Flowers and Critters

the nectar of the butterfly bush is oh so sweet

black and white

an oyster may have a pearl-a morning glory always has one

Oh, my aching back!!

you want some of this? go ahead make my day!

Susan Sunshine with her dark eyes makes the boys want to cry

one is the loneliest number

pretty in pink-coneflowers

I don’t know this Beetle or is it a Beatle? Paul, maybe?

just a sip will never do

enjoying lunch

out on parole my neighbor, Mr. Bushtail is back to stealing birdseed

Is that the cops I hear?

Somebody Loves Pink

Black Swallowtail butterfly on pink coneflower. Click the photo for large resolution.

Swallowtail Butterfly on Pink Coneflower

My Asian Lillies – Lemon and Cranberry

 

Roses, Roses and More Roses

My single and double knockouts are blooming. When I walk by them the scent is heavenly.

Garden Slug Solution That Works

I’ve posted in the past about my slug problem and all the avenues I’ve tried to rid myself of this destructive little critter. I’d been looking for a good method of keeping them away, but after trying hundreds of home remedies and having no luck, I’d resorted to salt. Salt will definitely kill them, but as I’d stated before, I didn’t like killing them as they are beneficial. I didn’t want to use the chemical/poison method because of any cat or dog that might wander by and take a bite of the stuff. I’d pretty much given up and had ripped out all my Hostas and other slug yummy plants. I guess I didn’t get all the roots/bulbs though because they came back bigger and prettier than ever. I figured they’d just have to continue to look like these photos taken summer before last.

With Slug Holes

 

Almost Eaten Away

But I have found a solution that actually works for my garden and it doesn’t kill the slugs nor harm the plants. Hot Pepper Wax Spray. You spray it on and the slugs pretty much stay away. To me this product is like a miracle. They say it lasts for a month, but I had to use it every couple of weeks depending on how wet and warm the weather was. Before I found this product, I’d been making my own pepper spray and it worked very well, but I had to use it every day. With the wax in this product, it stays on the leaves. Did I say miracle? 🙂 If you’re having a severe problem the way I was, get you some of this stuff and try it. You can buy it a lot of different places online. I usually buy it from Amazon.

 

Mom’s Day – Painting and Story

Mom-Acrylic on Wood

Dad was an avid gardener and roses were his specialty. Every spring he’d order new exotic specimens, put them in the ground and tend them like new-born babies. So it’s pretty clear where I got my love of gardening and my love of roses. Mom was a totally different creature when it came to gardening. She loved pink roses, but to my knowledge, never grew a single rose plant.

Mom’s old fashion perennials, sweet peas, wild flowers, weeds and grasses all grew together in wild abandon–like an over grown meadow in full bloom. This penchant for wild gardens showed me a side of Mom not easily discernable. A long buried yearning to be as free as the wild things she grew–a longing to throw off the restrictions of society and just be herself.

I was a pretty wild tomboy growing up and often wondered how Mom managed to put up with me. A lady who never left the house without changing her dress and putting on lipstick–who tried desperately to teach me to be a lady. A woman who never smoked, drank or uttered a curse word and yet, the two of us were close–having a special bond. Although she tried valiantly to teach me proper behavior, I believe she took great pleasure in the fact that I was more like her free flowing wild garden than Dad’s well tended specimens.

When you pull into my drive and step up to the side door leading into my kitchen, there’s a Bleeding Heart bush growing along the foundation, just as there always was at Mom’s. In that same bed you will find hostas, wild daisies I dug up from along a country lane, strawberries, and numerous other plants, both wild and cultivated varieties–all growing in a disorganized, yet somehow, beautiful mess. If Mom were still here, she’d look at that flower garden and say, “That’s my girl.”

Happy Mother’s day to all the mother’s out there and may your gardens and your lives bloom with beautiful abundance.

 

 

 

Spring Came Fast

I believe Spring has sprung. Has been near 70 the past couple of days and all of a sudden things are happening in my gardens. Flowers have shot up and even bloomed in just 48 hours.  And to think this snow was a couple of weeks ago. Amazing!

Spring Snow

Hyacinths Are Blooming

More Hyacinths

Tulips Are Up

Wishing for Spring – Photos

 

Photos ÓElizabeth Melton Parsons

Early Spring Flowers

Last time I posted pictures of my flowers coming up in early February. We did have some freezing weather, but the flowers bloomed beautifully all the same. Tulips haven’t bloomed yet, but they are budding even though they’re the mid summer variety. Sweetly scented daffodils fill the house with cheerful yellow color and who can resist the heavenly scent of hyacinth?

Photos: Butterflies Coneflowers and Double Orange Daylily

Click for large images: