Lovin' the summer time

We're expecting a heat wave for the next week. Thankfully we have the pool to stay cool. Fresh fruit is everywhere. I've been picking the little native blackberries lately and grabbed some blueberries from the farmers market to make this Black & Blue pie. Its bubbled over and looks messy but man was it delicious!



I've some peaches waiting to be made into a pie as well. Yum!


Mr. Petey like to pose for the camera.

Winding down

Iris season is winding down now. Still alot of blooms, and the Japanese are just starting, but the bulk have passed. It's been pretty overwhelming and I'm a bit burnt out on pics. I took thousands and have kept 615 so far. Here's a few highlights.

Beotie. The color is not showing correctly in the photos. It is a gray-lavender-blue. Very smoky and subdued, but rich. Had seen it before but three stalks in bloom was just gorgeous. This one will get a more prominent position.


Loving Bronze Bell. Great shade of brown.


Cahokia has thrilled me for two years in a row. What a great iris! The color and form are really something. It blooms later too and extends the blue tone for the season, as my others are generally early.


On another note, I've managed to keep the deer of the rosa glauca and it is finally getting to put out a mass of blooms for us.


The peonies are really looking good this year. Finally filled in. On another note... Mr. Petey likes his sunbeam.


More to come...

Lions at the Gate...

... and at the door. Guarding the family from any rodents or small birds that may wander by. Lol.




The shade border is really filling in beautifully. The Soloman's Seal is just amazing - such structure! The mock orange is about to bloom for the first time. Fantastic fragrance.


I love taking pics of the irises just before the sun sets, when the soft golden light comes in from the side and lights them all up like stained glass windows. Here's a few from last night. Click the photos to see the larger versions.

Beautiful days

What an unseasonably beautiful November we are having. The last few days have been warm and sunny. We've yet to have a killing frost, tho a few light ones have been thru. I finally (!!!) managed to get my Kleinsorge bed expanded and a new one created next to it. This is going to make a big difference in a few years as the lilacs and the vine maple grow in. And in the meantime all my Kleinsorge irises are in one place together.


Miss Gracie was outside with me all afternoon enjoying the sun. She's brought in a few rodents today (leaving bits of them scattered about the back yard - yuck), but unfortunately no more moles yet. They are tearing up my terraces something awful and making a huge mess and I sure wish she would kill a few more.


Here's Mr. Pansy in his favorite chair again. Paws up!


And finally a raspberry tart I made a few weeks ago. Not the most attractive but it sure was delish.


Friends are coming for Thanksgiving. Hope yours is a happy one!

Parnisp and pansies

Check out these gorgeous parsnips from Daniels veggie garden. They are roasting as I type... Yum!


And here's a shot of Mr. Pansy. He loves the green chair, and who can blame him? He looks so cute in it - especially in the sunshine.

Fresh pics

It's been awhile since I downloaded my camera and went thru the pics. Here's some recent shots from around the place. Not much is happening due to lack of funds to adequately deal with the weeds, but we're doing what we can.

Here's a shot of a not-so-lovely but quite delicious Apple Tarte Tartin I made from a Cuisine at Home recipe. It is basically an upside-down cake.


I love kniphofia. this bright yellow-orange one kept the hummingbirds happy for awhile and sure made a bright spot of color in the garden. The deer leave it alone so I'll probably get more of these.


Sempervivum 'Mount Usher. Gorgeous coloration.


A wonderful pelargonium Joey got for me for my birthday - isn't it just stunning? I'm hoping I can keep it alive thru the winter so I can enjoy it for years to come.


Here's Mr. Pansy looking quite adorable, and hiding a heart filled with badness. The little stinker got mad the other morning when he didn't get to go out and peed on my shirt that was laying on the vinyl couch - right in front of me! I think we have solved the mystery of who peed on the bed in the guest room and destroyed the mattress and a pillow. What a bad kitty. It's a good thing he is so cute.




And finally two shots of recent sunsets. We've had some really stunning ones lately. Not sure what is going on to color them up so well. One looks like a forest fire and the other was so neat - the clouds started melting like a watercolor painting, with long trails fo mist falling slowly down just as the sun was going down. Very neat effect. Click on the pics to see larger shots of them.


Until next time, happy gardening!

Sunny Sunday

Here's some new pics from the garden. We ahd this canoe and no where to go with it so decided to make it into a water feature. I filled it with some water loving irises and a willow that likes wet feet. Added a large 'tufa rhubarb leaf for the water to run down and Voila!




Here's the purple Japanese iris blooming int eh pond right now. So pretty.


And of course we have to have some cat pics. Mr. Tuck posing and looking fabulous, followed by Mr. Petey napping while the sun goes down.