Monday, June 1, 2015

In the Garden

It's been a beautiful Spring so far and here we are suddenly in June. I remember longing for this weather and it seems like just yesterday that it seemed it would never be here. Blink and the year is half gone, one more reminder to savor each day!
 
We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with my eldest daughter flying in for one day, (we got am amazing rate on airfare so it was well worth it!), a big family cookout and just lots of family fun and love. Since then, we have been concentrating on getting the garden expanded and planted.  Michigan just passed it's last frost date for planting so we are really just in the beginning stages of planting the vegetable garden.
Fortunately, we have perennials that start blooming and making things beautiful fairly early. These Siberian iris are one of my favorites. They line our picket fence and have bloomed profusely this year.
 Their deep purple flowers are more petite than regular iris and each stalk has 3-4 buds so they are lasting a long time.
 They bloom next to the snowball bush and it makes a beautiful pairing! I took these photos as the sun set one evening last week. The light was beautiful and I just had to capture how lovely the garden looked.
 Like lilacs, I don't remember ever living in a house without a snowball bush. My grandmother had them and so did my mother.  I have always loved their big creamy white balls of soft petals and even the way they make a drift of white when they begin to fade. It's a very fast growing bush and ours is about 9 feet tall after only a few years.
The strawberries are going to be amazing this year too.  They are loaded with berries and some are just beginning to turn pink.  The annual race against the chipmunks will begin soon. Sometimes they win, sometimes we win.  I'm hoping this is a year we win and get to eat the berries :)
Happy June! How does your garden grow?

15 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures! We are a little bit ahead of you here in Indiana. Our irises are almost done. But something is always blooming , so it's all good, right?

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  2. Wow! Such a pretty contrast with the iris and snowballs. Happy gardening!

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  3. So pretty! I don't have any Siberian Irises and have always wanted some. They really look so much more special than the old fashioned kind. That's neat that your daughter got to come for Memorial Day. :)

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  4. I do love your Iris. Clever to pair them with the greeny-white of the snowball. I had one in France and miss it, but it would be too big for this garden.

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  5. Your flowers are beautiful Kathy! I hope you get your strawberries!

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  6. Kathy those irises are spectacular!!Wow...just gorgeous! So is the snowball bush!

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  7. Everything looks so pretty. We've had some flooding so my garden is a mess. Some things look nice - but a lot of my strawberries appear to have drowned. Or actually - their soil washed away around them. I have added more soil and hope they make a come back, but I may have to start all over again. But - we are much better off than a lot of people Our house stayed dry inside and I am grateful for that. :-) I have so much to be thankful for. Even if I do have to buy my strawberries at the store this year.

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  8. I grew up with snowball bushes but the don't grow here. What a shame as I have always loved them. The irises are gorgeous- LOVE that color!!! xo Diana

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  9. Love snowball bushes! Your garden is so beautiful. Glad that it will be a good year for harvesting strawberries. Yummo!

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  10. How I wish I had some snowball bushes as well! Simply gorgeous! Strawberries are my favorite but I had zero luck on the few attempts of growing my own. I think the birds enjoyed feasting on them.

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  11. Your garden is gorgeous! I love snowball trees but didn't have one until last month. My dear, little mother has had them forever and I've wanted to have one in my yard but didn't ever plant one. I won mine at a girlfriend's camping event last month so now I'm looking for the perfect spot to plant it in my yard. Our yard needs a lot of work. My sweetheart is the main gardener and he has been working in my dear mother's yard to get it in shape again. It brings such delight to her and he loves doing it. He's almost caught up with her yard and garden - ours will be next. He's been so busy working on my vintage trailer that yard work has been pretty minimal around here!
    ~Adrienne~

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  12. The Siberian Iris and snowball bush are just beautiful! I'm so glad that springtime finally arrived. Our strawberries are looking great too. I know that just as they're turning red, the robins will be there to try to get first pickin's. I do let them get a few. After all...

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  13. Love the color of the Siberian Iris, and that snowball Vibruinum is just gorgeous, we use to have one and it died a while back. Lovely photos!

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  14. Everything looks so pretty and fresh! The Iris is so vibrant!

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