Flowers and Garden News

 

This is a candy-cane rose.  Annie gave it to me last year for Mother's Day. 

I love the blend of colors. 

To my friend Jean:  the clemantis has begun its life mission of producing beautiful blooms. 

I've never had clemantis before so I really didn't know what to expect when you gave me the plant on Derby Day.

I guess I didn't expect to see blooms this year.  In fact, I did expect that I might kill the plant before it could bloom.

But, I'm guessing clemantis are pretty hardy and persistent, just like the Virginia creeper start Gail Redinger gave me a few years ago.

It comes back bigger and more prolific every year as it grows from nothing and then starts taking off up the corner of the barn. 

I've seen pictures of other people's clemantis and have wondered how long it takes for them to take over. 

Long story short, I was quite pleased the other day to see the first bud about to burst open. 

Now, there are two. 

I'm sure the plant will be long lasting, Jean, just like our friendship.  

And, you can be sure that I'll be thinking of you and appreciating your friendship every time a new blossom pops open. 

When Bridie and I walked through the woods this morning, I directed her over to the area where dewberry vines grow.

I had hopes that maybe this year they'd be bearing some fruit, but not yet. 

I would love to have dewberries in my woods because they would remind me of the summer days in my childhood when I'd take a container to the woods to pick berries. 

I also walked along ditches and picked every year until the county started spraying for weeds. 

Eventually on those summer days, the berries would mount up enough for Mother to make a dewberry pie. 

I think we may have sampled dewberry pie all of half a dozen times in my life cuz it took a lot of picking to have enough.

This place had goats grazing throughout before we moved here 16 years ago.

So, all the vegetation was nibbled to the ground.  It has taken several years for it to reappear, including the dewberry vines. 

I'm wondering how many years it will take for the berries to come back, if ever. 

Always hope.  

When my big willow shrub went down this winter, I asked Bill to clean up the residue.

So, he did with his chainsaw.  The cleanup left a big bare spot out at the end of the driveway where the big bush once made a nice roadside attraction. 

So, I purchased several packets of wildflower seed and doused the area with it. 

The flowers are starting to appear now in the form of bachelor buttons and poppies and numerous other varieties and colors. 

It's neat to walk out to get the mail or the paper each day and notice new splashes of color suddenly appearing in the area. 

I'm hoping for a nice color show next to the road as the summer moves on.    

All in all, it's just a pretty time of year and always so satisfying each day to see what new beauty has appeared overnight or how close the garden is to producing something to eat.

I discovered yesterday that some tomato plants on the deck have fruit on them:  cherry tomatoes. 

So, it won't be long before we can walk by, pluck off a tomato and plop it in our mouth for a tasty treat.

I also noticed yesterday that little cukes are starting to emerge from their yellow blossoms AND that it will be just a few days before green-bean picking begins. 

Fred Omodt, owner of Shingle Mill Blueberry Farm, stopped by the other day to inspect my single row of bushes. 

He told Bill they were looking good and that the berry count looked impressive. 

Maybe by the weekend, some will turn blue and be ready for picking.

Pickin' and grinnin' coming soon at a garden near you. 

Happy Tuesday.