My favorite time of year :)

I love this time of year!

All my favorite blooms are putting on a show.

We had extreme heat here this week and broke a few records, and I can't remember the last time it rained. Tomorrow weatherman calls for rain :)

I'm linking in to Fertilizer Friday with Tootsie

This Honeysuckle is really doing well this year and the Hummingbirds are loving it.

(no, still no photo's of the Hummers - they are so quick!

These are probably my favorite Iris - I dug them out of the bush!

German Catchfly grown from seed

Weigela - another Hummer favorite

Wild Blue Indigo

And a surprise!

2 plants that I thought were goners have re-appeared!

A Lupin

 'Ernest Markham' Clematis

The Allium starting to open

The first Oriental Poppy

Bridal Wreath Spiraea putting on a show
(I see that Picassa has 'improved' another shot for me??? The Lupin shot too - what gives?))

I don't think my Mother's Peony is going to wait for my birthday this year.

That's OK, it's like getting an early birthday present ;)

Fertilizer Friday - May 24th

We are having hot weather here in southern Ontario, and no rain in weeks. The ground is baked hard and it's a miracle anything is blooming at all. 

I did manage to find a few blooms for Fertilizer Friday with Tootsie.

This gorgeous tree peony bloom was just a big bud last week.I think it was worth the wait!

'Hermann's Pride' 

I just can't get enough of the Camassia this year

The Canadian Anemone

Gotta love this Globe Allium

The first of the Snow-in-summer

Iris

The first of the herbaceous Peony's

Now heading out to do a rain dance so there is something left to take photos of next week!

Hosta Fever!

I'm not too sure exactly when Hosta Fever first hit me.

I remember buying my first Hosta many years ago ... a Hosta ventricosa who's beautiful bloom caught my eye right there in the greenhouse. It was love at first sight!

Then a friend offered several pieces that she split from her own. I planted them in the yard at the old house and they flourished. When we sold the house I just couldn't bare to leave them behind so I dug up a little piece of each one to bring to this house and planted them in a row along the north side of the garage where they again, flourish.

Again, a friend offered Hosta splits so I made a new garden under my bedroom window. I had to dig up Daylily's but I figured I had LOTS already.

Maybe Hosta Fever first hit me when I HAD to have a Hosta I saw in a garden catalog

'White Feather'

Or when I HAD to have an 'Empress Wu'

I just couldn't leave the last 'Stained Glass' at the nursery

A friend asked if I wanted a Hosta that would take full sun...FULL SUN??

You know what I said...

 Maybe I should have realized I had a problem when another friend asked if I wanted some Hosta's and I had to make yet another bed

This spring I decided that some of my Hosta's needed splitting, so I offered these pieces for sale and what did I do with the money? Why, I bought more Hosta of course!!

You have already seen 'Queen Francine' and 'St Elmo's Fire' .

But I went to the store yesterday...

'Sum and Substance'

'Striptease'

'Fire Island'

So you know what I had to do, don't you?

I'm still not sure I have a problem though  ;)

Daylily's anyone?

Fertilizer Friday - May 17th

The weather here has been fantastic this week. Garden fever has struck and I've spent many hours looking at all the local nursery's.  And while the boys at the greenhouse keep telling me I'm "too early", I have already moved all my plants outside, planted my veggie garden and started planting annuals.

This is my favorite time of year ... the time that I spend all the cold winter days thinking about.

My favorite blooms are all getting ready for their show, the trees are all leafing out, the grass is lush and green and growing beautifully. There are birds everywhere!

I'm linking in to Fertilizer Friday with Tootsie!

The week started out great ... my kids bought me 2 beautiful new perennials for Mothers Day. 

This is 'Winky Double Red and White' Columbine

'Snowflake' Creeping Phlox

I wasn't sure how many, if any, of my Roses survived the winter. I spent a few hours one day tending to them and I think that it paid off. Everyone of them is starting to show signs of life!

This photo was taken at the beginning of the week before the Camassia started blooming

How quickly things change this time of year

Spurge still going strong

Lilac's starting to open. The blooms on all the Lilac's I've seen seem small this year ... maybe from the heat in March and frost in May? I'm glad to have blooms of ANY size for the amazing scent

Black Parrot Tulip

Next weeks special bloom

Out in the spring garden

I have been busy in the gardens this week!

I decided that many of my perennials needed division, and so I started on this task a few weeks ago.  I had many pieces that weren't needed so I decided to see if I could sell some. I posted an ad on a local web site and had a few people come and buy some. With this bit of cash in hand, I went to the local greenhouse to see what I could find.  I seem to have caught a bit of Hosta Fever the last few years and so I came home with 2 new Hosta's for my collection

Here is 'Queen Francine' and 'St Elmo's Fire'

I'm not too sure what that puts my Hosta count at now...probably somewhere around 25 different varieties. One of the people that came to buy a few of my Hosta divisions planted a seed in my head ... if I dug up ALL the Daylily's from the east side of the house, I would have room for a LOT of new Hosta's. They run the entire length of the house.

  It will be a LOT of work to dig them all out, but I am really thinking about it.

I was also out trying to get some of the vegetable garden planted. Now that this years Kildeer eggs have hatched I was able to get some work done out there. I managed to get the peas, radish. green onions, turnips, spinach and kale seeds planted on Saturday. That night we had a 'Super Moon'...very bright and very beautiful.

Here are a few blooms to share for Fertilizer Friday with Tootsie!

OK...is anyone else having issues getting photos to load lately?

It took me over 45 minutes to get these photos on here today, and now Picassa has decided to 'improve' a few of them. What the heck??? 
Not liking these changes ...