Roses

Well, it's been a good six months since my last post (again) although not much has changed here.  We are getting more rain this year than last thank goodness.  It's overcast and dark again today.  Yesterday we got over two inches of rain in about four hours!  I think we've gotten about four inches of rain in the last two weeks.  It sure makes the grass grow fast, though.  We have had to mow once a week this spring.  The roses are growing like weeds, too.  I got out and got some pictures the day before yesterday when it was just overcast.  My hand is in some of them because it was a bit breezy out and the flowers would't hold still.

This is Abraham Darby a David Austin rose.  It has become quite overgrown this year, but it is just covered in blooms.

This one is Baron Prevost.  It's a hybrid perpetual and blooms all summer which is unusual in an antique rose.

This is Madame Hardy.  She only blooms in the spring, but she's well worth it!

This is my climber, Zephirine Drouhin.  It's a thornless rose, the only one I've ever found to be truly thorn free.  This is the first year it's really bloomed heavy like this.  It needs to be tied back up onto the gate, though.

Here is a close-up of the blooms.

This one I call Mary Nina after my grandmother.  I dug it up from her old flower garden after I was bitten by the rose bug many years ago.  It sat and did nothing for about three years after I replanted it, and I was afraid it had reverted back to the old rootstock, Dr. Huey.  Then, finally, it had two buds and I could tell that it was not a Dr. Huey!  I was so excited!!  The next year it showed me what it really could do.  It was covered in flowers, and they have the best old rose fragrance of any roses that I have.  It hasn't disappointed me since.

Here are a couple of Mom's iris.  She had so very many of them and knew all their names.  Since she's been gone I don't know what any of them are called.  They came through the drought pretty well, but are not blooming as heavily as they usually do.

Until next time (another six months?) I bid you happy gardening!

New Windows

I had to have the windows in my studio replaced this fall.  They were rotting from the outside.  When they were removed we found termite damage in the outer wall under both windows, so that had to be replaced, too.  All said I was out of my studio for a little over a week.  Can you say withdrawal??  If I'm not in front of the computer, I'm usually in the studio.  Oh well, it gave me the little push I needed to finish making the curtains and get the blind hung on the east window.  I've had several people asking me for pictures, so here they are. 

This is my work area.  It's actually pretty neat and tidy right now.  I still haven't gotten everything moved back in.

This is the storage corner.  The shelving is build-in, but I've never painted it.  It's stuffed full as you can see.

This shows one of my big south windows.  I usually have a plant stand full of plants in front of it, but that still hasn't been moved back either.  I'd like to move the TV to the living room so I can have more storage space, but I can't find a stand that I like.

This is the other south window, and the closet.  Those paired windows let in a lot of light, so my studio feels so inviting.  They look out onto my rose garden.

This is a straight on shot of my main work area.  It's under an east facing window, so I wanted a blind under the curtain to filter some of the bright light while I work.  Notice the lack of piles on the floor and around!

So, that's where I work!  I'd love to paint the paneling someday (the ceiling, too).  It has a laminate floor that I loooooooove!  It's so smooth and easy to take care of.

I woke up this morning at a ridiculous hour and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up and did a little work in Photoshop.  I had been meaning to make a watermark for my pictures. I have a friend who has been after me to put some of my stuff on Pinterest.  I haven't done so because I wanted to be able to label my work and photos as mine.  As you can tell from these photos, I got it done this morning.  I hope it's not too distracting.

I need to get back in the studio and work on my Christmas ornaments for the swap I signed up for, so I'll have more to say later.

Have a lovely day!

Faerie Garden...Finally

I finally got my Faerie Garden planted!!  It turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself! :)

I used some terrarium plants such as ferns and baby's tears.  And a 4 pack of Creeping Jenny.

There is a bit of Corsican Mint and some pearlwort (sometimes called Irish Moss), too.  They don't like the hot weather, but since this is in full shade I'm hoping they'll do OK.

I used some pieces of flat sea-glass for a path.  I had an orphan saucer that I'd kept simply because the color was gorgeous, and it makes a fabulous pool with another piece of sea-glass and some Dragon's tears (sorry, the flat-backed marbles will always  be Dragon's Tears to me because that's how I was introduced to them at the Renaissance Festival many years ago.)

A miniature hosta 'Moonglow' finishes off the garden.  I hope the faeries like it!

End of the Weekend

Well, we weathered the severe weather just fine here. It all went north and south of us. It started out very dreary this morning, but things cleared off this afternoon. The wind is still blowing pretty hard, tho.

I started out this morning with the intention of cleaning house. I didn't get very far when the vacuum died. (Yay!!) So, an hour and a half and a hundred dollars later I have a new vacuum to be delivered at the end of the week. All this meant that I'd have to find something else to do today. (Darn!)

I ended up in my studio (surprise, surprise) and finished up a card that I had been working on. I found a tutorial on Pinterest, so I thought I'd give it a try. This is the second card I made and I tweaked the measurements on this one. This is the front.

This is with the front folded down.

And this is with the front folded up.

It took quite a lot of paper, but I think I turned out really good! It would make a great Mother's Day card.

Other than that I have not gotten much accomplished today. Oh, I did get a little bit done outside this evening. I thinned my lettuce and got enough for a little salad. My first harvest! Looks yummy!!

Well, tomorrow I'll be headed back to work. Vacation's over, but it sure was fun!

Its very rainy today which is good for the roses that we transplanted yesterday. I guess I won't be working outside today. Yay!! Its a studio day!!! Time to work on some of my art projects!

Well, today's weather is a far cry from the weather the last time I posted! It's very chilly and overcast today with enough wind to really make you wish you'd put on a jacket. In short, it's a perfect day to transplant roses. So, we did! The tea rose Mr. Lincoln and the David Austin rose Evelyn both have new homes now. I hope they do well. We have one more rose to transplant, but I'm not sure where it's going to go yet.

After tying climbing rose Zepherin Drouhin back up on the gate my poor fingers were soooo cold that I had to come inside and warm up with a cup of hot cocoa. Luckily I have a good supply of cocoa left from this winter since it was hardly ever cold enough to need it. Who'd have thought I would need it in April?

Good morning everyone! It is such a beautiful morning here! The sun is shining and the birds are singing. I hope you all had a lovely Easter day. Sunday was just as lovely as today. My garden gave me a lovely Easter present this year. Abraham Darby is now in bloom.

Now I've heard of Easter lilies, but Easter roses??! Ah well, this will give mean extra two full months (almost) of roses this year.

The birds are all building nests or sitting on their eggs now. Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal have built their nest in the Weigela bush outside my kitchen windows. She started sitting yesterday, so I'll have to keep an eye on her to make sure the cat doesn't bother her.