Last Week in Review

This past week was a busy one.

Sunday afternoon Tad helped me bring in a load of dirt and I "finished" the new garden bed behind the bedrooms that I started last Monday.   I planted a red twig dogwood in what I hope will be it's third and final spot.  I really liked it at the back of the chicken compound but the chickens were liking the taste of the leaves a little too much so I rescued it. I also put in the unknown bush from Janet. The bed also includes several dahlias, a lavender called Platinum Blonde, some foxglove seedlings, a native columbine, a cardinal plant, and some annuals as well as two small blueberry bushes that will be moved out after this season.  It felt good just to get it put in.  Everything's pretty small now but I hope that the dahlias will really take up a lot of the space this summer.

New garden bed. Doesn't look like much YET.

Everything is filling in at the back edge of the yard.

 Monday morning I took off for eastern Oregon.  I stopped in Portland to visit The Grotto because I had recently read about the garden.  I enjoyed it though there weren't as many flowers there as I had imagined. Here are my 2 favorite photos from my visit.  I would like to visit when all that astilbe leading up to the chapel is in bloom. 

Between Pendleton and LaGrande there were meadows of yellow flowers blooming along the freeway.  I finally stopped so I could get a photo.  There was also a lot of yellow lupine along the way.  Signe served up some fresh picked mushrooms that she, Dad & Steve picked earlier in the day.  They were quite tasty!

Deadman Pass near I-84 between Pendleton & LaGrande

Tuesday my nephew, Keenan, graduated from Imbler High School in a class of 31 students.  His was the 100th graduating class from IHS.  It was neat to be able to see many of the students receive recognition and scholarships and a slide show with 5-6 slides of each student's life.  They didn't do that last year when Cole graduated in a class of over 350 students. 

Wednesday found me on the road again as I headed back home.  I was greeted by some new blooms in the garden.  It always amazes me what can happen in such a short time.

Adonis - my pink peony in the front yard.

The first dahlia has popped up! Planted it on Sunday.

A visitor to the raspberry patch.

Thursday I helped a friend in her garden for a couple hours.  Actually I got a tour first and then helped trim back some ground cover in preparation of the Eugene Symphony Guild's annual garden tour. I brought home a plant for my new garden bed in the backyard, Linaria purpurea 'Canon J Went'. 

Friday I did a lot of watering and planted some sunflower seeds, probably should have done that a long time ago!  I also got out and filled the bird feeder for the first time in a couple years.

Sparkler petunias.

I just love those leopard spots inside the foxglove.

Saturday the four of us were off to Bend for a memorial service to honor the life of Kieth Kaber, my sister's father-in-law.  It was a beautiful service and I am so glad we went over for it.

I'll leave you with this calla lily photo.  Earlier this spring I thought I would probably move my calla lilies because I don't usually get a lot of blooms but then this year I have the most I've ever had! I love them!  Maybe I'll just get more to put elsewhere in the garden and leave these be.

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A little excitement in the garden

Several exciting little things happened in the garden today, starting with the sighting of a hummingbird at the raspberry bushes as I was making my bed this morning.  I stopped and just watched it through my bedroom window. I have always enjoyed visits by the hummies. The boys and I used to stop in the middle of our homeschooling to watch the hummies that came to visit out the dining room window. 

The next excitement was seeing a passionflower bud that was obviously beginning to open this morning.  Other buds had changed recently but then they just ended up shriveling up and leaving me disappointed. This one showed promise of actually opening and producing a flower.  So of course I was elated when I got home from work and found it fully bloomed. This is the first bloom ever for the plant.  I blogged about this plant here last month when I first noticed the buds. 

 

Another highlight of the day was the blooming of the calla lily in the front yard.  The photo shows them in the early stage of opening but by a few hours later they were fully opened.  Beautiful!  I really must plant more calla lilies and I need to find a more ideal place for them where they will thrive and multiply. 

Later in the afternoon I started cleaning up an area that I'm going to develop into a new garden bed.  In recent years it has ended up being a dumping area for any extra supplies that I have lying around.  I have occasionally gotten it cleaned up only to end up storing stuff there yet again.  I am excited to finally get a new idea of how I want to use the space and I look forward to getting it planted up.

While I was in the process of working in that area I heard a strange fluttery noise and looked up to see a bird bathing in one of my bird baths with another bird standing by waiting his turn!  I had just recently wished that birds would actually use the baths so I was really pleased to get to witness it. 

Lastly, as I left to go on a walk this evening I noticed that another iris in the front yard had its first bloom of the year.

You might claim I am easily excited. Maybe you don't see what's so exciting about these little things. I. don't. care. It was an exciting day to be a gardener.  It's these things that keep me interested in being outdoors in my garden noting the changes and seeing any critters that want to share the space.

05-20-2015 update: It was short-lived. The flower, not my excitement. I'm still excited about all that is happening in the garden. The first passionflower has already closed up, but luckily two more opened up this afternoon.  I had no idea they bloomed for such a short time.  Thank goodness the vine is covered with buds, it will hopefully put on a show for quite awhile. 

Thanks, and feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to know you stopped by.

Mother's Day garden tour

I really hoped to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day with a nice photo and greeting but I worked at both jobs last week and time got away from me.  Yesterday on Mother's Day I was out touring gardens with Tad and the boys so again found myself with no time to put a nice greeting on my blog. 

My only request for Mother's Day was to drive up to Salem and visit Schreiner's Iris Garden, Adelman Peony Gardens & Sebright Gardens.  My wish was granted and all three were lovely.  The day was overcast and not nearly as warm as the previous two days so it was easy to spend quite a bit of time in the gardens without overheating.

Mother's Day 2015 - Schreiner's Iris Garden (next year I will be the shortest one in the photo, heck I'll be the shortest one in just a couple months!)

The guys seemed to enjoy making up interesting sentences and stories using the unusual iris names.  Hey, it kept them from complaining and it was somewhat entertaining. 

Lupine love!

Sometimes it's good to be different.

The scent was wonderful!  

On to Adelman Peony Gardens.  They weren't quite as busy as Schreiner's but they had a good crowd out enjoying the garden which made it tricky to photograph the flowers without getting random people in the shot.

One thing I just love about peonies is the range of color that can be on one plant as it has flowers in different stages of their lives.  The dark buds, the medium shades of the young blooms and then the faded out older blooms.  So beautiful!  

Coral Sunset - one of my favorites and one I own.

Coral Sunset close up

Duchess of Edinburgh clematis - want

"Julia Rose" - so romantic

 

An iris to add to my wish list

And on to Sebright Gardens and their wonderful shade gardens filled with hostas from miniature size up to giant and everything in between.

I love this color - add to wish list

WOW!

I have never seen such huge calla lilies. (sorry the photo doesn't show their size, I should have had the boys stand nearby)

Such an interesting stalk.

Just three plants rode home with us. Dad gave me some $ for a plant so I picked up these hardy fuchsias at Sebright Gardens. Thank you Dad.

Santa Claus, Coachman & Tom Woods

It really was a great Mother's Day.  I had a very nice time and I think the guys had a good time too. We ended the day with a nice dinner with Tad's side of the family at Tom & Janna's house.

The only thing that would have made the day any better is if I had been able to share it with my own mother; I know she would have loved it.

And here's a photo on Mother's Day 2011.
I see we still had the pink dogwood in our front yard.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to know you stopped by.