The Garden In Fresh Fallen Snow

Last week Saturday I woke up, looked out my bedroom window, and screamed "What the heck?"  for this was my view:  

  I totally was not expecting that.  But I must admit, now that I don't work outside the home I really do not pay much attention to the weather;   this snowstorm really caught me by surprise.  At first, I was mad.  "Snow, already?" I mumbled.  But even a snow scrooge like myself couldn't help to appreciate it's beauty.    In fact, it was so beautiful that I not only had to go outside and photograph my garden in the snow, but I got all dolled up and did some fun fashion photography too!  Those fashion photos will be seen in tomorrow's post, for now, let's just enjoy the gorgeous snow!

Every single branch, shrub, and leaf was covered in snow.  What a breath-taking sight it made.

Because I live in the zone 4 gardening zone, I plant lots of evergreens and evergreen shrubs for winter interest.  I love how the snow covers the branches of the evergreen trees and the evergreen mounds in the retaining wall gardens.

The woods and river beneath my property looked especially tranquil after the fresh fallen snow.

I always leave the hydrangea blossoms on the bushes all fall and winter long.  The flowers change colors so many times in the fall before they finally settle into this beige/brown shade for the winter.  The big blossoms provide interesting shape during the winter months, and I love the added effect of the snow on them.

Everything always seems so perfect after a fresh snowfall, doesn't it?  It almost makes me not miss the flowers....well, almost.

This snowfall was so pristine...not one spot of any branch remained uncovered.  Who needs leaves on trees when you have this snow effect?

I especially love the effect of snow on evergreen branches.  Some of the evergreen branches in my yard were so heavy with snow that they touched the ground!

I adore the way my little red gardening shed looks in the snow, don't you?

Now that my garden is about twenty years old, you can really see the importance of having both shrubs (undergrowth) with trees in a garden.  Even in the winter, it looks full and lush when there are not any flowers growing.

I hope you enjoyed my little winter garden tour.  And as an extra treat, here is a picture of my kitty Jackson being entertained by a squirrel.  I hate to go outside to feed the "birds" during the winter, so I just put the bird seed right on the roof of my house.  All I have to do is open the window and fill-er-up.  I never even have to step outside!  Jackson enjoys it too...he has free entertainment all winter long.  The birds and squirrels are so use to seeing Jackson by the window that they don't even flinch when he is nearby.  It's so funny.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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What's Blooming in My Early August Garden

In early August most of the perennials are finished and the annuals are taking center stage.  Just about every plant in my garden has bloomed by now except for mums, sedum, and golden rod.   The perennials that are peaking right now are Rudbeckias and Purple coneflower.  

Because I was gone a few weeks due to computer issues, I have a few day lilies I never showed you.  This pink beauty was in bloom at the end of July.

The purple coneflower makes an excellent background flower for the pink blooms of the day lily.

 The birds planted these beautiful sunflowers for me.  The deer usually get to them before they bloom, but I was blessed with a few beauties that they didn't touch.

The sunflowers grow nice and tall right next to my bird feeder and cleome or spider plants.

This sunflower looks more like a sun daisy.  The sunflower in the first picture had double yellow flower petals.

The sunflowers grow right in my front yard so I can see them from my kitchen window everyday.

I found this big, beautiful beetle on my day lily and was shocked.  I had no idea what it was, nor had I ever seen this bug in Wisconsin before.  I put this picture on Facebook hoping my other Wisconsin friends could identify it, but no one replied.  Neither my husband nor daughter recognized the beetle either.  So I'm hoping my readers might recognize it and tell me what it is.

Whatever it is, it sure picked a beautiful daylily to rest on, didn't it.  I love the wine and yellow centers of this cream colored day lily.

This deep magenta pink Star Gazer lily I smelled before I saw it.  It was tucked away in the back of a garden so I never noticed it.  Then while I was weeding I smelled this heavenly fragrance and found it.  What a wonderful surprise that was!

My top garden by my kitchen window is rich in hot summers now.  I have zinnias and salvia annuals planted in here, plus perennials.  The tall phlox and purple coneflower are really starting to shine now!  The sunflower heads however are starting to bend over.  I won't cut them down however, because I know the birds and squirrels love their seed.

My white viburnum bush really opened up this week.  This is a gorgeous bush!  It provides so much interest all season long.  The flowers start white, but turn pink in the fall.

The viburnum bush makes a beautiful backdrop for the Black Eyed Susan's and Purple Coneflower.

My shed is being engulfed in flowers right now.  I really need to get down there and clear some flowers/weeds away.  The weather has been so hot I haven't been able to spend much time in the garden.  Today was the first time in weeks I could finally enjoy being outside again.

Here is a close up of one of the Viburnum bushes flowers.

The Black Eyed Susan's look great up against the red garden shed.

This is a little pink salvia perennial I have growing in my upper garden.

Like I said, I need to get down there and clear some flowers/weeds out.  LOL!

Have a  Great Day!  Amy

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My Midsummer Garden

Oh it feels so good to be back with my very first regular post again.  I love to sit and write on my computer in the morning with my java and my new kitty Jackson at my side;  except Jackson is full of beans this morning making typing quite the challenge.  He keeps attacking my fingers as I type, so if you notice any grammatical errors...you can blame Jackson!

Well since it's Sunday, it's time for a garden post!  It's been awhile since I've shown you what's blooming in my own garden, so I thought you'd enjoy seeing what's blooming in my midsummer garden.

Catmint blooms in the spring, but you also get a second, less full bloom in midsummer.  I love this plant, though many gardeners consider it invasive.  I don't find it near as invasive as other plants even though it reseeds regularly.  It makes a great border plant as the leaves are just as pretty as the flowers, and the bees and butterflies love it.  I think it looks especially lovely up against this hosta plant.

The hydrangeas are really stealing the show in my garden right now.  This pretty pink one is in full bloom right in front of my garden shed.

Hydrangeas are the perfect shrub for gardens.  They provide three season interest and I love how their flowers dry right on the bushes!

 They say the color of your hydrangea depends on your soil.  If other gardeners had this plant, it might bloom blue for them!

I also have the traditional white hydrangea bush...every year this bush gets bigger and bigger.  It's one of my favorites for sure!

Although I planted a ton of hollyhock seeds last year, my husband covered them all up with two or three feet of leaves (he was trying to keep our septic mound from freezing).  So I ended up with only three hollyhock plants this year.  And then to make it worse, we had straight line 70 mph winds come through and knock them down.  I staked them back up, but they just don't look the same.

My baby's breath has been in bloom for over a month.  It's another plant that just dries on the stem, so it is in bloom for a long time.  It is a very difficult plant to get a nice photo of.  It really doesn't make a good garden plant because it flops and falls everywhere, but it's nice to have around to cut for arrangements.

I used to have a lot of bee balm in the garden, but it was taken over by weeds.  I just redid one garden this spring and I am starting on garden number two!  This is what is left of the bee balm in the garden I just redid.

Bee Balm is great for attracting hummingbirds to your yard.  I see them near this plant every day!

 All my beautiful orange lilies were knocked to the ground by the straight line winds.  I had to cut them all down and put them in a vase.  It was so sad, as they looked fabulous last year.

I have a few yellow asiatic lilies mixed in with the orange as well.

The day lilies are all in bloom.  I have many different varieties.  This cream colored day lily with the burgundy and yellow center is one of my favorites.

It is planted right in front of my garden pond so I get to see it's cheery blooms from my kitchen window.

I also love this vibrant red day lily.  It is such a hardy, vigorous plant.  I've divided it and multiplied it over a dozen times and now have it growing all over my yard.

This purple pink salvia looks great growing next to the red day lily.

I used to have a lot of purple liatris, but the weeds killed most of it off.  Here are a few stragglers who managed to survive.

The tall phlox is just starting to bloom.  I've actually been working really hard ripping this plant out of my yard, although I am a letting a few plants remain.  It just reseeds everywhere in my yard, plus I have so much shade that the leaves get powdery mildew and it looks awful.  I have even purchased the phlox plants that are suppose to be resistant to mildew, and they still get it.  So I've just decided that this high maintenance plant is just not worth it.

 I made three of my own hanging baskets this year and have been quite pleased with the way they turned out.  I will have to remember this bright pink petunia for next year.  It's quite the show stopper!

I saw Mother Nature used my wind chime as a clematis support.  Nope, I didn't plan it this way, but I love how it looks!

And finally, here is a close up of one of my hanging baskets.  I mixed some yellow and purple flowers in my basket too, but my favorite is the hot pink petunia.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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