Starting out

Just beginning to see what we have to work with in the yard at our new place. Mostly pleasant surprises so far. A beautiful Bradford pear tree, lots of rose bushes, peonies (my favorite flower!), and a clematis much bigger than the one we planted last year and had to leave behind.

 This is one of the projects I'm most excited about...making a shade garden underneath the deck.

We've already moved a clematis (successfully, we think!) to climb the deck poles, and are waiting for a couple of things to bloom so we can figure out what they are and where we want them. We're hoping to plant a variety of hellebores and other shade-loving plants here.

Settling in

We are happily settling in to our new home and as spring unfolds, we are delighted to see the wonderful flowers and shrubs that were here waiting for us. The former owners were gardeners too and have left behind some beautiful plants for us to enjoy and nurture. First to unfurl its gorgeous blooms, above, is a Japanese Magnolia (which some call a Tulip Tree).

The last bloom

January 29, 2013––This plucky begonia bloom has been on our window sill since before Christmas and is still blooming strong. It's the only remaining bloom of last summer's flowers. And it's likely the last bloom we will enjoy from this small-town prairie garden. Life is taking us on a new adventure and to a new home closer to our children, grandchildren, and extended family. For the first time since we were newlyweds living in New York, we'll be experiencing city life again. But still in Kansas, and of course, we'll plant flowers and maybe even a few prairie grasses in our new place.

We'll leave these gardens to a new family and trust that they'll receive as much joy as we have from watching a prairie garden grow. The new owners have already given us permission to come back in the spring and take a few snips and starts from this Kansas Prairie Garden. We'll keep you posted as we are uprooted and transplanted. Hopefully we will keep blooming where God is planting us for this next leg of the wonderful journey that is life!

From our house to yours . . .

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Celebrating the Reason for the season.

"For unto us a child is born . . ."

First snow––in two years!

December 19 and FINALLY we get a real snow (not the powdered sugar dusting that had to pass for snow last year.)

December strawberries?

Well, maybe not strawberries, but strawberry plants for sure. These little troopers have been thriving all summer and autumn long and even now, early in December have new growth, and even one little bloom (that didn't survive the chilly night.)

We've put away all the flowerpots except the sedums, which seem to like staying out in their pots all winter before a new growth spurt in the spring.

Foggy morn

A beautiful fog hovered over the yard early this last morning in November. It quickly burned off as the sun came up, but it was quite a sight for a few minutes, especially with a full moon still high in the sky.

Winter sunsets

We don't like these shorter days one bit, but one consolation is the amazing sunsets we get to see––usually from the supper table. This was the stunning view from our back deck on November 18, 2012.

Mexican Hen-and-Chicks

My friend Terry shared this pretty little Mexican Hen-and-Chicks plant with us. I planted it mid-November alongside our "American" Hen-and-Chicks and hope it does as well as they've done in this little corner of the entryway garden. They're protected from the cold north wind here, so maybe that's the secret?

Fading fast

 The 10th of November and it's looking pretty bare without the flower pots. The wind is doing a number on the last of the leaves and we're bracing for cold weather that's coming next week. I don't love winter, but there is certainly a sort of beauty in the death of everything green. And always hope for the spring that will be here before we know it.

Bringing the outdoors in

It's November 9 and our warm days are coming to an end so we've started putting the flowerpots away and bringing anything inside that is still blooming.

There are still geraniums and begonias blooming on the front porch, so they'll stay out for a couple more days until the next freeze. But today we brought the cyclamen in and planted all the mums in the "compost pile" behind the shed. We've learned that a lot of what we put out there as "trash" ends up coming back, giving us new plants for next spring.

Maiden Grass

I just love it when the Maiden Grasses starts to head out, especially when the October sun shines a spotlight on the plumes. The carpet roses are still blooming, too, protected by the grasses. The only negative is that the grasses are so tall now that we can't see the flag on the mailbox from the house, to know whether our mail has been delivered or not. Small price to pay!

Computing with a cat

October colors

October is two-thirds over, yet the garden still offers some wonderful color.

Not the best photo and not the prettiest rose this bush has produced, but you've got to be grateful for a rosebush that is still giving you roses in late October!

 The red twig dogwood is starting to live up to its name. It will be gorgeous against the snow––if we have any snow this year.

The catmint and salvia are blooming again. These are some of my favorite early bloomers. And now late bloomers.

 A beautiful stand of Dallas Blues grass waves in the breeze.

A surprise mum (that we let get too long and leggy!) is blooming the exact shade of fuchsia as the Superbells blooming in its shadow in the same pot.

I'm NOT ready to let the garden go yet, and trying to enjoy the few bits of beauty still there before winter sets in for good.

Watching fall unfold

This quiet, shady (but not too shady) spot under our bald cypress tree is a new favorite place to sit and enjoy the colors of fall. And this is the view from the bench...

Cyclamen, my new favorite flower

I bought two cyclamen plants at Walmart way back in March when I could hardly wait for spring to arrive. If I remember correctly, they were only $3 each, so I couldn't be too disappointed when I started reading up on these plants and discovered they were early spring bloomers and would only bloom for a few weeks and then their season would be over. Thankfully, these beauties didn't get the memo! They bloomed all summer long in the morning sun/afternoon shade of the front porch, with a brief break in the heat of August. And then they went at it full-steam again. They apparently have mistaken these cooler days and even a couple of freezing nights for the advent of spring. We have a few more days of warm temps in the forecast, but before our next freeze, I'm going to repot these and bring them inside for the winter. And next year I'm buying a whole bunch of them! 

This anemic begonia (and a tiny cutting of coleus that survived the freeze) kind of took over the second cyclamen, but it's still beautiful and blooming in its corner of the pot.