~Terri, Terri, quite contrary ~

Terri Terri Quite Contrary

How does your garden grow?

By leaps and bounds

and a profusion of blooms

and in a blink of an eye it's gone. 

 

Or at least that's how it seems to me,

as most perennials come to visit for such a short time.
Let's take a look around the garden and see what she has brought us this year

Step inside the garden gate.....

Mr. Wonderful still has to stain the fence 

(boy he loves to hear that)

We moved the arbor here just this Spring, so everything is still in it's infancy stage.

We still have a lot of work to do here. 
And when I say 'we'....I mean 'HIM'. ha ha

I planted the Pink Mandevilla

but the Morning Glory was a volunteer.

WHAT A HAPPY SURPRISE

'Geurnsey Cream ' Clematis

I even love this Clematis after the flowers are done blooming

These little whirly gigs, are so cute.

 Knockout Rose 'Sunny'

I'm lovin' it.

They burst on the scene in this gorgeous shade of yellow

and then fade to a creamy white

A plant will tell you when they are happy. 

My 'New Dawn' climbing rose was moved to this location 
after the end of her season last year.

She seems VERY happy in this sunny spot.

Here she is at the start of her show

This creamy pink blush color is to die for

 

'Johann Strauss ' Rose

I love the beautiful soft apricot color
But let me tell you, she's one finicky bush.

But when she's good, she's very very good.

 

Peonies.........one of my all time favs

I can never get enough of these big billowy blooms

 

All of my Peonies are heirlooms, transplanted from long abandoned farm houses

so I don't know their names

Crepe Myrtle 'Natchez'

 

with her flirty crepe paper blooms

Here we are in the third week of June,
but Spring started several weeks early for us due to the unseasonably warm temps.
So our season is actually much further along than the calender states. It's more like mid-July as far as the flowers are concerned.  Most of these beauties have been here, graced us with their charm and now they are gone.....except for a few

Window box of annuals

Aren't  the green edges on this petunia 'Pretty Much Picasso', pretty much adorable?

 

Hostas still thrive in mid summer

I love the southern saying

"A welcoming front porch is just good manners."

And St. Francis takes it upon himself to be part of the welcoming committee.

He does a fine job.

He and his rabbit warren of friends.

Hmm....I could have sworn I started out with only TWO rabbits..... oh well

My doorbell

'Bolivian Jew and Bacopa' in urns at the front door

Hope you enjoyed the little tour

So I say to my garden:

Thank you 

I am grateful for the show

I applauded every bloom

though your beauty was  fleeting

and ended all too soon.

See you next Spring

~The little trees that could~

"Like clouds that bent down and touched the ground"

That's what I always thought about my beloved little Flowering Crab Apple Trees

Here they are in all their glory, several years ago.

They really were quite the show stoppers.
Their branches reached out and intertwined  with one another creating a natural arbor, a bower of blooms over head.

My little concrete bench tucked between the two, has always been a favorite spot

Then we were dealt a cruel blow. The ice storm of Jan 2007
Brrrrrr.... makes me shiver just to look at the pictures

Then a tornado

Of course I thought they were goners....and I cried

Ahhh, but Mr. Wonderful never takes no for an answer. He came up with a cure, in his indomitable McGyver fashion.

So this is a testament to the power of Mother Nature to heal  herself, and also to the steely determination of Mr. Wonderful who coaxed and cajoled these two trees into believing that they would be ok.

A  shadow of their former selves, maybe, but I love them all the more for it.

Here they are the very next Spring. A little less proud and a little less showy

but standing none the less

You can see there are still several dead branches where the two trees meet that still had to be removed.

and now here they are this Spring 2012
Getting a little stronger every year

No natural arbor, no bower overhead
But....
 Standing as tall as they are able
 and blooming for all they're worth.

And I am grateful for every blossom.



~It's Official...~

Yes, it's official, it's Spring.

 And not a moment too soon either. Although I must say it's refreshing for once, to have Mother Nature and my calender agree.  We have been blessed this year with a mild winter
 ( unless something evil blows this way at the last minute,
which is NOT unheard of here in Missouri).

After a few years of killer ice storms and harsh snowy winters, we are happy to partake of a quieter winter. But that being said...........winter is winter. Winter is brown, and bare. Winter is not Spring, with her billowy blossoms. The trees are wearing their Easter bonnets of spring blooms, and the slightest breeze causes a 'snow shower' of petals upon your head. This kind of 'snow', I love.

I don't do a lot of fussy seasonal decorating, but as we look around The Dressed Up Cottage, we can see sure hints that Spring has arrived

there are birds chirping

there are bunnies hopping

and little lambs have wandered in

I've brought in a touch of blue and white, to 'lighten up' the look for Spring.









 the tulips are reaching for the sun.

 Standing at attention like proud little apricot soldiers

the nights' rain still clinging to the petals, glistening

in the early morning sun.

I love Spring, the promise of something new.
And every Spring is God saying, "Alright, I'll not give up on you yet."


Happy Spring