Rose in the rain...

It is raining this morning. I looked out the window of the front door and saw rain drops on the “pond.” To the left of the front porch steps, Pink Gruss an Achen was blooming.

Originally, I had planted this rose in a large pot on one side of the front porch steps, with a matching pot and rose on the other side of the steps. It didn’t hold interest well enough all year to be a focal point, so I moved the roses into the beds on either side of the steps. I have been much happier with them there. I chose Pink Gruss an Achen because it would do well in partial shade and it is fragrant, which I think is important in a rose! I liked the pink color a little better than the original peachy color of Gruss an Achen.

When my younger daughter came in from feeding her dog and the cats, she commented that the rain wasn’t falling on leaves on the trees, but was falling on leaves on the ground and so it made a different sound. Her middle name is Rose. She is the one who renamed this particular rose “Miriam,” after Robin Hood’s lady friend. The matching rose on the other side is renamed “Alec,” because it seemed to fit.

Have a beautiful day!

Purple rain...

For the fall, winter, and spring, I planted this urn with Purple Rain pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) that I purchased from my favorite local nursery, New Garden Nursery. They are supposed to grow so that they will cascade over the edges of the pot, which I think will be quite charming. I have planted grape hyacinth (Muscari, probably armeniacum) with them because I like the contrast of its leaves. And then, of course, in the spring, there will be the beautiful, fragrant blue flowers to enjoy with the purple and yellow pansies.





I bought the urn at a big box store a couple of years ago. It is made of that strange, sorta foamy stuff and was scraped and scratched in places. So, I mixed some paint to be close to the color of the pot and painted the areas that were wearing out and then coated that with polyurethane once the paint had dried.




It all looks so beautiful on top of my "stone" wall, next to the house. It makes part of an ending point for the intersection of the path and the steps that come from the deck and back door.



Have a beautiful day!

A little confused...

This charming little periwinkle vine, flowing over the "stone" wall I put together, is blooming! I double-checked "The Southern Living Garden Book" and was informed that it flowers in early spring. A little confused? I think so. However, Dave's Garden lists Vinca minor 'Illumination' bloom time anywhere from early spring to fall, so maybe my little plant knows what it is doing and I am the one that is confused.



It is a little confused in another way, too, although that is actually my fault. When I bought the vine, it was variegated. There still are a few runners that are variegated, but mostly it has reverted to the solid green. What I should have done, and hopefully still will, is to cut off the new runners that are green to save the variegation.




Have a beautiful day!

Thanksgiving Day...

"Thankfulness is the soil in which joy flourishes."

Have a beautiful day!

Twenty years ago...

Today, twenty years ago, my first baby girl was born. The summer she was four, she would get up early in the mornings and go out into the garden, still wearing her sleep clothes, carrying her little bear, to see if there were tomatoes to pick.


As I was looking through my photographs, looking for the one above, I came across a couple other pictures of her enjoying my gardening efforts. These were my first roses, which she "helped" me plant.


I think this one speaks for itself!



Have a beautiful day!