Friday, May 07, 2010

Relaxed and Refreshed

The staycation is over and I am a new gnome. This is the new buddy of our other gnome, and he came with a nice sun-protecting mushroom, courtesy of my dear friend Rose.





Here you can see them together in  their lush little garden, soon to be overgrown with flowers and sedum, and coleus. The casita has a fresh new paint job in the Mexican Chalet style.
I have been waiting for days for our first iris to open and wondering what color it would be? At first I thought it would be white, then champagne, and then pink, but it more of a peach color and I love it. The stem is sturdy and doesn't that make me happy? So many of my irises in the past have toppled over, so I am hoping this beauty stays up.
Rose loves gardening too, and that was such a treat for me, to share all that has been happening here in the yard.


The clematis are doing great with more blooms than ever. This bed also has a white Henryii, which didn't bloom last year and I am hoping to see it do something this year. I am learning patience.



Besides admiring the garden, Rose and I watched frogs, counted fish, and lazed on chaises, in the shade, reading magazines and slurping beverages while solving all the worlds problems.
And of course we cooked lots of Mexican food in honor of Cinco de Mayo, as if we needed an excuse.
Several times we had to shop...ha!
  It was a great visit and I miss her already.

By the way, Popeye is still hanging in there. He is celebrating his 21st year the same way he celebrated his previous birthdays, by snoring. Several of you have asked: how do I know this is his last summer? We have been telling him that since he was 16. When Dave retired we thought about moving, but were afraid Popeye wouldn't make it and so we waited. The years passed and we still waited for him to do the same. Finally after warning him every year to live it up as this could be his last summer, we just packed him and the rest of our stuff and moved. The secret to his longevity is getting in a good nap daily. Or more than one.

Back to the garden. The first thing I planted when we got here was a hydrangea. I was so hoping I had moved to HYDRANGEA LAND. Three years I waited to see this bush bloom and now I am getting my wish fulfilled. Bunches of blooms are ready to unfold. And one of our other ones has buds too. This makes me so happy.

 What is this? Mike, our helper, has gifted me with a box of lady slippers ( not the endangered ones) and I am thrilled. I'll be putting them in the shade garden today.  Woowoo!
On a sad note: my fave goldfish from the new pond bit the dust. Orange with Black Dot was easy to spot in the pond. I still have oodles more but he was special. Boo hoo.
...OK I am over it.
Back to the dirt!!

8 comments:

  1. That iris is gorgeous!! And the clematis too. Several of your pictures are just red X's for me. Thanks for the explanation of Popeye's last summer!

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  2. Anonymous10:10 AM

    Way to go, Popeye!

    Greetings from Mary G. in Chicago, the human belonging to Romeo the Grandkitty. I heel on command.

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  3. I was just thinking about you last night as I watch the BNA news about the flood. Thinking about how your gardens were doing. Looks like you got through OK. In our prayers this weekend.

    Lemonade on the deck, grab a glass and come visit me in the garden,

    Kate - The Garden Bell

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  4. Good luck with the Lady's Slippers--they've already been dug up, so I hope they "take". They are wildflowers--the pink ones may not be endangered, but they are still rare. They have a mind of their own and grow where they want to grow, usually in pine mulch. We had hundreds of them on our wooded property in south central Kentucky, but they almost disappeared when we logged out the pines due to the southern pine beetle infestation.

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  5. I'm so glad all is well-the news about the floods was scary looking.
    Go Popeye go! Well, perhaps go is too strong a word. Maybe lounge Popeye lounge.
    Beautiful clematis and hydrangia.

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  6. There is a bear statue at Kroger's that I want to get. My mom used to collect gnombs so this one seems to fit in.... the bear is looking at the bottom ofhis foot, there is a stepped on gnomb there! It's just too cute.

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  7. Absolutely love the iris. I have them in my garden. They were here when we moved in six years ago. But never bloomed. So I was told they were too deep. So I dug them up and still no blooms....this year I once again dug them up and layed them on top of the ground just barely able to cover the roots...and sure enough...they are bigger than ever before and I am anxious to see if blooms will be forming soon! I too have no idea what color they are.

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  8. I'm glad that you are okay, I was starting to worry after the flood story! Your garden is so beautiful. Almost makes me want to get my hands dirty. ;)

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Hello,
So nice of you to drop by. I love your comments, and if you would really like a reply, please email me at fibermania at g mail dot com