Life in the Blogosphere - What a Wild Ride!

It's another + 90 degree day in IL, so I opted to do my 'gardening' on the Blogosphere instead of pulling dandelions out of the gardens (they'll be there tomorrow...).  I've gotten a little sentimental (Ok, a lot) and have been taking a short trip down memory lane.....

The 'Blogosphere'
(Image from the creative minds at Google)

A mere 7 months ago, this place called the Blogosphere barely registered on my radar screen.  It was an untapped world...  A friend recommended creating a blog as a forum for my 'gardening journey' (thanks Anita!).  I was reconstructing the greenery in my yard - so why not document the work, since I was starting from scratch.   There is NO WAY I could have had a clue what doors (...windows ...avenues ...roadways ...networks) it would open?!!!

"OMG - NO way!"

The garden blogging community reaches far and wide.  You folks are amazing, creative and generous.  There have been online mentors, like Jean:  Jean's Garden (ME). She was my very first garden blogger who left a comment, suggested joining garden blog communities like:  Blotanical and generously featured me on her blog list "Blogs of the Month" in March 2010.  She is a 'power blogger' and has introduced so many garden blogs to the community.

Who knew you could actually FIND a graphic like this on Google-Image?!!

There are veteran gardeners like: Dakota Garden (SD) and:  Hoe and Shovel (FL) that came by, sharing 'construction/renovation' projects of their own.

"Home" September 2007
(There had been gardens in there - somewhere!?!)

There are bloggers that make me laugh out loud (humor in gardening - how cool is that?), like:  Crystal Coast Gardener  (NC) and: The Idiot Gardener (who hails from the UK).

...laughing out loud...

There are garden bloggers that encourage and rally fellow gardeners with comments and memes, like: Garden In Paradise  (FL), Deb's Garden (GA), May Dreams Garden (IN) and Thanks for Today (VA).

Nurturing new growth

There are garden bloggers who's focus is on native and eco-friendly gardening:  Leaping Greenly, Mr. McGregor's Daughter and Restoring the Landscape with Native Plants ... and garden bloggers that bring regional flair to the Blogosphere: Dung hoe (CO),  The Deep Middle (NB), Deborah's Garden (FL), A Gardener in Progress (WA) illic est haud equus quoque mortuus barruo (OH)  and Obsessive Neurotic Gardener (NJ).

http://soul-amp.blogspot.com/2008/10/strange-glass-earth-globe-led-photo-art.html

International garden bloggers are fascinating to a semi-native Midwest girl like me -- and opened up a world 'far, far, away', like My Dry Tropics Garden (Australia),  Gippsland Gardener (Australia), Elephant's Eye Garden (Africa) and Our French Garden (France).  I love that Australia is enjoying the opposite season we do!  As the Americas and United Kingdom head into fall, friends in Australia are heading into spring.

Illinois topo
(courtesy of Google.com)

Then there are the artisan gardeners - those folks that bring a whole different expertise right to PC's like mine!  They have businesses, master certifications, websites and Facebook pages!  Blogs like:  Curbstone Valley Farms (CA),  The Galloping Gardener (UK), Gardens of Petersonville (CA)  Recreating Eden Landscape (GA),  Stone Art Blog (IRE) and Wall Flower Studio Seeds (CAN).


Speaking of artisans, gardens aren't the only place to find magic.  A gifted man here in Illinois designs and creates custom furniture - the likes I have never seen.  Barry uses the original tools of the trade - carried through the centuries.  In your online travels, check out his website:  Barry Newstat Furniture (IL)

Visit "Barry Newstat Furniture"
(A phenomenal artisan who makes custom furniture here in IL)

So now you know - this is how my mind wraps itself around the garden bloggers I follow and read, kind of by categories .  (I need a bit of structure, otherwise my mind might implode!).  There are many, many more talented, inspiring garden bloggers out there... I recently found: This Grandmother's Garden.  It's a whole new world - I promise I will be exploring more!

A few weeks ago, I added the "Blog Hop" gadget to my blog page (thanks to the Obsessive Neurotic Gardener).  As of this moment it's up to 123 blogs listed.  It's opened up another whole new door of blog links, and I've only hit the tip of the 'iceberg' on this resource.  I checked out the following blog link, and it got me started on another thought process - antique finishes in the garden:  Bella's Rose Cottage - Gazebo tour.  I am not super girly, with lace and bows, but I really appreciate clever design - Bella's Gazebo is so well done.

I love that the Blogosphere makes this BIG old world just a bit smaller!  (I have so much to learn... and SO much more garden work to be done...  D@mn dandelions!)   

...Happy gardening....     --Shyrlene

The Winds of Change.....

This may feel a little premature, but as we round the corner on August I'm getting that vibe ... the 'winds of change' are just around the corner!  Now, first of all - I don't think I have some special extrasensory perception...

...and this isn't a political blog, quoting famous political speeches from 1960.  But I will bogart a good phrase when I can!

Last week I felt like I had gotten stuck in the movie "Groundhog Day".  Every morning I woke up, it was like the same friggin' day!  Hot, humid, 90's... get ready for work, drive with A/C blasting, get out of the truck and have your breath get caught because you felt like you were breathing through molasses.

But yesterday - the world tilted just a little bit, and I realized the Autumn is on its way!  Now, I'm not saying the weather has changed - yet, but it's imminent.  The extended forecast for next week has IL slipping into the lower 80's (possibly high 70's by the end of the week).  We packed up our 'oldest' for another year at college.  And then there's the garden....  which is starting to make 'noises' of 'end of summer'.

 My Stella D'Oro daylilies started re-blooming....

"Stella" - waiting to bloom again!

The Rudibeckia is still in bloom-heaven....  (they will be on my list for next spring - to add to the front garden for some late season interest).

Special thanks to my buddy Lizz for tripling the size of my Rudibeckia area!

The Berri-Magic Holly is preparing for fall - and feeding the local bird population, by 'berrying up'.

Berri-Magic Holly - as berries are starting to ripen

Some of my annuals look like they are on steroids!  They are flipping HUGE!  (By the way, I am a convert to "Miracle Grow - Moisture Control" potting soil.  I've never had potted plants go as crazy, growing so large - especially in the heat of the 'summer of 2010'.)

Persian Shield, Licorice and "Blackie" Sweet Potato Vine
Sitting in 2 pots if you can believe it?

Wizards Magic Coleus - 5x's it's original size

And, the single most interesting 'new development' as of today.... the $3 potted Mums I bought from Lowes last year, and plugged into the end of my front garden - are getting blooms?!?  I seriously hadn't even thought that they would come back this summer - it was an impulse buy last fall, to extend the 'blooming' season in my fledgling gardens.

"Bonus"!  -- Alexis Garden Mum - back for round 2

Other 'findings' in my garden walk-about today:

"Mixed" Cosmos
One of the surviving plants from a full flat

Sonic Sweet Purple New Guinea Impatiens

Paprika Yarrow
Late Season preparation

"Renegade" Pansies!
I have no idea where these guys came from !?!

PJM Rhododendron
Looking stout at the end of the summer - here's hoping for spring!!

And the Sugar Maple is recovering quickly from the "Cotton Maple Scale" it suffered from this year.  If you haven't heard of it, but have seen this suspicious looking 'foreign matter' on your Maple trees - beware, it can take down a healthy tree in a couple of years

"Cottony Maple Scale" - infested the entire tree this year
(The parasite feeds on the maple sap.  Ewwwww!!):

A healthier Sugar Maple - today, 8/21/10

So, it's 'all good' in this neighborhood. My mind is starting to come out from the summer fog and I am scheming on next year's changes and additions (currently from the comfort of the air conditioning!).  I hope all is good in your garden!  

I'm Walking on Sunshine....

First:  A quick shout out to Carol at: May Dreams Gardens  She hosts a monthly meme:  Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the 15th of the month.   Many fellow garden bloggers participate from near & far.

Check out this month's contributors:  Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - August 2010

Sometimes, a picture is worth 1,000 words.  So I'm just going to share the 'effects' of the sun (and other atmospheric conditions) while I've been out and about recently....

Coppery 'Garden Art' at Sunset  

(Another shout out:  For fun about "garden art" - check out the post from garden blog: Dung Hoe: Tasteless Yard Art - Too Close for Comfort )

Sunset in the 'Front Garden' - it stopped me in my tracks!

The Subtleties of Sunset

Oxalis - reaching for the Sun

Pink Double Knock Out Rose - in the morning glow (and a foggy lense!)

An evening view after a storm blew through - on a recent vacation

Garden Ramblings on a Rainy Sunday Afternoon....

It's a windy rainy Sunday afternoon which seems perfect to appreciate the gardens from the 'inside out'.  One of my OCD garden habits has been to make sure my gardens look just as interesting when standing inside the house - looking out a window.  Even my son, a 19 year old, appreciates his new window view - and sent me this shot this summer (while I was at work):

"Nice view out my window, huh?"  (his quote!)

My daughter's view ... she hasn't provided any feedback!  ;-)

In my travels of late - I have seen great residential landscaping and I've seen homes with *no* landscaping.  Of course I can appreciate two things:  (1) "interest" in gardening, and (2) "financial resources" for gardening.  I remember our yard, in the beginning - when there was a small cement stoop at the sliding glass door and the Sugar Maple was a sapling.

I've captured a few photos in "drive-by's" and visits....  they inspire me:

I appreciate the clean lines of this front yard...

This yard stopped me in my tracks.  What fantastic boldness in gardening - not afraid to make a statement!

Your eyes aren't fuzzy - just the picture!  But I love how the stepping stones lead a person around..

I also like 'blank space'... it has a big impact, while you are being led around outside space.

...and I am forever looking for patio ideas - though this scale is too big for my future seating...(unless I win the Lotto!)

So, I continue to dream big and remember that 'Rome wasn't built in a day.'