Snow Flakes in July.....

 

Looking for a shorter Lily to add a spot of white in your garden bed?  This little Asiatic upward facing lady is 'Tiny Snowflake' reaching only 18-20 inches high and will like a bit of shade even!  She's just right for an accent in a patch of  Small size hostas, which is where she lives in my yard.  In just three years she has rewarded me by increasing to three plants of blooms!  This picture was taken in the second week of blooming so she hangs around to visit awhile!

I have found I enjoy lilies best when they are scattered among other plants as seasonal accents.  After they bloom I just dead head them and shorten the plant stalks to about 1/3rd their height and they blend in with the surrounding plantings while they gather energy for next year's bounty of beauty!

Old friends are treasures in life.....

Among our friends it is the ones that have stayed in our lives for a long time that provide us with a special joy with their "staying power" in our lives.  Likewise our plant friends that continue to be faithful providing our gardens with beauty that is always reliable, familiar and comforting.
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My old friend, climatis 'Huldine'. came into my life when we purchased our cabin in 1992.  I don't know how long she had been there but before long her blooms became less and less as the shade from a nearby tree became more dense.  So, I decided to transplant her 75 miles away into one of my garden beds at home that would provide her with more sunshine in her life!  Yes, she loved her new home and our 22 year relationship has grown into one of those I treasure dearly. 

I even provide her with friends to mingle with, like "Frick and Frack", her two knights in shining armor, as well as a substantial trellis, which is an ornate metal headboard I rescued from a dumpster!

In the spring I prune off all her previous growth until she is only a foot high and she rewards us and our neighbor, Mary, with a huge display of stunning white beauty beginning in June and continues for at least 6 weeks then tapers off to fewer flowers for weeks after that.

Fairies have moved into my gardens at home!

It has become a fun variation of gardening for me!  I sometimes fly away with my fairies but they always bring me back!  This year I've made 15 homes for them...some small and some larger.   Dwarf size perennials are on my 'looking for list of plants' as well as accessories that fit into the scale of my creations.  Loads of fun and I think this will become my future gardening as my body rejects the physical demands of maintaining my regular garden beds!  It's so easy to create new landscapes to enjoy and experiment with.  To explore this method of gardening, just do a search on the internet of "Fairy Gardening or Miniature Gardening"!

 

Once upon a time.......

Happy 4th of July 2014

 

       My first Over the Garden Gate Blog entry!



I selected a hosta picture that has always been a favorite of mine for this honor!

I have various garden beds at home as well as at our cabin on a lake, which is about 75 miles from home.  Shade to partial shade areas in both locations provide homes for about 200 varieties of hostas.  I continually find new varieties I'd love to have but then have to make a difficult decision on which old friend has to find a new home!  Right now I have three new ones awaiting my decision.  Occasionally their new home is in a container which I can move around!  Even Mini size ones find new homes in my miniature/fairy gardens I've been enjoying creating!  Often friends provide new homes for them or garden club plant sales benefit from their being donated to sell to new owners to enjoy.