a gypsy caravan

My Herb Garden

I love to have herbs growing in the yard.  It is much less expensive than buying them at the grocery store and it's also nice to have the quick access when cooking.  Here is a photo of my herb garden, which is doing well this season, with the exception of the lavender (center) that got far too much rain.

Growing are chives, peppermint, spearmint, sweet basil, cilantro, sage, rosemary, lemon balm, chamomile, and parsley.  Do you keep fresh herbs on hand for cooking?  If so, do you grown them in pots or inground? 

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down…

We have had such heavy rains this Spring and Summer. As of yet, I have not had to water my flower beds at all!  They have remained wet and often are boggy.  My Annabelle hydrangeas have reached to the heavens this year, doubling and in one case, tripling, their usual height. Many of the flower heads are as large as a soccer ball, instead of the usual softball-sized blossoms.

The astilbe is flourishing due to the wet conditions.

And the children have been quite creative in their play, adapting our backyard into a water fun park.

Who needs a pool when we've got our own pond? :)   

Grandma’s Grandma’s Peonies

The peonies are in bloom in my yard.  I  wanted to show them to you and tell you how special they are to me. 

When I was a little girl, my grandma used to walk me around her yard and show me all of her flowers, tell me their names and pick some for me to take home in a vase.  The peonies were my favorites.  She showed me how the ants crawled about on the peonies, helping them to open.  She once told me that the peonies growing in her yard belonged to her own grandmother. My grandmother had dug some out of her grandmother's yard to start her own flower garden as a young bride. 

After my grandma passed away and her home was up for sale, I dug up many of her flowers to transplant in my own yard as a living memory of her.  Year after year they bloom and bring a smile to my face as I remember my grandma and her love of flowers.

Woody and Other Garden Delights

Thanks to inspiration from Dawn and her good friend Birdy, our family has a new friend.  "Woody" joined our gardens a few days ago and the children are delighted!   

He must share his tree with our suet holder that has been attracting many Downy and Red- Bellied woodpeckers, as well as the usual squirrels that attempt each day to carry the whole thing away.    At Woody's base are some signs that Spring is progressing nicely. The Lily of the Valley are beginning to bud, hosta is greening up and the ferns are peeping their heads out of the soil.  These are a few of the plants growing in the shady areas of our flower beds. 

We will be making our May baskets ala Alice this afternoon to deliver to friends and relatives. I'll post some photos of the baskets when they are finished. Included in our baskets will be some of the lilac blossoms that are growing in our yard

as well as some sprigs of Sand Cherry.

In bird news, we are excited to have an Eastern Screech Owl living in one of our maple trees.  Early in the evening, about a half hour after sunset, she has been emerging from the hole and flying around the yard.  Two summers ago, we had a family of 5 screech owls that emerged from the same hole.  I am anxiously waiting to see whether there will be a new family this Spring.

I am going to try to see if I can catch her on film.  The combination of darkness and elusiveness of the owl makes it an improbability but I will give it my best "shot".

Some Signs of Spring

In addition to today's 67 degree heatwave, here are some sure signs from my flower beds that winter is behind us!   The Lenten roses and "snow peeps" once grew in my grandmother's yard.

  So many of the flowers in my beds are transplants from my grandma's home which makes them all the more precious to me.