Peaceful and beautiful!

I just have to visit Mary's gardens once a year to enjoy this view!  It is not a lake, it is a pond.  Yes, a big family made pond!  Actually it is a swim pond stocked with a friendly assortment of Koi!  Yep, it is about 8 feet deep out there!  It sits on top of a huge hill where her home is surrounded by many garden beds and other water features.  Best of all, Mary is so generous about sharing the beauty she creates with others!

Her chickens, horses, donkeys and abundant wild life get to live there!  After you get out of your car it becomes difficult to remember you are perched on a hill on the edge of a large city instead of "Up North" in Minnesota!

Mars.....

Mars is one of my favorite varieties of Heuchera and has been showering me with lots of flowers every year since 2008!

I so enjoy the various varieties of Coral Bells that keep hitting the market every year!  Most of them do the best for me in a part shade environment.  Some are mostly beautiful foliage but some are prolific bloomers also!  Great companions for hostas!  'Mars' is one that seems to be a happy camper for me providing a bounty of lovely blooms that are primarily a light cream color with edges of a darker color that seems to escape from the foliage!  The more I deadhead and harvest it for floral arrangements, the more it seems to bloom!  It is definitely so happy in its home, it far exceeds the width in its description.  After 8 years I think it is time I split it a bit and spread its happiness around!  I recall planting it 8 years ago and it was a wee baby in a 4" square pot!  I will do that in the spring so it gets well established next year.

This picture was taken in June and right now it is full of blossoms yet!

For more information about "Mars" CLICK HERE!

Hmmmmm, what's this?

I do believe it is Ornamental Kale!  Such an interesting planter for the summer that will turn into a fantastic fall container!  Wish I could see it this fall!

I spotted this during a garden tour, of course, in the Apple Valley MN area in July!  This is a great idea to have such a unique and interesting summer planter that will continue into our MN fall season and become spectacular! 

I'm adding this to my list of things to do next year!  A way to enjoy this unique plant all seasons!  I just may do a planter sized to fit into one of my pots I usually switch out into mums for fall! 


For more information about Flowering Kale/Cabbage   CLICK HERE!

Mike is looking for his golf bag.......

I'll bet he won't find it! 

Yep, Cindy got creative with Mike's golf bag!  Maybe he is golfing just a bit too much?

It needs Denny's golf shoes turned planter to sit with it?  Denny will never find them at Mike's house!

Another spot to relax and enjoy mother nature's beauty!

And, here you get a mama duck and her ducklings to keep you company!

Yep, found this little scene on a garden tour!

Best kind of ducks to have, they don't require food, water or clean up afterwards!

How's this for a room in a garden?

Don't you just want to have a seat and enjoy the moment?

This blue has become so popular and one of the best accent colors you can use in either sun or shade.  Furniture, containers, or garden art !  It just seems to go with everything!

I find so many ideas on garden tours!  Love garden tours! 

Should-you-still-deadhead?

This week I received an email newsletter from MSHS (Minnesota State Horticulture Society) and read an interesting story on deadheading!

After reading the story I decided to investigate the blog it was from and  this morning am delighted with my first email blog from this site!   If you are gardening in zone 4 The Northern Gardener magazine, website and/or this blog is for you! 

I suggest you check it out!  To view the blog on Deadheading CLICK HERE!

There is a place on the blog for you to register to receive this in your email on a regular basis.   Of course, if you decide you don't like it later you can quickly and easily unsubscribe!

No cost involved, of course!

Got to get one of these.....

Yep, just gotta get one...... just gotta make my own Fairy Garden inside one of these balls!

If you see them for sale...let me know where!  Need two, have a friend who wants one also!

Found this on a garden tour in the Apple Valley, MN area!

The view inside the ball!

July perennials bouquet!

Visiting friend's gardens is always a joy, especially so in July and August while so many colorful perennials are at their peak! 

This garden ball does a good job of tying the colors of the nearby plants together! 

Cindy's always good at placing garden art to compliment or accent the plant colors!

What a great way to use a full sun space!

Sun.........

What's summer without a sunflower!

This one was found during the annual "Tour with the Master's" garden tour in July in Rochester, MN!  No blue sky because it was on the verge of rain at this moment!  Fortunately we were at the last garden stop for us on the tour!

Roses are red,

and a wide variety of lovely colors!   So many varieties to admire and grow!  I've grown hybrids and shrub roses and prefer the ease of the shrub roses at this stage of my life!  (easy maintenance mode)

This is Rita's favorite rose.  It is a shrub rose!  

Today I ran across this great video on deadheading roses and encourage you to take a few minutes to learn or refresh your memory on how to deadhead roses to get more blooms!

For a quick video on deadheading roses CLICK HERE!

Coneflower season....

I have mixed feelings about coneflower time!  I love them but they are warning me that the end of summer is approaching!  Although I enjoy fall, I will miss the seemingly endless varieties of my favorite spring/summer perennial friends as they take their turns visiting! 

These coneflowers have been in my garden beds for at least 15 years and have been a joy with their strong stems and showy flowers that handle rain and winds so well!  Of course, their original spot has long disappeared but I have split them and relocated them several times!   I like to think some of them are living exciting lives in other gardens as I have contributed many pots to our garden club plant sale!

I fell in like with this lantern at a garage sale once upon a time!

Full sun garden bed in July

Colorful indeed, I so enjoy visiting Cindy's garden beds in July!

Awesome Art in the garden.....

not the usual type of garden art for sure!  They really are awesome art! 

We spotted these creations during a garden tour in the Apple Valley MN area in July!  The artist is usually at the Canterbury Art Festival in the Metro area.  More details available by contacting me at gramakj@charter.net!

New Hosta Variety Discovered Growing in Apple Valley, MN!

Yes an exciting rumor about the discovery of a new hosta variety being registered by Bill and LuAnn Bond Is true!  Watch for it on the market, but begin saving money for it now, it is expected to be almost priceless!

H. Dry Stream Sporticus may have a limited market, you need a dry stream bed for it!

I understand there is a recent increase in creating dry stream beds 
just so they can have one of these!

Those of us on the Shades of Green Hosta Society of SE MN July Member Tour got a special unveiling of this priceless hosta variety!

Sun Power in Minnesota

I'm talking about H. Sun Power, one of my favorite hostas!

Powerful statement indeed!   It is a big one and eye catching!  I just love the way those leaves drape over each other like a splashy waterfall! 

Mine is planted at the edge of my main hosta bed at home and it gets some mid to late afternoon sun.  I do experience some burn on the leaves July and Aug. but I just snip them off when they look bad.  Lots of leaves so it looks great even with some missing occasionally.

For more information on H. Sun Power CLICK HERE!

Cool and refeshing....

With our MN August Hot Days.... I just can't help not share this shady scene with you!  Doesn't this just make you feel cool and refreshed?

A few weeks ago we visited a favorite garden, one I just have to get to at least once a year for at least an hour!  The Meyer's have what I refer to as Hosta Heaven with about 1000 varieties of hostas in various landscaped garden beds.  They do grow a variety of perennials as companions to hostas but also for some sunny spots they have! 

Jean plants some nice "trough" containers for shade to part-shade areas also.  This one is several years old so the plants are mature, even the dwarf trees/shrubs! 

For more "cool" scenes of hosta gardens CLICK HERE!