A Bluebird Salute and This Week in my Garden

This adorable cross stitch piece is “A Bluebird Salute” which took me about a week to stitch. The designer is Misty Pursel of Luminous Fiber Arts on Etsy.  I substituted gold DMC etoile floss to give it a bit of sparkle. I’m currently stitching a few more patriotic pieces. 

Here is the back. On this piece, I followed Lori Holt's method of stitching around all four side, making a slash on the back, turning it right sides out, stuffing it, and covering the slash with a bit of wool and buttons. She has many tutorials on Youtube.

 Cuteness Alert! Cuteness Alert! My neighbor has been making cat and dog planters featuring different breeds.  I, of course, ordered a schnauzer one. 

If that doesn’t put a smile on your face, I do not know what will. The pink is its little tongue sticking out. 

My gardening mojo is still going strong. I went to Lowe’s last week to see if they had any peat moss; they didn’t, but a woman walked by with a stunning rose in her cart and you guessed it. . . Yes, one just like it came home with me :-() Isn't it  gorgeous!

 

A few other spots of color this week . . . 

A Stella D’Oro daylily after the rain . . . (If you click on this photo or any of the others, you will see a larger image showing the raindrops. I'm not sure about photographing whiskers on kittens, but I do love photographing raindrops on roses and other flowers. 

Two old fashion flowers. . .  Rose campion with its striking magenta color. Once you establish a plant, new plants will pop up absolutely everywhere. I cut it back after it blooms, and I will get a rebloom later in the season. (This plant is said to come in white and pink though I have never seen it in any color other than magenta.)

This is spiderwort. The plant is a bit floppy, but I do give it space in my large garden.

This is the time when the strip alongside my garage is bursting with color. If only it would look like this all summer.

Well, that’s all for now. Next time I will show you a couple of recently completed larger cross stitch pieces.

Have a colorful, happy, safe, wonderful week.

In My Garden This Week - June 26, 2014

     Isn't this hibiscus gorgeous! I love the color and the ruffled petals. 

There's nothing better than relaxing here with a good book and a tall glass of lemonade or ice coffee. I try not to think about how much work there is still to do in my gardens; instead I just enjoy the view.

I bought this daylily last fall, and this is my first time seeing it in bloom. It's a "Happy Ever Appster Daylily" called "Rosy Returns' and it is supposed to be long blooming. It sure is pretty!

 Another perennial favorite are blanket flowers. These bright, cheerful flowers are constant bloomers from spring to fall. These little beauties come in various shades of oranges, yellows, and reddish tones and make great cut flowers.

Along the side of my garage, I have blanket flowers, rose campions and stella d'oro daylilies.

Rose campions grow anywhere. I love their tenacity and determination! (Two qualities I greatly admire.) To illustrate, I just popped out to take this shot of the rose campions growing in the crack

 between the patio and the base of the deck.

[Photography note: The above photo was a quick grabshot taken with my iPhone. The other images were taken were taken a few days ago with my Nikon D60 and Tamron 90macro.}

In My Garden This Week

     Here's a lovely bright spot of color blooming on my porch. For those who don't know, it is a mandevilla vine which will keep blooming right through to frost. Last year I had a white one, but this year I went back to pink. We had a few wet, dreary days, so nothing much got accomplished in my gardens this week.

   
The pathway along the side of the garage is a riot of color with snapdragons, stella d'oro daylilies, and blanket flowers.
     The mock orange bush is in full bloom.

     And last but not least, this rose campion gets the award for tenacity. This old fashion flower is said to grow best in "moist, fertile, well drained soil." H'mmm. . .  Someone forgot to tell this plant as it is growing in a two inch crack along the porch foundation.