Molineux...

'Molineux' is blooming again. It is such a beautiful rose. Instead of being as yellow as it was earlier in the year, it now has a more pinkish tinge. It makes me think of a rosy sunset. I have to admit that this is not the best picture of it; I took it too late in the evening and there wasn't quite enough light, but you can still have an idea of how lovely it is. I planted Catmint beside it, and the blue is just gorgeous with the yellow and pink.



Have a beautiful day!

Souvenir...

So, I ask you, what's a vacation trip without a souvenir? And what's it to be? A t-shirt? A postcard? A mug? Maybe a snow globe? Well, not for me.



I have to confess that, anywhere I go, I look for plant nurseries. And this trip, even though I wouldn't quite call it a nursery, I did find a place to buy a plant to bring home. The shop sold lots of produce, kind of like a one-man farmers market, and there were plants, too. Most were annuals, but there were a few perennials.




As soon as we pulled in, I saw the plant I wanted to take home. It's this Tiarella. Or more commonly, Foamflower. There wasn't a plant tag in it, so even though I, being the great plantswoman I am (that's sarcasm, in case you can't tell) recognized it as a Tiarella, I can't tell you if it is T. cordifolia or one of the hybrids. In any case, I am pleased to have it and I know it will be a lovely souvenir addition to my garden.


Have a beautiful day!

Flora and fauna...

So, I've got more pictures from my trip to Stone Mountain. It really is a beautiful place. No, my garden blog isn't turning into a travel blog, but I really did enjoy Stone Mountain. It is just a different kind of garden, right? Near the top of the waterfall...




... I found a couple of small wild flowers. This yellow one made me think of Blue Eyed Grass, which is blue, and this one is yellow. Obviously. But I really don't know what the yellow one is at all. I wondered if it was some sort of bulb. I didn't pull it up to see, though, as the plants in the Park are protected.




And then there was this charming little white flower. It is not much larger than the photo shows and I don't know what it is either. If you have any ideas about these two, I'd love to know.




As we were hiking down the trail to go to the bottom of the waterfall, I thought the raindrops on the pine needles were so pretty.




And at the bottom of the falls, a couple of other hikers pointed out this orange salamander! It has deeper orange spots on it.



On the way back to the trail head, I spotted this gorgeous fungus growing on a fallen tree. I love all the different colors in it.



The deer in the Park aren't very nervous about people and cars, so I was able to get some pictures of these bucks. There were actually 4 of them grazing here, but only three in this shot.



Along the trail to the Hutchinson Homestead, I found a rather large, fairly flat rock cover with this tiny fern. To give you an idea of its size, the largest leaf in the center of the picture would fit on a penny!


Have a beautiful day!

Stone Mountain...

O.K., so, what if this was your garden?



...and this was your house?


...and this was in your backyard???



On Monday, we went to Stone Mountain State Park. What an amazing place! It was so beautiful! The day was drizzly, so not too hot, and everything was fresh and misty.



The Hutchinson Homestead, pictured above, was built in the mid 1800's. That house is the original house; it was added onto over time. The other structures on the homestead have been restored to show what the farm would have been like. There is a blacksmith shop, a corn crib, and a barn. Oh, and the all-important outhouse.



This is the other side of the 600 foot granite dome. We also went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway to find the overlook for Stone Mountain, but it was thick pea soup up there, so all I got was a great picture of the mist at the Stone Mountain overlook. I'd love to go back sometime on a clear day.




Before we saw the homestead and Stone Mountain itself, we hiked to and down the side - sort of - the trail was not right next to the falls - of this incredible waterfall. The whole waterfall is down one massive piece of stone. It is not Stone Mountain, but near it in the State Park. The water that goes over the falls is part of the creek that a little further down runs in front of the Hutchinson Homestead.


Have a beautiful day!

Sanders Ridge Vineyard...

On Sunday, I was treated to lunch at the restaurant at Sanders Ridge Vineyard and Winery. It was absolutely delicious. If you are ever in that neighborhood and would like a very special meal, this is a wonderful place.



I enjoyed the vineyard, too. I think there is something special about growing grapes. It is in my plans for my garden to have grape vines.



It was a relatively cool, misty day. It made the vineyard all the more beautiful.



Yes, I was tempted to pick some grapes but I didn't. I just took bunches of pictures. (Pun intended.)



I won't inundate you with all of them. Just one more.


Have a beautiful day!

Grape vines...

Just a picture for today and I'll tell you about it tomorrow.


Have a beautiful day! I did. :)

Pink flowers...

A couple of days ago, as I was walking on the path along the stone wall, I noticed that all the flowers that had reseeded themselves in the cracks at the bottom of the wall were pale pink.



There are several different shades of pink and lavender Cleomes that are growing in this area of the garden, but the 3 or 4 in the path are all the same color of pale pink.



Salvia coccinea has reseeded itself various places in my garden. I have lots of red ones, but also pink ones and white ones and some that aren't quite red, but also aren't quite pink. But the ones on the path by the stone wall are pink.



Maybe these pink flowers realize how good they look with the grey of the stones. I guess they are trying to ensure their survival by looking especially pretty in their new location. They planned it pretty well.


Have a beautiful day!