Of Lilacs And Butterflies

My lilacs are in full bloom now and the fragrance
is so wonderful. Not only do I love the beauty and
fragrance of them but the Butterflies and Bees are
loving them also. They are swarming to the light purple
blooms. While some of the other spring flowers are
attracting a few the lilacs is the hot spot in the garden
at the moment.
I have not spotted my first Hummingbird yet at the
spring flowers or the feeders but maybe I have
just missed seeing them.

The Tiger Swallows are enjoying the lilacs.
There must have been ten on one bush Sunday
when I took the pictures.

This one was high up in the bush and although its
underside is duller in color it is still pretty.

There were also a couple of Black Swallowtails
but they were shy and kept to the top of the bush
and away from this person with the camera disturbing
their lunch break.

Two weeks ago on a warm day I spied this butterfly
flying around and landing on a bare spot in the yard
of old rock hard clay while I was painting the shed.
So yes I threw down that old paint brush, who cared
if it the paint got tacky in the process, getting pictures
of butterflies is much more fun than work.

Now having a camera in hand I watched this Mourning
Cloak as it would take off into the air at my approach
only to always come back and land on this same patch
of clay dirt. I stood there and finally was able to get
closer to snap some pictures. The angle of the sun
does not show how pretty this butterfly really is.

Look how well the cream colored scalloped edges of its
wings is camouflaged and matches the clay soil.

So was this butterfly just sunning or trying to hide
while sunning. I have saw it or another Mourning Cloak
at this same spot for two weeks now.

The Spring blooming trees are so beautiful now.

And the Lilac bushes are loaded with blooms.

Lilac

Any of about 25 species of fragrant, northern, spring-
flowering garden shrubs and small trees that make up
the genus Syringa in the olive family, native to eastern
Europe and temperate Asia. Lilacs have deep green leaves
and large, oval clusters of compound blooms colored deep
purple, lavender, blue, red, pink, white, or creamy yellow;
they are often highly fragrant. The common lilac S. vulgaris
reaches 20 ft in height and produces many suckers The
name syringa was formerly used for the mock orange of
the saxifrage family; and the butterfly bush buddleja is
commonly called summer lilac.

Do not forget to enter the Gardening Grab Bag
Giveaway by leaving a comment. Just let me
know if you would like to be added to the drawing.
The drawing will be Wednesday April 21st.

What's in the box...I want to know.

Oh, Lona do not tease me so.
Is there a plant or garden tool?
Oh, please don't make me be a fool.
My curiosity is peaked you know..
The 21st is when you'll show...
What's in your pretty cardboard box..
You are so sly...just like a fox.
I guess that I can wait and see..
Although the suspense is killing me.
Balisha @ Never Enough Time

I had to use it Balisha it was just
too cute. LOL!

Everyone enjoy the warm temps and sunshine
this week and….

Happy Gardening !!

Until Next Time, Lona

Grandma's Flowers

I mention my grandmother quite a bit because
I spent so much time at her home when we were
small cousins.
I came across this picture while going through some
computer files. This picture to me is so precious.
It was taken about 109 years ago when grandma
on the right (the blond) was about 3 years old and
her sister on the left was about 4. They both look
so pretty in this photo. I was named after
grandma's sister and looked similar to her when
I was younger.
Grandma had a big garden when I was young.
Then if you wanted to eat you grew it, raised it,
or hunted and fished for it, so the gardens were big
and the fields were full of corn to feed the animals.
For those of you who have never butchered chickens
you have not missed the messy sight and I can still
remember the smell of singed pin feathers.
On hog butchering day the whole family had to
work to get them ready and then smoked or salted
down.
Funny that what was old is now coming back around
as new and of course green.

Since most of the land then was used for food
I started thinking back to what flowers grandma had
around the house.Then I started wondering about
the flowers that I grow and why I grow some of them.
I came to the conclusion that some of the flowers
that I grow are grown because she grew them or that
they reminded me of her. Maybe I wasn't even wild
about that certain flower at all but somehow I had
grown it and still do because they gave me fond and
warm memories.

Such as Hollyhocks. Some of the newer varieties
are pretty such as the doubles or darker, brighter ones.





But this one to me has always been an ugly color
of pink. Why have I kept it and even moved it
all around the yard to make a place for it?
Even fight with the Japanese beetles that want
to riddle them every June.
Because grandma had some.





The red one was not so bad of a color but of
course I managed to finish it off in one of the
moves.





I happen to love this one that grandma grew.
She had the biggest Lilac bushes and in fact
my lilac bushes came from shoots from her
bushes. Last winter the ice storm really damaged
the two bushes that I have and I was sick when I
saw the broken limbs on the over thirty year old
bushes. They are coming back and filled in this
summer.When I get a whiff of the fragrance from
the lilac blooms as the breezes carries it across the
yard I always think of grandma, smile and inhale
a little deeper.





Another flower she always had was Peonies.

Her peonies were red and she would have loved
this Sorbet peony.





Even the honeysuckle was taken from the old
farm house where she lived in the 'Big Woods'.








She always had geraniums although they were
always red. I wonder what she would think of all
of the colors and varieties that are grown now.
For those who have followed my blog you know
I love geraniums and another reason I grow them
although they may be called an old fashioned flower
is because they remind me of her and lets face it they
are tough and hard working flowers.





She also had a small flowerbed beside the outhouse.
Outhouse!! Well it was before everyone had in door
bathrooms. I have carried a many chamber pots to
dump in the outhouse in the morning. Also you have
not lived until you have slipped on the ice and went
flying backwards with your arm flying upwards and
dumped the contents all over you from the flying pot.
Yes, the first thing I did was to look and see if anyone
saw my acrobatic display and red face. Never mind
that my tailbone went up into my ribs somewhere.
Anyway in the flowerbed beside the outhouse she
grew purple pansies.





I wonder now if it was to pretty up the outhouse
or was it just the most fertile ground.





Morning Glories always grew on the garden fence.





Rose of Sharon bushes grew on each corner of the
big front porch.





She seldom went to town but she loved traveling
to Lake Erie several times during the summers
where we all would go fishing.
It is a scary thing when your seven and the only one
in the boat that can swim a stroke is you and grandpa.
Or that you have to bait your uncles hook because
he cannot stand the dirty worms on his hands.


And did we catch fish. More fish that a little
girl could hold up.

Grandma would look out over the fields on the
trips up and back and would always exclaim of
how her favorite flower above them all was ....




a simple yellow wildflower the 'Goldenrod'.

She found such beauty in a field full of them
bright and beautiful in the sun.


What flowers have sentimental value to you?


Happy Gardening Everyone!

Finale, Finish, the End

These are the last of the pictures that I managed to take at
the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show. They were taken
through the press of the crowd so they are grainy and at very
odd angles.

There were many water features but I only managed to catch
a few pictures of them.

Herbie the Love Bug was one of the garden movie themes
and a replica of it was made into a water fountain.
Stone walls, pillars, a fire pit, paved patio and a walkway were
all beautiful. Azaleas, rhododendrons and blooming cherry trees
made up the plant materials.
It was created by Five Seasons Landscape Management, Inc.



Talk about a leaking radiator!

This was a very nice water falls and stream which must have
taken a lot of work to accomplish indoors. The lighting in one section
made a green cast over the water that I was not really fond of but
other than that it was beautiful. I would take one green light and all ;-)
I cannot remember for certain but I believe it was from the Notting
Hill theme.

This water feature was from the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
display created by Seely's Landscape Nursery. A Moon gate was
set in plastered garden walls at the entry. There were bamboo, willow
and pine trees framing the display. A winding cobblestone path edged
with boulders. A waterfalls emptied into a koi pond and a Zen garden
provided a place for meditation.

The mural waterfall feature was from the theme Raiders of the Lost
Ark. Water flowed down the large hieroglyphic stone. Its jungle
effect was created by plantings of bearberry and palms.
There were bistro tables and a map set in pavers.



This water feature was from the Jurassic Park display and was
the only picture I was able to get from it. Plywood cutouts of
various dinosaurs covered with plant materials were in the garden
background which included palm trees, Australian tree ferns and
tropical foliage. The Jurassic Park display was created by the Franklin
Park Conservatory.

Other themes were:

One very large wine rack from the Ratatouille Theme was made
from a 1930's delivery truck.




One big rat was there but it was very friendly. Weeping willows,
birch trees, rhododendrons, roses and lilacs added color and texture
and fragrance to the display.

The outdoor French cafe had a pizza oven. A large white arbor covered
the patio and large vases of splashing water were included. The display
was created by Cedarbrooke Landscaping and Garden Center.

There were four themes, Tombstone, Terminator, Under the Tuscan Sun
and Hollywood at Home that I have no pictures for. The Terminator did
not work for me as a garden theme at all. Tombstone was a Old West
scene with desert plantings of succulents which I do not care for.If I lived in
where I needed them for gardening then no doubt I would love them.
Under the Tuscan Sun was a beautiful outdoor living area but there again
as I stated before I am a recycle or junk gardener and I have
no need for a large outdoor patio with kitchen. Hollywood at home was
a nice outdoor kitchen display also with a T.V. included. Many of the outdoor
kitchens had fireplaces which I do love but I noticed that pizza ovens
were in them all so I gather this is a fad that is going or is trying to get going.
They were all wonderful displays and all took so much hard work to pull
them off. The work and care showed in each.




There were many stone raised beds throughout the garden show
with numerous plantings of tulips, primroses, astilbe and hyacinths.
Greenery of ferns and hosta was everywhere.
The fragrance of hyacinths floated amongst several of the displays
and it was so lovely.



Spring was definitely in the air at the 2009 Central Ohio Garden
Show which runs until Sunday March 8th.
I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures and got a touch of spring
from them.

The Love of Lilac's

Don't you just love the fragrance of Lilac's blooming
in Spring?
This is another flower that I have fond memories of
when my Grandma had them in her yard. In fact I
have two very old large ones in my yard that grew
from digging up shoots from hers.
They were hit hard this Winter with the ice storm and
many limbs broke off, but the other limbs that were bent
over by the ice snapped back into place after the melt.
I am looking forward to days ahead when soon they will
bloom again.








Note: I have been having problems with Blogger the last
few days and I am wondering if others have also?
I know Cathy at "Outside In" discovered that her
Followers was messed up when her Mom disappeared
as one of her Followers.
The comments I left you may not have been loaded
and Followers have not been down loading. I am hoping
it is just a minor problem that Blogger is dealing with
and will be made right soon.