an autumn wreath and some lovely color in the garden

A couple of weeks ago, I decided I had put off redoing my old wreath long
enough and went out to the garden and cut some of the hydrangeas.
I always reuse my old straw wreath forms and this time I glued the fresh hydrangeas
to the form and let it dry naturally.
I usually make my wreaths out of dried ones because I usually make them in the winter
after the garden is all put to bed, but we had a few days of rain so I was able to take the
time to enjoy putting it together.
The photos were taken after it had dried.

It was so much easier using the hydrangeas fresh and will make sure I do it every time.

Dried hydrangeas shatter easily and leave quite the mess. This was 

pretty no fuss, and it only took me a short time to make.

The hydrangeas I used for this are the Limelight, and while they go through many
stages of color, I am glad I waited to make it while they were in this stage.

really love these colors!

I wanted to share one of my favorite places in the garden and the autumn hues 

that this area had colored up before we had a wild windstorm 

that has left most the trees in the garden bare.

So glad I was able to get several photos of the whole garden this fall, because 

the colors were beautiful this year. 

This birdbath was made by a friend of ours who made it from
discs from his disc (a farm implement that breaks up the earth
after plowing)

I love this birdbath!
 It is large enough for the birds to get a good bath in, and tall
enough that the cats don't jump or climb up it!

This area of the garden was planned to make a special place for the grandchildren.

It's secluded because of the hedge of redtwig dogwood, diablo ninebark, and ashleaf 

spirea I planted on one side, and on the other is a large berm planted with shrubs,

perennials, roses and trees.

  

It created a little allee for them to play in and not be seen.

A place to create their own little world in.

I have to say that it is my favorite space too!

Whenever I work on this side of the garden bed, I kind of feel like a kid again myself :)))

I love the redleaf rose in the fall! I think this has got to be one of my favorite
shrubs in the garden.
This one along the allee is huge and turns the loveliest color.

Then there's the Hallward Silver spirea with it's yellowing leaves
that then change to a beautiful rusty red.

A little shot of the laceleaf elderberry branch.

Hope to return soon with a few more pics of the Autumn garden.
But for now, I wish you all a wonderful start to your November!

the last garden bouquet of 2016

I wanted to post the last rose bouquet I picked from the garden just before
the rainy weather came the middle of this month.
I think I picked it on about the tenth of October and then the rains
came soon after.
I've always said that I love the roses of Fall the best.
The colors are richer in the fall and they last on the bush so much longer
than in the heat of summer.

I also love that they bloom about the time my phlox is finishing up their bloom 

cycle, because this particular rose looks beautiful with my later blooming phlox.

This rose is Morden Blush and is one of my very, very favorites!

I have 8 of them in the garden and am nursing 5 little seedlings along to plant somewhere

next spring. I find these popping up everywhere in my beds and I imagine 

it's because the birds drop their hips here and there in the fall.

Morden Blush is one of the easiest and hardiest roses to grow here in zone 3/4.

I'm in love with this pitcher that my sweet neighbor Sarah gave me!!! 

It's the perfect color to pair this rose with.

I know, I know....

I overdid it a little with the pictures!...

but these photos have to get me through the long winter----because

it will be awhile before I have roses from the garden on my table again :))))

You already know that I'm the same way with peonies.

You will definitely be seeing more peony, lilac, and rose posts 

from me through the winter months just to have something to post about!

abandoned. . . . .or not?

A little over two weeks ago I took a bouquet of garden blooms
'up the creek' to a favorite abandoned house that is on the neighboring
property of where my little Juniebird house (she shed) is.
Years ago when we lived on my husband's grandfather's ranch that
is just north of this house, I would pass it almost daily and
think how awesome it would be to fix it up and live in it someday.
  Well that never happened,
but we did buy the 40 acres that was originally part of grandpa's that ran south of it,
so I have always been able to keep my eye on it over the years.
I had never been in it until the other
day when I decided to trespass a little and crawl through the fence with
my little bouquet and camera
(oh, and yes, a tattered piece of lace for the window)

The interior walls are almost non-existent now and the windows are gone,

but I could see that in it's day this house had a lot of charm.

From every window in the house are beautiful views and I could see
why the builders would have chosen just this spot on their ranch to build it.

Oh I forgot to say I brought up the little chair too,
you know, in case I got tired  :)

This photo I snapped below gives you an idea of it's surroundings
and the mountains just to the north.

As I was gathering things back up, I thought about trying to find a way to the upstairs
because the staircase was totally absent, but as I looked up into the
second story I saw that the house really wasn't abandoned at all.
As you can guess, I gave up any intention of following through with climbing
 up the 2x4 walls and joining this guy in case he had the inclination
to put his talons into my hair and cause me to go screaming out of the door
and through the fence and down the road to my car!!!!

But, it won't be the last photo shoot I do in HIS house!
I just hope next time I go he's out for the day.


I wanted to share just a few of the flowers I have been enjoying from the
garden since I last posted.
This little rose is a favorite of mine and is called Ballerina.
It doesn't get very big in my garden because it has to start over from
the root every year because it isn't zoned for our area. But whatever it's size, I'll
take what blooms it's little canes decide to give me.

I like to pair Morden Blush roses with Limelight hydrangeas.
I covered the top of the mantle with them and I think they
  looks so pretty together.  

Morden Blush roses with Rosanne geranium

  

My sweetpeas are still blooming! I planted 

4" cups the first of July because I was too late to plant seeds in the spring.
It's nice to have them this late in the season.

  

An old iron headboard in the grape arbor

This is one of my clematis that grow under the pergola on the way

 to the front door. This is it's second bloom, it's first bloom

is a real show stopper!

There are several trellis in the garden and this pole trellis borders 

our neighbor to the right of us. 

I was trying to create a little secluded place for my dear 

friend Sarah's daughter. 

On the other end of this trellis she has a hammock hanging 

in the trees and this gives her a little more privacy when she 

hangs out in it.

I LOVE my Lambert Closse roses!!!

A picture of my Limelight hydrangeas before they started to turn their 

Autumn hues.

Below is a little outhouse that my daughter bought at a farm auction for me and
we put in the garden for a tool shed.
It's in a very secluded part of the garden and  looks very charming
under the trees. I understand the the normal person wouldn't
have anything like this in their garden...but there's nothing normal
about me or my garden!

The second bloom on the John Cabot rose in September.

Thank you all who read here and I wish you lovely Autumn or Spring
in your parts of the world!