Centaurea cyanus

 As I lay in recuperation this winter I dreamed of the "wild flower" garden I had worked so hard to renew and reseed last fall, so anxious to see the results.

I used a mix of perennials and annuals, so I expect no blossoms from the perennials until next season.  I watched the little plantlets come up this Spring.   I thought that many of them looked like what I call bachelor's buttons and what most folk call corn flowers.

Sure enough.  They grew quite rapidly and soon we had a wonderful "field" of blooms.  I was a bit concerned, though, for they are quite tall and I was afraid they would shade the tiny other stuff below.  But they seem to be progressing well now, so it is simply wait and see.  There are a few other smaller plants in blossom.

 Daisies back closer to the trees.

A little black bug on the pink flower.  Next to it an oriental lily which is in bud.

Pretty as the other flowers are there is also the ubiquitous dandelion.  It is a wild flower, too, you know.

Maddening

A bit maddening, not life changing.  Well, except for the roses.  Two of our pink roses, two different cultivars, reverted back to the flower of the root stock.  We already had one such bush which we allowed to thrive because the flowers are pretty.  But the need for such roses is somewhat limited and it is safe to say that we are disappointed.

 This was a miniature pink rose which has graced our front walkway for several years.  It has been gorgeous.  Now this.

 This is a cultivar called "Simplicity."  It is a single pink rose most often used for hedges.  Not so pink anymore.  I think there is one branch of the hybrid rose surviving.  Perhaps by ruthless cutting back of the undesired branches I can preserve the plant.  Worth a try?

This is a part of the "mound" in the front yard.  You know mounds.  In the flat, featureless area in which we live, many people build these things in their yards just for the el-evation of it.

Anyway, I think these flowers very pretty though I've no idea what they are called.  I am sure that most gardeners would simply say "weed."  They are quite invasive and have to be controlled by root removal on a regular basis. They do offer these pretty blooms for an extended period of time.

Happy June First!

Piney Time in Indiany

We know with almost 100% certainty that the pineys will bloom for Memorial Day.  Trust me, I never heard these beauties called "pineys" until I moved to Indiana.  And yes, I know how to spell "peonies."  And I fancy that I know how to pronounce it, too.  But you know what they say about behavior while in Rome.

The dianthus (dianthuses? dianthi?)* welcome you at the rear entrance

*According to both Word Hippo and The Oxford Dictionary, the correct plural form is "dianthuses."

May Flowers

Approaching mid-May, first blooms of the iris, the columbine, and the clematis-- shades of purple.

The variegated dogwood sporting its pink-and-white and sharing a space with its unidentified magenta friend.

Chives

Allium schoenoprasum

Waiting

Depart, Winter!  This is what we have been waiting for.  Lay in my hospital room dreaming of the day I could walk in the gardens and see greenery again.  Behold, the dream has come true.

 The naked ladies, aka the resurrection lilies have broken earth!

The iris are greening up, even the ones left lying atop the soil.

 What better sign of Spring?  Daffodils in bud.

I hope you enjoy Spring as much as I do.

It is a wondrous time of year.

     "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle* is heard in our land;"  --Song of Solomon 2:12 (KJV)

*Many translations read "turtledove."

Amor

Whether winter, spring, or fall
Cupid lies there, bares his all
Beneath the bush, summer too
Urges all to bill and coo
Fall in love again, anew.

Summer heat or chilly blast
So long as concrete shall last
Cupid lies there in repose
Beneath bush of petite rose
No complaint of frozen nose.



It matters not to this sprite
That Fall comes with chilly night.
But as for me I am blessed
To see the bush brightly dressed
Flowers in bloom.  That's the best!

Serendipity

I went to the store to pick up a couple of items.   Found some patching compound but wasn't sure it would satisfy the conditions, so I left it on the shelf.  Wanted some play sand; didn't find any.  Bought a furnace filter and exited the store.  Got into the car and headed to the exit.  100 meters from the store and just to the left of the drive that takes us out of the parking lot I spied a pallet.  On the pallet were twelve or fifteen bags of play sand.  Store pricing was attached.  Drove back to a parking spot and reentered the store.

I told the people I wanted a bag of play sand.  "We are out.  Don't have any."  "Yes, you have a pallet across the lot behind the bank.  Four twenty-nine a bag."

Confusion reigned.

The clerk finally rang up the sale (item not logged into the computer, so you know how that worked.)  I paid and as I left the lady said, "If there isn't any there we will refund your money."

If there isn't any there?

I have a bag of sand in my garage all ready for the fall flower planting.  Soon as the wind blows itself out of the neighborhood.

Image: Google Earth