Photo-a-Day Week 29

Time for the weekly wrap-up of the photo-a-day for this week. No black-and-white photos this week. 

Day 195-

Summer produce is amazing and peaches are my favorite. This week's purchase is white peaches. If you have never had white peaches, give them a try; they are so sweet. They bruise more easily than standard yellow peaches, so often they are not shipped. If you want to try them, you will need to go local. 

Summer's Bounty

Day 196-

This T-shirt is my husband's, he has a lot of band's T-shirts. This one is a little different as it has a quote from a song by Ray Wylie Hubbard. It is a good quote and a good reminder about gratitude. 

Words to live by- 

Day 197-

Sweetgrass baskets are a treasured art form in South Carolina. Last year, there was a Sweetgrass basket exhibit in our Arts Center, and a class was offered to make your own sweetgrass basket. Artisans from the low country taught us how to wrap the palm threads around and through the coils of the sweetgrass. To work this material truly takes an experienced hand. My basket isn't large, but having made it, I can appreciate the talent and knowledge these artisans have to make larger and intricate baskets. 

Sweetgrass basket

Day 198-

My husband power washes our decks, patios, BBQ pad, and driveway. When he does the driveway, it is a couple of days' process. We have lots of pine trees that line the driveway, and the sticky pine sap holds dirt on the pavement. The driveway isn't done every year, but it sure is noticeable when it is done.  

Clean/dirty

Day 199-

This is a new fence near our neighborhood. There are horses in the pastures. I guess they needed to upgrade the fencing. The fence company did a really nice job. Not sure if it will be painted or stained sometime down the road. 

Fence line

Day 200-

I took a photo of the glass block window in our bathroom for one of the photo-a-day offerings, Day 95. When the morning sun shines through the window, we get some interesting light play on the tile floor. While I was getting my photo, Millie, our kitty, was curious about what I was doing. 

Light Refraction and Shadows

Day 201-

The Junipers in our area are loaded with berries. Juniperus virginiana, commonly called Eastern red cedar, is not a cedar. The berries are a light blue and, when ripe, are edible. They are used in sauerkraut and gin making. When we lived in Germany, I would buy them packaged when I was making sauerkraut or Sauerbraten. The German translation for juniper berries is Wacholderbeeren. 

Juniper berries

Thanks for stopping by for this week's photos.

*A side note about the previous post on Clethra- the Ruby Spice blooms are open, and they are nicely fragranced. I love having fragrant plants in my garden, how about you? 

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Plant Profile- Clethra alnifolia 'Vanilla Spice'

I  thought I would take a break from the Photo-a-Day posts to profile an amazing shrub that I have in my garden. Clethra alnifolia 'Vanilla Spice' is currently filling the air with its fragrance, and it is delightful.  I have it planted in a few spots in my backyard gardens and I can tell you, it likes moist soil. Two of the spots I have it planted in semi-shade and a rather dry area, it is not doing as well as the clump in more sun and a wetter area. 

This shrub is deer resistant, though many of the flower stalks get sampled. Clethra alnifolia is native to swampy woodlands, stream shorelines, wetlands, and can be found from Maine to Florida. The common name is Summersweet, probably for its fragrant blooms. Reading about it on the Missouri Botanical Garden site it says it can tolerate clay soils (which I have) but the soil should not dry out completely. Think I might move the struggling ones to a wetter area in my yard. The light requirements are full sun to part shade. So, more sun and more water areas for those that will get moved in the fall/winter. 

The shrub grows to about 6 feet tall and creates a colony of suckers, making a wide shrub, spreading at will. Given my backyard is more of a woodland garden, I like when a shrub is thriving and spreading. 

When in bloom, these shrubs are covered with pollinators. It makes me happy to see so many pollinators in my garden. 

When I first purchased this shrub, I really wanted C. alnifolia 'Ruby Spice', but only 'Vanilla Spice' was available. Like I said above, the fragrance from the 'Vanilla Spice' fills the backyard. 

A neighbor had some 'Ruby Spice' that they were dividing, and shared some with me. It is not quite open yet, but I can tell you from previous years it isn't nearly as fragrant as 'Vanilla Spice'. As the 'Ruby Spice' bloom opens the pink color fades quite a bit. These 'Ruby Spice' also need to be moved, not nearly enough water for them to flourish. 

Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice'

I wrote about the Clethra alnifolia back in July 2011. While checking my previous post, I see I need to find my photos from the post. Not sure why, but some of my older posts have the photos disappear. I know I thought I was culling excess photos from my Google photos, and inadvertently deleted some that were used for a blog post. As I find posts that are missing photos, I go back through the archives and replace them. 

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

A Quick Look At Wildflowers, It is Wednesday

Every so often I am able to get a post done in time to join Gail's Wildflower Wednesday.  I went out a couple different times today to get some very current photos of natives blooming my garden.  I love plants that have a long bloom time....really gives a long lasting impact in the garden.  Two long blooming plants in my garden are Helenium autumnale 'Mardi Gras'.

And Lonicera sempervirens Coral Honeysuckle-  I was looking for some of the berries on the honeysuckle but couldn't find any.  Some birds have been enjoying them I suppose.  It is fun to watch the hummingbirds on this flower!

I shared Aralia spinosa Devil's Walking Stick with you in my last post.... today I was able to get a closer picture of the blooms.  For those who don't know this plant, it gets quite tall-- 10 -15 feet and the single stem is riddled with big thorns.  A plant to admire from a distance!

In the lower part of our yard I have four Clethra alnifolia 'Vanilla Spice' shrubs.   This shrub flowers through out the month of July and into August.  The fragrance carries on the breezes, a feast for the senses. If you don't have one in your garden, get one!!

A new plant in the wet part of the yard, in the garden bed that the tree from the last post missed as it fell, is Lobelia speciosa 'Cardinal Flower'.  It is my hope this bold red beauty will spread, reseed, and multiple!!

Just about to open is the Swamp Milkweed that I started in milk cartons over the winter...Winter Sowing!  Asclepias incarnata will be putting on a show later this month and into August.   Stay tuned!

I wanted to share this little violet I got this summer, Viola walteri 'Silver Gem'.  Surprisingly this is a native to the Appalachian Piedmont.  What a cute tiny little plant.  I have it at the base of my deck steps so I can see and appreciate it.

 I was happy to see it blooming tonight.  The shade is provided by a Castor Bean plant.  When it gets a little bigger I will share some pictures.  Do want to show you how little this violet is--

Please head over to Gail's blog and see some of the other wildflower postings -- such a wide range of beautiful blooms.


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

Wildflower Wed...Thursday

I don't always remember the postings for special memes -- Bloom Day is always on the 15th, Foliage Follow-up is the 16th and Wildflower Wednesday is the fourth Wednesday of the month.  If I am lucky I remember to do the Bloom Day posting. Yesterday was Wildflower Wednesday...oops.   Well Gail, the hostess of Wildflower Wednesday said the post is up all week, meaning I could still add my post to the list.
This morning I went out in my bathrobe to get some morning light photos of some of my native wildflowers/ plants.  We live out in the boonies, I could go out in my birthday suit and nobody would notice.  In my front yard are some of my wonderful native grasses, some of which are starting to bloom.  I love these seed heads.  In front of my well is Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'.  It has been a great performer, this year the red stems are more vibrant.

The seed heads are just starting to emerge.

This is a clump of three.  Nice soft edge of the rocks that line the driveway.

On the other side of the driveway was a compacted, graveled, soil-scraped mess.  We added some grasses to help slow the water as it rolled down the hill.   These native grasses have survived nicely, though some spots are doing better than others.  I originally bought 7 Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues' and divided them as I planted, going for bonus plantings.  I think last time I counted there were a dozen still growing.

I like the blue tones of this grass, wonderful soft hues.  Along the bank I have some junipers planted, this is the year they should 'leap'.

Along the driveway up closer to the street is one of my Hydrangea quercifolia shrubs.  This is such a super plant.  I have this one in a spot that it will be able to grow to it's full potential.

For those who were cheering for the Passion vine, it has popped up a few feet from where the other one had  been.   The Sassafras tiny tree is still doing well, so this is a win-win.

In the backyard I have more color.  The morning light makes these Gaillardia sparkle.  Think I will encourage more of these babies in the coming years.

Just down the hill a little is another yellow/orange bloom.  Helenium 'Mardi Gras', I love how the blooms vary so much depending on how long they have been open.  I had to remove one of these plants last year as I found some Aster yellows had infected the plant.  So far I haven't seen any evidence on the others. I did buy one to replace the infected one.  I really like the fragrance on this bloom.

Aren't the petals beautiful?  The pollinators are wild about it too!

Speaking of fragrance......Clethra alnifolia 'Vanilla Spice' is just starting to bloom.  I have four of these shrubs in the garden,  bought five and can't for the life of me figure out from where the fifth one disappeared.  This moth was still napping.  Later in the afternoon the fragrance is a lot stronger.  Funny how the fragrance is different at different times during the day.   

This one is blooming more than the other three.  One of the others is sending out some new sprouts, forming a bit of a colony.  As the others bloom, the garden is filled with wonderful scents.  If you don't have a Clethra in your garden, you should!!

I have learned a lot from Gail's postings on native plants, as well as many of the participants in her Wildflower Wednesdays.    Be sure to stop by!


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

We Are All A Fickle Lot, Aren't We?

Who among us hasn't gone from plant to plant over the growing season, claiming each new encounter a 'favorite' plant?   I am as guilty as the next guy.  My newest favorite plant is Clethra alnifolia 'Vanilla Spice'.  Last fall I bought 5 small shrubs ----this spring I could only find four.  No the yard isn't that big...think some-bunny ate one of them. 

 The four that remain are in full bloom  right now.  It is a versatile shrub....native, likes sun to part shade.  It can handle moist soil or a drier location.   The fragrance is amazing!  The evening breeze carries its perfume across the garden.  I love it!  The bees love it.  The hummingbirds love it.  The deer leave it alone (at least according to the literature).  Like I said, one of mine disappeared.  Maybe it was just in a really dry part of the yard and died??  Who knows. 

 This beauty will grow to about six feet tall, though right now they are about two feet tall now.  I have given them plenty of room to grow and be all they can be.   The foliage is dark green and gives a colorful show in the fall. 

 Vanilla Spice is one of a few cultivars of this native.  I had originally wanted 'Ruby Spice' which has pinkish red blooms.  I was able to find the five Clethra last fall and decided to give the Vanilla Spice a try.  I do like the punch of white blooms in the garden.  It really stands out.   White or pink, what really has me loving this shrub is the fragrance.  Its common name?  Summersweet! And it sure is!

Do you have a new plant you have fallen for?  Like I said, we are fickle, I admit it, so---will be sharing some other 'new' favorites in the weeks to come.  Tell me your new favs!


©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.