What a frustrating day! I should be in Minneapolis enjoying the camaraderie of fellow bloggers and some amazing gardens. But, I’m stuck in Chicago because of travel problems. I can’t blame the airlines, though. I missed my flight, and tried to get to Minneapolis on standby via Chicago. As it turns out, I just can’t get a break on flights out of Chicago. So, I’m staying in my niece’s apartment in the loop and hoping my luggage gets to me. Unlike me, my luggage is in Minneapolis.
I planted a number of gazania in the Secret Garden and I’m enjoying the grey foliage and lovely pink and white blooms.
But the garden is in full bloom even though I’m a little bit wilted
This is Red Pinnacle and isn’t she gorgeous. This is another daylily I planted late last summer.Purple Coneflowers in the Secret Garden. The white in the distance is Fragrant Angel. I do not recall what the purple ones are. That is Grosso Lavende behind the purple coneflowers.I’m not sure what variety the purple coneflowers in the foreground are, but the white ones behind it are Fragrant Angel. That is Grosso lavender next to the purple.Bridget, my Standard Poodle, looking proud amongst the daylilies in the Secret Garden. That is Crystal Pinot near her nose and Barbara Mitchell to the left. Behind her is a purple coneflower that I thought did not survive. But, there it is.The crocosmia is starting to bloom. I seriously thinned this patch late last summer to give the day lilies breathing room.In the little nook outside the dining room and sun porch this finicky variated lace cap hydrangea is enjoying a bumper crop of blooms. This is evidence that hydrangeas love cool, wet springs.The carpet rose is flourishing in the rosebed.Love this riot of daylily blooms. Zagreb and Moonbeam coreopsis are in the bottom right, followed by Rosey Returns daylily. That is supposed to be Crystal Pinot in the lower left, but it either reverted to a parent or self seeded into something else. Next to it is Sea Urchin. The yellow is First Knight. The peachy flower mid-right is Siloam, one of last summer’s additions.I’m loving this Euphorbia Perkinensis in the Secret Garden.Despite my liberal and multiple applications of acid, my Endless Summer hydrangea in the lower garden is only partially and lukewarm-edly blue.Another one of last summer’s purchases, drumstick allium. I can’t wait for these to multiply and fill a space in the Secret Garden.Meet Strutters’ Ball, a daylily I planted late last summer.
I haven’t always been a gardener, but I have always loved gardens. It has taken 16 years to get my gardens into the shape they are today. And, I’ve had help. I’m 74 years old, have rheumatoid arthritis, and had a late stage cancer six years ago. I am, though, intrepid. I’m the kind of person who plods along, tailoring my goals as I go. Last November I had a long overdue knee replacement surgery and I’m hoping this spring, summer, and fall will be able to maintain and find even more joy working in all of my garden beds. Full disclosure, though. I have a garden guy who comes once a week to work in my gardens.
Garden 337 