01, 2007

Spring in Review

Spring has passed into summer, and time has flown. I've been as busy as a bee, and too tired most nights to do much on the computer. With Daylight Saving we tend to stay outside and work in the gardens and yard, and then eat a late supper.
Thanks so much to all for your visits and comments. I so much appreciate hearing from you. I'll try to catch up on my blog reading this week.

I've been trying to sort out some of the hundreds of photos I've taken during the past couple of months....choosing just a few to put on the blog. You can well imagine what a job that is, because a good many of you can relate to being "camera-maniacs"! By the time I've sorted a few days worth I'm beginning to nod off, and too tired to do a post.

Posted by Picasa Now that school is out and summer vacation has begun (hallelujah!) I'm beginning to get a little more caught up with the gardens, but I still have a few more things to plant. It's a matter of deciding where to put things, and making room for them. The perennials tend to take over, and thinning them is a big job....just one of the many that must be done all at once!

Nothing says spring like lilacs!

It was a good spring for lilacs. Even our big old, straggly bush in the front yard did better than usual.

Ross cut some old, gnarly limbs out of it last year (prune soon after it has finished blooming), and perhaps that helped. Posted by Picasa
The perfume was really delightful. I spent a lot of time just smelling the blossoms and taking too many photographs :) Posted by Picasa


This photo and the one above are of the tree in bud. The color is darker and then lightens considerably when the flowers open. Posted by Picasa

This is a late pink lilac growing in the yard of a friend. It blooms later in June and seemed to last longer than the more common lilacs.

I've had my eye on a late blooming "Miss Canada" lilac that I saw at a local nursery last year (and regretted not buying at the time), but when I went to get it they'd sold the last one that morning. Ah well, I'll just have to wait until next year. However, a dear gardening friend gave me a piece of her McFarlane Pink and that's looking healthy. Another friend has offered pieces of a dark purple, a white, and a double pinkish-purple that's truly magnificent. We have a bank on the lower side of the yard that's the perfect place for a row of lilacs. Three are planted there so far.

Notice in this close-up of the pink blooms, the difference in the shape of the flowers compared to the photo below, which is a flower cluster on our old lilac.


I've never taken notice of the differences previous to this year. I'm developing a real fascination for lilacs.

Along the way to work there's a tree farm that has a nice collection of lilacs. Unfortunately, I didn't stop to take photographs until they were almost finished blooming. This is another late pink, and there were whites just finishing.


Posted by Picasa I was lucky to catch this lovely yellow swallowtail butterfly as it paused for a couple of seconds.

Remember the pink garden? Those pink tulips with the creeping phlox, and lamium in the background, were such a delight that I just kept taking pictures in all kinds of light. This shot was taken in the late afternoon sunshine.

These iris gave us a brief, but beautiful show. I think the color is magnificent.


We've had a very dry spring, but these two shots were taken after a rain shower left a mist in the early evening air.


These tall purple and white iris gave us many blooms this spring.

Posted by PicasaSo lovely.

A really dark one. Very elegant.

This is "Beverly Sills", the only one I know the name of, with blue centaurea, a perennial cornflower (knapweed). All my iris are passalongs from friends and no names were given, except this one.

This is a very old, common iris that I brought over from Gran's house (which you can see in the first iris picture). I keep threatening to dig them all up and throw them away because they hardly ever bloom, but this year they did better. They need thinning, but they're not on my high priority list, so the job never gets done!

These happy little pansies came back from last year and were very welcome early bloomers.

The lovely lupins are always a delight, but mine were not very prolific this year. They loved all the rain we had last spring, and the blooms lasted for a much longer period. Unfortunately, the dry weather is causing a lot of flowers to cut their bloom period short.

My nice patch of Dame's Rocket sprang up on the edge of the vegetable garden by the wood pile again. I love this pretty wildflower. It has a wonderful scent to add to its charm.


We saw huge patches of it growing along the roadsides on the drive to Ithaca for Kylie and Ko's wedding reception, and then again when we visited the Cornell Plantations while we were in Ithaca. It was gloriously spread all over the hillsides. Yes, I took photos at the Plantations, and hope to have time to post some of them in the near future!


Red Columbine (Aquilegia) Posted by Picasa


This lupin is usually covered with blooms, but not so this year. The view it still lovely though.

The Verbascum also bloomed sparsely and very briefly. I deadheaded it today in the hope of getting a second bloom later in the summer.

The Carnaby Clematis blooms at the beginning of June. I'll have more photos of it later on, and the little trellis that Ross made. He's made another, bigger one since, for the sweet peas that grow next to the clematis.

The lovely Foxglove (Digitalis) is one plant that blooms well in spite of the dry weather.

I put these lovely bright orange pansies in a pot. The slugs just love to eat my pansies and I couldn't bear to let them chew these up. I've been trying wood ashes around plants to keep slugs away, and it seems to work quite well.

This Nemesia is called "Mango" and it's just one of the many plants I fell in love with at my favorite nursery. It's looking very colorful now in a mixed container, which I'll show you later. Posted by Picasa This is just the first installment of my Spring in Review. The peonies are just finishing up, the Sweet William is blooming beautifully, daisies are smiling brightly, and all is well with the world! It's such a joy to feel the warmth of the sun on our backs and breathe the fresh air!

While we're experiencing a dry period here in NY, I hear they're getting much-needed rain in Australia, which may break the 10 year long drought. That's very good news indeed. However, some areas are experiencing terrible flooding. It truly is "The Land of Droughts and Flooding Rains".


Happy Summer everyone!

Oh, unless you're on the other side of the Equator, and if so, I hope your winter will be mild!

29 comments:

Susan Tidwell said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri! All of your photos are beautiful, and I know it must be hard to choose which ones to share. Thank goodness for digital photography, just think if you had to get all of those shots developed and printed onto paper...

Your flowers are exquisite as usual, you have a real green thumb. And the butterfly! But I think I like the ones with the background of farm buildings, or wood pile, or hills.

Thanks for sharing your colors of the garden!

Susie said...[Reply]

Good morning dear Kerri!
Your flowers are just a feast for the eyes. The lilac area of your garden must be so fragrant and delightful. They are truly my favorite scent.
My pansies and petunias are the slugs favorite meal. I'll have to try some wood ash (do you buy it or save it from your fires?)
You captured that swallowtail perfectly..
Now that school is out, I know you'll be enjoying lots of time outdoors..
love and ((hugs))

Annie in Austin said...[Reply]

Your idea of 'sparsely blooming' verbascum would thrill me, Kerri!
What a joyful abundance of color and form ... and oh, how wonderful the smell of all those lilacs must have been.

I amused myself by imagining what my garden could look like with all your flowers in it, but then realized that in order to fit them in, we'd have to get rid of the house.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...[Reply]

its such a charming garden that u have ...and an equally charming blog. I appreciate that u share it with us despite lack of time. loved your iris, lilac, pansies, lupins and all the others that u shared . i always leave this place with a song in my heart and a sigh on my lips :)

Anonymous said...[Reply]

A short hello from Switzerland. You have wonderful Spring flowers. I liked to have a glimpse to your garden.I am also fond of lilacs, there are several sorts in our garden. My lupins have disappeared, it's a pity but...too many slugs this year! I'm glad too that in a week school-holiday will start. There are still so many things to cut down and to do (including the weeding). Enjoy your time (and holiday) in the garden!

Tammy said...[Reply]

Very nice posting of all your pretty flowers!
:)

Diana LaMarre said...[Reply]

Kerri, What beautiful spring flowers you had. I loved those deep purple iris. You must have a lot friends to so many different iris!

Midlife Mom said...[Reply]

Oh my! Your flowers are just gorgeous! I am learning lots of names of things too that I didn't know, thanks for the knowledge! The bumble bee pic is just adorable and also the one with the butterfly, you must have a great camera with high speed! I love lilacs too, I have several different varieties but have long forgotten their individual names. It seems they take several years here before the blooms amount to anything but I keep adding more each year. How do you keep up with it all and work too?! The slugs here like the marigolds and will demolish them in no time. The deer ate lots of my hosta plants this week and all of my pepper plants out of my veg garden, pesky creatures! I love them till they eat my plants! ha!

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Lovely photos! I love seeing everyone who is slightly behind us (down in the Philadelphia area).
I just started to use slide.com, as Wordpress only allows you some much photo space.
Drop by sometime.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

Oh my gosh...it is so nice to see some bright and cheerful flowers in bloom (which are lacking in my yard this year). If the flower does manage to bloom, it is sparse and doesn't last long.

I do enjoy seeing all of your beautiful flowers. And I too am finding it difficult to stay in touch with all my blog reads. I stay outdoors until it's dark and then I tiredly try to read a few sites. I'm half asleep as I type this tonight.

So glad that you had enough rain for your beautiful gardens. We're still waiting for rain.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

I just heard that Beverly Sills died today.

LindaD said...[Reply]

Absolutely beautiful. I'm so glad for us that you got that new camera. Gorgeous flowers.. I love that first picture.. a true winner.
Linda

Sigrun said...[Reply]

What a wonderful post! In lilac! My favorite colour, because dark!

Beverly sills I have also, but it hasn't flowered since years.

Sigrun

Val said...[Reply]

You may or may not know that I used to be an iris fanatic, and had a database and map of all the named varieties (well over 100 at one time). I never had the Beverly Sills variety but remember it well. I wanted one of everything, but at up to $60 a rhizome for first time releases, choices had to be made. Kerri, you would be well rewarded if you did separate the crowded ones.

Christy Woolum said...[Reply]

How nice to catch up in your garden. Our lupines didn't do well either. We couldn't even find them. Your Dames' Rockets reminded me of ours a few weeks ago. I really love the orange pansys. I just wish pansys would stay put during the hot weather. Ours wilt! I am glad they are getting rain in Australia. I am concerned about the dry conditions in our part of the state of Washington.

clairesgarden said...[Reply]

fabulous pictures, soo much in flower, lovely!! I especially love the bee and butterfly on the lilac, I was just promising at the weekend to take an offshoot from mine for a friend, its and old fasioned one, grows very large and has a fabulous smell,.

Alice said...[Reply]

I should have taken those wretched apples over in person and then I could have spent time enjoying your beautiful garden and surrounding countryside. You surely, know how to tease me, don't you, Kerri?

Your lilacs were beautiful; the perfume must have been almost overwhelming.

The Beverly Sills iris is so lovely. (I hadn't heard that she had passed away - perhaps it will be in tomorrow's paper.)

You know that I love the greenness of your paddocks (fields) and the trees beyond. As I looked at the photos the first time, they took me back to my visits to Switzerland in the summertime. Everything is so lush.

I'm so glad that you are 'trigger happy' with your camera, and that I can share in your day-to-day enjoyment of your garden.

Terri said...[Reply]

Oh thanks so, so much for the tour of your spring garden. You are so blessed to have so many beautiful flowers! Loved to orange pansy's especially!
God bless.
Terri

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...[Reply]

I guess I'll take the dryness over last year's flooding but even my jewel weed is wilting. My lupines are still sending up little tiny flower stalks. The Verbascum is very pretty, I'll be adding it to my wish list. I always seem to find more must haves in your posts! I love irises that are that medium shade of purple.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri, Ihope you don't mind , that I viit your blog, but I like your flower photo's SO MUCH! I found your blog through others (Moi I think) and I really needed some colourfull sunny pictures, Thanks for sharing this beautiful fresh , pink and purple ( I love that colours!) flowers. You made my day....

Feel fre to visit my blog, and to comment,

Greetings from JoAnn from Holland

CountryGirl said...[Reply]

Keep clicking those photos, they are wonderful! I hope my gardens have the variety yours do one day. You have a fun blog!

Tanya said...[Reply]

Fabulous shots (as always). The bee and the butterfly are my favourites!!

Mountain Mama said...[Reply]

WOW! I think you must be the queen of flowers! Your pictures are just lovely Kerri. I have some of the smae flowers you do but the odd browinsh colored Iris caught my attrntion as I have one in my garden too. It came from my mother-in-law, many many years ago as well as the Cornflower.
Blessings,
Mountain Mama

Judypatooote said...[Reply]

Beautiful.....the pictures are so crystal clear.....

Cris said...[Reply]

I am delighted with your photos. You are such a caring gardener. My husband never forgets one advice from a friend, who told him to date a woman that liked cultivating flowers, because they make good housewives, not desperate housewives, hehehe. xoxo

Naturegirl said...[Reply]

Kerri I might well have written the first part of this post! Like you once the downloading and editing of photos is done after a long day in the garden and other activities..it seems visiting blogs is last on the priority list so here I am finally catching up with you! Love all the blue in your garden a favorite color that I grow even though I have been posting white and sunny yellow!
Lilacs are always my favorite Spring blossom and I was very excited in posting mine! They are so short lived such a shame!! Our month of June has been exceptionally DRY so watering to keep blossoms fresh looking the main chore! We are experiencing high 30C temps in southern Ontario Canada !!! Wilting here! NG

Val said...[Reply]

This post really shows why your blog is so named! My favourite is the iris with the gentle rain drops glistening. Thanks for sharing the delights of your summer, Kerri.

Elzie said...[Reply]

Hi there!
I've never been to your blog before (found it on Mias Landliv!) but I must say I just loved your pictures and will return. You can be sure of that. Next year I will change my garden and I will look to this lovely pictures before to see how I shall do. There are so many lovely pictures I could hardly breath LoL.
Have a great day.
Love Elzie

Alipurr said...[Reply]

so beautiful
wanted to mention
some of those reminded me of the cool stamps I bought today (the title on the book of stamps was Pollination, I think). I think you would love them

http://www.usps.com/
& look under stamps