Rainy Days and Sundays ...

I had grand aspirations for today...

April was a month of cold, windy, cloudy weekend weather;  there was not much garden "maintenance" accomplished.  Now there is a pressing need for composting and weeding.  With recent rains and soft ground, pulling weeds should go smoothly.  Well, it would have ... with a forecast of partly sunny, 70 and only a 20% chance of rain today.

Then ... the thunder rolled ...

(From the creative minds at Microsoft Clip Art)

Outdoor plans were cancelled when it became evident this was really going to be our weather for the day.  I love thunderstorms, the smell of impending rain and damp earth.  The rains, with extra Nitrogen from lightning, have transformed all the vegetation outside to a saturated emerald green.

Besides garden maintenance, I had hoped to get some plants in the ground.  After waiting to get past the 'last frost/freeze' date (almost) for Zone 5A - I have had some impulse buys.  I bought a new Hosta (Albo-Marginata Plantain Lily), to fill in a gap in the front garden.  Last weekend, with the intent of window shopping, I found a "Banana Cream" Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum superbum) with my name on it.  (Checking that off the 2012 Wishlist).

"Banana Cream" Shasta Daisy (Leacanthemum superbum)

This past Friday, the local Boy Scouts were having their annual plant sale.  I was able to pick up two more Anemones (sylvestris), a "Turkish Delight" Sedum (ussuriense) and a perennial Pink Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) that could grow up to 8-10 ft tall!  Yesterday, when picking up some compost to plant, I found "Golden Globe" Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Globosa Aurea').   My intent is to pair them with the "Royal Purple" Smoke Bush in the front.  I think the chartreuse-tipped evergreen will contrast beautifully with the dark plumb leaves of the Smoke Bush.

"Golden Globe" Arborvitae - soaking up the rain today
(see the Royal Purple Smoke Bush in the top left corner - a match made in Heaven?!)

Pampas Grass, Anemone and Sedum - waiting for a new garden home

Between rain bursts, I did make a quick trip around the gardens.  Here are a few quick shots...

Sweet Autumn Clematis
(Amazing how delicate leaf tendrils hook a 'death grip' on the trellis; sculptured elegance/steel resolve)

Walk around the garden - 5/6/12
(White Asiatic Lily, Hollyhock, "Fire & Ice" Hosta, Weigela & Cheddar Pinks,
Sedum, Pink Double Knockout Rose bud, Candy Tuft, 'Shade Garden')

And last but not least, the pair of "Wine & Roses" Weigela I planted last year are heavy with blooms.  They are absolutely stunning and I highly recommend it if you like burgundy as a plant color-option in your garden.

"Wine & Roses" Weigela - a new fave in 2011

I also wanted to mention that I have had the good fortune to have two fellow bloggers nominate me for "Versatile Blogger".  Julia at Polka Dot Galoshes and Petro at The Seaman Mom have wonderful blogs you should check out.  My next post will feature the "Versatile Blogger" meme.  I look forward to putting it together!

Until then, pacem, amicis ...

©  All content and photography by Shyrlene Foster @ the Bunnies Buffet (unless noted)

Carpe Diem! ("Skip School" and enjoy...)

Previously, before gardening (BG?), I never thought much about the Autumn season - other than the changing of the leaves.  I certainly didn't get "up close and personal" or think of November as a month with a lot to look at.  THAT is a lot of lifetime to be missing the views I captured yesterday, on a simply gorgeous Autumn day.

Sugar Maple in sunshine
 - one of the last trees to shed leaves for the Winter

It actually started when I was out running errands, and stopped for a 'to go' coffee.  As I pulled up to the store front, I immediately noticed the Autumn-themed landscaping in the sidewalk garden:

Note to self:  add Dusty Miller (Centurea cineraria) to gardens next year

Even though the Garden Mums were starting to fade (it is November in the Midwest after all!), this garden looked so robust.  As the bright colors of summer start to pale, the russet colors autumn are a warm & welcoming segue to the change of seasons.  Once my errands were done, I took a 'San Antonio Stroll' around my gardens...  it was an eye-opener.

November Images in the Garden at the Bunnies Buffet

Stole a quick photo of the neighbors' Burning Bush

The garden glider blanketed in late Autumn leaves...
(... and playing with the color saturation in Photo Studio)

Hollyhock - robust in November

The last of the Pink Guara

Sugar Maple with an Azure Sky backdrop

The last Double Pink Knockout Rose bloom...

The colors just blew me away.  The fact that so many plants were still hanging in there was fantastic.  And we will take all the sunny, 60-degree days we can get!  There is still garden maintenance to be done, and yard art to be put away (while the ground isn't frozen) - so I am due for a 'power day' cleaning up.  In the meantime, I will enjoy the last fading images of the 2011 garden season.

Sweet Potato Vine - paling in the sun

Weigela - with burnishing leaves in November

Sugar Maple in sunshine and shadows

I've missed being on the Blogosphere.  Our 'shared' home PC has been dedicated to school use recently, but I'm getting a foothold back on the family 'schedule'.  Looking forward to catching up on your blogs!!  Happy gardening...

Surprise! A Bloom in the Garden on 10/30/10

It was an amazing weather day today!  Warm sunshine, gentle breezes - not typical for IL in late October, but we accept graciously...  Here are a few shots to capture the day.

The last few leaves hung precariously on the neighbor's Maple tree.  Most of them crunched underfoot as I walked around the yard.  It's hard to believe the growing season really is over.  One single little Stella D Oro bloom reached for the sunshine from my 'Sun Garden'.   In it's protected corner of the world, I almost think it has become a Zone 6 micro-climate.  Those plants are first to bud and last to hibernate.

A weeping Pink Guara draped itself across the Stella D Oro bloom

The south-facing family room is where all the inside plants hang out.  In good company, the Meyer Lemon chills with the Oxalis triangularis and Hibiscus.

I love watching the leaves of the Oxalis follow the sun around.  You can see them reaching for the light.  Then at night when they close up, they remind me of butterfly wings.

A bold face all the way in mid-October

Re-blooming in October just blew me away!  I always thought roses loved the heat, but apparently my Double Pink Knockout roses are very happy in Fall.  They were blooming profusely until a very recent cold snap.  I caught this bloom a mere two weeks ago!

Pink Guara - up close and personal

Pink Guara was "'Most Impressive' flower for 2010" in my gardens.  The plants were a gift this Spring, and who knew they were going to knock my socks off.  The blooms gracefully dip in the wind and are still blooming.  Delicate as fine china... hardy as the north wind.

Wordless Wednesday - 10/06/10

"Pretty in Pink" sisters in the garden - 10/06/10
(Pink Guara & Double Pink Knockout Rose)

"Kentucky" Clematis
('field trip' photo - 10/03/10)

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

Admit it, size matters....

OK, that's a cheap hook, but I've really struggling on something to post on!  Maybe it's just me, but now that July is rounding out - my gardens are almost in Limbo.  It's hot, it's humid and I'm getting tired of fighting dandelions - almost as much as bunnies!

At least that was until today - (.... queue the choir .... "Ahhhhhhhhh!")

"Fireball" Hibiscus / Rose Mallow ('moscheutos "Fireball")

I had to 'incarcerate' this beauty from the bunnies.  They would snip off the new growth at the base of the plant, leaving me with a single stalk - BUT, now protected - it blooms!  Based on the upcoming buds at the top, there is a lot to look forward to.

Other little tidbits that seem to be ignoring the heat....

Pink Double Knock Out Rose
(Rosa 'Padtkopink')

The potted plants in the 'Sun Garden' have been thriving in the heat and humidity....  I combined Sweet Potato Vine with Licorice Plant (Helichrysum thianschanicum (lanatum "Icicles") and Strobilanthes (dyerianus).  It's doubled in size in 2 weeks...

Rudbeckia - I love how it is filling in this year !!

It might not be a Resurrection Lily, but the Vicary Golden Privet (Lignstrum x vicaryi") has been my 'miracle' plant - long ago given up for gone.  Grow, baby, grow!

The Meyer Lemon tree decided to randomly bloom.  We'll see what happens!

The textures in the front garden were particularly eye-catching this weekend in the sunshine.  As long as I photograph around the dandelions - then it's my world and I can be in denial about their existence if I want to!

So, I guess there was something to talk about after all - not Chaucer, but something none the less.