Dream Queen.....

Hosta snob?  I heard a rumor that someone referred to me as a hosta snob!  Hmmmm.. I do like my hostas.  Actually there is only one I absolutely won't have in my garden beds!

But, I do prefer hostas with good leaf substance to deter the herd of slugs I have.  If slugs love them, I don't!  With  so many beautiful hostas that slugs tend to avoid today,  I tend to replace those that attract slugs.  But I do feed my herd of slugs well!  Yes, I do use slug bait and when I do in a timely manner, slugs don't feed so much on my hostas!

Here is a hosta with thick leaves and a bonus of beautiful flowers!  'H. Dream Queen' can be queen in my castle any time!  This flower deserves to be in an arrangement.

 

1 begonia, 4 gardeners....

Four gardening friends went plant shopping to the NE Iowa Mennonite garden centers this spring!  All of us couldn't resist buying a fabulous begonia!  Each of us created a container using it as a focus plant reflecting our own creative styles.  What fun to compare how different they are!  Yes, we'd buy this plant again next year!  Barb also got a striking red and black one that I also want next year if it is available!



Rita's, she used 4 plants!

Barb's!

Mine!

Sharon's

Hanging basket that loves the heat and sun without daily watering....

My smaller planters that are full sun need to survive our MN July/August temps without daily watering.  Actually, they need to survive up to four days without watering!

Here's one that I really am enjoying this summer!  Succulents are the secret,  but doesn't this look cool and lush!  Love it!  It's soft and touchable also.

 

 

 

A little bench on the prairie....

Laura Ingalls Wilder's books take us back in time to a simpler lifestyle.  A stroll through prairie gardens is such a treat to me to recall growing up reading about those adventures on  the  prairie. 

Finding a place to enjoy prairie flowers at their peak isn't too difficult when you are in Rochester, MN in the summer.  A short drive to the RCTC Heintz Center to stroll along the path through their well established prairie garden will place you up close and personal with the colorful flowers growing there.  Grab your camera when you go... you'll want to have some pictures to remember.

Vegetable gardens...

My friends grow veggies, I buy mine at the area Farmer's Markets! 
 
On a recent garden tour in the Mankato area, we found two vegetable gardens fenced in with black wrought iron fencing and one with a  painted picket fence!  My friend, Rita, immediately visited one of our local big box stores for reasonable priced wrought iron fencing for her veggie garden!  She kept the shorter  "chicken wire" fence on the inside to help keep the smaller critters out and the railroad ties stayed also.

What an  amazing difference, her veggie garden is now an attractive garden bed and a pleasure to garden in!

Rita's veggie garden!
 

A large farm  garden we found on a tour!
 

My day brightener from my fisherman......

My fisherman didn't bring me any fish for supper, but he did brighten up my day with this!

 

 

Alyssum, my favorite ground cover.....

Alyssum is a staple in my garden beds!  I love using it as a ground  cover and edger as it just flows so easily around perennials and brings a heavenly fragrance to the area!  I plant it early spring, while it is still cool, and it is the last annual I pull because it stays beautiful until a hard frost hits it! 

Last year I walked into the rural garden center near our cabin and was stunned by the hanging baskets that were heavily dripping with lavender or white alyssum flowing down the sides of the containers!

So, I  asked just what kind of alyssum that was and quickly purchased a few of them.  They were amazing in my garden beds, each plant spreading at least 18 inches!

So, this year I eagerly planted several of each color available and was rewarded with scenes like this one:




 This is just two plants covering 3 square feet!
  It drapes over the block wall so well.



'Lavender Stream Lobularia'

'Silver Stream Lobularia'

'Purple Stream Lobularia'

 Later I even found a cream colored one, which had a more softer appearance!