Good morning.
Would you like to join me on a fine early morning walk?
Grab yourself a hot beverage of choice and a sweater, the morning air is chilly, and join me.
The robins are singing their sweet song of spring, they serenade us as we mosey along the garden path.
Fresh iris’ have opened.
Nearly all take our breath away. Each has a unique twist, some release a sweet perfume.
Their names even sound delicious, Boysenberry Truffle.
A few yellows are adding contrast to the many shades of purple we have in the garden. Some garishly bright..
and some delicately subtle.
A few roses have started to open, a bit early for us here on this mountain but welcome all the same.
Dream Weaver
A little darker and one that supposedly will do well in the shade.
Zepherine Droughn
Now we must walk on past the old straw bale raised bed, it has done its duty and now it is seeing new life.
Last year it held big fat Brandywine tomatoes and some Tromboline zucchini, which soon grew so lush it camouflaged the entire bed, and they were so delicious.
Now the rich compost is being used to start new beds and heavily mulch others. No waste here.
Once past the straw we turn right, and what greets our eyes but a rather shabby looking chicken house…
Cecile Brunner is glamming it up with her abundance of blooms whose spicy scent greet you as you approach to collect the eggs.
And a sweet surprise as we glance along one of the garden beds, planted with seeds.
A humble green bean shoot. How such a small event can make your heart sing.
There were a few popping up in this row, now to plant another.
I hope you enjoyed our morning walk.
Come join me again, we shall do another soon, very soon. I promise.
I took a break this morning from frantically packing and preparing for the cold weekend ahead at the Strawberry Music Festival, to take a walk in the garden.
I love this time of year when every day bring something new to bloom.
I just love this Firewitch Dianthus, the fuchsia blooms next to the blue green foliage is eye-catching.
The lime thyme is at its best.
An Heirloom Iris that smell like Grape Kook-Aid.
A Russel Lupine in Fuchsia.
And one in Blue.
I love the spots.
Even just the bud is lovely.
The poppies are just beginning their show. I let them reseed last year and they are coming up all along the side yard.
According my the label this clematis is supposed to be white with burgundy specks but I think I mislabeled it.
It was supposed to be Bee’s Jubilee.
The other clematis which I do believe is Nellie Moser is snuggled up with my Shropshire Lad English rose.
The Creeping Jenny is filling in an ugly area quite nicely.
Another speckled Iris, I do believe my cousin gave this to me, she dug it up at an old farmstead in Idaho.
That was my morning walk. I really regret having to leave for nearly a week, I will miss so much.
I will endeavor to enjoy myself. I am not a camping enthusiast and this is not a weekend of leisure, I will be working my fanny off, long hours of hustling then dropping into my bed at night (a memory foam mattress pad tossed into the back of my Suburban) to snooze a bit before starting another day.
And to top it off it is now predicted to be colder than we originally anticipated. I hate camping in the cold. And I can’t come home until Monday, unless I can connive some way to get out of there Sunday night. We shall see. By then I will be more than ready for a good hot soak, my bed and a warm house not crowded by 25,000 people sharing my bathroom.
Okay, whine over. I am out the door….
Fertilizer Friday
The weekend fairly flew past, it was fun filled. Saturday was the baby shower for my sister and her latest baby boy.
My sister in law made the cutest fruit salad.
There was lots of wonderful food and it was enjoyable to catch up with family we had not seen in awhile.
It was so lovely this morning, it was 50 degrees at 6am. I headed outside to enjoy it with my first cup of coffee.
The Iris beside the step I love to sit on had just opened up.
It is not one of the scented ones but it is gorgeous just the same.
One of my clematis is putting on a show as well.
I wish I could remember which one this is. I will have to look up my garden map, I try to keep one on hand as I plant new things.
This next Iris is blooming just a few scant inches from the ground, I am not sure why it did not grow normally but it is pretty just the same.
The Baby Blue eyes Forget Me Nots are filling in and I have some cropping up all the way across the garden, I suppose the birds are spreading the seeds. I don’t mind, it does not seem to be overly aggressive and I can easily keep it in check.
My Cecile Brunner climbing rose perfumes the air, I get a good whiff each morning as I go to feed the hens. It sure beats the smell of chickie doo.
My bed of lettuce, it was filled from end to end but the chickens got loose one day and only left a little patch for us. I had reseeded so we should get more soon.
A few months back I ordered some roses from Heirloom Roses. I have been very pleased with their growth and I am in love with this one so far. It has just bloomed, it is called Kiss of Desire.
The other three are beginning to bloom as well and I will share those soon.
In a pot on my back deck is this lovely rose, called Scentimental. It truly has a lovely perfume.
Below is a Warsaw Nike clematis that is just going hog wild, if you want a clematis that is tough and vigorous then this should be your choice.
It is absolutely loaded with big fat blooms.
It will most likely start to bloom while I am away. I leave on Wednesday for the rest of the week to work at the Strawberry Festival by Yosemite. It is crazy, fast paced and exhausting but we have fun at the same time.
The downside is there is no internet or cell phone service AT ALL. Zero, zilch, nada!
So that being said you will not hear from me until Monday. I will be toast but I shall check in. I will have my phone with me so I may get some photos but last year we were just too busy so I can’t make any promises.
Adios,
Fertilizer Friday
I have always been intrigued with how in the Victorian times, certain flowers had specific meanings. People then used more symbols and gestures to communicate than words, (I guess they preferred implication over certainty).
Iris means Inspiration..
I have to say Iris are one of my favorite flowers, they are tough, perform beautifully early in the season and propagate themselves.
I have purchased the majority of mine from Schreiners Iris Gardens online. I have gotten some iris from other vendors but have not been as impressed with the quality and size like I have with Schreiners. So far in my estimation they can’t be beat. I am not affiliated with them at all, I just have been well pleased with all iris I have purchased from them.
Here is my absolute favorite one called Starship Enterprise, it fairly glows while in bloom.
Another that never fails to get attention from visitors is Supreme Sultan, he blooms and blooms and blooms.
One of my favorite purples, I love the contrasting colors on Prince George.
I have some I have no idea what their names are, this one my cousin gave me, she had dug it up at an old homestead in Idaho. I think that is where she got this one. I will have to ask her.
A couple shots of many blooming together.
Last but not least a few photos of the next collection I have on my wish list. This is called the Tie-Dye collection from Schreiners.
Batik
Brindled Beauty
Gnus Flash
Gnu
Tiger Honey
I have been starting seeds and many are on the growing rack in my living room. The grow lights make for a bright living room. I love it bright!
I won’t win any accolades for style but my passion for plants supersedes my desire for a photo worthy living room. 
Cheers!
