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Showing posts with the label flowers

Spot Watering

Temperatures are climbing again. The weather dudes say it'll be in the high 90s our way today. As long as there's a breeze, it'll be fine. If not, well, we'll be fine. The Husband, Molly the Cat, and I, that is. I can't speak for anyone else. Molly Girl and I were out early this morning watering the newly planted flowers. They were only a few so I chose to use the watering can. Only six trips to the faucet, which was far enough away for me to work up a sweat. The exercise also made my knees pop. I like to think that they popped back into place. Dream on. Sometimes as I trudge about the yard spot watering, I'm reminded of The Mama telling me how her brothers used to carry buckets of water to the field to individually water the plants. I imagined her world of long ago being very hot and dry, and water being very precious. Not so different today, is it? Several days ago when it was cooler, I stuck two new daisy plants into the ground. The one in the photo

Colors of Summer

Joy!

An Easy Sunday Morning

Molly the Cat walked out of the office just now. My taking photos of her while sleeping annoyed her. The camera has a loud beep when it turns on. That's how she knew. The Girl got me up a few minutes after sunrise. I knew this because I'd stumbled back to bed after a visit to the bathroom. The morning already felt hot so there was no instant getting back to snoozeville. I almost got there when Molly gave out a roar downstairs. I chose to ignore it as well as her next roar. Silence. Crash! Then a tinkle of something broken. Sigh. The Husband of course was oblivious to Molly's noises. I found the something broken in the kitchen sink. It was the yellow porcelain crocus that sat in a cup on the kitchen window ledge. Two of its petals broke off. I stuck the crocus back into the cup and placed the petals on the saucer. Still looks good. Molly probably was tracking a squirrel running along the fence. Does she know what she would do if she ever caught one? I still

First Day of Summer

Happy Summer Solstice, Dear Readers! 

Pretty in Pink

Tired, I am. Happily pooped though. The Husband and I have been out and about lately, a few hours here, a few hours there of wandering about, doing errands, or hanging with friends. It's summer, after all. Today, my plan is to drag myself out to the backyard and deadhead the geraniums. It'll do me well to sit under the trees and breathe in deeply. It might be the ticket to pull the tiredness out of me. Aren't those tiger lilies pretty? We saw those on the greenhouse tour we took two Saturdays ago. I wonder if I can get them to grow in our yard.

June Rose

The Mama's red rose bush produces year round, as long as I deadhead the spent blooms. I couldn't resist picking this perfect specimen with the intent of drying it whole. I left it outside in this box. The next day, the petals had dried, but they had also fallen from the stem. Oh well. Potpourri, they shall be.

Gardenias, Mmmmmmmm

Last week, we took a tour of a greenhouse that included gardenias, mmmmmmmm. Their scent, mmmmmmmm. The tour guide said that gardenias are coming back into popularity. I was surprised the flower ever went out of favor.

Senior Citizenery—Here We Are!

The Husband and I went to our first true senior citizen thing this morning—an event specifically catered to old folks. It was a senior citizen brunch hosted by our local hospital's volunteer group.  We wouldn't have known about it, nor gone, if it weren't for our friends, the Mister & Missus H, for which, I believe, this was also their first exclusive senior citizen event. For two bucks (you heard right), we got coffee, orange juice and whatever we wanted at the buffet table, which included scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, French toast, steamed veggies, chicken and artichoke in gravy (think biscuit and white gravy without the biscuit), cottage cheese, peaches, and Mandarin oranges. We ahhhh'd when the gals running the show announced that the hospital had also sent over an extra treat of coffee cake for us.  Two bucks a person! Probably the last time we could buy a hearty breakfast for that amount was in the 1970s. These days, it's about $15 per pe

Head Turners in the Yard!

Oh me, oh my. The sights Molly the Cat and I saw this morning in the front yard. For one, that fly pollinating the daisies. Until a few years ago, I had no idea flies were pollinators, too. Flower flies are what they're called in general. Some of them have torsos that resemble bees or wasps. I wonder how many times we've said, "Look a bee!" and it was really a flower fly. Experts say that flower flies don't sting. Hurrah! These flies also love to eat aphids and scales. Thank you, much. POMPOM POPPY DANCER Most of the pink pompom poppies have shedded their petals. I think the pods are also cool to look at and go wowza! over. While the blooms make me think of the fluffy hats that comedian Phyllis Diller wore, the poppy pods remind me of ancient Greek soldiers in their Corinthian helmets. WILD CELERY STALK I was hoping that the unknown thing growing at the edge of the geranium spread would be bamboo. Nope. The nearly 4-foot plant is a wild celery p

Blue Skies

Blue skies smilin' at me Nothin' but blue skies do I see. . . ~Irving Berlin The fog lifted early this morning to give us gorgeous blue skies. The orange roses and pink pompom poppies say "Hullo, hullo!" Hanging out at Skywatch Friday . Come join me by clicking here . Thanks, Skywatch Friday hosts!

Here Comes the Shade

It's beginning to get jungly in the back yard. The persimmon trees are popping out leaves, as are the apricot and apple trees.  You can't see the banana plants, but they're also shooting up leaves. When all the trees are full, this part of the yard gets quite shady. Perfect to hang out in when the temperatures soar high. I ought to call this part of the yard the "jungle room" or maybe Room of Deep Shade. What do you think?

Surprise, Surprise!

Seriously, I did not see these flowers yesterday nor the day before, and I was working in the section where they are. So, yeah, I was shocked to see them this morning. "Hello! How are ya?" the gorgeous flowers said. I forgot what the plant is. My friend Google says it's a rockrose plant. Whooo-hoo! It doesn't look at all like the rockrose plant next to the mailbox, which is getting bigger but yet has to bloom. Another surprise to come in the yard.  This plant that bloomed this morning came home with us last year around this time. It worried me throughout last year. It kept looking like it was about to give up living. My friend Google pointed me to a website of rockrose experts where I learned that the rockrose plant blooms for a month in late spring/early summer and the blooms last for only a day. It's a perfect drought resistant plant and can thrive on neglect. Good to know!

The Mama's Roses are in Bloom

Spring is nature's way of saying "Let's party!". ~ Robin Williams

The Poppies are Popping

Pop. Pop. Pop. The California poppies started showing themselves in the front yard about a couple of weeks ago. Every morning, a few more orange lovelies wave hello to the world. Totally grand. There are so many poppy plants in the meadow part of the yard that some are actually dying.  It doesn't help that fox tails, some kind of vetch vine, clover, and leftover overgrown lawn are also competing for soil, light, and water. Survival of the fittest. The daisy bushes have increased in size, more than I thought they could and would. They've infiltrated into the territories of the roses. Poor roses. Later this year I must decide whether to cut back the daisies or transplant the roses to their own dedicated section in the yard. Maybe next to the fence where I've sown sunflower and more wildflower seeds, which may not grow because the poppies are spreading out there, too.  We shall see. If you'd like to see the progression of the yard, click here .  I

Waiting for the Honey Bees

"People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day." ~ A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh  

Blooming Blooms Bloom

Despite the cold temperatures and lack of rain, the first of the wildflower blooms have appeared in the front yard. This morning, Molly the Cat and I saw a cosmos (upper left corner), lupine (upper right corner), and California poppy (lower right corner). They're all volunteers from last year's plantings. Also presenting itself is the first freesia (lower left corner) of the season. Not sure, but I think they're from bulbs that got planted last fall. These flowers have a light fragrance. Mmmmmmmm.

First Sightings of Spring

On Saturday, I saw a few California poppies waving "Hey ya! Hi ya! How ya?" from some slopes along the road. Whooo-hooo! I also saw irises nestled in with some yellow ice plants along a sidewalk in the town next over. Yippieee! On the home front, our ornamental pear tree is full of snow-white blossoms.  Wheeeeeeee!   I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday . Here's the link for you to check out participants from around the world, and maybe to join up yourself. Thanks, Our World Tuesday hosts!

Imagining the Poppies

This morning as the Husband and I walked home, I got to see what others may see as they come to our yard. Ooooh, right? Last year those bushes of pink daisies were a third to a half in size of what they are now. Until last month,  the bush on the right and the one beside the green pot (which is an olive tree) had no flowers at all. Amazing, huh? The white alyssum flowers in the foreground are all volunteers. I love volunteers. Next month, we ought to be seeing other volunteers blooming in the yard. Much of that green stuff you see are California poppy sprouts. Imagine them all in bloom. All that orange. Wowza! I'm linking up with Our World Tuesday . Click here to check out the meme. Thank you, Our World Tuesday team.

A Sunday Photo Session

Yesterday afternoon, while picking up pillow cushions and doing this and that to prepare the backyard for rain this week, I came across some cool things that seemed to shout, "Look at me! Look at me!" So, of course, I went to get the camera. Click. Click. Click. I'm linking up with All Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by Jesh at Artworks from Jesh St.G. Click here to check out Jesh and her meme. For the participants list, click here . Thanks, Jesh!

A Sweet Begonia

"I beg on ya to make sure I have a nice protected spot come summer," said the begonia, which has been doing quite well on its own. Just when I think this begonia's no more, it shows itself to be a survivor out in the elements. Maybe it would like hanging out on the north side of the yard. We shall see.