Putting the Garden to Bed

We've already had our first hard freeze almost two weeks ago and today it's back up in the 70's!  I was so wishing the freeze would hold off for a few more weeks so I could keep enjoying my annual flowers near the patio. 

I finished planting my kale, pansies and tulips just in time.  Now I need to keep them watered and mulched until the spring.

I loaded the greenhouse with my geraniums,  a large hibiscus plant and as many other plants as it could resonably hold.   We've already had the heater running on a couple nights when the temperature got down in the teens!    

I cut back last years amaryllis leaves and put them in storage for their 8 week rest.   I did order new varieties to enjoy this winter and got those potted up.  The Amalfi only took three weeks from planting to bloom!  

Amazing!  

 We spent last weekend cleaning up the yard and mulching leaves in preparation for a new flower bed in the spring.  We are working to decrease the amount of mowing we have to do as we are getting in our golden years and I want more area for plants anyway.

We put a few white lights off the patio for the holidays as we can enjoy them from our family room at night.

Now my attention turns to putting up Christmas trees and decorating the house.  I'm already looking forward to next year's garden season but first I'll enjoy some time off to celebrate the holidays with my family.

Stay warm!

Feeling like Fall

We finally have fall weather and I love this time of year.  Oklahoma temperatures wane back and forth from fall to summer with a quick freeze mixed in just to taunt me!  It's such a challenge for gardeners.  I haven't planted any outdoor fall plants yet but did manage to make a little bouquet with some grocery store sunflowers and mums for Mom's bedside table. 

Fall is my favorite season and I wish it lasted for so much longer!  The rich colors, smells of cinnamon and pumpkin spice make our home so cozy.  I did light the fireplace once when the temperature dipped down into the thirties.  I managed to get most of my patio plants moved into the greenhouse for safe keeping and still have some rearranging to do to make it easy to water everything

 this winter. 

I waxed and sprayed some pumpkins to deter the squirrels from munching on them and hope I can get them to last until Halloween.  

I'm planning on decorating the front porch tomorrow and getting some tulips in the ground.   

Happy Fall!

Stargazing

I love so many flowers and I'm often asked by friends if I have a favorite.   If I had to pick only one then it would have to be the Stargazer lily.   The first pot of lilies was a gift from my husband who found them at the grocery store.  

After they stopped blooming I read the plant tag and was surprised to see that they could be planted in the yard.  They looked like they would be tropicals but I found a spot in the back border and planted them.  I was amazed when they came back and bloomed the following year.   I was hooked!

Thirty plus years later I am still planting them and enjoying the stunning display they provide every year around the fourth of July.    I cluster them around the patio so we can enjoy them up close.  The patio smells wonderful for several weeks and the view from our breakfast table is our favorite.

This year I underplanted with pink Sunpatiens and purple pentas and I love the combination! 
If you have never planted Stargazers you really should give them a try.  They are easy and just need some 
sunlight to bloom.  
   

So Much Rain!

What a crazy weather month we have had...so much rain, record rainfalls as a matter of fact!  

I can't remember this much rain since we moved to Oklahoma but everything is nice and green so I shouldn't complain as many across our state have lost homes in the flooding.

I've been out in the butterfly garden staking things up and cutting things back so they don't lean over in the dirt.  So thankful for the intermittent sunshine between the downpours!

Larkspur is so pretty but definitely needs help with heavy rains and wind to stay upright.  I hid a tomato cage in the bed and tied the stalks to it.

Seems we get a day or two break and then another round of thunderstorms hit.  We had a small hail storm a couple days ago and I was so thankful my garden only had minor damage!

The star of my garden this month has been the 'Snow Queen' oakleaf hydrangea.  She has really put on a show and held up through the wind and rain!

I purchased in a one gallon pot about 15 years ago and although it took a few years to start really blooming,  it has been worth the wait!  Hardy and reliable, Snow Queen has bloomed every year since it established.    

The early mornings when the sun is shining after the rains are a welcome sight.   The sunpatiens I planted love water but they need more heat to grow into the beautiful full mounds they are known for! 

I love the coral pink impatiens with the purple pentas off my patio.   The hummingbirds love the pentas too!  

A few pots of coleus are happy in the shade on the patio. They don't seem to mind all the rain we've had.  

Hope your weather has calmed down in your 

neck of the woods.  

Perfume Bottle Vases

    I love repurposing things I've had for years.

My Mom gave me a collection of perfume bottles years ago she purchased when she lived in the Middle East.   I haven't used them in years so I decided to put them in my garage sale and not one of them sold.  

I was packing things up and I realized they would be perfect little bud vases and that I could turn something I didn't use anymore into things I would use all the time.

I love how they look in my window sill and since they only hold a few flowers they are easy to change out.

Our roses have bloomed so well this year and and I'm so happy with my little "vases".

Happy Mother's Day

We are having chilly and wet weather for this time of year but my flower garden provides little bouquets for me and Mom to enjoy on rainy days.

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm linking with Beverly's Pink Saturday

Easter Patio Pots

I can't wait to see lots of color in the garden 

after a long cold winter! 

Yellows, pinks and reds are so welcome and with the uncertainty of late frosts I love putting new plants in pots that I can move quickly into the greenhouse if needed.  

My  Japanese Red Maples are at peak color and are my favorite trees in the landscape! 

I was fortunate to find two gorgeous hydrangeas

 last weekend at Lowe's!   

Another red maple outside my bathroom window makes for a pretty view!

I love window boxes and found these wire 

baskets years ago.  Each year I fill them with a new combination of flowers.  This year I choose burgundy snapdragons to echo the colors of the red maples and the yellow violas make them pop.  

Spring is here! 

First Blooms

King Alfred

Spring has finally arrived and

 the first bloomers are my sweet daffodils.  

The yellow colors 

just brighten my mood and end the winter gloom. 

I've always said yellow was my "happy" color!

Tete-a-tete

The first wave of daffys have already bloomed.  The above tete-a tete minature variety is a favorite and blooms early.  They are small but have multiple blooms which makes me wish I had planted more.   We used an auger attachment on my hubbie's drill that I purchased at Lowe's in the garden department and it made fast work of planting over 120 bulbs. 

Avanti

I really love these bicolor daffodils with dark centers.  This one is Avanti and I just planted these this fall in several areas of my garden.  They have a sweet fragrance too!

I had a few pots of daffodils and tulips in the greenhouse.   I bring them in the house or put them on the patio to enjoy.  Our tulips are just starting to bloom and I hope they open tomorrow.

Sweet little violas brighten up my

 centerpiece for the patio. 

I overwintered my geraniums in the 

greenhouse and they add a pop of color

 to this corner.   

I purchased a few cold hardy plants to put

 in pots on the patio. This red ranuculus makes 

a great companion with purple violas. 

  

I couldn't resist this Spanish lavender at Lowe's last weekend and I can't wait to purchase more varieties when we are past our last frost date.

Yellow buttercup ranuculus is so pretty and I've potted this one with purple violas and

 a lime colored hellebore.  

Near the back of my garden is a beautiful saucer tulip magnolia coming into full bloom.  It's so striking when no other trees are in bud or leaf. 

I hope you are enjoying the first signs of spring with sweet blossoms.  I'm sore today from yardwork but was so glad to be in my favorite place pruning and cleaning up leaves to get ready for planting.  I'll wait until next week to start on planting annuals as the weatherman says one more 

frost night 

is coming our way this weekend. 

.   

Happy Spring!