A Pollen Feast

Asiatic Lilies
Outstretched stamens loaded with pollen.
Most people are not interested in pollen. Many are not impressed by it's effects.
If you do a little bit of hybridizing you are probably very keen about pollen, and the pollen eaters are your competition:).I always save some for them, but try to harvest mine before it's all gone. I use daylily pollen, but got a good shot of these little fellows with the Asiatic Lilies. They don't seem to be selective.

This little fellow has stripped his stamen bare.

Foxglove And Spirea

I thought that this combination of foxglove and spirea looked so pretty together. The foxglove looked as if it was gently reaching down towards the spirea.

Hemerocallis ~ Twins!

These days are busy in the seedling beds. I'm trying to decide which ones to keep, and which ones to cull (I don't really like this concept, but I know I will be overrun with daylilies if I don't start to reduce at some point).This daylily is the product of my first hybridizing attempt. There's something about it that I like, although it has an older form. I think I'll keep it around for a while.

Hosta Blooms

Hostas are appreciated for their wonderful foliage. I also enjoy their spikes of bell shaped lavender blooms, combined with pinks and oranges in the garden.

These particular blooms are on a large leafed blue variety. It's a monstrous plant, and the blooms are so pale that they seemed insignificant. Then I stopped and took a closer look. They are the palest shade of lavender, and actually quite beautiful.

Itsy Bitsy Spiders

Little garden spiders are everywhere you look. Luckily I do not have a spider phobia, and can appreciate their little webs, which can be so beautiful. I have been walking through a few however unintentionally as I go about my gardening activities.
This little fellow situated himself right in front of a daylily. Smart little guy:).We watched as a rather large bug zoomed right through his web, leaving a large hole.
Even the older broken webs are interesting to observe sparkling in the light.

I Love Ditch Lilies Because...

They glow in the sun.

I know it's not cool~ they're just ditch lilies, but I still love them:).

Wordless Wednesday

Courtesy of my daughter Rebecca:). She is so creative.

Hairy Bloomers In The Garden Today

Black Eyed Susan~almost ready to burst open.
Monarda
Geranium Buds

{Please click on the pictures for a closer look at the hairs}.

I only recently realized how hairy some plants are, since getting up close and personal with the blooms. I am amazed at how intricate those little hair structures actually can be. The hairs serve a multi functional purpose, which includes protection from solar radiation and sunburn, protection from frost, protection from hungry herbivores, breaking airflow to prevent evaporation from the surface of the plant,and accessing much needed moisture from the air. Smart little bloomers:).

Wildflowers In My Garden

This year I let some of the unknown weeds in my garden grow, just to see what they actually were. To my pleasant surprise I discovered ~ wildflowers!
Lady Bells
Evening Primrose~Oenothera biennis
unknown~ yet to be identified
Red Clover~ Trifolium pratense
Creeping White Clover~Trifolium repens
Hop Clover~ Trifolium aureum
unknown~ yet to be identified
Daisy Fleabane~ Erigeron annus
?vetch
Queen Anne's Lace~ Daucus carota

My father had a passion for wildflowers. While he foraged in the woods looking for beautiful wildflowers to photograph, I spent time in my garden enthralled by my beautiful daylilies. Our passions were different, yet similar.

My last conversation with my dad, three months ago, was about his love for wildflowers. That day he taught me to look at these plants in a different way. He said that most people don't even see their beautiful faces and walk right over them on their journey.

Part of the legacy that my dad left me was the ability to be passionate about life. I now have yet another new passion to add to the rest:). Each summer day brings about a new opportunity to discover hidden beauty in the tiniest faces of wildflowers.

Astilbe Snowflakes

When viewed from above, astilbe has the semblance of soft pink feathery snowflakes.

Astilbe, also known as false spirea, is a perennial shade loving plant.I grow a number of varieties in shade and sun,and they seem to do well in both locations.


My favorite is this early, soft pink variety.

Some Astilbe have a scrumptous sweet fragrance, while others seem to have no fragrance at all. The light pink variety (name unknown) has such a strong smell that it wafts throughout the garden, and when I'm gardening near it I'm drawn to take a closer sniff.
Astilbe makes a wonderful addition to the perennial border, and will always have it's place in my garden.