Friday, January 21, 2011

Summer’s Remembered

 

Today is a bitter and brutal day after a winter storm dumped six inches of new snow on us and the temperatures now just 5 degrees with a wind chill of 10 degrees below zero.
Today is just a reminder of why I have become a person that it just not into  winter.
But enough on this same old topic which everyone
has dwelled on lately.

Birdbath Winter

Today I want to remember the warm days of summer
and brilliant flowers dripping in colors for Fertilizer
Friday sponsored by our friend Glenda at “Tootsie Time”.

Azalea_Orange

I want to remember warm days and thoughts about  sunshine on Azalea blooms of  apricot and orange that
we saw on a trip to Amish Country.

Ajuga_ChocolateChip

Or the lavender blooms on the Chocolate Chip
Ajuga.

AlliumMacro

Of star shaped blooms that make up the round spheres
of the Allium.

Helitrope_Marine_July I want to remember  the fragrance of vanilla from the Heliotrope in containers..

BeckyDaisies or the waves of Shasta Daisies grow in my  flower beds
In the heat of summer.

Verbena_Macro2

and remember the brilliant reds from verbena blooms.

DelphiniumBlueBird

I want to remember warm raindrops glistening on
the beautiful blues of the Bluebird Delphinium
against the backdrop of white Bellflowers.

Stachy_Lambsear_June2
or the feel  fuzzy leaves and blooms on the  Stachy’s
wooly Lamb’s Ear.

Pots 
I want to remember my containers filled with Nicotiana,
Pelargonium's and waves of Petunias.

Fern_Angel or the silver glow of the Japanese Painted ferns that
grow in the shade garden beside the pump fountain.

TipsyPots_August
I remember  the Tipsy pots filled with Impatiens
and Lobelia.
   Windowbox_Sept

and window boxes of pink and purple.

Rose_LavenderSimplicity2_June28
I remember the subtle colors in the Lavender
Simplicity Roses.

C_Silvermoon2
and the Silvermoon Clematis twining up the
trellis beside the garden shed.

Mimosa_First4_June16
I want to remember how beautiful the fluffy blooms of the Mimosa tree were as it bloomed the first time last summer.

Rhododendrons
or how the Rhododendrons were loaded with bloom
in the spring.

Rose_EbbTide_BBee

I want to remember the Bumble bees drunk from
pollen as they slept upon the roses.

Kitty_2_SM 
I want to remember the surprises of finding new born
kittens hiding in the flower beds….

Lilac3_Swallowtail
and most of all the fragrance of Lilacs that so many Butterflies just could not resist.

Happy Memories,
Lona

Fertilizer_Friday

31 comments:

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lona girl this was GORGEOUS !!
I loved your winter picture too though, so having it there to contrast against these amazing summer garden ones is perfect ! I have to get the fragrant nicotiana plants .. the ones I had last summer didn't have fragrance .. duh ?? LOL
What happened to the kittens you found !!! That picture was precious and now I have to know what happened to them please ? LOL
Joy

Gatsbys Gardens said...

I am out of breath just looking at all of those blooms! I have chocolate chip, great plant, and just put in two azaleas last fall. I hope they look as good as the ones in your photo.

I looked for Silvermoon last summer and could not find it. I will probably have to order online.

Thanks for the memories, we were -3this morning.

Eileen

Unknown said...

First of all, great photos. I remember to, my beautiful garden in the summer. And seeing your photos make me remember more.

Floridagirl said...

Those are some lovely summery dreams. I was going through some of my own summer pictures the other day, and decided wholeheartedly that it was my all-time favorite season. How I miss it!

Darla said...

Wonderful warm memories and things to look forward to!!

Patsy said...

You made me dream of summer, a beautiful post of color.
The Bennie made Bok Choy soup for our lunch today.lol

Bonnie said...

Thanks for the reminder of what's under the snow. We had 12" of snow yesterday and are in the thick of lake effect snow today. Temps this weekend are supposed to be below 10 degrees. A high on Monday of 3. Happy hibernating!

Jane Doe said...

What a ray of warm of sunshine on such a bitter cold day. Gee...I needed this.

Lona said...

Bonnie: Oh girl you are in worse weather than us. I am so sorry. LOL!We are so over winter. Stay warm!

Patsy: That Bennie is a mind reader. LOL! I bet it was delicious.

Darla: I keep telling myself it will be here soon. Time does go on.

FlordiaGirl: Awww to feel the squishing of mud between our toes. LOL!

Ellada: We are all dreaming of flowers past or flowers coming soon here in the cold states.

Eileen: Hey, if you do not find the Silvermoon let me know and I will seed you some seeds.

Joy: They were feral cats and the old mama cat drug two off and I do not know what happened to them but the cutie in the picture was a runt and I have been taking care of her. She is worse raising than my kids were.LOL! I am not a cat fancier at all, more of a dog person, but I just couldn't let the little thing starve or get killed.All she did was meow all the time, constantly, so that is her name now, Meow.

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

It was nice remembering the beauty of spring with you.
I love the fluffy pink of the mimosa tree, very unusual.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it amazing how profoundly the world changes with the seasons? What a gift to be able to remember with such beautiful photos - of course, I love that delphinium best!

scottweberpdx said...

Deep sigh...you are making me miss my garden even more than i already was :-(

A Garden of Threads said...

Thank you for the memories of summer, love the tipsy pots full of colorful annuals. I am covered in snow just like you:(. Have a wonderful weekend.

sweetbay said...

Wonderful to see all of these beauties in the middle of winter. Silvermoon Clematis has the perfect name. What is the velvety wine-colored rose?

The kitten is adorable. It was her good fortune that you found her and took her in.

Beth said...

This is a great post! I found lots to like about it: the mimosa tree is stunning! I don't think they grow in our zone (5). Love the delphinium, the azalea and the ajuga too. And the tipsy pots and watering can - that is CUTE!!! But most of all I love the little kitten.
Blessings, Beth

Anonymous said...

Ah yes Lona, I remember it well! How beautiful it all was. I can hardly wait till it all comes back again. I've just got to make a Tipsy pot next year, I always love them. Keep holding on my friend, spring will return, I promise!

Lona said...

Lavender Cottage: Mimosa is considered very invasive in some states but I love the blooms and so do all of the bees and butterflies.

gardenassylum: I am a sucker for all true blue blooms. The delphinium is one of my favorite blue ones.

Scott: I am so sorry I made you sad. I was just trying to escape from this winter blast. :-)

Sweetbay: The red rose is Ebb Tide. It did die back to the graft though and became an old Dr. Huey with which it was grafted with.I dug it up.

Jen: Are the winters getting colder? LOL! Have a wonderful weekend.

Beth: Thanks. I live in zone 5 and the mimosa does well here.I love its blooms.

Robin: Girl I think we need to spend our winters in Florida or the Bahamas or anyplace else but Ohio that is warm.LOL!

T: The sun looks gorgeous this morning but it is not cutting through this cold. It was 10 below this morning. Ugh!!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Love those tipsy pots! Actually I love it all. I'm hanging out on your blog while a very fierce winter wind batters the house. I don't mind the cold but the wind ruins any chance of having fun outdoors. Wah...

Stella said...

Love your tipsy pots. What a cute kitten she knew she has found the right home. Can't wait for spring!

Alison said...

Sending you some warm thoughts of thanks for these great pictures of your summer garden! That is a very pretty red verbena, I need to get me some of that. And the bee sleeping on the rose is precious.

You are so good to take care of that little abandoned kitty, even more so since you say you are not really a cat person.

pogonip said...

You're braver than I, thinking of your non-winter garden! Right now it's so hard to wait for springtime beauties when everything is bare and brown.

I'm treating myself to some seed packets this weekend as a promise that winter will end sometime.

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

Lona what beautiful reminders of what is yet to come in the comming year though I am getting impatient waiting for all that colour again!


I need to ask you about those mason jars and macro shots - I don't have a mason jar as it must be a USA brand item but would any empty jar do or is there something particular about a mason jar that lends itself to photography?

Thanks
Rosie

Jester said...

I just got homesick for my garden in spring......

Anonymous said...

This is the perfect post for a January day Lona. I am not into winter either ~ I'd much rather look at summer photos. Thanks for the trip back to warmer time. You have some beautiful photos to remember summer by and that kitten is precious.

Tessa said...

Wow Lona! Just beautiful. That winter shot is so pretty! It's hard to believe that all that color is there in the warmer months. Your Clematis makes me miss the one I had in Portland- it was similar. I've always wanted a swamp clematis (Clematis Crispa)- some day.

Happy Gardening

The Redneck Rosarian said...

This post was a great reminder of what is to come...The verbena is awesome. Love that vibrant red. Also, thanks so much for your thoughtful post on my blog today. God has a way of revealing himself outside the walls of a church, doesn't he? We have only to look in our gardens to know that. Blessings to you today!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I enjoyed every one of these pictures! Isn't amazing that under all that snow the promise of all these flowers is waiting. Stay warm!

Karen said...

Oh, Lona, so good to see color and warmth and beauty in your post, everything here is white and frozen, too. Thank you for the reminder of summer past and to come!

Tootsie said...

I am loving your memories! some of those flowers look like velvet!!! just so beautiful! and then there is those teensy blue eyes peeking out of the garden...absolutely priceless! thanks for sharing this week...I look forward to seeing more very soon! hugs!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Lona ~ What wonderful photo memories to share in January. Pretty soon spring will be here and you'll be able to get into gardening for this years memories in the making.

FlowerLady

Kate @ Gardening and Gardens said...

Oh yeah! What a great post. Summer come quickly, please. Those Shasta Daisies are my absolute favorite. Just seeing them in your photos made me smile and think of warmer weather. Thanks!