Still Got Some Dancin' to Do Here!

Looking Up From My Gardens

Almost Autumn   

Slipping into shades of orange and red and gold,

the mountain stands guard above our garden.
 Change is in the air... can you see it?

Passing our gardens as they journey southward,
 a cacophony of honking Geese fly overhead.
Change is in the air... can you hear it?

Awaking to the crisp and cool of morning
a welcome caress before the day's heat.
Change is in the air... can you feel it?

                  

Why does one leaf change before another?

But wait!
We're not ready for change here.
There's twelve more days of Sweet Summer Sun
and we've still got some dancin' to do here!

Let the LAST days of  SUMMER DANCIN' 
in the gardens begin!
                          

QUICK FIRE Hydrangea with ZAHARA Zinnias

These Hydrangea petals will darken into a deep carmine pink
as Autumn resolutely progresses... 
wait for it, wait for it.

PEPPERMINT Vinca with RIVIERA Lobelia

Vinca thrives in our 90° plus Summer days, 
while Lobelia has a bit of a struggle without a little shade.

LIMELIGHT Hydrangea with Brown-eyed Susans

and "Pretty Pink Flower" whose name I've forgotten.
 A beautiful growing bouquet!

Illumination GOLDEN PICOTEE Begonia with pink Annual Walmart Begonia

I have come to the conclusion 

that snails simply L.O.V.E. begonias.

(Think of me every morning for weeks snail hunting in my p.j.'s)

 Daisies with Orange Profusion Zinnias

Encore! Encore! Every gardener loves 

when their Spring flowers re-bloom.

BALLERINA ROSE Gaura with CHERRY PROFUSION Zinnias

Doesn't Gaura remind you of dainty little Butterflies?

Susans, Limelights, Pretty Pink Flowers and... Delphiniums

Crazy. DELPHINIUMS... another Spring flower 
about to re-bloom in late Summer.
Who knew?!

Lilac GERANIUM Peeking Out Through CHAMELEON HOUTTUYNIA

Chameleon is a favorite groundcover... 
love the heart shaped, multi-colored leaves of green, cream,  crimson and gold.
Sweet creamy white blooms delight in Spring.

HIDALGO Dahlia with ANGELFACE Blue

Back door planter beginning to perk up 
since the cool mornings came.
 And I'm perking up too...

Love the cool of the mornings with the Summer blooms a-dancin'.

 We'll be celebrating Autumn soon enough.

When the Daddy Quail says "Pip, Pip, Pip!"

A beautiful Summer's morning 

for a little adventure... 

Let's go Daddy!

There are actually five little balls of fluff...

one is a pokey puppy.

Keep watching... he'll catch up!

There he is!

Count them...  1... 2...3...4...5!

Where's Daddy? 

He's taking a sip from the stream.

And the little ones... see them climbing up after him?

Doesn't Nature provide a great camouflage?

His attention is only diverted for a minute...

then he's back on duty, 

watching out for the little guys.

And here they come!

The pokey little puppy is not so sure about this adventure.

Mountain climbing!

Mamma would NEVER let us do this.

Made it to the top! 

Now where do we go?

Over the "trees" of course!

Daddy said "Pip, pip, pip!"

Run for cover!

Can you see those little heads bobbing at the garden's edge?

Just making sure all is clear 

before we head out into the meadow.

Here we go, guys. 

Stay close!

Such obedience!

Now where are we going Dad?

This is the best day... ever!

♦   ♦   ♦

Did you know that quail babies basically hatch from the egg 

and "hit the road running." 

They are able to run around and find their own food 

just a few hours after hatching.

They remain with their parents for safety and bonding 

until they molt from down to feathers and are able to fly.

Both parents care for the brood and if something happens to one,
 often another adult will step in to help.

♦   ♦   ♦

This is our second quail family to visit our gardens. 

I'm hoping it was just Daddy's turn to take the little ones out for their morning adventure, 

but reason tells me something's happened to the Mamma.

We haven't seen any quail for several weeks... 

we miss their "Chi-ca-go" call and their "Pip, pip, pip".

Still hoping they return... they've been such fun to watch.


BTW, all pictures are taken 
through my kitchen window.

What a view...
 wonder what I'll see there today?

My Summer Love

Summer is knocking at my doorstep and I'm already in LOVE.

Really! 

How could you look into these little blue faces 

and NOT fall hopelessly in LOVE?

If I could choose an official flower of Summer, 

in my gardens it would always be 

Blue Lobelia.

Cambridge Blue Lobelia

These tiny blooms have captured my heart 

for as long as I've been gardening...

and that's a VERY long time.

Crystal Palace Blue Lobelia

Lobelia are native to South Africa. 
I would love to see them blooming in the wild. 
(Maybe my South African gardening friends could post a picture or two?)

In my gardens they are annuals. 

Their little hearts flutter with delight in our Summer climate, 

but would never survive the freezing cold of our Winters.

In my gardens you'll find them peeking out from potted containers...

...and dancing profusely throughout my flower beds.

 

There's just something special about these tiny blooms 

that puts a skip in my step and makes me smile.

They will always be 

My Summer Love!

Dancin' in the Summer Sun!

The endless days of Summer 

will soon fade into Fall...
but oh...

what a glorious Summer it has been 
in 
This Grandmother's Garden!

 Every flower is a window opening into heaven, 

a mirror reflecting the Creator.
                                          - John Muir

Come stroll down my garden path with me...

and together we'll see the kaleidoscope of colors 

that still dance in the waning Summer's sun!

Verbena!

Earth laughs in flowers.

                  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Delphiniums are a Spring favorite,
but this year they have danced from Spring to Summer
and will still be dancing long into Fall...
until Old Man Winter's frost visits our gardens!

The Black-eyed Susan's were welcome guests this year. 

They surely came from dormant seeds sprouting in the soil from several summers past
when they filled my gardens borders. How they stole the show!
Lovely as they were then, I pulled them to allow other blossoms to thrive.
They may stay for another season as long as they keep their place.
I do love Black-eyed Susans!

Indulge me as a sweet memory fills my mind:

A tall, handsome and very sweet young man stood at my door step many years ago holding a bouquet of Black-eyed Susan's in his hands.  My heart smiled as I realized he had visited the house down the street. The house was overgrown with Black-eyed Susans, the blossoms filled the yard where grass once was.  It was said that a little old woman lived there but one rarely saw her and rumors abounded about who she was. Many thought she might be a witch who lived there all alone and if you dared to step in her gardens, she would cast a spell upon you.  She was a rather cautious old soul, no doubt because of the silly pranks neighbors would pull, ringing her doorbell and running away in an effort to make her come out of her house. At least these were the rumors that flew. 

I happened to love her flowers and would walk slowly past her house each morning on my way to campus. Sometimes I would see her peeking out at me from behind the curtains, her long beautiful gray hair falling down around her nightgown. I wondered who she was and why she never came out into her garden. As I saw her watching me I would always smile hoping to catch her eyes. 

Now here stood this young man before me, on my porch, flowers in hand and a tender smile on his lips as he offered the bouquet to me. I quickly expressed my concern that he had stepped into her yard and picked them without asking... not so much with worry that a spell might be cast upon him, as concern that he had stolen this little woman's flowers, a little woman I had grown quite fond of.  He quickly assured me that he had knocked on her door and politely asked the little woman  if he could pick a bouquet of flowers for his Sweetheart.  My heart instantly melted.  Though we had only been dating for a short time, I knew in my heart that such kindness would be mine forever!  That sweet "young" man has been my husband for over 35 years... and going on forever!   


The little old woman, she soon became my friend and often as I walked past her house, there she would be, sweeping her porch and waiting to greet me with a smile.

Yes, the Black-eyed Susans can stay in my garden.

Anything blue always catches my eye,

but Lobelia will forever hold place in my gardens and in my heart!

Zinnias!

Always a favorite in This Grandmother's Garden...

and Profusion Zinnias are the perfect size for my colorful summer pots.

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
                                       - Aristotle

My 'So Dear to My Heart' Rose Garden has brought smiles 

and sweet memories of my many children,

now mostly grown, and some so far away.

What joy a walk down this garden path brings!

Every rose is budding and blooming again with delight...

now that the weather has turned cooler.

Flowers always make people happier, 
they are sunshine to the soul.
                                - Luther Burbank

Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.
                                - Theodore Roethke

Apple Blossom Knockout Rose,
a sweet pink for dark corners.

Beloved Geranium, every year a new variety to choose.

All gardeners live in beautiful places because they make them so.
                         - Joseph Joubert


My soul rejoices as I garden. 
I feel the warmth of the sun, 
 see the beauty of the blossoms and trees 
and delight in the sweet song of the birds.

Emerson's words could well be my own:
 When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows 
and look out upon the beautiful world, 
I thank God I am alive.
                                - Ralph Waldo Emerson


I'm feeling that gratitude on this glorious Summer day.
There is sunshine in my soul, 
and my feet are dancin' in the Summer sun! 

Summer will soon come to an end 
but Autumn joy is just a hop, skip and a jump away!

The Amen of Nature is always a flower.

                        - Oliver Wendell Holmes

My sweet daisies are re-blooming!

He Loves Me ♥ ♥ ♥ He Loves Me Not

Who hasn't, on a warm Summer's day,

thrilled in sitting on the garden's lush green grass

slowly plucking the petals of a single daisy 

one by one

while reciting the words...

He loves me, He loves me not...

in hopes of magically discovering your own true love?

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not  

is a game of French origin.

A young maiden would pluck a daisy's petals 
one by one and sing,
  
"He loves me, He loves me not"

for each petal plucked.

The phrase sung on the last petal picked 

predicted the future of their love.

What an enchanting whimsy!

A Daisy is a symbol of innocence and purity. 
It can also symbolize new beginnings.

The origin of the word Daisy 
is Anglo Saxon “daes eage” or “day’s eye”
which refers to the way daisies open at dawn.

 The name is said to originate 
from the tale of tree nymphs, or Dryads,

who presided over forests, meadows, and pastures. 

Legend tells us that the nymph Belides,  
caught the eye of Vertumnus, the God of the Orchards
as she danced with the other nymphs at the edge of the forest.
 . 

To escape from his unwanted attention, she transformed herself into the flower Bellis, 

which is the Daisy's botanical name. 

♥    ♥    ♥

Daisies are delightful in the garden and so easy to grow.

Most types are perennials, appearing each Spring and growing quickly into a spreading shrub that blossoms in late Spring or early Summer. 

After blooming, I cut my daisy plants down to the ground.

The plant will quickly begin to grow and leaf again 

sometimes blossoming twice if the season is long enough.

  After a few years, in the Spring or Fall, 
the plant will need to be dug up and the roots divided to to prevent these lovely blooms from taking over your garden.