This week I have found some of the most beautiful roses of the season … or could it be that because the season is quickly coming to an end and there are so few of them …. they just seem more precious and beautiful. Monday and Tuesday our temp dipped down near freezing which sent me out with a bucket of water on a rescue mission. My hands were actually freezing! A prelude of things to come!
The weatherman has a more pleasant prediction for the end of the week with temps climbing back to near 70. And this means that I must get in the garden and stay there to begin the fall clean up. I have been traveling so much that I fear I am way behind on garden chores.
 I am more than ready to roll up my sleeves and get to gardening!
Here are the pretties I rescued this week. Hopefully some of the buds that got a bit frosty will thaw and bloom on!
Peach Drift
The Lady’s BlushQuietnessLady SalisburyRescue BucketPetit PinkPetit PinkDick ClarkApricot DriftJulia Child
What’s going on in your neck of the woods this week?
As many of you know I left cold, rainy Indiana for sunny SoCal this week. It has been an amazing week of inspiration, ideas and sweetness.
I have taken scores of pictures and wanted to share a few of the beautiful plants and flowers that inspired me, landscapes that started the creative juices flowing, and a little bit of the “sweetness” too.
INSPIRATION & IDEAS
Click on any picture to start the gallery feature and see my comments…
Wonderful restaurant on the Malibu Pier.
“Sally” is a very lucky girl, her beautiful rose garden is also her entrance to the ocean.
Never tire of the beautiful Iceberg
Rest …
Surfers doing their thing…
Don’t let this charming man fool you … he ate an entire 6″ fish in my presence…not pretty.
Love stone. Love.
Amazing use of honeysuckle…. and oh so fragrant!
A stunning entrance from the beach to a home…. roses EVERYWHERE!
More roses….
Doesn’t this look amazing!
Serene … Ice Plant
More roses….
This gets me EVERY TIME!
Another beauty.
This I must have! I actually think I might have the perfect place for one… if it can come in during the winter!?!?!?!? Hummmm, we’ll see.
THE SWEETNESS
Mr. H. . .
Tomorrow I head back to the cold and rainy weather AND Mr. G … more sweetness! 🙂
And, I say to the Polar Vortex … If you are coming, I’m ready for you!
For years I have had a love/hate relationship with Fall. Yes, I know the changing of the leaves are pretty and who doesn’t love going on a hayride or to a pumpkin patch. BUT, I can very easily get hung up on the fact that Fall means the growing season is over and the l o n g … l o n g … L O N G Indiana winter is soon to come.
So, today I have decided to change the name of this season to Autumn. A U T U M N … has a much richer and more pleasing ring to it. Almost poetic… The more I think of the word Autumn, the more I think that I can embrace the season that is just around the corner.
No spring nor summer’s beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face….
~John Donne
What do you think? Can a change in the name make a difference? I’m sure gonna try because I am surrounded by people who L O V E fall and I don’t want to be a party pooper.
TRUTH TIME
I gotta tell you the whole truth, there really is another reason why I feel differently about this season … You’ve probably guessed it …. Mr. H has a birthday! So, how can you not LOVE the season when you received one of your very richest blessings.
Yes, Mr. H will soon be 1 and by the way things are going now, he is just about ready to take on the world. And, we just might let him!
THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN
Our weather continues to be almost perfect— a tad hot but with plenty of rain, so we are are still getting some amazing blooms.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Pink Flower Carpet
Gemini HT
Heavenly Blue Morning Glory
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Now I need to work on my love/hate relationship with Mums! Am I alone???
Can we just talk about spiders for a minute. This has been a year of amazing spiders and spider webs. My goodness, I was in the garden this morning and there were webs everywhere. Mr. G even had to remove a spider from the back of my shirt this morning! Too close for comfort!
Even though you could say I have a “healthy respect” for spiders and give them a “wide berth,” I DO appreciate their amazing artistry in web spinning! And, I might add that if you too have a “healthy respect” for spiders … DO NOT google them. In my opinion, the closer you get to the spider and especially if you google spider bites, the “healthier” the respect is going to be … can you say Arachnophobia??? I can definitely appreciate them more from afar!
Another reason spiders are on my mind lately is that my little Mr. H loves to hear his momma sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider! He just gets the brightest smile.
And, that smile, well it just does something to me…
That smile! 🙂
CHARLOTTE…
Mr. G’s favorite book as a child was Charlotte’s Web and, don’t tell, but Mr. H just might be getting that book for his birthday! 🙂
THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN…
The spiders aren’t the only thing thriving in the garden this week. Many of the roses are responding to the wonderful weather–cool and sunny with just enough rain! PERFECT!! Here are some of big bloomers this week… (Click on any of the circles below to start the gallery feature.)
This week in the garden the rose JOY by one of today’s outstanding hybridizers, David Clemons, is knocking it out of the park and giving me a great deal of pleasure. Every day this week as I visit this rose I’m thinking WHERE IS THE ROSE SHOW? I just might have “the one” this week. 🙂 Actually, earlier in the season one of my sprays of JOY received 2nd place at the Ill/Ind District Rose Show, but a 1st place would be very welcome!!!
Look at how many blooms come at once AND there are more than this picture shows!Joy after a shower…David Clemons
David Clemons is known for naming his roses for thoroughbred horses, but for two special roses he chose to name them for special women in his life–his mother Joy, and most recently he named another of his beautiful roses, Tammy Clemons, after his wife. Don’t you just love that!
Joy, Tammy and many other of David Clemons roses (e.g., Whirlaway)Â find their way to the awards table at rose shows all over the country regularly and they are major standouts in the garden.
To see other roses by David Clemons … read on here. David’s roses are available for purchase from For Love of Roses @ forloveofroses.com. Take a peak at this site for the very best in mini and mini-flora roses. Richard Anthony, David Clemons and a group of other amazing hybridizers have beautiful roses for sale!
THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN…
Here are some other things bringing me immense joy in the garden this week! (Click on any of the pictures to activate gallery feature for better viewing.)
Poseidon
Gemini
Our Lady of Guadelupe and neighbors.
Garden Phlox
Comte de Chambord
Surprise! Talk about bringing me joy — Mr. H is in his own category! 🙂
This week has been a week of extremes. Extreme heat & humidity; extreme storms (even a tornado touch down within 10 miles of us); and EXTREME visits by the not so welcomed moles.
I have been on an “extreme” Japanese beetle watch since so many of my online garden friends are reporting beetle invasions in their gardens. The last two years we have seen very few and wouldn’t it be nice it that continued. If you are interested in reading more about Japanese Beetles (and who wouldn’t!?!), check out my friend Lynn Hunt’s article–Meet the Beetles.
Back to moles….
Have you ever dealt with moles? Do you have any advice on what we should do? Mr. G is on “mole” detail and maybe it’s better if I don’t even know what he is going to do about it. Might not be pretty.
But, speaking of pretty, there are some pretty blooms this week. Most of the roses are taking a break but some are keeping on! And, many of the rose companions are just starting to take center stage! (Click on any of the pictures below to start the gallery feature.)
Neil Diamond
Falling in Love
Ready for delivery!
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND AND HAPPY BLOOM THYME FRIDAY!
Wow, the first day of summer is here. Doesn’t it seem like only yesterday that I was driving you crazy counting down the days until spring through the Polar Vortex. 🙂 You can flash back to that here.
We have had an almost perfect spring. I have hardly had to use my new Flexzilla garden hose or even a watering can!
Flexzilla demo at Garden 2 Blog… If you  haven’t heard about this amazing NO KINK garden hose, read about it here! http://www.flexzilla.com/
Summer is coming in with a near perfect day that will hover around 80 and the garden is responding with some super blooms.
In thinking about summer I began to wonder just how many Popsicles are eaten every summer. I didn’t find the answer to that question, but I did find these yummy looking Popsicle recipes…
Yummy!
Find the recipes here. And, if you find out how many Popsicles are eaten each summer, let me know. 🙂
Flowers celebrating …
These are the flowers that are helping me kickoff summer! (Click on any of the pictures to start the gallery feature.)
The month of June has been filled with friends in the garden. Yesterday marked the final “official” tour that was planned. For most of the tours I was present and able to be the tour guide, but there were other days when the garden was “open” for select groups to come and enjoy while I was not here. On those days I just left ice and lemonade so they would feel welcome and feel they could linger.
It is amazing to see your garden through the eyes of others and to sometimes have the privilege of hearing their story.
Through this season …
I have had the privilege of seeing my precious grandson’s face as he got his first real look at the fish pond as I held him.
I have had the privilege of seeing the sparkle in the eyes of a 3 year old who picked a bokay to take home.
I have had the privilege of answering questions and sharing my garden stories with others.
I have had the privilege of seeing wonder in people’s eyes and hear them say, can you help me create a garden. (“Yes I can!” will always be the answer to that question.) 🙂
I have had the privilege of having a friend tell me, “You just don’t know how much I needed to get away and your garden was the perfect place for me.”
I have had the privilege of receiving texts while I was a state away from a friend I rarely get to see who was in my garden. She was texting me that she had found a little bit of heaven and was going to sit and relax for awhile.
And, the story that I will not soon forget is the note that I received from a friend who came on one of the “open” days. It went something like this…
My sister is going thru chemo and I was with her today as she received her treatment. Things have been difficult. Got your message (that the garden was open) and we stopped by. It was so what she needed today. We sat down and had a drink around your beautiful table and garden. It was like God had a plan that we would stop by. Thanks for the invite. Keep us in your prayers.
One of my greatest gifts from God has been to create and tend this garden — I always receive more than I give for my efforts.
My decision to have “open” days in the garden was a quick decision I made, not one I spent weeks planning. I am convinced that God placed the need for “open” days in the garden. My garden feeds my spirit every day. And, I can’t tell you how much it means to me to know that others found a bit of inspiration, joy, refreshment and maybe even respite here too.
BLOOMS IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK…
I am happy to say that there has been no need to water the garden this week! But, the downside to all the rain is soggy blooms. Here are some blooms that stood up to the rain…
(Click on any picture to start the gallery display…)
Blue Angel Climatis
Amber Carpet roses that surround the fish pond
Quietness …. a Dr. Buck Rose
David Austin’s The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild
Golden Gate Climber … Easy Care
Beverly Hybrid Tea … fragrant and easy care!
All the Rage — from Ping Lim’s Easy Elegance collection
The new Neil Diamond Rose from Weeks Roses … STUNNING!
Wishing you all the best in your world this week and …
This is Bloom Thyme Friday on Sunday. I have had so many friends and family in the garden this week, I didn’t have time to post on Friday. YAYAYAYAYAYÂ What a blessing!! Don’t you just love having friends in your garden. I know my garden is a “wee bit” larger than most backyard gardens so I get many requests for people to come and I just love that!
Early June is the best time in my garden. That’s when the old garden roses and rugosas have their heydey and fill the garden with the most amazing blooms AND fragrance.
Just in case you didn’t make it to my garden the last week or so, here are a few pics to let you know just what’s going on! (Click on any of the pictures below to start the gallery feature.)
Madam Hardy
Rosa Mundi
Beverly
Apricot Drift
Comte de Chambord & friends
Charlotte
Comte de Chambord and neighbors
Garden after a quick rain
Flamenco Rosita
Peach Drift
Coral Drift
Julia Child and neighbors
Upfront is Pink Flamingo
Blanc de double Corbert
Roseraie de la Hay
Comte de Chambord Upclose
The line up ….
Here is my favorite visitor to the garden this week to help me wish you a HAPPY BLOOM THYME FRIDAY!
Actually Mr. H wishes you a HAPPY BLOOM THYME SUNDAY!
