Blooms and Berets

My Begonia is blooming...

 Here it is again different light. I'm not sure which shot I like best.

Scarlet O'Hara Morning Glory is blooming as well!

I am having so much fun with my little model. I haven't found her perfect name yet.

Any ideas?

She is modeling one of the Berets I will have for sale in my shop soon. They are so cute I am hooked!

 One in Raspberry of course.

I am in love with this Buff Fleck Beret.

 What is this doll's name?! Hmm...

So far garden

Some snapshots of the garden so far this summer...

Raspberries just started to turn red and this year I am eating more than the birds.



Gorgeous Lupine.

I planted a lot of these purple violas this summer

because they came back so well from last year.

Perky orange Poppies

The Astilbe bloomed beautifully this year

Big dramatic powdery pink poppies. Oh how I love thee

The white Delphiniums are amazing.

Can't get enough orange in the garden.

more happy perky poppies

Holly Hocks and my favorite red Geranium.

The Lilacs bloomed last month...ahh.

Spicy pink Geraniums.

 One last orange Poppy.

Spring Growth

After a long but relatively dry, mild winter it is time to finish up the cozy warm crocheted Afghans and get back to work...outside. We are back to sweeping chimneys today, Rugby and I will be working away from home for part of the day so the indoor crafts will be set aside for weekends mainly.Yep...up off the sofa Ruggie Bear. As I look back at past posts I can see clearly that I create in cycles or Seasons. All winter my creations tend to be indoor comfy type crafts like "Hugo" the fab blanket pictured below. Have you seen the movie "Hugo" yet? The whole thing is done in these colors. Yes, I never know from where inspiration will come and sometimes it is a movie. I am a movie freak. Freak I say!

Once the snow melts however, I am itching to be out in the garden. Oh...my poor garden.

My humble little oasis is once again coming to life and I am full of new ideas.

The Chives are popping up, trusty and tasty they are.

The Crocus is usually the first to bust through the snow but this year everything is coming up all at once!

Daffy's are on their way.

The Lilacs are budding and my Hot Pink Geranium is blooming in the window.

The growing season has begun and if I am lucky I will get 4 good warm months, maybe 5, before the weather changes again and the pine needles start to fall. I am ahead of the game though, you see I started seeds inside on the First Day of Spring and they are sprouting like mad. I have a feeling this is going to be a hot summer so I am going heavy on the flowers this year as well as the veggies. I have Stock, Columbine, Nasturtium,Cosmos, Sweet Peas as well as Yellow Pear Tomatoes, Peppers, and Cilantro coming up in little peat pots indoors and this weekend I am starting Cabbage and Lettuce on Earth Day perhaps. You know how I love to celebrate holidays ;0}
Oh... and I also took shears to my head and chopped off 4 inches.

Ahhh... I love Spring.

Local Wildflowers

Our grueling winter is paying off in so many ways, like raging rivers and an abundance of wildflowers and here are photos of just a few.

Penstemon

Rugby Rose hip

Rose hip Bud Torrey's Blue-eyed Mary

Phlox

Indian Paintbrush

Mariposa Lily

I haven't identified this one yet. Mule's Ears.

and those are just wildflowers I have found in the last few days within our town's limits! I love it.

Bloomin' Snow!

On Mother's Day I awoke to a few inches of fresh snow, so I ran out and cut the Daffodils that had bloomed before the weight of the snow crushed them.


Then I was blessed with even more blossoms from my hubby, he is so thoughtful sometimes. ;0)


They smell WONDERFUL...
and they make me miss my Grandma Ruby.

My Mother's Day was topped off with a nice chat with my Mom, the original movie "Mildred Pierce" with Joan Crawford and a dinner that included THIS amazing flower. Yum

I hope you all had a great day on Mother's Day.

Poppy Love

Last Friday my Poppies bloomed. It was a big deal.
You see, all over town there are giant deep orange-red Poppies and I NEED to have some in my front flowerbed so last year I bought two plants and they bore no flowers. I actually thought they wouldn't come back this year but they did! Boy did they. They started like this and then last Friday... POW! They are magnificent don't you think?

but they are Pink! Ugh!

It isn't that I have something against pink, I just seem to end up with pink, pink and more pink when it comes to flowers. I have Hollyhocks that I planted many years ago and they were supposed to be Hot pink and they ended up melon pink, almost all of my Columbine is pink. I avoid pink and I get it anyway.
Oh well...

They are so bold and exotic... even in pink! ;0)