Monday Morning Blues

Gentian

Before I begin, congratulations are in order for ESP, East-Side-Patch & Frances at Faire Garden who are the 1st & 2nd place winners at Gardening Gone Wild‘s August photo contest.  It was fun to submit a photo for the competition and check out all the photos from the other gardeners who entered!  I learned a lot and will submit again!

Cupid's Dart

Monday morning, back to work in my studio I am longing to be outside enjoying the last days of summer.  I’m not really in a blue mood as I love what I do, but am reflecting on all the blue flowers I’ve enjoyed during the height of the season.  Without further ado…..

Blue Eyed Grass

Veronicastrum

Spiderwort

Delphinium

Russian Sage

And not a flower, but my garden is adorned with some of the glasswork I create!  Since we’re talking blue, a blue butterfly!

Blue Butterfly

And if you notice the new sidebar badge from My Shopping Connection, it’s because my work was featured on their site this morning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time……

‘Down on Your Knees’, Picture This photo contest for August!

Verbascum & Bloodgrass

This is my very first serious entry for a photo contest offering a prize and I’m so excited!  Not that I think I have a chance at the prize, but because it’s fun and I do have a competitive spirit even though I don’t take myself too seriously.  I’m an artist working with glass, avid gardener who constantly  wonders about and seeks my next direction.  So it’s really fun to marry my two passions with my amateur hobby of photography.

I found the Gardening Gone Wild site via Teresa at Gardening with Soule after her comment on my last post (Thanks Teresa!).  There are some fabulous photos entered in the contest as you can see here!  Just click on each person’s entry to view.

The photos are all taken from knee level or lower.  I think my favorite so far is Teresa’s.  Her color, composition, texture and contrast all work perfectly together.

The prize is a selection of summer blooming perennials from one of my favorite nurseries, High Country Gardens!  I need to get my fall order placed with them soon!

David Perry is the judge and you MUST see the photos on his garden blog.  Incredible to say the least!

After taking photos this morning it was difficult for me to choose which I liked best to select as my entry!

Gentian

I love the Gentian detail…..

Gentian

As well as the trio Gentian trumpets.

Bumble Bee

Then there was the Bumble bee on the pink Veronica…..

Pink Veronica

And the pink Veronica grouping.

Sage

I love the texture of this sage….

They've reseeded everywhere!

Which led my eye to more textures.

Stripes

But these were grayish & greenish, & I love color.  So, after 99 shots, the  Verbascum won out.  For me anyway….did I make the right choice?  Which would you have selected???

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time……

Searching for Flower Fairies

A good hiding place?

During my granddaughters’ week-long visit we spent many hours in the garden.  We began each day with a stroll through, looking for flower fairies, and any signs that they might have been here.  Those fairies!  They left a surprise gift for the girls every morning so it became THE reason for leaping out of bed each day.  Pajama clad, sleepy-eyed but enthusiastic searches ensued.

Up one path....

The fairies left sparkly ankle bracelets, toys, games, …

...and down another path....

We looked high and low for the fairies as they taunted & teased us with gifts.

Are we early enough? Are they sleeping still?

We think we may have caught a glimpse of one…..it surprised us with sudden movement…..No doubt to escape being discovered!

There!

When it was time to leave, my girls had an armload of reminders for our mornings together in the garden.  And I have a wonderful memory of our adventures.

Empty paths

After a week of clamor, the paths seem so empty now and the fairies must be gone because I’ve found no trinkets since…..

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time……..

Tiniest Tomatoes?

World's Tiniest Tomatoes?

You know I don’t grow anything ‘functional’, but my husband does.  He is into ‘function’ the way I am into ‘decorative’.  If it has no use, he has no use for it.  He usually has a patch of tomatoes and assorted vegetables that never get weeded, but he fences them for deer protection, waters without overwatering, and uses compost regularly.  He does lift out the larger weeds, long after I would’ve pulled them, but who am I to tell him how to run his veggie patch!  More often than not, the veggies overtake any weeds anyway, as he tends his plants then serves up glorious vegetables for our meals all summer.  This year is different.  Last night’s first crop of ripe tomatoes were very different.

The beginning of summer was cool, overcast and even rainy.  The last few weeks have been over 100º most days!  Weather  aside, all other growing conditions were the same as every year, ….fresh soil in his planter box, conveniently located on the sunny front deck…

Tomato plants

These  tiny tomatoes are what awaited me for dinner last night!!  They must be the world’s tiniest tomatoes!  What’s up with these tomatoes?  They taste like tomatoes, albeit tiny tastes.  While everyone else is showing off their ten pound bright red beauties, we’re studying these babies trying to figure out if we should put them in a salad where they’ll get lost, or eat them like raisins!  Or maybe…..yes, maybe we should put them up on EBay!

Thanks for stopping by, even for a ‘tiny’ bit!   Until next time, when I plan to tell you about recent visits from Flower Fairies….