Bloom Thyme Friday: Singing in the Rain

Link | May 24, 2019 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

In the movie Singing in the Rain… they looked so happy dancing and singing in the rain! As happy as those scenes looked, I will confess I am not all that happy with all the rain we are getting and getting rained on again and again. While gardening in the rain poses some challenges, the horrible weather that some of my gardening friends around the country are having is much worse with tornadoes and even snow storms.

When I heard the rain was coming again this morning I went out to take some pictures (and got soaked yet again) and was struck by how good the garden smelled. I do love the smell of rain! Did you know that the smell of rain has a name — Petrichor. I read a Reader’s Digest fact that tells us the “why” surrounding the smell of rain.”Water doesn’t smell like anything, so why does rain produce a pleasant aroma after it falls? Well, it’s because of a molecule, called geosmin, created by soil-dwelling bacteria. When rain falls, it creates air pockets, which contain small amounts of geosmin. The rain traps and then releases these air pockets, dispersing geosmin into the air, where it’s free to travel to human sniffers.”

As much as I want to be working in the garden and can’t… I am learning how little my plants need me. Many are thriving from all the bounty from above. And, we are quickly moving to the jungle stage as the roses and peonies begin to open.

So here is BLOOM THYME for this week…

Rugosas and Peonies… oh the fragrance in this spot!!!

I forgot I had this beauty! Fun surprise as I absolutely love it!

Therese Bugnet has been amazing. If you follow me on Instagram, you are probably tired of seeing her picture! 🙂

I live in midwest farm country and would ask that you say a prayer for our farming families. They have not been able to get in the fields to do their spring work. Since it is now so late, they run the risk of having no crop this season. The forecast for the next week is for rain each day.

Friends, stay safe and dry and enjoy all the beauty around you . . . AND carry an umbrella! ☔️😉

Bloom Thyme Friday: Bokay Day

Link | July 20, 2018December 6, 2019 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

The rain held off this morning and I was able to do some work in the garden. What started out as Japanese Beetle “bubble bath” day and garden “clean up” day, soon moved to BOKAY DAY. I just couldn’t help myself. With a garden the size of my garden there is always something to pick and the JB are SOOOOO attracted to the roses that they leave many of the other beauties alone. I became mesmerized by the bloom explosion that was happening today and decided that today was to become BOKAY DAY. So I’ll make bokays and share them. #favoritedays

Since I can’t share a bokay with each of you today, I thought I would share my favorite bokay makers and a few tips and tricks for your fresh cut bokays.

PERENNIALS (Bloom year after year)
Roses
Oriental Lilies
Yarrow
Coreopsis (Favs Moonbeam & Creme Brûlée)
Phlox
Dianthus
Bellflowers
Daisies
Stokes Asters
Ferns
Herbs (Lavender / Sage / Thyme / Mint)

ANNUALS (Bloom for one season)

Zinnias
Larkspur (reseeds)
Nigella: Love in a Mist (reseeds)
Superbenas (Proven Winners)
(Favs Violet Ice / Whitecap / Royal Chambray
Senorita Rosalita Cleome (Proven Winners)
Herbs (Rosemary / Parsley)
Euphorbia Diamond Frost (Proven Winners)

SHRUBS
Hydrangea (Favs Bobo / Pinky Winky)
Boxwood
Lilacs
Viburnums
Evergreens

MY MORNING HARVEST…

TIPS AND TRICKS

Morning is the best time to cut flowers.
Choose the freshest flowers — best to pick those not yet fully open.
Take bucket to garden with you.
Place in water immediately after cutting.
Let “condition” before arranging … even as little as one hour can be very helpful in their recovery and being ready for arranging. I go for at least 4 hours.
Cut under water if possible before adding to bokay.
Use preservative in water.
- I purchase floral preservatives …
- But, there is a recipe below if you want to make your own.
No greenery underwater… begins to decay quickly and that takes away from the life of the arrangement.
Every 3-4 days, recut stems, add fresh water (with preservative) to your vase.

P. Allen Smith’s Floral Preservative Recipe

Equal parts lukewarm water and lemon lime soda
One aspirin
Half a teaspoon of bleach

BLOOM THYME THIS WEEK…

Here’s a video of one of my evening garden walks this week after work. In the video you will see many of the annuals and perennials I mentioned above. Most of them are very hardy and have done fine in all the heat we have had this year. We do water occasionally, but not extensively.

Well, it is time for me to get back in the garden and continue with my original plan … Send more Japanese Beetles to a soapy “bubble bath” ☠️ and garden “clean up.”

HAPPY BLOOM THYME FRIDAY

Mother Nature’s Curve Balls

Link | April 13, 2018April 13, 2018 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

I am fully out in the garden today — this will be our first weekend in a while without snow… yes, Mother Nature has thrown us some curve balls.

RECENT WEEKENDS:

March 25: At the end of the day we had 10″ of snow.

April 1: California has the weather and my little loves…

(It was snowing in Indiana.)

My daughter’s beautiful garden…

And, her ‘Easy Does It” rose.

April 9: NATURE’S WELCOME HOME FROM CALI

(Thankful Mr. G’s welcome was warmer!)

BACK TO TODAY…

Yes, I am out in the garden and while the heart of a gardener is optimism, I am a “bit” discouraged at some things I’m seeing. At the top of the “oh no” list is that my beautiful New Dawn rose on the arbor looks like it has some major winter kill — I mean major. If you don’t remember the one I am talking about, it’s this one…

Is it wrong to ask for prayer for a rose?😉 (Asking for a friend.)

While I would appreciate a miracle for my rose, there are so many more important things in my life and yours. Life and nature do throw us curve balls from time to time, but the Original Gardener (Genesis 2:8) has it all under control. He is very good at what He does. My life has taught me that when He closes a door, He opens a window.

AND, WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS… MAKE LEMONADE!

Here are the best lemons ever. My beautiful daughter grows these outside her kitchen door! If you want to read more about LEMONS, ROSES & SWEETNESS, click here for an article I wrote about our family’s lemon life.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned, there are so many more spring things to come. Things like new roses … I have to tell you about all the new roses I am testing in the garden this year! Oh I can’t wait!

HAPPY BLOOM THYME FRIDAY🌹

Bloom Thyme Friday

Link | February 2, 2018February 2, 2018 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Today it is sunny and cold. I love the sun, BUT it allowed that Groundhog to see his shadow and I was not fond of that. His prediction is that there is 6 more weeks of winter. I am pleading with spring to defy the groundhog and come up with a better plan.

With all that said, Groundhog Day is kinda fun. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

This weather lore was brought from German-speaking areas where the badger (German: dachs) is the forecasting animal. This appears to be an enhanced version of the lore that clear weather on Candlemas forebodes a prolonged winter.

The Groundhog Day ceremony held at Punxsutawney in central Pennsylvania, centering around a semi-mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, has become the most attended.

Yea, it’s fun to hear all about it and see them get dressed up and all … I just hope winter doesn’t go on and on and on until we begin to feel like Bill Murray. #groundhogdaythemovie 😳😳😳

GOOD NEWS: I heard today on Instagram from my friends @maplehurstgardens, located in NJ, that The Groundhog predictions are mostly wrong. #thatswhatimtalkingabout

LET’S SPRING AHEAD

While we are thinking about spring, I am wondering what are your favorite spring blooms. Here are two of mine:

Daffodils

Dogwood Trees (we have 5)

At just the right time spring will come and we will have the pleasure of watching our garden being reborn. And….

HAPPY BLOOM THYME FRIDAY!

Bloom Thyme Friday: A quick look back

Link | January 19, 2018January 20, 2018 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

This week as I was putting the finishing touches on some upcoming presentations for local garden clubs, I found myself going back and forth through all my pictures to find just the right ones to use. Currently I have over 13,000 on my iPhone! 😳 Going through pictures is not an easy task but very rewarding!

I saw so many garden pictures that I fell in love with all over again and thought you might like to take a look back with me. Maybe remembering warmer days will make these bitter cold days we are having a little warmer too!

A rainy May gave way to some beautiful, if soggy, blooms of Francis E. Lester Rose. I love how when you look through this arbor you see the open gate across the garden. Sometimes it just works and this time it did.

The reblooming Bloomerang Lilac had a stellar spring and as advertised, bloomed off and on throughout the season. A reblooming lilac has been something gardeners dreamed off. Thanks Proven Winners!

Then there was rose pruning season. Time to get started in the garden. GRATEFUL for a large cart that hooks up to the tractor.

Saying goodbye to the boots. #jobwelldone

I had forgotten about the sweet little cosmos germinating! FAV!

Then there was the Mar/Apr American Rose Magazine that featured my garden–A Gardener and Her Tidy Mess. THANK YOU ARS!

And, oh yea, the boot “situation”. #drama 😱 but I LOVE my new boots. You can read about that here…

This daylily though. I have to look up the name. It was spectacular.

Way to go wind, rugosas and birds — creating a special moment in the garden!

Yes, I loved looking back, but am totally excited that spring will be here in 59 days. I just bet you are excited about that too! If you had to choose one favorite garden memory of 2017, what would it be? I’d love to hear!

Happy Bloom Thyme Friday!

Bloom Thyme Friday: At Last

Link | July 21, 2017July 21, 2017 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

What do you think of when you hear “AT LAST”?

I know what my first thought is … Etta James belting out one of the most amazing songs in music history!

Before we go any further, want to enjoy it?

Oh Etta Etta Etta.

These days there is another AT LAST making some noise. A beautiful rose from Proven Winners!

I had heard about this rose last year but didn’t find one. This year I was given two to test from my good friends at a local IGC, Country Harmony! Thanks Ryan and Brad!

I love this rose so much. I even went back to buy what they had left. They only had one more. But, I snagged it.

This charming rose with the old fashioned full petaled blooms is rarely without blooms. And, the color! Such a pretty apricot. And, there’s more … fragrance and disease resistance! With all the rain, some of my roses are succumbing to fungal disease. At Last has only given up a few leaves.

A small to medium sized shrub that is hardy in Zones 5 – 9.

Take a look at ‘At Last’ growing in my garden…

If you are looking to buy one for fall planting, check online at White Flower Farm… here.

By the way … the Japanese Beetles don’t seem to like the Stargazers, but I sure do. And they are blooming beautifully!

“At Last” we have come to the end of another week … and I wish you a Happy Bloom Thyme Friday.

Bloom Thyme Friday: Tending the Garden

Link | June 9, 2017December 29, 2019 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Funny that the most quotable quote about names, mentions a rose!

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. William Shakespeare

For those of you who have encouraged me to “name” the garden, this is for you. Actually, some of you have more than encouraged me …. in some cases insisted the garden have a proper name—you know who you are! 😁 Grin. Well, Mr. G calls the garden, T’s Garden and I’m sure he will continue to do so. But, for the rest, it is now officially BLOOM THYME COTTAGE GARDEN. I know, a stretch, I have always referred to what’s going on in the garden as Bloom Thyme. So bring on the plaque — the garden has a name and it even has a welcome mat…

Such great work by my friend, Lauren Holt of Bear Home Goods. Check her out!

TENDING THE GARDEN…

Whether planting, weeding, cutting blooms or just walking with coffee in hand, my garden brings me immense joy — it is where I hear God’s voice the loudest, it’s where I dream, it’s where I “figure things out”, it’s where the need in me to “tend things” is realized. As my flowers bloom so do I! I don’t think that it is an accident that Genesis 2 is filled with a garden…

Gardeners, we are in great company … “God almighty first planted a garden.” -Francis Bacon. And, that garden had a name, The Garden of Eden.

Now the LORD God planted a garden in the east. …God took the Man and set him in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order. Genesis 2

I hope you have a special place where you are able to bloom. If you do… maybe you need to name it!

BLOOM THYME THIS WEEK…

Many of the roses are just now getting started. It is nice to see them return.

Proven Winner’s Smoothie is a blooming machine!

A new rose … AT LAST from Proven Winners. So far for me it is a WINNER!

Keep blooming wherever you are planted!

Bloom Thyme Friday: Going Up and Over

Link | May 26, 2017May 26, 2017 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

While much of the garden is suffering a bit from all the rain and the lack of sunshine, many of the climbers and ramblers are “going up and over” beautifully. The two main arbors that are across from each other are making magic happen. The stuff that makes this gardener’s heart sing!

They don’t always bloom at the same time but this year … Oh yea! that is just what they are doing! Most ramblers and many of the climbers I have only bloom one time per year. It is wonderful to see them create rose fireworks together! Timing is everything … well almost everything. A few dry days and some days with sunshine would certainly be welcome.

Front Arbor: New Dawn Back Arbor: Peggy Martin Rose and Francis E. Lester

Celsiana … a large rambling fragrant Damask.

A typical day in my neighborhood…

For those of you considering adding more climbers to your garden and maybe even a rambler–if you have the space, here are some varieties to consider.

Zepherine Drouhin: Mostly a one time bloomer. Sometimes you will get a few blooms later in the season. It is a thornless Bourbon rose that is quite fragrant.

Francis E. Lester: Read all about him here. You can buy one from my good friend, Guinivere, at Roses of Yesterday.

Honeymoon Arborose: A lovely Kordes white climber that did very well at the Biltmore Rose Trial winning the coveted Lord Burleigh Award for Most Disease Resistant Rose. This is one I hope to add next year! Sold out for this year at Jackson and Perkins. Guess I better place my order for next year soon!

David Austins’s The Generous Gardener: A gorgeous rose that is very disease resistant in my garden. One of the prettiest Austins I have. See it growing in my garden here.

David Austins’s Albrighton Rambler: This rambler is considered a “well behaved” rambler and it grows 15′ or so and not 20-30′! I absolutely love it in my garden. Check it out.

Jasmina: This is a rose our society sold this year and they sold out quickly before I had a chance to get one. I plan to add it in the future. See it here.

New Dawn: Grows like crazy once it gets established. Soft pink and a soft fragrance! I have had this rose in my garden for more than 15 years. Love it.

For more on climbers and ramblers, my good friend Stan Griep did an article for Garden Know How you might enjoy. Read on.

Whether the sun is shining or the rain is falling, I will be having a very happy BLOOM THYME FRIDAY and hope you will too!

Bloom Thyme Friday: Rugged Roses and Rain

Link | May 12, 2017May 12, 2017 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

This has been a week of roses and rain. The rugosas are blooming a full two weeks early … and way ahead of anyone else. Even the peonies are not quite ready. And while they are trying to be gorgeous, the rains keep coming and beating them down. I just read the weather report and there is NO rain in the forecast for the next 4 days–yes! 😍☀️🌺🌹💃

Rugosas are often referred to as “rugged roses” because they can take most any condition. They are workhorses in my garden and they will most likely grow for you too. They are recommended for growing zones 3 – 9–which takes in a good many of us. If you are growing rugosas in the deep south, I would love to hear how they do and which ones you are growing. Occasionally I hear of people having trouble in our hottest areas.

I have about 15 rugosas … Hansa, Roseraie de la Hay, Therese Bugnet, Moje Hammarberg, Belle Pointevine and Blanc Double de Coubert. They form a thorny, beautiful, fragrant backdrop. The spring bloom is the most spectacular, but they do repeat bloom if you deadhead!

Here’s what mine are doing–in between downpours!