My Flower Garden

flowers in the yard

2008-05-15T11:52:00.000-07:00

You guessed it, Flowers!

2007-06-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

I just love taking flower pictures

2007-06-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

The rest of the flowers

2007-05-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

I have sweet williams, double Petunia's, assorted moss roses and single petunia's, iris you name. All having this beautiful splash of color.

flowers after the rain

2007-05-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

Trying the butterflys again.

2007-05-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is what I was trying to do the first time.

Old buildings are better

2007-05-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

In the other entry I was trying to get them to fade in and out like I have been seeing. It only works apparently when I don't want it too. How do we do it. This entry is just some old buildings downtown. Love the old building.

testing

2007-05-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

Loess Hills Flower Pictures 8 14 06

2006-08-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

I did a wonderful hike through the Loess Hills in Iowa Tuesday. Many beautiful sites and lots of great flowers. Enjoy. Check out my other journals for more pictures.

My Photo Journey

Fruits of my labor.

2006-07-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Just had to show these off. The best tastiest sweetest little tomatoes I have ever grown. Aren't they lovely!

A few special shots.

2006-07-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

The picture above is somewhat of a mystery. I put my jade tree on the porch all summer and this year it had a petunia grow in it. I haven't got any other petunia's like that pretty one. They seem to be getting along. The rest are just some pretty flowers that I took some pictures of.

I am growing peppers for the first time in pots. They are doing great and are fun to watch grow. My tomatoes are doing good and we are eating them already in salads. I am having trouble with bottom leaves turning yellow. Hard to regulate the water when you grow them in pots. They are also huge, over 6 feet tall and are trying to tip over. I needed bigger cages.

More Flowers

2006-06-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

New Camera

2006-06-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

My flowers are really looking great with my new camera.

There are so many features on the camera yet I need to figure out and my sharpness or focus need to be better. I also have to work on light but I think they pictures are wonderful. Love my new camera.

Tomatoes this week

2006-06-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

The tomatoes are now taller then me in thier buckets and loaded with flowers. The cherry tomato plant has gotten taller then the grape. So far I can only find 2 tomatoes but there may be more hidden in there. I can't wait until they are ready to eat.

My porch plants are for the most part doing well. The fuschia are dying though, not sure why. I was washing down the porch so it looks terrible, but the flowers look great, maybe a little busy but I feel you can never have too many flowers plus my jade tree is outside.

We get these wild Lili's all over so I transplanted some to the yard and around my tree in front. They grow everywhere.

First Tomato

2006-06-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have been looking everyday but didn't see this yesterday. The first tomato.

Below are some thistles down by the river. The color is so pretty for a weed

They use blue mulch down by the river. Really makes these Roses stand out.

Tomato's are really getting huge

2006-06-07T06:28:00.000-07:00

I could probably take a picture everyday and you could see a difference as fast as these are growing. They are loaded with flowers that will turn into tomatoes. I can't wait. I need bigger cages for them as they are past the top by quite a ways now.

I remember when I had my husband put this old tire around the pole so I could plant strawberries in it. I only got a few strawberries but the deer and rabbits loved them. Since I put in poppies I get more enjoyment out of them. Nothing ever eats poppies!

My old pear tree looks like it is dying every year and one year it will. But so far every year it is loaded with flowers and then pears. They aren't the type you can eat but the deer, squirrel, rabbits and other critters just love them. Even my dog will chew on some. Love that old tree.

The poppies have bloome

2006-06-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

I love Poppies. I had some beautiful Salmon colored ones but they died out. These have such vibrant color.

I wanted a japanese iris so I got these last year. They didn't bloom last but this year they did. I had forgotten what color I got. I thought is was the blue ones but these are pale yellow.

I will get a better picture of this tomorrow but this is a flowering maple. This scraggly indoor plant looked terrible so I decided to let it die, but it refused to. All winter it sat on my basement landing. Occasionally my husband or I would put some water on it. I tried pruning it back so it would be more attractive but it just always looked scraggly. This year it is blooming again and the flowers are so pretty. So it wants to live. I will get a new pretty pot for it and give it another chance.

Look what a week has done for my tomatoes. I want to get some pepper soon and plant them in some containers also. Easier on my back.

More, you guessed it, Flowers!

2006-05-31T15:36:00.000-07:00

The peonies have bloomed and the smell, heavenly.

Another new flower for me called Walkabout Sunset

The next pictures are just to show how the flower boxes and planters have filled out since I planted.

Browallia

2006-05-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

This lovely flower is new to me. It has a sweet blue flower.

Below is a Calibrachoa and it is called Caribbean Sunset. Just beautiful.

Check out the color on this Petunia. The color is true in the picture. I have them planted with the blue Browallia and now wish I had added some white flower to them.

Last for now are my tomatoes. They are growing so fast because of the organic tomatoe food we get from Mosers nursery.

3 week ago above, I do container planting for my tomatoes, The picture under this was done yesterday.

I get so many tomatoes off these plants usually that it last all summer.

Where did all my pictures go!

2006-05-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Imagine my surprise to see most of my pictures gone! Whats up with that? Sigh.

OK below are my Sweet Williams which are starting to bloom. I love sweet Williams.

Aren't they just lovely.

I only have these pale yellow iris's blooming so far.

Begonia

2006-05-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

My begonia's finally decided to bloom and look lovely. I couldn't get the picture to sharpen up but you can see the lovely color they are.

I have poppies planted in this old tractor tire. This looks terrible until they bloom and then are just beautiful. You can see the birds have been using the tire for target practice.

Just for the record, my planters in the back that I had the irish spring to keep the deer off of. They are now pretty empty as the deer weren't bothered in the slightest. They didn't eat one of the plants, maybe they don't like the taste so maybe I will just plant vine types plants in those.

More, you guessed it, flowers!

2006-05-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

I like accent Plants mixed in with the pots and this interesting Coleus looks great with these Petunia's.

Lobelia's small bright blue flower also gives a big splash for being so small and they have lots of blooms when mature.

My other fuchsia decided to bloom. There make a pretty contrast.

For their heavenly scent alone these are worth it. Small white Alyssum look great in your pots and hang them by an open window for the wonderful smell.

In the other lot I have tons of Creepy Charlie. I don't want it in my main yard but love the little flowers. This stuff stinks though when mowed.

Another little wild violet in the other yard. We get this color and the white.

I am looking for an ID on this weed we started getting last year. It is growing in everything. I call it a come a long weed because if you brush agains't it it sticks to your pants and comes along with you. Shallow root system. They get real long and wild and will choke out your other flowers. Anyway know the real name to these. I am wondering if it is from my bird seed!

2006-05-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

I like the deer but we have this battle going on. I plant flowers, they eat them. They are picky, only the best most expensive plants and shrubs will do. They drink out of my birdbaths, they climb up on porch and eat my flowers up there. Fond they are of my strawberry beds. They killed my raspberry bush and are working on my red sand cherry bush.

This year I am trying something new. A lady I met while riding my bike said they tie slivers of Irish Spring to their plants. The dear hate the smell. So off the the dollar store I went and we are going to try it.. Cross you fingers for me and I will let you know how it works.

Another of Gods creatures that is battling me is a pair of Robins. I bought this really nice wreath to hang on my front porch. In 2 days while I wasn't paying attention they ripped it apart and built a nest. By the time I noticed they already had eggs. It is not a good place as they are quite low and right by my front door. I have lots of flowers planted on my front porch. Everytime I go out there to water they yell at me and swoop at my head. Hey, did I tell them to nest there? The babys are getting big and when they fly away I will try to repair the damage to my wreath. Must admit they are pretty cute but the parents are pooping all over my house.

More Flowers

2006-05-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

This is a new flower to me in a way. I always loved Snapdragons and this variety is called a trailing snapdragon so it looks great in pots. Now how do they teach them to do that. It is a dark rich red with a yellow throat.

Next are my Toucan Tango Brachyscome Hybrids. They look like pretty little daisys and are slightly bigger then a quarter.

Another one I planted on a porch planter is this neat fuchsia. Unlike the variety I usually have had in hanging pots, this one is upright and I have 2 colors. When the other open up I will take a picture.

Glorious Petunia's

2006-05-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

( From World Book) Petunia, «puh TOO nee uh or puh TOO nyuh», is the name of a group of plants known for their beautiful, funnel-shaped flowers. Petunias rank as one of the most popular garden flowers in the United States and many other countries.

A petunia's flowers grow 4 inches (10 centimeters) or more across. They may be pink, rose, salmon, red, white, blue, or a mixture of colors. Some varieties have a single set of petals. Others have a double set.

There are about 30 species (kinds) of petunias. Tiny hairs cover the stems and leaves of most cultivated petunias, but some wild species have almost no hairs. Most petunias are perennials—that is, they live at least three years. However, gardeners usually raise the plants as annuals (flowers that live one year or less) because they flower during their first year. People may grow petunias from cuttings or from seeds.

Gardeners normally grow petunias in prepared ground beds or in window boxes. Some plant the flowers in hanging baskets. The plants thrive in sunny locations. Their flowers bloom in summer and early fall.

Petunias originated in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Europeans first brought them from South America to Europe in the 1820's. Gardeners in Europe developed the first cultivated petunias later in the 1800's.

Thats the where and the why but I love them because they are a lovely flower and a great bloomer. Here are some of mine.

Isn't this just the most perfect flower. Look at the colors on it.

Another perfect flower and a different shape. I bought quite a few of these.

This dark red looks a little beat up but the new blooms will be lovely.

Pretty peachy pink

These are the mini petunia's. My husband picked these out.

More Mini's in mixed colors. They bloom profusely and do well in containers. Since most of my coleus bit the dust I planted these with some accent plants in the whiskey barrel.

Just Lovely.

Interesting Mushroom, What does this look like?

2006-05-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

Here is another of the wonderful graphics that Sugar sent me. I spent yesterday taking pictures of all my flowers and thought I had made the resolution small enough. However they did not want to load on photobucket. 20 minutes to download one picture. I think it had something to do with the frames I put on them for some reason. Very annoying so I will redo the pictures today if we are lucky enough to get some sunshine.

I bet you thought the first picture I put in this new journal would be a beautiful flower. Couldn't resist showing this weird mushroom. Since I am warped I found it amusing.

Here though is a picture of a Deep Yellow Calibrachoa. I love these flowers in my baskets as they bloom profusely and come in different colors. These will last the entire growing season with a little care.

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.

-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Being Peace"