Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome to Bloomin' Tuesday! Today I'm going yellow and white. I keep saying I need more white in my garden but when I looked at my pictures I realized I had more than I thought.
(click on the pictures to enlarge)

These are from the evening primrose family. I forgot I bought them last year . I have light pink ones too that I've had for several years. They spread well but do not stay well in clumps. Peony
One of my favorites, daisies. Dahlia. I plant the short compact ones.
Dahlia. I use them as annuals.
Husker Red Digitalis. The "red" is at the base of the flower. Sun drops.
These are also in the evening primrose family.
Feverfew Another favorite. Indian Summer of the Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ) family.
If you would like to join us this week and post what's bloomin' where you are planted, just put your name and blog address on My Linky. All I ask is that you also put a link on your blog back to this list so your readers can also enjoy our country wide garden tour.
To take the tour just click on the names on the list and enjoy!

Family

The kids came over for a couple hours yesterday for my birthday. I'm back to work nights so Sunday was the only time we could get together.My son, Kim and his wife Tabatha.
Jerzie and Aunt Laurie reading.
Jerzie and Uncle Chris.
Blowing bubbles. See the bubble by Jerzie's ear. Kissing Daddy goodbye so he can go play ball.
Laurie made her homemade cheesecake. She knows that's all we ever want. I got the hose reel and rechargeable trimmer, with a handle so I don't have to bend over, that I asked for.
I also got this cute bird and nest
and this prim angel.
We don't all get together often so we always enjoy each other.

Bloomin' Thyme!

I love thyme! I love it when it's blooming and when it isn't.
I love it's wonderful scent.
I love it no matter what kind of thyme it is.
I love the way it grows in nice mounds.Do you have thyme in your garden?
I use this croquet stake as a hose guard at the beginning of the thyme area of my front garden.Look close at the first picture (or click to enlarge)
and you can see these croquet mallets leaning on the light post.
I'm a firm believer that you can never have too much thyme in the garden!

Show and Tell

I love garden art! Since I have several garden areas, I have different "themes" in the areas. Some are very rustic and some more formal. One consistency in my gardens is angels.
These first 3 are in an area seen from the front of my house in a more confined garden area.
This angel is iron and only about 6 inches tall. I just got her this year.
This one is in the shade garden at the back of my yard.
I love this cherub. It is in the day lily garden.
This is an area by my shed that is mostly bushes. She is in front of my hydrangea. Lastly, my country angel. It's hard to see in the picture but she has chicken wire wings. This garden is on the house side of the steps to my beauty shop.
I love all kinds of conventional and unconventional (as in my "kitchen"garden) garden art. To me garden art is like the small touches you add to your home to make it yours.

For more Show and Tell posts go over to Kelli's House.

World Clock

I got this site in an e-mail the other day and thought you might find it interesting.
There is running information about the population, death, illness, the environment, energy, crime, food and more. Some of the numbers change so fast it is impossible to keep up.
Check out the World Clock.

My System

I have gotten some comments about my "knowledge" about plants so I decided to share my secrets. Part of my "expertise" comes from my self developed filing system.The picture below will explain it all.Whenever I buy a plant I stick the information card in here. When I want to post about the plant I dig thru my "file container" for several minutes until I (hopefully) locate the proper label. This can take any where from a minute to a half hour.
If that doesn't work I search my "library". One of these books has the common name listed in the index and the other only the real name. If I can't locate it in the first book I start looking thru the second until I find the right picture. This can take hours!
There you have it! I don't have the "knowledge" you think I have, just a "great"(?) system that anyone can use!
I would like to thank all who have participated in Bloomin' Tuesday and invite everyone to join. Any picture of blooms is welcome. You don't have to be a gardener, just a picture taker. To those of you that come late, I would like to encourage you to try auto post so your post can be put up earlier. The only reason I say this is because I want everyone to enjoy your photos. If you have questions about auto post or Bloomin' Tuesday just e-mail me. My address is in my profile.
Have a great day!

Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome to Bloomin' Tuesday! If you would like to join this week and show us what's bloomin' where you are planted, put your name and blog address on Mr Linky at the bottom of this post. All I ask is that you add a link to this post so your readers can come along on our garden tour.

If you're not interested in joining this week, please click on each name on the Mr Linky list to take an across country garden tour.

I may have shown this rose before but this bunch of 3 is so beautiful I couldn't help myself! The Stella de Oro are beginning to bloom.Won't be long and the other day lilies will start.
The blooms on this dark purple clematis are smaller than the other clematis but it still gives a great show! I need to get a larger trellis next year.
I'm not sure what this is called but it is like a grass and it has these tiny blue flowers on the ends of the blades.

This Heuchera (Geisha's fan) is a great addition to a shade garden.
It's a beautiful mounding plant and I love the shape and variegation of the leaves.
I have some love-in-a-mist blooming too. This is an annual but I "help" it reseed in the fall.

The seed pods are great in flower arrangements and that is really what I grow them for. The good part is the you can remove the seeds without hurting the pods.

I think this is a type of centaurea.
Lastly my wild strawberries are getting ripe. They just started growing along the stairway and on the edge of the garden. They don't amount to much but everyone has fun tasting them as they come down to the shop. They are real sweet but there are never enough at one time to make anything.
Don't forget to sign Mr Linky to be a part of Bloomin' Tuesday today and remember you must sign up every week you want to participate.

Everyone is welcome!

About time!

It was a perfect day today so Jerzie and I went to the park this morning. Isn't she stylish in her hat and all? I couldn't get her to go down the slide but she liked climbing and driving. Of course we had to "wheee"!She liked the teeter totter the best. All I had to do was push the other end up and down.
After lunch we went out on the deck to swim, actually play in the water in the swimming pool.I put Jerzie's zebra I got her for Christmas out on the deck because she wouldn't have anything to do with it. All of the sudden she just got on it and started jumping.


I think she's beginning to like it after all this time! What do you think?

Good deals?

I got a few other items at the sale where I got the egg baskets. These 2 items were in the barn workshop and weren't even marked. I think they figured no one would want them. The top one is a sewing machine cabinet drawer and the other one is just a divided box. I have no idea what I will do with them but I knew I'd be sorry if I left them behind.
I also got this cute folding green table. It looks good as an end table for now but I can always put it in the garden too. It was 3 dollars.
I think my favorite is this metal box. I have no idea what it is from. There is a partial label inside but there's not enough there to read it. I'm not sure what I'll do with it either, I'll just leave it here on my dresser on the deck for now. This box and the first 2 pieces were 2 dollars.I love the green color and the rust! I think I will spray it with some clear sealer so it stays like it is. I may plant in this next year.

I usually get good deals at sales because I like stuff nobody else will buy. I guess that means it's only a good deal to me! Would you have bought any of this junk?

Show and Tell

I went to a super farm sale this week. There was a house, garage and barn filled with stuff. These people never threw anything away, even if it was in pieces. I found a few pieces of great junk but I got 2 items that were great deals. Do you have any idea what these are?


How about now?

These 2 items are collapsible wire egg baskets. I love them both. I have an idea what I will do with them but I'll show you that when I do it. When I got home I checked e-bay just for fun. Someone had bid 9.95 for the top one and one like the bottom one had a starting bid of 6.99.This was a professionally run household sale but I don't think the "professionals" knew what they were. I got them for a quarter each, that's right 25cents! I'm very happy with all my purchases but these were definitely the best deal.

To see more Show and Tell posts go to Kelli's House.

Theme songs

When we watched TV from the 1950's thru the 90's we knew what was coming on just by listening the the music. Every show had a specific and very recognizable theme song.
Have you noticed that is no longer true? I hadn't even thought about it!
Do you think you remember all those songs?
Find out if you do! Click here to take a theme song test. It only takes a couple minutes and it's lots of fun even if you don't do very well, like me. I only got 6! Leave me a comment and tell me your score.
If you enjoyed (or enjoy) I Love Lucy check out my posts about a friend of mine with a connection to Lucy. For those who didn't know, I live in Lucy's hometown. These posts include information and personal pictures you will find interesting even if you're not a major fan. Just click on the titles under the Lucy and Desi picture on my sidebar.

Knockout Rose

Last year, for my birthday I got a shrub rose. My daughter and son-in-law gave me this Knockout Rose thanks to blogging.Then over the winter it ended up being a free lunch for the rabbits.
There wasn't much left of this large bush when the bunnies got done.
Apparently, that wasn't a bad thing!
This is my rose bush today! It is full of beautiful blooms! I wonder if I can get the rabbits to come eat it this winter. Maybe if I put up a sign that says

Free Lunch....

Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome to Bloomin' Tuesday! Please feel free to join and show us what's bloomin' where you are. Just put your name and blog address on Mr Linky at the bottom of this post and press enter. Remember, you must sign up every week that you want to participate. Also remember to put a link to this post on your blog so your readers can play along. If you don't want to join but would like to have a garden tour all over the country while you sit in your computer chair, click on the names at the bottom of this post. You will enjoy every minute of it!
My foxgloves have started to bloom. I love these plants!
This dark color is very striking.
This is a view of part of the garden in the middle of my back yard.I have a white lupine and a red lupine. I'm hoping they'll spread quickly!
This is a view of part of my "kitchen garden".
The pink bloom is Jupitor's Beard.
The yellow is loosestrife.
That's what's bloomin' in my little corner of Western New York. What's bloomin' where you are planted?

Chalk!

I got Jerzie a couple new outfits last week. She tried them on Thurs night but wasn't in the mood to have her picture taken. These bright colors sure fit her personality!
I found this chalkboard at a garage sale and let her use it for the first time today.
She loves to cover every inch of the board. See how she's working on this corner.
She's showing me the chalk on her hands. Click to enlarge and see the colors on her face.
Check out the video to find out what she in drawing.

As I've mentioned before, she calls flowers her version of "butterflies". No matter what we say she still calls flowers "faflie"!

Flag Day!

Check out this link to a wonderful presentation of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"!

Show and Tell

I have mentioned my "kitchen" garden a couple time so I thought I should show you why I call it that.
This old colander filled with wave petunias is hanging on a light post as you come to the garden.


I just got this enamelware bird feeder and it fits in perfectly.
I love this egg beater and spoon wind chime. I got it a couple years ago at a craft sale.Next is an old metal stool with an enamelware coffee pot and a copper colander. I just got the colander at a sale and I can't wait until it gets the nice green patina. Before I had a large speckled coffee pot with flowers on the stool.
Lastly my old paint covered ladder with a couple birdhouses, a strainer filled with lemon thyme and my sitting frog. I use the large coffee pots to collect rain water.
There you have it, my "kitchen" garden.
If you would like to see other Show and Tell posts or you would like to sign up go to Kelli's House.

Check it out!

I think these "Funky Chickens" are just too cute! What a whimsical addition to a garden. Check them out!

Video of the 50 states ~this is awesome! When you click on, the outline of the United States will appear and frame all of the pictures slowly, in a slide type presentation. Under each picture it tells you where it is. Put your speakers on in a low tone, to go along with the mood that is created. This is better than good, it's spectacular, check it out! Jerzie came over with Mommy and Daddy to tell me about her trip to the zoo the other day. I don't think that's the only reason they came over. Check it out!
If you can't read her shirt, click to enlarge!
I'm a very happy Grandma!

Bloomin' Tuesday!

Welcome to Bloomin' Tuesday! If you would like to join us just add your name and link to Mr Linky at the end of this post, and add a link to this post on your blog. Remember you have to sign up every week you want to be involved.
This week I have another clematis in bloom. This one is really bright.
Almost florescent!
I love lupine and I have a few purple ones that are open.
The coral bells in my shade garden are blooming. It's hard to get a picture because the blooms are so much taller than the leaves. The coral of this one is one of my favorite colors.One of my cranesbill geraniums are blooming. I have different colored and shaped ones. They bloom most of the summer and they form a nice full mound. This one has a nice leaf also.The first rose on my knockout rose bush.
This is an interesting shaped flower. It is false indigo.
It's a nice tall plant that doesn't like to be moved. The plant itself is a nice color so it looks good all summer. I have this in a small bed in the front of the house.

Check out the list of Bloomin' Tuesday posts and see what else is blooming around blogland!

YEA!!!!

I am so happy to be able to watch Jerzie again! We're having another hot day so we were out on the deck in her pool by 9 am. This is last years pool and swim suit but I think they'll both work for now. It took her awhile to get in but she had fun just playing in the water. Nothing she can hurt out on the deck. I bought her some rubber fish that you can fill with water and when you squeeze it the fish spits out the water. She thinks she's filling it by just putting it in the water.
Didn't take her long to figure it out.

She just squirted me, can you tell by the look on her face? Now I'm standing beside the pool and she's splashing me with her foot.
She finally decided to sit down.
Do you see my slippers over there? And all that water? Do you think that was an accident? After a nap and lunch we were right back out there. We'll probably go out once more after another nap. We had a great day!

Tagged!

Laurie at http://miss-flower.blogspot.com/ has tagged me to do a meme! The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers.

a) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was just working at my beauty shop but doing WAY too much stressful volunteer work.

b) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today:
Do this meme!
Check blogs
Read the Sunday paper
Water the gardens
Watch Design Star!

c) Snacks I enjoy:
Ice cream
Cheese and crackers
Banana Popsicles

d) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Have a college fund for Grandchild
Buy an old run down, large house and turn it into a bed and breakfast.
Buy my first brand new car, another PT Cruiser.
Buy houses outside the city for my kids.



e) Places I have lived:
Frewsburg, NY
Jamestown, NY
Frewsburg, NY
Jamestown,NY



I will tag:
Susie from http://susie-sspace.blogspot.com/
Rosies Whimsy at http://rosieswhimsy.wordpress.com/
Suzanne at http://justanotherhangup.blogspot.com/
Gina from http://www.simplyheartandhome.com/

If you want a good laugh read this!

Surprise!

I met Suzanne, from Just Another Hang Up, through hosting Bloomin' Tuesday. She is having a tote giveaway so of course I signed up. Each blogger pics a number and the one closest to the number she has chosen wins one of her beautiful totes. I picked 25 because my birthday is June 25th and jokingly told Suzanne a tote would be a great birthday present! I got an e-mail from Suzanne the next day and she asked for my address so she could send me a birthday and thank you for hosting Bloomin' Tuesday present. Imagine my surprise when I opened a package from her that came in today's mail and found this!I am totally in love with this wonderful tote! Suzanne said it was perfect for someone named Ms Green Thumb Jean since it is green and has flowers! I love the bright green materials !
I love the darling front pocket, and the covered button,
the nice canvas straps,
and the sturdy inside pockets. It even has a covered base in the bottom.

I had asked Suzanne if she sold her totes and she said it was more fun to give them away but just this week she has hinted that she will start selling them. I just can't get over this wonderful gift and will think of my blogging friend every time I use it. Please, go visit Just Another Hang Up and tell her I sent you ! Thank you, Suzanne!

I also got this award from Lea, at the Shabby Olde Potting Shed, this week. Thank you , Lea! I feel honored that you think of my blog as creative and interesting!

We are supposed to pass this award on to 5 bloggers we consider deserving of this award because of their creativity, design, interesting material and their contribution to the blogging community. I believe every blog I read fits into this criteria or I probably wouldn't be reading their blog! No matter where or how we live our lives,we all have something to contribute. We are all creative in some areas of our lives and we all get lucky and post about something interesting to someone every once in awhile! Therefore, I am passing this award on to all my commenting blogging friends. You are all adding something to my life and I thank you for that!

To those of you lurking, I'd love to stop by for a visit and get to know you, so comment already!

Show and Tell

Today I would like to show you my deck. It is off my kitchen and is on the second floor. The deck is almost as wide as my house and there is a roof over the entire deck.
I tried to arrange the furniture differently this year. I've opened it up so you can see a garden from every sitting space. I don't know why it took me 10 years to figure it out!I love my old couch and chairs and it's pretty easy to recover them when I decide I need a change.
The dresser I redid is against the wall. The other end of the deck has my grill and table and chairs. My doors and window are hanging on that end also.
The dresser holds my outdoor dishes, napkins, placemats,etc. It's very handy to have them outside. I got rid of an old set of silverware a couple years ago and I wish I had hung onto them for out here.I also have several planted pots on the deck that you can see here.
I really enjoy my deck. I love to drink my coffee and eat my lunch here. I added this 10 years ago with the money from my Mom's house when she passed away. I am so glad I did this and know she would be too.

For more Friday Show and Tell posts go over to Kelli's House.

Come back on Tuesday for Bloomin' Tuesday!

Just stuff!

Today was my first day back to work. I didn't work too much but spent most of the day answering the phone. Looks like I'll have a couple busy days. It's good I don't have to go to my second job for 2 more weeks so I can work later in the shop.
Check out "The Smith Family" on my side bar to see Jerzie with some sidewalk chalk. I can't wait until Monday when I can have her for the day again.

This has been around for awhile but is worth seeing again if you have seen it. Fascinating pictures of humming birds being born.

Hope your having a great Wednesday!

Bloomin' Tuesday!

First, I need to take care of family business and wish my daughter, Laurie, of Chris and Laurie a very Happy 38th Birthday!! Welcome to another Bloomin' Tuesday. If you would like to join us this week just add your name and permalink to Mr Linky at the bottom of this post. You must join weekly so there is no pressure to post every Tuesday. Please, remember to add a link back to the list in your post. If you don't add the link only people who come to my blog will see the list. More info and a button for your blog can be found by clicking the button on my sidebar.
This is a twice blooming clematis and it's really nice this year.
It climbs up this old ladder on my shed.
This pink azaela is right next to it. These are the flowers in my Bloomin' Tuesday button. The clematis snuck into the azaela last year. I moved it over a couple feet in the fall.
Mullein (verbascum) are another of my favorites. I love the soft peachy one.
Snow-in-summer.
Daisies are popping up with the pink and purple wild columbine.
Purple wood hiacinths.
I can't remember what these are called. The leaves look like skinny dandelions and they open in the evening and bloom all night. The blooms die the next morning. They look simular to evening primrose but the leaves are totally different.
Lastly, a spilled bucket of soapwort.
Click on the list of names below to see what else is blooming in blogland or sign up and show us what is blooming where you are planted.

View from my resting place.

As I was sitting in my resting place after doing some work this morning I decided to show you what I saw from my swing under my deck.To my right is the walkway from the beauty shop to the front of the house. My "kitchen" garden is straight ahead.This is the right corner of my property. The shed is mine but the garage is not. You can see my rusty bird feeder/garden art there. There is also a rusty wheelbarrow turned on it's side in that area. On the other side of the shed are some bushes, a clematis climbing a ladder and my birdbath. You may click on the pictures to enlarge them.
This next garden is in the middle of my yard. The "fence pieces" behind the plants are the ends of an iron crib. The tree in the middle is a Rose of Sharon.
As you can see there is a high hedge across the back of my property which is in need of a clipping. It is a job I hate! Behind the chair, to the left, is the beginning of my shade garden.
Early morning is the only time of day there is sun in this left corner. This is more of my shade garden
The day lily bed goes the length of the yard on the left and ends at the shade garden.
Lastly, the bench sitting under a large maple tree.
This is what I look at while I'm resting. The trouble is all I see is all the work that needs to be done! Do you have trouble enjoying your garden because all you see is what needs to get done? This is something I have really been trying to change the last couple years.

All Decked Out!

I got my containers filled on the deck this morning. I also finished putting out my garden "stuff" but I'll show that another day. Everything will look better after it fills out some.I love this statue of a girl blowing bubbles. I found the rusty garden sign at Big Lots.
The only hanging basket I get is a fuscha. They are so messy this is a perfect place for it. The mess just falls on the ground.
This is a Star of Bethlehem my son and his wife gave me for Mothers Day. I think it looks good in the blue crock. I got the bluebird in Erie the other day. It can't be planted outside here but I hope I can get it to winter over.
I have a pink and a purple wave petunia in my urns and some "peppermint" vinca. It's white with a pink center.
I planted cosmos in my "soup bucket" this year. They are a new type that are supposed to get 12 to 15 inches tall. I love cosmos so I thought I'd give them a try.
All my annuals are planted unless I find something more I "need"!
It's sunny here today but there is a strong cool wind. I hope you're having a great Sunday. How's your planting coming along?