GBBD -How Can It Be June Already?

Decisions decisions.... 

I know you are looking at the picture above and wondering what you are looking at AND why is this on the Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.  The green plant on the left is a volunteer...a vigorous growing volunteer.  A volunteer I hadn't seen since we lived in Virginia.  It is a Passion vine.  Passiflora incarnata.  See the white twist tie?  And the dark 'stick' going up through the middle of it?  THAT was a Sassafras tree sapling (Sassafras albidum).  I planted it (along with a lot of other saplings) last December.  Sadly I knew this Sassafras stem was not alive, it was given the scratch test a couple months ago.   This is a test where you scratch the stem, peeling back a little bit of the bark, if you see green, it is still alive. I did not see green, it was brown....dead.  I did another test, pulled it a little bit, and whatever was below ground held fast.  I left it alone.  Crossed my fingers.  Talked to it as I walked by.    Let's look at the above photo again.  At the base of the dark dead stem are green leaves!!!! Yes, I have a small Sassafras emerging from the roots!   

So now it was decision time.  Passion flower vine is a native, host to Gulf Fritillary and many other butterflies.  Knowing how strong the root system of the Passion vine is, I decided to dig up the vine and move it away from the tiny tree.  Even if the vine doesn't survive, I know the root system is still there.   There will be another one popping up nearby. 

For now, I am thrilled to have this great native tree, small but alive!  

Let's get on with Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.  I have had an explosion of color in the backyard.  Hooray!

Phlox paniculata 'Robert Poore' and Blackberry lily Belamcanda chinensis

 Karin from Southern Meadows shared a Sunshine Award with me.   I am going to fudge a little, I will answer the questions, but instead of sharing it with five other bloggers, I am opening it up to my followers.  If you would like to share a little Sunshine, please do!

Clearwing enjoying a Monarda

 Karin lives pretty close to me across the state line in Georgia.  I hope sometime this summer we can get together. It was great meeting fellow bloggers at the Fling, want to continue the fun!

Unnamed White Phlox

 Part of the Sunshine Award is to answer some questions about yourself.   

Phlox paniculata 'Laura'

 1. Favorite color--  Depends, blooms-- I like purple, cars-- red, walls-- blue, clothes-- magenta.
 2. Favorite animal--  Pets, we have dogs, have had a cat.  In the wild-- love bird watching.

Lonicera sempervirens still blooming!

 3. Favorite number --  Um?? 6!  Ask me tomorrow, might be different.  (I really don't have a favorite number)
4. Favorite non-alcoholic drink-- Iced tea, unsweet.  Gotta get away from sugar!!

Lonicera sempervirens berries!!

5. Facebook or Twitter-- I play on Facebook more than Twitter.
6. My passion-- Gardening, photography, and enjoying our slice of heaven.

Gladiolus 

 7. Getting or giving presents--  I love it when we come up with a great idea for a gift.  Some are hits and some are misses.
8. Favorite pattern--  As  I write this I have on a polka dots t-shirt.  I really have no favorite.

Hibiscus moscheutos 'Kopper King' eaten by small caterpillars

 9. Favorite day of the week-- Since Charlie has retired neither of us know what day of the week it is!!
10. Favorite flower--  Oh, I am so fickle!  Whatever is blooming currently is the center of my attention.  Right now some of the oriental lilies are about to open.....new fav!

View across the garden, where the washout was last month.  Still need to do some
rocks and mulch to repair the open soil spots.

One of the best things about blooms is bringing them inside to enjoy them a little longer.  

Be sure to stop over to Carol's blog, May Dreams Gardens to see all the other Bloom Day posts.  It was great to meet Carol at the Fling.  Super having faces to go along with names!!


©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Walking With The Queen and Friends

It's that time of year for the Winter Walk-off.   This walk is hosted by Les over at 'A Tidewater Gardener'.   Last year I participated with this post ' Walk Through the Neighborhood...'   Last year I came out of the driveway and turned right.  This year we turn left....The gravel in the top center of the picture is the top of my driveway.  I share this picture to show the dip in the land.  This will be referenced later in this post.   And now, we turn our back on the driveway and walk..

 The 'we' I keep referring to is of course the doggies.   The black and white and gray one is Skyler, our Aussie, the only purebred.  Newton, the black one, is part Aussie and Shepherd.

 Serving as our anchor (she stops and sniffs, re-sniffs, stops again, ready to turn back every few feet) on our twice a day walks is Monroe, our Chow/Shepherd mix.  She is a tough old gal.  This week marks her 18th birthday.   I never thought she would make it so long.  Our drive from Virginia to South Carolina was about 8 hours long...she paced the back seat, back and forth,  the entire trip.  That was 2010.   She doesn't like walking this way because of the slope of the road....hard for her old bones to make it uphill.

 I know Les said not to take pictures of our garden...this is my septic field.  I share this one only because I want you to see the slope of the land.   See the rocks along the road?  There is a low area on either side of the road...and a stream that runs under the road after a rain.  In the top photo the rocks are on the left side of the picture.   Some of the daffodils from last year are up and blooming...this will be my wildflower meadow in a month or so.

Coming next to the low spot we can see down into the woods....  I love how the sunlight dances through the trees, illuminating the forest floor.

 In the photo above you see my name,  this is where the wild blackberries are starting to leaf out.  Last year some of the weekend folks came by with a carload of kids and picked it clean!    See all the new growth?

 A big thicket of berry brambles.

 See how the brambles line the edge of the forest?  Makes it tough to get through to wander in the woods.

 Wanted to share another picture of this lovely little blue/violet flower.  Initial thoughts of it being a Bluet are agreed.

 A few of the neighbors have some nice natural rocks emerging from their property....these are at the top of two driveways.

 As I shared last year, I love the native grasses that turn a lovely shade of tan this time of year.

After I put the dogs in the house I thought I should continue the Winter Walk-off.   I traveled about 400 feet north... to the lake.  I then turned in the same direction that I walked with the dogs along the road.  The lake is still lower than what it will be in the summer.  The level started coming up January 31st.   During the winter the level is lowered for the health of the lake as well as allowing folks to do dock repair, and the turbine maintenance at the dam.   It comes up about a half a foot every two weeks.
Since no one lives on the 5 lots next to us in this direction, it feels like a nature preserve.  The shoreline is lined with Hibiscus moscheutos.  Love the seed heads that stay all winter.    The dock you see in the distance is in disrepair, on a lot that has no house.   The Herons like sitting on the roof and fishing for dinner from there.








Another plant I have come to learn a bit more about it the Hazel Alder Alnus serrulata.   The new female flowers are the red ones at the top of the photo, the male flowers are the catkins.  The spent female flowers look like little pine cones.

As the lake level is down, there are some really cool stumps--- I first thought this could be a neat piece of driftwood.  WRONG!  It is an old tree, still anchored quite firmly in the bed of the lake.

 At the corner of the cove by this driftwood is a large Vaccinium blueberry, not sure on the species.  The flower buds and leaf buds are ready to open soon.

I reached the cove, the end of my walk for today.  Remember at the top of the post where I showed you the low spots on each side of the road?  I said there was a stream that goes under the road when we have rain.  Well, this cove is where it empties into the lake.  Since we just had rain I decided not to walk further, it gets soggy underfoot.

Thanks for coming along with me on my walk(s) today.  Be sure to join Les in his challenge to post YOUR Winter Walk-off.


©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Farewell to October

The end of October and there are still so many blooms in my garden... This Rugosa Rose has been blooming all season long.

Rosa Rugosa 'Pink Grootendorst'

Looking down the creek-- a view I will miss



Back to the blooms-
I love this picture... look how tight the swirl of petals is before it unfurls


A couple weeks ago there were some pictures of gardens 'from above'. It certainly gives a different perspective. Here is my front yard. If you look closely, I have drawn a line at the property line.


And part of the backyard.


Finally....the Hibiscus opened on Thursday....another great performer.

BIG RED!

No, this isn't about the soda popular in Texas. Big Red soda is super sweet and not my cup of tea...
This is Texas Star, Hibiscus coccinea. Other common names are Scarlet Hibiscus or Swamp Hibiscus. This is a hardy Hibiscus that is salt tolerant, which is a bonus for me. Additionally they don't mind wet feet nor drought conditions. In the winter this plant dies back to the ground. I often leave the dead stalks until I see new growth the following spring, just as a reminder there is a plant in a certain spot! These great big red blooming flowers are in multiple places in my backyard. The birds spread the seeds as well as germinating where they drop from the stalks. The leaves are deeply palmated --often looked at a second time ---some think I am growing something else! There is one at the corner of the house that is tall....VERY TALL! At this time it is 10 feet 2 inches tall. The goldfinches love this seed in the fall. The hummingbirds check out the red flower quite often as well.


Other 'Reds' in the landscape include the Canna, Caladiums, Petunias, Snapdragons (I am surprised these are still going strong!), celosia, and a couple Cordylines (Spikes). Amazing that each season has a dominate color. This season is RED!!

July 2009 Garden Blogger Bloom Day

Hard to believe it is already July 15th! There is so much color in my yard this time of year. I thought the easiest thing to do would be to put up a collage of current blooms and berries.
From the upper left hand corner- Rubus argutus Navaho (thornless blackberries),Gaura lindheimeri 'Ballerina Rose', caladium bloom, Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage), Lagerstroemia x.Tuscarora (Crape Myrtle), Lantana camara 'Miss Huff', Hibiscus moscheutos, some 'fun guy', Rosa 'Carpet Rose' white, Lobularia maritima (Sweet alyssum), Hydrangea paniculata, Hibiscus coccinea 'Texas Star', Dwarf Yellow Canna,H. paniculata, Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower), Sambucus (elderberries), more blackberries, Cleome (Spider Flower), Caladium 'Red Flash', Pennisetum setaceum rubrum 'Fireworks' & Artemisia 'Powis Castle', Hybiscus syriacus 'Marina' (Rose of Sharon 'Blue Bird'), Dwarf Red Canna.



Be sure to click on the collage and make it larger.

Here is an interesting bloom-- a Caladium bloom.


As always, it is time to check out the other garden blogger's blooms---head over to Carol's web site May Dreams Gardens.