Wednesday Walkabout

What wonders I found walking through the yard today!!

Lovely LarkspurPretty primrose and poppies
Graceful Paprika yarrowRed corn Poppy

Poppies and larkspur




Red Cascade roses

Today I planted my seeds: sea shells cosmos, tangerine sunflowers, liliput zinnias, cactus flowered zinnias, luminosa pink zinnias, cinnamon basil, cypress vine, mammoth dill....I am looking forward to summer time!

Kindergarden and black widow

Here is my adorable niece being a mouse for her school's Kindergarten program. It was a very very hot evening and it felt like the A/C was broken but the kids were sooo cute!
Not a very good picture(click on it to blow it up and she will be more visible), but here in this web is a black widow. She was inside a post in the healing garden. I was working on clearing the pathway and preparing for planting the zinnia and cosmo seeds, sorry to say but I had to squish her against my husbands wishes. He said to leave her be and all I could think of was her biting me and the pain. So splat!

garden progress

Rain means the ants are busy at work, look at this beautiful artwork of many rooms.

Hailstorm damage to bird feeder, birds have had a rough week.
my jerusalem sage is still struggling with all the hail damage it received.
My newest addition to the garden room. It is a perfect fit. Thank you friend for thinking of me!

Salvaged Poppies

Yesterday when I was in the garden I picked up some of the poppy buds that were beaten off during the storm and tossed them in the fountain. This morning, much to my surprise, they all opened up and bloomed. I was excited that I had unknowingly saved them and now I can enjoy the blossoms. Here are some of the broken poppies that I rescued yesterday.
These are so huge that you cannot even see the angel holding them!

It was a beautiful afternoon today. I finally managed to wash off the porches that were covered with debris from the storm. I actually have hail that is still not melted. Maybe after tomorrow it will all be gone. I am not to sure the vegies are going to make it they look so so sad today.

Hailstorm destruction

Last night there was a hailstorm for a long 20 minutes or so. It totally ruined all my spring blossoms. I was sad. It stripped foilage and flowers, some plants broke and some are just stems left. My vegies are demolished.

Here lies the remnants of Zephrine.

Most of my snowballs are on the ground


This is my backyard last night!
Here is a pile that is over 12" deep on top of my columbine

This is what is left of my gazing ball and Jerusalem Sage that was about to bloom
Here is my poppy before the storm
Here is what they look like after the storm. Imagine 100's of poppies about to blossom and then in 20 minutes they are demolished. I cried because they only come once a year and I am sad.

This is what my doggie looks like during the storm. She does not like storms. She shakes and pants the whole time. Poor thing.

Our truck has damage and so does the fence and ac unit. I hope this is the end of spring storms for now. We start all over from scratch.

Monday mosey

My Snowball bush in the front yard is in its glory! This is its 3rd year and I am loving it. The blooms start out lime green and turn white as they mature. Viburnum is definately worth its weight in gold.
Waiting to be potted is this beautiful, vibrant geranium, Burgandy Regal Geranium. I was given this by my wonderful Mother-in-law (fellow gardener) for Easter. I simply love it and hope it does well in the pretty pot my mother gave me.

Pictured here is the Old blush in the front side yard that jumped the fence. It was planted the first spring that we moved into our home in 2005. I am pleased with how well it has adapted. I am not pleased with how the neighbors continue to cut off the side that is growing in their direction. It is lopsided now because of this, so I am thinking of just training it into an archway over the gate. The sweet smell is addicting.

Here is the load of rocks that I gathered. These are the leftovers from all around the new developing areas. I walked and lifted and loaded to save these from being buried under dirt. I am going to use them to make a border for my NE side garden.


This is my May Night Salvia that I saved from my aunts garden before she moved from her house. The butterlies and hummingbirds just love it. This flower is very hardy and takes very little water.
My homestead purple verbena (I think that is what it is called) is putting on quite the show this year and is borderline overwhelming to the other plantings around it. I do appreciate the color it adds to the garden.

Weed workout and roses

I have the sorest thighs and shoulders ever! Thursday's rain softened the ground enough that I could not resist going to the garden and working. All day Friday I pulled and pulled and pulled out everything that was invading space that I want to plant my cosmos and zinnias. It had been since last summer that I worked out that hard. Now I am sore. Gardening is the best workout and it is so much fun you don't even realize you are working out until the next day when you can barely move. Here is my vintage Zepherine Drouhin rose it smells like raspberries.

I picked this bourbon rose for the arbor because it is thornless.
My China rose, Old blush that came over from the front yard and is growing on the top of the rock wall. This rose is about the longest blooming rose around. It blooms 10 months out of the year. In light winters it will bloom 11 months. It grows fast, about 20 feet in one season. Another great thing about the old blush is that it can take neglect and is known as the "can't fail" rose. It has the scent of apple blossoms. Oh so sweet!
I found this red salvia growing between our scanoe and the side of the house. Funny thing is, I don't even have a flower bed around this side of the house. It is one of those peekaboo flowers that decides where it will hide next. I just love it.
Zephrine close up with a spider investigating.
Here is a hummingbird that i caught at the feeder today. We have two that just love fighting over who gets to sit and slurp.

weekly walkabout

My snowball bush is now completely open and bright!Crossvine is looking cheery.
The bridal wreath is still struggling due to the March Snow
Zephrine Rose is covering the arbor
My friend is awesome at photography, I wish I had her camera!

Bastrop Trip

Some pretty poppies at the Wildseed Farms. I worked out six days this week but as you can see by this photo of me I need lots more of those workouts to get some muscle tone like I had in my 20's. The 40's take it's toll if you take any kind of break in exercise.

We took a road trip down to Bastrop, Texas this past week. Below is the Bed and Breakfast that we spent the night. It was nice but did not have as much of the antique pieces that we expected and enjoy. As you can see from the windows, they are dressed in bamboo shades which is hardly 1800's decor. Oh well, it was nice to get a change in scenery. This house is where they filmed a verizon commercial last week. See the pecan tree on the left of the photo, notice there aren't any leaves on it yet, the verizon people did not like that so they decided to hire somebody to wire leaves on it and that took a whole day. Then after the commercial was filmed they had the guy remove the leaves. Not a very economical choice but I guess they wanted it a certain way. Anyways, when you see the verizon guy talking with an older lady this is the house they are standing in. Also in town filming a movie were Brad Pitt, Angolina Jolie and their flock of kids(staying in a local day care), and Sean Penn. There has been over 48 movies filmed in this little city. Amazing!
Sparse bluebonnets at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center just south of Austin.
A lizard visiting.
My father-in-law beside a an old rusted vintage car.


Wildflowers were hard to find. I am hoping maybe in a few weeks it will be better. The locals said the dry weather has not helped in the production.