Delightful Daylilies.

Here are some of the daylilies blooming this week in my garden. I'm so pleased with their beautiful blooms and garden presence. Mississippi Blues

Ultimate Fantasy

Country Bumpkin

Arctic Lace

Victorian Lace

Golden Tentacles

Pink Ambrosia

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

A Day Of Flowers And Sand At Caribou Beach

I consider myself very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place. After a day of dabbing pollen in the garden, we were off to one of the local beaches~ Caribou Beach, a 15 minute drive from home.


Coming upon the beach is a spectacular sight.


Large wild rose bushes grow profusely near the beach.


The sand is so interesting.I wonder who walked this way.
Seaweed and hermit crabs add additional interest.

And what's a day at the beach without burying your toes in the sand?
A young seagull.
Young seagull checking out the sandcastle:).
When we got home I felt compelled to snap a few more photos in the garden.




Can't beat the maritimes:).

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:).