Back in the Garden for Wednesday.....With Some New Plants

 

How could I not buy this plant ?

One of the common names is

Flowering Maple.

The Abutilon "Bella Select Mix",

 is in the mallow family.

 

 

The leaves remind me of a maple tree.

It is also heat tolerant...

A good thing,

 because our summers can be brutal.

 

 

 Coleus are often referred as "eye dazzlers"

 

Looks like something has found the foliage tasty.

It is no wonder, with all the rain we've had.

 

 

It takes nightly trips, with a flashlight,

 to hunt down the garden snails.

 

The variegated English Ivy,

 I planted last year,

 is now trailing over the retaining wall.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the sampling of plants today.

 

It's a lovely spot to enjoy... with a cup of tea.

And today it was served with

 freshly baked lemon pound cake.

 

Remember, you are always welcome.

Meggie Mac

A Sure Sign Spring is on the Way.....Gardening 2017

 

This will be my second Spring in the Bungalow....

and the first time my Anna Apple Tree has bloomed.

 

I've always thought the summers of Texas, were too hot to grow apples.

The Anna Apple is low-chill and also a self pollinator.

 

 

Did you know the Daffodil is the national flower of Wales?

 

 

The hyacinth bulbs are ready to burst into bloom...

maybe another day or two.

 

 

No Spring garden would be complete without a few tulips.

 

 

As you can see in the background, from photographing a couple of days later,

the soft pink hyacinths are now in full bloom.

 

 

And in contrast,

my tulips have opened with a color surprise...

Meggie Mac

The Look of Country Cottage....for Friday Fences

 

The white picket fence is still a favorite,

 for American cottage/country homes.

 

 

It's hot today, with temperatures close to 91 degrees.

 

 

click on photo to view larger

A magnificent display of foliage and blooms.

Do you not agree?

 

Meggie Mac

 

 

Joining with Theresa at the Run Around Ranch

Click HERE

to view other fences from around the world.

 

 

Down My Garden Path Wednesday....Calla Lily and Mutiplying Onions

 

Would you be surprised to learn that Calla Lilies are not true lilies?

 

The flower was first cataloged in the mid 1700's.

 To find out why the name is so misleading,

 click HERE 

to read it's history.

 

 

Elegant comes to mind,

when describing the bloom.

For centuries, the Calla Lily has been

 a much sought after flower.

It is often used in bridal bouquets.

 

 

I have a habit of buying plants on a whim.

Because of this habit, I have what I call "a holding bed".

It is a small area where I place them,

 until I find the perfect spot for a permanent planting.

 

As you can see,

 I never did get around to planting my calla lilies.

They decided to bloom anyway !

 

 

The daylilies have been spectacular this year.

 This one, a real eye catching color, is dark maroon.

 

For a closer look, click on each photo

All of them are tagged,

 but unfortunately I have covered the tags with mulch.

So, until Autumn when they die back,

 I will call this one "Orange Sherbet".

 

 

Apparently I have found the perfect spot for coleus to show off.

 

 

It has finally warmed up enough for the tomatoes to grow.

This was taken after a rain shower.

 

 

The vegetable garden has produced a bumper crop

 of red and yellow onions.

 

 

Finally....the multiplying onions.

Have you ever grown them?

 

 

Adding the fork, in the photo, gives you some idea of their size.

 The golden pear shape tomatoes are a great addition for salads.

 

See how the onions separate?

The idea is to save some for replanting.

 Each replant can grow multiple onions to harvest.

Meggie Mac

 

"No Occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth,

and no culture comparable to the garden."

Thomas Jefferson

 

Down My Garden Path Wednesday.....Cleomes Mixed with Purple Verbenas

 

Have you ever tried growing Cleomes ?

 

There are many good reasons to give them a try.

The flowers are quite showy, as they grow through-out the summer,

 to 8" size balls of blossoms. 

They seem to be quite at home with shrubs and perennials.

 

And, the best news is......

 Humming Birds love them. 

 

Click on the photo

Another flower that does well in my Texas Flower Garden, is the verbena.

With purple being one of my favorite colors, I always include several of these plants.

 

 

What I like about them is their ability to grow,

 trailing and intertwining, in the nearby plants.

 

 

Blue Daze is another plant

 that looks so nice grown near Artemisia.

 

 

Even though my purple salvia has taken a beating from the recent hard rains,

you can see how beautiful it is mixed with the gray-green color of Artemisia.

 

If you enjoyed my Garden Path post today,

look for updates next Wednesday....

Meggie Mac

 

"Give me odorous at sunrise

a garden of beautiful flowers

where I can walk undisturbed."

Walt Whitman

 

Give Me Flowers....in the Garden

 

It's easy to see why I love the Rudbeckia flower...

 

 

This summer, rain has been the constant companion of the garden. So unlike most years, when we are praying for a little rain in June and July.

 

 

The stems and foliage are almost waist high to me.

 

 

The variegated foliage of the canna gives the garden a tropical look.

 

 

My flowers gardens always include daylilies. They give so much for so little care. The blooms only last for one day, with a single stem producing four or five buds. The stem then provides beauty with another bloom, for each following day.

 

 

Another faithful flower is the chrysanthemum. If pinched back, after the early blooms, you will get another showing in the Fall.

 

 

And last....my favorite, the Daisy.

Meggie Mac

 

To The Daisy by William Wordsworth

 

In youth from rock to rock I went

From hill to hill, in discontent

Of pleasure high and turbulent,

Most pleas'd when most uneasy,

But now my own delights I make,

My thirst at every rill can slake,

And gladly Nature's love partake

of thee, sweet Daisy!

 

Elegance in Bloom...

Do you not agree there is an elegance about the Calla Lily? I often see them in brides bouquets.

It's how one might describe the "little black dress" or a beautiful china cup and saucer. 

And like so many other tuberous plants, it faithfully blooms each year, with little to no help from me...

Meggie Mac

Holding Back the Icy Temperatures

 

Less than a week ago, this was the scene in the back garden. A transplanted iris, from my home on the Prairie, was about to bloom for the first time... at the Cottage.

 

 

The cold blast the upper part of the US has recently experienced, has now managed to lower our temperatures to freezing.

 

 

I decided to try to extend the green, long enough for the iris to bloom.

 

 

 I quickly covered everything, using wood stakes and clay pots to elevate a heavy  see-through tarp.

 

 

So why go to all the trouble to protect the iris from our first icy weather?

 

 

Early this morning, I rolled back the protective wrap to view a single iris bud.

 

 

It was so worth it....

Meggie Mac

 

The Dance of Autumn in Texas

 

November has arrived bringing some cooler weather. But in my part of Texas, Autumn still does the occasional dance with the lingering warm days of summer.

 

Once the calendar indicates Autumn has arrived, Texas usually has a few days where the temperatures take a dip.

 

Today it truly feels like Autumn is here.

 

 I have adorned all the outside doorways with the happy color of  pumpkins.

 

The sign, barely visible, says, "Every Garden Tells a Story".

My dear readers,

do you agree with this saying?

When looking at my garden, you know which colors I favor. My style is casual, with flowers spilling over the walkways.

 

 

The older cottage, I recently purchased, had no walkways, flowers or shrubs. Even with more stones to be set, the winding pathway to the front entrance is beginning to take shape.

 

 

My very own stone wall, waiting for shrubs to be planted.

 

 

As I had hoped, the flowers of the back garden are now draping over the retaining wall. You can read the story of the retaining wall ...HERE.

 

 

It pleases me to know the few flowers, I managed to plant in this "first year garden",

are thriving.....

 

 

And the rushing water, off the hill, has now been tamed....

Meggie Mac