Merry Christmas!

      I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season in spite of the busyness and potential stress. I finally finished my Christmas shopping today! It seems like the people in my life get more difficult to shop for as the years go by. Then there are those family members who say they don't want anything at all. I wonder, does every family have one of those? There isn't much happening outdoors flower-wise, but I do have one flower photo to share that I took in November.  We didn't torture our cat with Christmas photos this year (yet) so I'm sharing an old one. Merry Christmas!

Choisya 

Tiger

August Blooms and a Wedding to Plan!

     Here are some flowers that are blooming in my early August garden. First off is my newest shrub, Hibiscus Blue Satin. I bought it so that I would have something blooming in my front yard in September. It started to bloom at the end of summer, even though it is quite small. I hope it will still be blooming in September.
      Next are a couple of photos of Cosmos, one of my daughter's favorites. I am hoping these will still be blooming in early October, for her wedding. Yup, my oldest child met an amazing man and is getting married and leaving the nest! What a change that will be. Then I will be the lone female in this household. Scary, ha ha.
      I'm growing a dahlia called Crazy Love this year. It was supposed to have more pink on it, according to the package photo.  Happy Gardening!

Hibiscus Blue Satin

Cosmos

Cosmos

Dahlia Crazy Love

Gladiola

Unknown flower

Echinacea Bright Star, having it's best season ever. I know, still not much, ha ha

Lavatera Novella Rose, a nice short variety

Daisy

Hydrangea bloom

Campbell Valley Regional Park

Campbell Valley Regional park is located in Langley, BC and one of my favourite parks. I was happy to be able to visit it on a sunny summer evening recently. I took along some seeds to feed the hand-tamed chickadees, but they all seemed to be rather busy, so I took a bunch of photos instead. I'm including a photo from a couple of years ago, just so you can see the chickadee eating out of my hand.

Wildlife Garden

Pond

Little River Loop Trail

Large Native Ferns

Mmm, someone left some seeds here

Wildflower Meadow

Annand Rowlatt Farmstead and someone still lives here

Annand Rowlatt Farmstead

There's a trail for horses

Where the chickadees hang out

Photo from 2011

This Song Sparrow found some seeds too

Little River Loop Trail 

The Nature house that I have yet to find open but maybe one day...

July Blooms

 We've had lovely weather so far this July, with most of the days being comfortably warm but not too hot. The biggest chore in my summer garden is remembering to water.  So far so good, but watering is one of the few chores I tend to forget. Then of course there is the ever constant need to weed. Good thing I rather like weeding.

      I'm sharing another photo of Anemone De Caen, one of the few flowers that wasn't chomped on by a hungry snail or some other creature. I think I will have to buy some more of these lovely bulbs for next year, and place them in a spot with less likelihood of being eaten. Next is a photo of the buds on my spirea,  and the teeny tiny flowers on my True Elfin Thyme, which is in my miniature garden. Next up is the airy and delicate annual called Nigella, Bachelor Buttons and a Daylily.

Anemone De Caen

Spirea

True Elfin Thyme

Nigella

Bachelor Buttons 

Bachelor Button

Bachelor Button

Daylily

Backyard Blooms

June is a busy month in the garden, with the weeds growing as quickly as the flowers, and the birds waking me up much too early in the morning. Here are some photos taken in my backyard in early June, with the exception of the last three photos which were from May. First of all is my Hansa Rose which I just love for its fragrance and disease tolerance. It laughs at black spot in my rainy garden. Next is a lovely pink Clematis that has snuck beneath the fence from my neighbours yard, thank you neighbours! Third is a new flower I'm growing this year, Anemone De Caen or Blue poppy. This is the first bloom and it isn't even quite open yet but I just had to take a picture.

Last of all are the tulips.  I was scratching my head this Spring, wondering why I had bought yellow tulips, which isn't at all like me. Then as the days went by, a transformation happened, and those yellow tulips started to show more and more hints of pretty pink along the edges. Not only that but each bulb produced  more than one flower, always a bonus if you ask me. What are your favourite June blooms in your garden?

Hansa

Clematis

Anemone De Caen

Gladiolas and Iris

Allium Unifolium

Columbine or Aquilegia

Daylily's first bloom

Elderberry Sambucus nigra 'Eva'

Fleabane or  Erigeron Pink Jewel

Chickadee parent below and fledgling above

Tulips Antoinette

Tulips Antoinette after the transformation

Narcissus Poeticus Recurvus

Gardening in Miniature

 I knew I wanted to make a miniature garden from the first time I saw all the cute little accessories available.  After months of looking I finally found the perfect pot. Then at the very same store I spotted a fairy garden accessory kit, and it was even on sale! How could I resist?  Now all I had to do was decide whether my garden would kept indoors or out, and maybe most difficult of all, choose the plants. After a bit of research and some suggestions from a staff member at my local nursery, I chose the plants. Then came the fun part, deciding where everything would go. I decided to leave out the fence and the watering can for lack of space, but used everything else. Thanks to Buckerfields and the friendly folks at Cannor Nursery nursery, my mini garden is now complete :)

The Pot

The Kit

The trial run with the Inspector

The Chosen Few

All Done