End of June Vignettes

baby beans

teenage tomatoes

darling dahlia

melon vines 

cantaloupe

new growth on the Eucalyptus

Post-Rain Stroll With Me?

Turn left off the front porch

Stop to lay in the goldenrod, it's so soft...

turn right off the front porch and you'll picture this prize peony, I'm so proud of her...

At her feet, Stonecrop gathering rain droplets...

their next door neighbor is a Hollyhock reaching for the heavens, both will bloom come summer...

a pile of weeds minds its own business...

inside the secret passageway...

look up at the still life with hanging plant and newly clearing sky...

skip down the hill where everybody loves a flowering shrub...

random lone wildflowers amid the yarrow yet-to-bloom...

further down on "Sun Hill" the sunflowers are slowly rising up to meet their namesake...

back to the other end of Cicada Cottage Gardens is the wisteria alcove where wild kidlets play...

tucked around the corner, an empty pot (ludicrous!) guards garden stakes waiting to be called to use (soon)...

just behind them peas are just about to push their first blooms, which means...peas!

the potatoes are still green, which means they're still making potatoes (these are purple), don't harvest until that green is brown and grounded...

an unexpected love recently cropped up in my horticultural heart: ornamental grass, these make a border for my Euphorbia garden.

What a lovely stroll, let's do it again sometime.

Camelias at Duke Gardens

A Forest's Lace Curtains

North Carolina's state tree is the Long Leaf Pine.  But, her state flower is the flowering Dogwood.  It is so beautiful and delicate, thought the blossoms are quite big.  From pale green, to cream-colored, to white or even pink, these blooms are booming right now, everywhere!  They grow wild in the forests but have tamed and captured our hearts.  Lovely Dogwood.

Early Spring at Sarah P Duke Gardens: A Tour

I'm inside now.  And have been for the past few days (except to get the eggs and chase the chickens back into the backyard (they've been hopping the fence again).  It is late on Sunday night.  I've got my furry boots back on and snacking off mini rye toasts and creamy brie.  Cranberry Pomegranate juice is sitting next to me on ice. I've turned the heat back on.

So how about a glimpse at a tour we took last Friday on Duke campus.  The Sarah P Duke gardens, they are a delight in every season.  I was hoping the giant Wisteria would be in full bloom because our smaller version is bursting with shades of purple and competing with the hyacinths for "best smelling" flower ever.

I find myself drawn to these gardens for inspiration.  What is coming up now?  What is in bloom?  Where is it planted? Here is what we found:

The Wisteria, not in full bloom, not even close.  

Yet, somehow it still manages to maintain gorgeous curves.  

But the bulbs, oh the bulbs!!!  Loved this yellow display.

These?  Are they pink anenomes?  

Flowering Cherry above Rosemary.

Stunning shapes at every turn.

I want this.  Have no idea what it is, but ... fantastic!

Made a mental note to plant some parrot tulips like these this Fall.

The remains of some little ducklings left in the pine straw. A fun find by Hazel.

The new and improved pond!

Look closely and you'll see the silhouette of a Harry Walker Contorta tree.  This is where we discovered this beauty and Dr. Gooch planted one near the screen porch.

In Spring it sprouts these romantically dangling flowers.

It's a Hellebores convention!!

purple and red, so royal

'Do Tell' how many years it will take to get my peonies this big and healthy?

Kissimus Profundis, a rare sight

These long-leaf pines are almost sacred here in North Carolina

One can see why.

For you, Dad.  A purple Lilac in bloom!  It is called Daphne Genkwa, from China.  

A shade-loving shrub that blooms in winter and early spring.  Edgeworthia Chrysantha, or Paperbush.  I want one.

Avery sits on the stone stamens of a Dogwood bloom hewn in rock. 

 I've saved the Dogwoods and Camelias for another day.  They each deserve a post of their own.