A quick visit to Carol's garden was so refreshing...

 Not only was it great to have a quick chat with Carol, got a quick tour of her paradise of shade with trees and endless green, which was soooo refreshing that hot afternoon!  It is so peaceful and restful in those woods, a great break from the rest of the world!

Ferns, I absolutely love and a massive display really "trips my awesome trigger" every time!

Mary's Garden Stroll continued....

 More scenes from Mary's Garden visit!  Featuring blue yard art!

 

Please direct any comments to:  gramakj@charter.net

Mary's Annual Garden Stroll

Once again Mary issued an invitation to visit her garden beds during a recent evening!  

It is always a delightful visit to the paradise on her hill with its numerous beds and ponds with a vast array of plant material and garden art!  Not to mention a chance to see so many gardening friends. This year everyone was wearing masks and visits were brief along the walkways, but greeting Mary to enjoy her hospitality and admire the beauty of her gardening work is important to us all!

 

Email  comments to:  gramakj@charter.net

Climatis turn on their show for me in July and August

I love climatis.... but, I don't have as much success for plant longevity with them, as much as I'd like!  But I do have four of them that are reliable and light up my life!   One small white one is about 30 years old, I moved it from the cabin years ago and it is so happy here!  It climbs on an old brass bed headboard on the edge between my neighbor's yard and mine so we both get to enjoy it's show!  It also seems to like to drape over Hosta Guacamole, a long living companion at its feet.  

Rhubarb Time

It is still time for celebrating Rhubarb in Minnesota!

Yes, like most of us of my generation in Minnesota, we had a huge rhubarb plant in our back yard.  One of my fondest memories was Grandma Jo's two crust rhubarb pie!  I loved it warm out of the oven as well as the extra cold piece stashed in the refrigerator over night!  

How I reached 81 years old and never made what is known as rhubarb sauce, or rhubarb compote I don't know, but I found a recipe on Facebook that inspired me to buy some rhubarb at the farmers market recently!  I think it was the small amount and the use of it as a topping for ice cream, pancakes, etc. that caught my attention!  I will confess I added a sprinkle of pecans on the ice cream also!

So, I've been enjoying a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a spoonful of this rhubarb compote on top!  

Then I got a gift of 18 huge long stalks of rhubarb from a previous neighbor at the lake!
Yep, found the recipe Grandma Jo used to make and enjoyed sharing it with two neighbor women with some ice cream on top!  One day we had it warm out of the oven and the next day finished off the pie cold right out of the refrigerator!  They assured me they were ready to help me eat pie again whenever I wanted help eating it!

Naked Ladies in my garden!

Yes, Denny hurried out to look when I said "Naked Ladies in my garden bed now!"!!!!

I suspect he was a bit disappointed to find a lovely pink lily blooming where I pointed for him to look!

Thanks Deb for giving me my "Naked Lady Lily" this spring.  I had one once upon a time and she never came up again!   Now I have this one marked so I know where I planted it and can protect it!
Lovely indeed.   But, then when Denny went out early this AM to check his trap line (for mice) he discovered this lily laying down and completely severed low on the stem!   So, I rescued it quickly and gave it a home in a bud vase!  Hope it likes its temporary home and longer life for me to enjoy!

Do you have a Naked Lady in your garden bed?

For more information about this plant CLICK HERE!

Lily Time in MN is July!

In MN it is time for the lilies to turn on their show!

Late June the Lilies start to bloom and by late July the daylilies are almost done!  My lilies are scattered around where ever there is a spot of sufficient sun but my daylilies are pretty much in one spot.  Most of my daylilies are rebloomers, so I get the biggest bang for the space!  I always feel sad when August arrives and their show is dwindling! 

Flowers, flowers, flowers.....

What an exciting morning! 

I made my usual trip to the  Saturday Farmers  Market with only some tomatoes and another bouquet of summer flowers on my list!

It was quick and on my way home I passed by Trader Joe's so I stopped!  Before I went in I made a quick cell call to Denny to ask what he thought we needed from there before I continued in to shop.  When I checked out I was asked if I'd like a free bouquet of flowers!  Of course I said YES!  She reached over and picked up a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers and I almost hugged her!  On my way out I did a quick visit to their wine store section and when I checked out from there I was asked if I'd like a bouquet of roses and shown a few bouquets of yellow, red and orange, as I was marveling at my good fortune!  So, I picked the orange and then she asked me if I had a neighbor who might enjoy one and I quickly said of course and picked a yellow bouquet out!   I almost skipped out to the car with my loot!

Once home, I loaded up my sink to hold them all in fresh water and went outside to my garden beds to find some greens to add to them!  A quick breakfast that I had not had yet and then my fun really began.  

Now to deliver some roses to my neighbors! What fun!  I found places all over my house for the rest of the arrangements I put together!