Monday, April 5, 2010

What A Wonderful Weekend !

Hi everyone!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend.
We had some high winds that knocked the electricity
off for about three hours but other than that it was a
warm and beautiful weekend.
There was a steady flow of traffic by
the house of people out taking advantage of the warm
weather to visit the parks, have picnics and to camp out.

FPC_Bonsi

 

I got so much accomplished this weekend outdoors.
I painted my little metal shed I use for  garden storage.
Dug up a new bed for a  friendship garden in front of the
shed to put flowers in that have been grown from the
seeds from kind blogging buddies and planted a few roots.
Gave the beds a final clean up and moved some perennials. 
Always moving things around to make room for more
plants or to help them find a better growing location.
Raked and picked up sticks from all over the yard that
had fallen during winter snow and winds.
Got the rose bushes pruned and now my arms look like
I have been in a fight with the stray cats.
The purple Liatris spicata roots were planted in the new
bed. 
By the way the Milkweed, Butterfly plants and Ornamental
Okra are looking good and growing well.
Thank you Darla!
Plants were set out side to harden off.
The Shades of Blue Larkspur is looking pretty well.
Thank you Catherine!
The red Poppies are starting to come up also and
I want to sow more in the new bed.
Thank you Tatyana!
It will be a while yet then I can plant all of the zinnia,
marigold and cosmos seeds  have been so
generously given to me.
Thank you April and Robin!
By the way the Cerinthe purpurascens is growing well
from the seeds.
Thank you Robin!
I am having a terrible time with the Hibiscus seeds
that were given to me. Sorry April, Darla and Donna.
I am going to keep trying to get them to germinate until
I have no seeds left. Maybe I will get some growing yet.

 

FPC_BonsiQuince

 

The Bonsai above was from a Flowering Quince that was in
bloom when we were at the Franklin Park Conservatory in
the Zen Garden..
It smelled so wonderful.

 

FPC_Bonsi_Quince2

 

The Desert Room had wonderful cactus and agave.

 

FPC_Agava_Cactus

 

Thanks to Noelle at a ‘Ramblings From A Desert Garden’
I have learned the beauty that can be found in a desert
garden. The desert is blooming now and there are so many
beautiful plants that grow there. I was under the misconception
that it was all brown sand and prickly things.
I have learned so much and still have so much to learn from
bloggers all over the states and the world.

 

FPC_Cactus

Can anyone tell me if this is a Chenille plant or
something else all together?
I loved the red chenille blooms hanging from this
large plant or shrub.

FPC_Chenile

 

Another picture of Aechmea Bromeliad Ruby Sun.

 

FPC_Bromelia4


Cotoneaster apiculatus  or Cranberry Cotoneaster
is a groundcover with red berries and looked wonderful
spreading over this rock display.

FPC_Cotoneaster


 

FPC_Magnolia2Small

I thought this was a Magnolia tree in bloom but since
I am not an expert on shrubs and trees it could be a
Camellia instead.
I am sure some of you will know exactly what
it is and give the beauty a name.

 

FPC_Magnolia


I guess I am not the only one who couldn’t keep their
hands out of the waterfalls.

FPC_WaterFalls

I do not know what the variegated bush below was
but I loved the deep white patterns on the leaves.
I have simply got to take down the names of things
as I tour gardens. This is getting embarrassing. LOL!

FPC_VariegatedBush

 

I think this raps up all of the pictures that were taken
at the conservatory. I hope everyone has not gotten tired
of looking at my nameless plants and flowers.
The giant display at the bottom was in the front window
and though maybe not beautiful was impressive to look at.
It was made from interlaced vines. Reminds me of a
giant worm. LOL!

FPC_5 


Happy Gardening Everyone !

Until Next Time,  Lona

24 comments:

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Thanks for sharing, beautiful photos, looks like a great place to visit.

Rose said...

Wow, you certainly got a lot accomplished this weekend, Lona! I'm afraid I had to forego the beautiful weather outside to get some housework done--it wouldn't have been fit for Easter dinner otherwise:) I enjoyed all these photos from the Conservatory. Like you, I always thought of desert plantings as all brown or prickly cacti. Since my daughter moved to Arizona, though, I've had the chance to see the native desert plants up close and in different stages of bloom, so I've really come to appreciate their beauty.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter!

BernieH said...

You have been busy ... sounds like such a productive weekend. Great photos from the Conservatory ... yes that does look like the Chenille plant (Acalypha hispida) and the shrub with the variegated leaves looks a lot like my Snowflake Hibiscus. The interlaced vines are extraordinary! Fabulous stuff.

Tankar från Trädgårdsmästarn; Hillevi said...

So, you have had quite a weekend! Mine started off very well, I cut some perennnials and enjoyed the first comfortable outdoordays on friday and saturday, but today we got winter back...:-(
It' been snowing 3-4 hours in the morning, but now I hope it has stopped altogether again...
Have a good day!

Floridagirl said...

Lona, that is indeed a Chenille Plant (Acalypha hispida)...I have a specimen in my garden, though it is just returning from dormancy right now. I'm sure it's evergreen 100 miles south of me, but here it goes dormant every winter. Can't wait to feature it in my blog. It's quite stunning and never fails to grab the attention of visitors to my garden!

By the way, thanks so much for showcasing my blog!

Patsy said...

What a lovely post ,you were busy.
Patsy

Rainy Day Gardener said...

Lovely pictures! The one looks like a chenille plant to me ~ but I've only seen small versions, indoor hanging baskets primarily. Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Gatsbys Gardens said...

It was a nice weekend for awhile! We got some very heavy thunderstorms during Easter dinner. Then, it rained all night and I just hoped the electricity would not go out. I hope you are not getting this today!

What a lovely idea, the Friendship Garden. I hope everything grows well for you.

Eileen

ibo said...

The bonsai in the first picture is really beautiful!!

I have a hard time too trying to start hibiscus from seed. I tried many methods all failed. But I guess it need patience and keeping up on trying.

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

I thought the bonsai is immaculate. We had one before, keeping it for 15 years, trimmed and controlled. But shifting houses every now and then, really harmed bonsai. ~bangchik

Noelle Johnson said...

Oh goodness me! What a productive weekend you had. I still need to get myself outdoors this morning to prune back my penstemons. I love the succulents in your pictures. Thank you so much for mentioning me in your blog :-) I have learned so much from gardeners who live in more temperate climates. For example, I had never heard of Hellebores before, and now I know quite a bit about them, even though they cannot grow here.

Unknown said...

Hi Lona, just reading the list of all that you accomplished this weekend made me tired! You did well. The conservatory photos are lovely and doesn't everyone put their hands in waterfalls? I do. The bonsai are really beautiful.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

It looks like a Chenille to me. (I was drooling over one at the local flower store last Friday.) Great pics, as always. I'm a huge fan of flowering Quince but never thought to try to knock it down to size in a bonsai form!

Roses and Lilacs said...

Love the bonsais!

The red blooming plant looks like an amaranthus.
Marnie

VW said...

Sounds like you've got some exciting stuff going on in your spring garden! And I noticed on your sidebar that you have an XTi - ooh, I'm jealous. Not that I really need to upgrade from my simple XS, but the XTi just sounds so much better :-)

Dirty Girl Gardening said...

lovely pictures... hope you has a wonderful weekend!

Anonymous said...

Such a hectic Easter week I had, but it was spent at church and with family, so it's all good. We won't count all the work hours! Quite the familiar place you visited there. I've been posting about it too. Girl, you have got to go see the Blooms and Butterflies display, incredible. See my post tomorrow. Wow, loved it! I love my new species tulips, and I think they are deer resistant and come back much more reliably than the usual kind. They are small though.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Sounds like you did have a nice weekend. Glad your weather has been cooperating. I love the idea of the friendship garden! I can't wait to see it blooming.
I've loved seeing all you pictures from the conservatory!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lona Dawn~~ Yes it's a chenille plant. Of course I know this because it's pink and you know me and pink and my radar homes in on all thinks pink. :) I almost bought that cotoneaster the other day when I was at Home Depot. I was thinking how cute it would be as a bonsai but then I remembered that I've got, what? Five bonsais out there? Do I REALLY need another one?

I'm glad you were able to get in lots of garden therapy this weekend. It does wonders for the soul, doesn't it?

Steve Asbell said...

I like the sculpture in the last picture! Thanks for the neat pictures, especially of the bonsai!

Happy@Home said...

It sounds like you have been busy. I like your idea for a friendship garden. Beautiful pictures you shared in this post.

Happy Gardening.

Dirt Princess said...

My heirloom hibiscus seeds are growing. Maybe when I can get one get and sturdy I will ship it to you!

The Idiot said...

A long weekend does wonders for the workload!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I enjoyed reading about all the things you've gotten done, what's growing, and where you got the seeds. I need to do a better job collecting seeds this fall and try to participate in an exchange.

I was going to say I thought the red blooms were love lies bleeding, but I see most agree that it's a chenille plant. I'll have to see if those grow here. It sure is a pretty bloom!

I love this time of year when things are popping up all over, and some are blooming.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend!