To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat. ~ Beverley Nichols

For weeks my husband has promised me that he was going to take me to a nursery. Well, last weekend was the best time because he owed me a Mother's day gift : ) So I was actually able to buy something. Of course when we got to the one that I had been really wanting to go to.. it was SO expensive! Like 6 marigold's was $15! I definitely couldn't pay that. I know that nurseries are always more expensive and I'm sure that there quality was alot better than, say... Wal-mart or Lowe's. But I had to draw a line. I mean these were annuals! Perennials I will pay a little more, but not annuals.

I was sorely upset but thankfully I was able to find the Hydrangea "Limelight" that I had seen the last time I had been there. So I bought that. A disappointing trip, considering I had been waiting so long to go back.

On the way back though we found a little Country Store that made the entire trip worth while. It was small and it had any kind of preserved food you could think of. But what made it so great was all the flowers outside the store. We had not been there very long when I spotted the biggest, most beautiful rose I had ever seen. Plus it smelled like Heaven! There was no price on it so we had to ask someone (I hate that). But when the guy came over and we asked him he pointed at the huge sign behind us that said ROSES $12.99. OK before you start wondering about my intelligence. It was Mother's day and I assumed (you know what they say about assume?) that since the price was so low that it had to be cut roses. After I got over the embarrassment I grabbed that big red rose (Janice Kellogg rose) and searched for another one to go with it. That's when I found the "Liv Tyler" rose. I have been wanting one and to find it that big for $12.99, well, it was very exciting! I was still on the lookout for Bee Balm, but I had pretty much reached my limit after the Hydrangea and the roses!

This is the Janice Kellogg rose. It stands out a little in the rose garden since it's so big and the others were bought this Spring bare root

Another shot of the Janice Kellogg rose. Named after former President of Kellogg garden products.

http://www.greenarrownurseries.com/gallery/album294/Kelloggs_Rose_PUB2

The "Liv Tyler" rose. Not in bloom yet, but I am waiting anxiously!

Hydrangea "Limelight" I am so excited about this blooming!

I bought this "Barbarini rose Dianthus" because it is highly fragrant and I think that that is an important part of a garden.

My moms gift to me. Asiatic Lily that I split up and made three from! YAY!

This just bloomed and I thinks its the Chicago Peace rose. It is a lot prettier in person!

This is one of the miniature roses in bloom.

This is the "Snowfire" rose about to bloom.

This is the same rose in bloom.

Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it. - author unknown.

I have always wanted a rose garden. I started it last year and unfortunately I put it in the worst place in the yard! They got almost no direct sun. Like all flowers location, location, location is the first ingredient in growing flowers. Of course now that I think about it, I really didn't put that much thought into where I was going to plant them. I guess it was a good thing that I only paid $3.00 a piece for them. Because had I paid more I would have been very upset when they all died!


Well, now its a better year. I didn't just have a baby and I now have time to plan.
So of course being the persistent person that I am, I just started again.


New location- back yard where we get sun pretty much all day!



New plan= (its actually a circle contrary to the awful picture.)










Arches covered in roses will be on the right and left side of the rose garden. Then in the middle we will probably get a bird bath and a bench??? Idk.


We already have the the roses put in the places they go, now the hard part... putting down all that edging so that the gravel stays in. Now that's going to be a job!

This is Snowfire.. I think. I will have a picture tomorrow of what it looks like open, Its a beauty!

This is one of the roses I got on clearance at the end of the season last year.

Knockout roses... blooming like crazy!

I am not sure which rose this is. I guess we'll be surprised when it opens! I LOVE surprises!
I am thinking its a Floribunda rose since it has so many little buds on one stem.

Iris's are blooming and they are BEAUTIFUL! I have added more Iris's for the list of bulbs to buy this Fall!



My little bitty shady lady impatiens from park seed.

Purslane from my tipsy pots.

Hollyhocks!!!

Another Salvation Army find! A little... idk what. But I am going to use it as a mini-trellis.

Did you really think I could go one post without saying something about my Wave Petunias???

Petunia the playful kitty!

After a long cloudy weekend its FINALLY raining! YAY! Our poor grass was pitiful! But during the break in the rain I got out and took some pictures.

This is Petunia. She is a prissy cat that I bought a Salvation Army last week. She was glad it quit raining so she could go play.

She likes to hide in my iris's. Can you see her? : )

I told her to watch out for the thorns but... she didn't listen.

This is Moocher. Petunias Sister. (from another mother)

Gardening 911!!!

Problem- I have a shade garden in the middle of some trees. Its really hard to work the soil since there are so many tree roots plus it stays SO DRY! We planted caladiums and elephant ears there last year, but most of them never came up and if they did they were PUNY! I thought it was because they didn't get enough water (we were in a drought Spring - Fall) But now we are getting plenty of rain and they aren't even coming up. So my dilemma is... do I try planting again or do I try to do raised beds? I have astilbe, hosta, impatiens, and coleus that I want to plant there and they should be ready to plant in a couple of weeks. I have also considered doing the raised beds and surrounding them with rocks to kinda naturalize the beds so they don't stand out as much.

PS. These are pictures from last year before we put in the bench and everything.

Do you see the neighbors burn can in the bottom picture? LOL

Where flowers bloom so does hope- Lady Bird Johnson

Last year I bought two bi color butterfly bushes from Michigan Bulb. I planted them in the Fall and waited. A couple of weeks ago one started leafing out and growing and the other.. did nothing. I had already read that they sometimes were the last to leaf out so I just gave it some time. Yesterday I finally got fed up and I tugged on it to see if it had roots. Well, it came right out of the ground and snapped.

The thriving butterfly bush.

RIP. butterfly bush.

This area started out as just the bench. I didn't really plan anything I just wanted to add something. Well, as simple as it is. It has turned out to be the most peaceful area of the whole yard. The trees provide the perfect cover to escape from the whole world and sit in front of the trellis that is (soon to be) covered with fragrant sweet peas. This is also the area where I have the 6 Rose of Sharon's and a row of peonies I just planted.

My aunt and her boyfriend are in the moving and remodeling houses business and they had all this extra brick that we were able to get! Did I mention it was PAVERS?! It was HARD work moving it, but it was worth it. We are now going to be able to make the large patio that we planned plus have some left over!

This is my husband and our son on his first lawn mower ride. You should have heard him talking (jabbering) as they rode around the yard.

My first collage made with Picasa 3! YAY!

"A garden is never so good as it will be next year."-- Thomas Cooper

This is the Snowball bush from Gurneys that I planted like 2 months ago. And its BLOOMING!

Its scientific name is Viburnum "opulus roseum" sterile (no berries)

This is the tip of my snowball bush and the neighbors tree.


Miniature rose bud!





My first rose bloom!!! They are really small!


Strawberry plants!

My pink tipsy pots! Its not full yet but it will be overloaded with.... Wave Petunias!

http://www.birdsandblooms.com/Tipsy-Pots-Project/detail.aspx

Just a pink feathery bloom from my celosia

Our brick pathway leading from the back porch. When we went and got our HUGE batch of brick we went ahead a picked up the broken ones. And of course we just had to use them (waste not want not LOL) so honey chipped up some more brick and Wah-lah! We added some stepping stones of, course. I mean who wants to walk on brick chips. OUCH!



Peony's are about to bloom! I can't wait!


I love this pot! Its perfect for another strawberry plant!

Now if I can only find some more of these planters : (

Gardening requires lots of water -- most of it in the form of perspiration.- Lou Erickson

Walking in the Garden!

This one of the six rose of Sharon's that I planted a couple of weeks ago. I had been scared that maybe they were dead and wah-lah! I was so HAPPY!

This is one the many unkillable Iris's and now its finally blooming! YAY!


My pink hydrangea that is coming back really slowly.

Yellow lantana that I bought at Lowe's!

I really love this lantana though! From Wal-mart!

My pink wave petunias that are growing like crazy!

Hardening off frizzle-sizzle Pansy's (gurneys) and Dolcissima Flambe Petunias from park seed.

This is the view from my bathroom window. The right side of my circular rose garden. (ignore the stumps LOL)

The left side of the same rose garden.

Just a picture of our Moocher. ( really that's her name LOL)