Peony Love!

It's that time again!

The peonies are blooming in the garden.

I've been going out daily and picking large bouquets for the house.

If I leave them all on the bush, I miss out on their luscious scent inside and take the chance

of a rain shower spoiling their blooms.

One of my favorite color combinations is this blue bucket with the 

pink in the Sarah Bernhardt peony.

I found this blue Laura Ashley embroidered pillow the last time I went 

to town for some shopping. The perfect summer color for my house.

It needed a pretty partner, so I made the little floral

pillow to pair with it.

Sewing anything gives me a real sense of accomplishment and makes
a pretty little spot of beauty in my home.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!
Hugs from here...

snowballs in June

Hello friends..how is your month going so far?
This month has been windy, windy, windy here in Idaho.
That's the only thing I don't like about living where I live.
This part of Idaho sees a lot of wind in the springtime and makes
enjoying the sunshine a little difficult sometimes.
I try to keep smiling through it but believe me when I say,
I don't like the wind!!!
Far be it from me to complain when so many parts of the country have
had the weather they have had.
So I will just shut up now : )

I have three little snowball viburnum bushes in the garden and this is the first year they
have given me any blooms to speak of. This year they have really put on the growth
and looked beautiful when they bloomed. They are still small and I almost wish they would
stay this size instead of the 8' they will reach when mature, because of where
they are in the garden.

They are so much like hydrangeas in the look of the blooms and I love that.

If you tied me up and tortured me to tell you which of all my plants in the garden is my favorite,
I think I would be pretty badly bruised and banged up because it would go something like this...
It's gotta be the rose---no, no, the peony
wait a minute---it's has to be the snowball bush, or maybe it's the iris
no I'm sure it's the daylily... and on and on like that.

 

Oh now I remember---it has to be the lilac!!!!!

and speaking of lilacs
I took so many photos of them that you will have to suffer through months and months
of photos of them. I plan on doing the same thing with the peonies and roses, so I am giving you
 fair warning that even in the middle of winter I will pepper you with mountains
of flower photos.

I love the white tulips I planted years ago, but sadly these don't multiply
and I forgot the name of them or I would purchase more. They stand so tall
and sturdy and last forever in their bloom.

For those who read this blog who are gardeners, isn't it a joy to go out every morning
and walk through to see what has happened overnight and in those early
morning hours while you slept?
I never cease to be amazed at the beauty I see. I am thankful every single day
that this garden is here and that I am the gardener and caretaker of it.
Yes, it is a lot of work, but I am home with Landon every day anyway and
it gives me something to do to enrich my life while I'm here.
Caring for Landon is a joy, and so is gardening and the two go together so well.

I have friends who say, I don't know how you keep this garden all yourself,
and I always reply, I don't know how you work as hard as you do at your job
or with your little children or your farm and chores.
I think it is in one's nature to find the thing that feeds our soul
and do it and try to do it as well as we can.
When I had six little children at home and we had our dairy, I certainly didn't have this garden.
I had a vegetable garden and canned, and canned, but flowers...no.
I had no time to care for more.
Now I have the time.
And so I do.

The peonies are just coming on and I was able to bring in an armload 

to put in my mother's crock. 

Does this house ever smell good!

Better than the pickles she made in it!

Wishing you all the best week ever!
Hugs from here...

Lilac time in the garden...and a beautiful friendship flag from Deb!

Sharing a few of the lilacs that have bloomed in my garden this year.

My favorite thing about early spring is when the lilacs bloom. 

I have 12 bushes in this garden and can't fit all the photos into one post so I 

thought I would first post about my two favorites.

This particular lilac is a no name. 

I found it at a plant nursery in bloom and it didn't have a 

description tag, but when I saw the bloom and smelled it,

I knew I had to have it.

It is one of the very first to bloom and I love cutting it and bringing the blooms into the house.

They don't last long in a vase but even as they wilt and dry, the scent stays strong.

In the photo below you can see that as it ages on the bush the blooms fade and become even fuller.

They take on a less purple cast and become more lilac in color.  

I wanted to show the single florets of the bloom in a close-up so one could
see the make up of this double lilac bloom.

What an amazing bloom this lilac has!

Here is a photo I took of the different blooms from the ones I have. 

Some of these I have two bushes of.

I think the Glory lilac is very similar to the no-name lilac but it's growth habit is different.

The Glory lilac has passed this one up in size and the lilacs grow mostly at the top of the bush.

My second favorite lilac is the one below called Beauty of Moscow.
I love everything about this one. I love that it is pink and not lilac or purple and I like the
less dense blooms.

Me being the pink lover I am, makes me think one of these is not enough!

I received the loveliest gift from a friend a couple of weeks ago.

Deb of Posted from Home had e-mailed me to tell me about

a couple who have a child with the same syndrome as Landon (Angelman) from her area

that had been featured in her local paper and wondered if I would like the article

to read (and I did) so she kindly sent it. 

In the package was this beautiful friendship flag and lovely card.

Deb is such a talented artist and I love her work. I am so happy to have a piece of her artwork and 

it was so thoughtful of her

to send it to me and I will cherish it Deb!!!

at the bottom of the chain is a little metal heart with a muslin bow

I love details like that!!!

I wanted to post this with my lilacs because the colors are perfect together : ))))
Thank you Deb---I love it...and you!

I want to show more of the lilacs blooming and even though they will be gone by the time I do another post, they are just too pretty to let go of. So soon I will share a couple more favorites.

Hugs from here!!!