Soaking Rain - summer on its way

Soaking rains are here today, preparing the gardens for their next display. The weather in New England has been perfect for my plants this spring. We've pretty much had warm, sunny days with a couple of soaking rains each week.

My husband is putting in raised veggie beds for me this week. I have a few flats of vegetables waiting to go in. My daughter and I will buy more this weekend. The early veggies are growing well in my old vegetable bed and I hope we will have a crop soon. This was my first time planting early season produce.

I introduced a friend to Uncanoonuc Mt. Perennials last week. I also dug some plants out of my gardens to share with her. She drove almost an hour for the trip, digging the plants was the least I could do. Besides, one of the best things about having a garden is sharing!

These are right of the camera. It's rare that not even a little tweaking needs to be done. I'm not a huge fan of red flowers. I gravitate towards yellow and purples, but there is something about a red poppy that screams classy at me. Give me a yellow rose, but when it comes to poppies, red is the clear choice. What makes one prefer a certain color over another? What makes one prefer a certain flower color for a specific type of flower?

Iphone photos

Hurrying to a meeting in Marblehead, Massachusetts yesterday, I ran into this scene:

I pulled out my Iphone to capture the beautiful color, prepared to be disappointed with the results...

I was.

I DID capture the reflection of the historic King Hooper mansion in the window, which I didn't notice at the time, but it is appropos because I was on my way to a meeting with the historical society. I didn't capture the beautiful color or the deep rich textures before me.

I've had my phone for nearly a year now and have put the photo feature to great use for capturing family moments. It has freed up space in my purse that was once taken up by a much larger camera and is fine for snapshots. I do miss knowing I have a reliable camera on hand at a moment's notice in any situation, but haven't given much thought to rectifying that. After missing a golden opportunity to capture something wonderful on the sidewalk in a more intriguing way, I found a web site that may help me in the future.

http://meish.org/2009/03/04/how-to-squeeze-decent-photos-out-of-an-iphone/

Let me know if you have some decent Iphone photos. I'd love to see them. Maybe we can get a little competition going!

Crabapple photoessay

There are few things as beautiful as soft spring blossoms.

Spring Shape Up - Rhododendrons Out!

My glasses are covered with sweat drips right now, so I am squinting at the screen. I am covered from head to toe in dirt, but I did wash my hands so I wouldn't mess up the keyboard. I sit sipping a vitamin drink because I am too tired at the moment to take a shower. I need a break after cajoling two bushes into new homes.

First off today, I want to confess my slight distaste for rhododendrons. I don't dislike them per se, but their rubbery leaves are not thrilling to me and I hate playing with my soil to make them happy. My rhododendrons are slowly being moved to my property outskirts. I have spotted a cute walking stick that is waiting for me at the garden center. (Yes, it is at Uncanoonuc Mt. Perennials. I have yet to venture beyond my neighborhood this season for other garden centers. I am lucky in that I have one of the best places around to help fill my passion.) I am moving two rhodies from the front of my house. Why do landscapers always put rhododendrons right beside the front door? In my last house I replaced the front door rhododendrons with smoke bushes. They were beauties and I toyed with that idea here...but here is what I have going instead.

top: before
bottom: after


The rhododendron to the left of the door has been removed and the plant at the front corner of the walkway was moved back in its place. The walking stick will replace the rhododendron on the right of the door. My husband will be happy to have the big bush moved away from the walk so we can more easily shovel in winter.

My house was just painted a bright sunny yellow and I redid the door myself last year with stain and gold leaf. I'm feeling good about this front project...

I am hoping to keep up my regular blogging this year after a sporadic year last year. I was relaunching an old business and slowed down with my photography and garden writing. Thank you to old blogosphere friends who have stuck with me. I hope to catch up on your postings soon!

And by the way, if you happen to get to Uncanoonuc before I do, please make sure you leave a walking cane plant there for me! Time to hit the showers!

Uncanoonuc Mt. Perennials 2010 catalog

I was honored to be asked to shoot the cover photo for Uncanoonuc Mt. Perennials 2010 catalog. I caught the hydrangea in full bloom last Autumn. Their demonstration gardens are unbelievable and this is just a small taste.

Poppies!

I tried to plant poppy seeds once a few years ago and they didn't take. For some reason, I never went out of my way to try any harder to grow a poppy plant. Then, last year, a pretty lemony petaled one invited me to take it home. I expected it to die. I'm not sure why. (Is there ever a plant that scares you off or one that you are sure will turn your green thumb black?) Well, my poppy came back this spring. And the sunlight in my front yard hits it just right to make that inviting color sing!