A week of flowers

 My sister challenged me to post a flower a day for a week on Facebook. Here's what I posted:

Bloodroot growing by the side of the road. It's called bloodroot because if you break it, the sap inside is reddish.

 Crocuses growing in my lawn. This one was shot in 2010 when we hit 30C in March.
The crocuses came up, bloomed and died all on the same day.

 Dear old digitalis...foxglove that Richard's brother-in-law grew this year in his magnificent garden.

 Me with my lupin bed, originally planted with two packages of seeds I got in Oregon.

 Wild milkweed, so fragrant and so important to monarch butterflies.

 My one, amazing primrose that has come up every year for the past 10 or more years.

The rare Ram's Head ladyslipper that grows wild...in a secret location around here!

Dear old digitalis

Foxglove is one of my favourite flowers yet I can never grow them successfully.
Richard's brother-in-law's garden is full of them! Here's one of the loveliest. 

Summer evenings...

Summer is so lovely. Long evenings, bees buzzing, butterflies flitting. 

Especially when one of your many gardens looks like this. Friends invited us for "foursies," as she calls it: drinks and nibbles at four p.m.

Before we hit the road, a quick photo on the new refurbished deck, built round an old tree in their yard.
I'm taking this memory with me into the heart of January when it's dark at 4 p.m. and -30C.

I love poppies!

 I love poppies and have good luck with my gorgeous salmon-coloured ones that bloom each year.

 I've notice that the 1950s and '60s were good decades for poppies on tablecloths. 

 I love how illustrative these poppies are, swirling around.

 Aren't these pretty?

 Kind of a '60s, maybe '70s cloth with poppies around the edges.

And this cloth? I wasn't sure if it was poppies.... anemones. Maybe California poppies!

In my little Etsy shop, poppies are pretty popular. All of these cloths have already gone to good homes.

Potato flowers

The flowers around here are gorgeous this time of year...I really have to start photographing them. I was in Richard's vegetable garden yesterday and it hit me how lovely his potato flowers were. Those I photographed!

Catalpa Tree: Saved!

 A few years back I blogged about this sweet tree...

 ...growing in a little park in beautiful downtown Alexandria.

 When our town council decided to spruce up this little park, part of the plan was to cut down the catalpa.

 In spring, this tree was not so glorious, but I started a Facebook page called "Save Our Catalpa" ...

 ...which over night garnered over 250 followers.

 And you know what? The tree was saved from the chainsaw. Democracy in action.

And the little parkette is spruced up with annuals and looks all the better for having a few mature trees around it providing summer-needed shade.

Poppies popping up

 About five or six years ago I planted an Oriental poppy perennial.

 Instead of the usual red, I chose a salmon pink one.

For the past few years its just gone gangbusters. This one has 12 blooms on it. And all in that gorgeous pinky-orange colour. Love it!

Lupines, lupines everywhere!

 About 10 years ago I planted two packets of lupines.

 And year after year...

 ...they doubled...

 ...and tripled...

 ...and quadrupled.

They smell fabulous and the bees just love them. So do I!

Blooming gorgeous!

 Our little vacation took us to Jim Thorpe, PA where everything was in bloom.

 A blue train and pink crab-apple blossoms paired well together.

 This exquisite tree had hanging pink flowers. Anyone have any idea what sort of tree it is?

Our early May holiday featured mid-July temperatures. Even the rhododendrons were in bloom!

Hollyhock heaven

The hollyhocks have been absolutely amazing this year. I don't remember planting these...I must've tossed a packet of seeds into my back garden about five or six years ago and last year they were lovely...but this year they are amazing!

Mock orange

Over the years, my mother's mock orange bush has gone wild! It sends out long tendrils, very likely to get more light because it's in a dark corner. These tendrils have grown into a bower of flowers, just lovely and fun as they hang over my new, improved bridge that spans the little creek (ditch) that runs beside the house.

Pansies

I plant pansies in these three flower boxes every year. They sit on top of the short rail fence in front of my house. They always make me smile.

Lupin Time

  I love lupins! I got two packets of them in Oregon about 10 years ago and made myself a wild garden in the middle of the field.

 Every year, Richard mows around it further and further out as the seeds spread.

Not only do I love it, it's full of all kinds of bees!

Wisteria...sigh...

 I just love wisteria and had only seen it in the States and never around here...

...but last weekend we visited Richard's sis in Toronto and she had two major wisteria plants growing around her house. This one is over the backyard...

And this one was around the front. Love it!

Coltsfoot

These delicate flowers seem to be absolutely everywhere. Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) are usually the first plant in spring to bloom...a few weeks before the dandelion, but are often mistaken for them.

Dandelion time

I just love dandelions. I know many people see them as weeds but they remind me of being a little kid and bringing my mother a big bouquet of them. She always carefully placed them in a glass of water and put them on the table. Real harbingers of spring.

Spring has finally sprung

...and my lawn is scattered with crocuses.

Sunflower Time

Great time of year for sunflowers, these shot in Richard's garden. Aren't they like the happiest looking flowers you ever did see?