Almost July, its summer......................

There is so much work to be done outside. Its too hot now, too humid and too buggy. I find it overwhelming somehow. I was just outside to take pictures and turn on the sprinklers. I can't stand it out there. The gardens need thinning out and weeding. Some transplanting to do.
Some of the flowers are looking bedraggled and not as many as last year. Lots of green though,

These should be thick on the ground by now. I saw two brave souls blooming. I suppose there needs to be some food thrown out. It's all so time consuming and I didnt used to mind, these days though I seem to have lost energy and enthusiasm, Maybe on a cooler day.

It seems I only just cleaned off all the mulched pathways and they need doing again. The apple tree needs trimming because now there is too much shade, besides I keep walking into low branches. I thought I just did that too..........I wish I had a gardener.

I tend to like plants that spread, well they have done their job and are now too much of a good thing. Got to get ripping some out. These yellow daisies go crazy. I will pull some and put them by the road to go wild,

This little shrub, well it was little once, has spread out and filled in so that a little pathway is more distinct. I like that. It attracts bees too and I like that. I think I will define the path with an archway and grow the forsythia over it like I did on the other side.

The Bees like them.

Look at the little saddle bags on both these guys, and I love that furry little bum.

It seems everything blooming now is yellow. I love the blue's and purples. This little gem I put in last year and is supposed to spread. I hope it does. I would like to plant it in some other spots.

Somehow I have to get back to a garden center without him knowing. Him being the hubby who does not read this...........I want a few more succulents that will go in pots and some more hosta's. ......The next picture is of our side near Bud's house. We are pretty much on the lot line and Bud does not want a fence. He does not like trimmimg otherwise I would have a fence to define things. Well, where the wheel barrow is there is a patch of really bad grass. I am going to put down some black plastic and put mulch on it. Then define the edges like I did out back. That way The wheel barrow can just stay there. They have to move it to mow. Not that that happens very often but still.

I want to get some more rocks and boulders. I can not believe how expensive they are. We try to pick up field stones now and then but they are not easy come by. The Apple tree needs trimming back again. It was ok with blossoms but it will be loaded again this year. Not the eating kind of apples either. This area needs work. We took out the big bushes under the front window. Some of the honeysuckle has grown back and I will leave that now. I will just keep it trimmed. I have a climbing shrub on the end that now needs to be trained to climb. In the corner by the steps, this year I just put tubs of flowers. I may make an actual garden there next year. Or get some bigger planters. Not sure yet. Planters would be easier and probably look better. One on top under the window and two more below to go with the one already there. I can put Hosta and some annuals or else a shrub in the pot. We shall see. I can move out the Quince from the (what is now) shade area, maybe it would enjoy the pot? Or a mini lilac. If it were sunnier I would have a rose.

There is a lot of shade all around my garden. That is not good for roses. I also have to use the sprinklers and they dont like that much either. Fussy things. The squirrels attacked my Fairy Garden, they seem to think there is something there for them. I will get more ivy and let it go for now. I want to use the bright green things in a container. I have another fairy garden out back, I think I will make a transfer out there later on when it cools down and just plant the wagon with ivy.
I need more rocks for the rock garden. Rocks sink .into the ground so the rocks tend to disappear over time. I use them to give some contrast to an otherwise flat garden.

When we go to the beach and find Petoskey stones I put them in the garden. This is the rock garden. Sort of. I started it as a pond in a bucket, then the pump went. Then I had a fountain but Tristen would fill it with dirt so that got moved. Now its a rock garden

Thats enough for today. It has made me want to get out there and get it all done, but thats not going to happen today. It has to cool down and get rid of the humidity for me to be outside.

Flower pictures.............

I do love to take pictures of flowers. I like them all, the ones in my garden or the wild flowers or those that grow in other peoples gardens. I just love flowers. This is a new Lilac to my garden, its two years old now and is settled in and growing.

I need to trim back the hedges beyond it so it gets enough light. I love pink.........

I suppose pink and blue have always been my favourites

Then again, multi colours are just awesome. The little garden in Frankfort that the garden club take care of is pretty. It has a small pond and little stone pathway. In some ways it reminds me of some of the English parks with the little walkways and hidden pond. On a very very small scale.

This is Laura in Frankfort

All of these were in the pretty little garden too.

On the left are Straw Flowers those were at the Manitou Gardens where the petting place was.They really do feel like straw.

This one though is in my own garden and shows the patio by my pond in the back.

Its been too hot for me to work in my garden. It needs attention now. Weeding and thinning out things. Supposed to have a few cool days this coming week. I can only hope. I got some blocks from Laura and want to put those on the patio around the pond and next to the garden to define that.............next weeks projects maybe. Got loads of ideas. Then next weekend we get our new door in I hope. I also hope he gets it all done because then I get to change the room around and get a new cupboard maybe. I love rearranging things.
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In the garden....................

All winter, all 7 months of it, I waited.....and waited. Now that I can finally get outside the window of opportunity was small. The mosquito's this year are just terrible. I hate to use sprays on my skin. Those chemicals are absorbed into your body and I prefer to not do that. So, being outside is not as pleasant as it could be. Meanwhile I am taking pictures of some of the flowers. I did do some rearranging too.
First of all I must show you this.......does she look as though she is up to something. I did ask but she just stuck her tongue out at me

In the back garden we had some very big evergreens next to the deck. They have been there for many years. Because the poodles use the deck to potty when the snow is too deep, it gets thrown over onto them. In Spring they bounce back from the huge snow drift and I spray them down to get the dead leaves and what nots off of them. Well this year they looked particularly horrible so I trimmed them back. I put in a bird bath and wood chips. Now it looks nice. Even the rose bush that got lost in the bushes can now bloom happily this year.

Cutting back the evergreens has allowed the bushes in front move themselves into the space and bloom even better.

Eventually I think the space will fill if I don't trim back the other shrubs. I like this new area and so does Tristen. We have the wire fence so that the poodles do not go under the deck. We have creatures that like it under there. Like the skunk who often visits the bird feeder. I think I will try to move more of the dead parts out soon and make the area that the rose is in more accessable. That thing is very thorny and is the most horrible rose in that respect. On the other hand it blooms without fail year after year. It was a long ago Mothers day gift. Its pretty and reliable, you just do not want to have to touch it.
I put wood chips in there so I can rake it as the bird seed that falls there sprout. I love the flowering shrubs

Some of my Iris have bloomed. I bought this one last year because of its leaves, they are striped. After the visit to the Iris farm I am thinking I may get a few different colours. I might just buy from a catalogue in the Fall.



I just love the Dutch Iris, not sure if they are all called that or if its just a common term used for that group.??????


This one is darker,

I have planted some berries. A mistake I think but nowhere to move them to. The bush is getting bigger all the time. I didnt think it through. It likes its spot so will stay for now. Somehow I also have one out front. I have no idea where that one came from.

Other things I grow that are edible are Chives. Well I like those for the flowers more than anything else.

I also have some garlic chives because I loved their flowers. I put those in a pot but they do not look as though they will bloom so not sure I did right by them. The flowering shrubs seem to be the most faithful of bloomers in my garden. I have this one to cover the air conditioner along with a Quince on the other side. The snowballs do very well on the side of the house, just to give Bud the neighbour something to look at.

The Azalia does very well too although it is still small, all of them are still small. When I have success then I stick with what likes it here.

I like this pretty little thing but it really struggles each year.

Some of my roses are in bud. Maybe soon I can show some off, my roses are never much though. I must figure out what they like more than where they are now......Fussy things and they get black spot.

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Wildflowers of Glen Arbor................

Sunday was Fathers day, Reina and Laura came over and we all went for a drive. We can never decide where to go, we have favourie places. We headed out to the sand dunes. I was hotter than we thought it would be. Our first stop was at Wildflowers in Glen Arbor. Wildflowers is a garden center and gift shop and so much more. We saw that this year they have expanded. They have another building close by.
Wildflowers is unique. I love to stroll through their woodland garden and check out the pond. They have lovely garden ornaments. They make up baskets and pots of flowers. Too expensive for me. I always find something though. I did take pictures but I am on a different computer so have to use some from their web site. Thats OK because I can show inside the store.

The area around Glen Arbor is full of art galleries and stores that carry merchandise made by local crafts people. Wildflowers has its share. Inside the store you can buy fashion accessories, some clothing that is rather unique to them. Not your usual things. They have Christmas things as well as things for the house or garden.

It is the garden that holds special appeal to me. I always find unique things and seldom walk out empty handed.

Wildflowers also have plants that you can see in the woods but can not gather. Like Trillium. It is illegal to pick it even though the woods are full of it in he Springtime. I think I have also seen Jack in the Pulpit for sale.

Trillium

What I like most I suppose is wandering around the gardens and wishing they were mine. I could live in the house, its a wonderful house (converted to store)

The pond used to have fish in it, I didn't hang around too much to check yesterday because of the mosquito's

Well that was just the beginning of the afternoon out but I just wanted to show everyone one of the lovely places we have here in Northern Michigan. Wildflowers has a Facebook page and website.

Fairy Garden....................

This was Tristens weekend at Auntie Laura's. My daughter Laura had to work so Reina spent the day with us. What to do. I decided she would be bored with out Tristen so had to come up with something. I wanted to work in the garden because the weather was perfect for it.
SO we went off to Four Seasons Nursery. We saw this guy just down the road.

We want to make a Fairy garden so I knew they had the fairy stuff there. Boy was it expensive. Anyway they have a little garden set up as you go in. It has a pond.


There are frogs and taddies in the pond.

And fish

I wish I could grow Lupines like this

I also want some of these. Alum? is it?

This is the entrance........there are just so many greenhouses in this place. I mean they have a different greenhouse for every catagory, Perenials and annuals. They sell Native plants too.


Anyway we got a few things to make the fairy garden. I got a little house, a birdbath, some mushrooms and two fairies. The plants were tiny things and two ivy plants. I can not believe it came to 118 dollars. I bought two plants at 9.99 each apart from the fairy stuff.

Reina has a good time, she was very helpful. She swept the drive and she planted some plants.

I can see we have to look for more fairy things but that was all for now.

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