The Beginning of Summer

This year is so different that last year!  We are starting to emerge from our little 'bubbles' and see and visit with friends and neighbors.  We can see each others' smiles and give a few hugs.  We are even starting to feel more comfortable attending events again!  

Of course, there is always gardening to keep me busy at home, so let's start there.

This basket of calibrachoa (million bells) sits on my rain barrel.

Heuchera, or as my mom called them, corral bells

I have several varieties of clematis blooming now.

The hydrangea in the front is full of bloom.  

I have several of this deep purple salvia in the front berm.  They have really grown in the three years I've had them.  They come back every year.

The wild white yarrow has spread from last year.  I'm thinking of moving some it to create a new bed.  Hope it does as well there!  

I'm experimenting with a new color of yarrow.  I found this pink variety at the garden center.  It should look nice with all of the pinks, purples and white in this bed.

Here are a few photos of my raised beds.  The lettuce , cabbage (dusted with seven dust), and the peas are all doing quite well!  We are enjoying lots of salads and looking forward to cabbage/slaw and fresh peas!

(Please disregard the grass.  LOL!  The cabbages are in my asparagus bed.  The asparagus is new so I don't want to disturb them too much.)

Several members of our DAR chapter attended a Memorial Day service at an old cemetery in St. Louis County, Cold Water Cemetery.  It's surprising there is a wooded and rustic spot in the middle of a metropolitan area.  

This was originally a family cemetery that now serves as the resting place of 29 veterans of nine wars.  Several DAR members are also buried there.

It was a lovely service with a colorful color guard and bagpiper.  The guest speaker shared poignant thoughts about things our veterans and their families deal with as they serve our country.

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Wishing you all a blessed week and a very happy beginning of summer!

Happy Memorial Day!

Zenda

Spring Is Busting Out All Over!

Spring in our neck of the woods has been slow to commit.  We've had rather cool temperatures and plenty of moisture during most of April and May.  If you read my last post, we even had some unexpected snow late last month.  The upcoming weekly forecast is for more rain but warmer temperatures and as we are in the middle of May, I'm hoping for more enjoyable outdoor time!

The gardens are really starting to blossom and bloom.  My mother used to love springtime best, and I find myself looking forward to it more and more every year!

Join me on a little walk around the house.  Let's start in my Secret Garden.

The hostas have really grown quickly.  Here is the east side of the Secret Garden.

The west side...

I enjoy this big bed of bronze-colored iris every year.  I received a start of these from my mom years ago.  Earlier this year, I shared some with a friend who remembered Mom.  Her starts bloomed this spring and she sent me a picture.  What a nice way to share Mom's 'green thumb!'  

Another storm approaches..

Several pictures from the back of the house.  This lavender colored clematis fades to white as the blooms age. 

One of two variegated weigela with pink blooms.

Sallie is surveying my kitchen herb garden.  What do you do with the space containing a satellite dish??  Since it's off the grilling porch, I grow my herbs here along with dianthus and a couple of small spirea.

The peonies are just getting ready to bloom and I hope the rain doesn't ruin the blossoms.

The front bed is filling in nicely with perennials.  I add fewer annuals each year.  The flowering magnolia, hydrangea and boxwoods form the foundation plants and a variety of smaller plants take turns blooming.  

The columbine in the front bed has really grown this year and the alliums have, too.

The false indigo is so pretty when it blooms but I always cut off the seed pods after they form.  If I didn't, they would really take over! 

I'm trying a new color combo for the planters on either side of the front door. 

The front berm is highlighted now with the blooming ninebark and purple salvia.

I have to share these adorable pictures my SIL took of little Jack watching the farmer put in his crops next to their house this weekend.

As you can see,  Jack was inspired to "help," too!

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you have a beautiful week in your neighborhood!

Zenda