Don & Diane's Garden

It is always fun to paint at Don and Diane's because you just don't know what new things will be going on in their garden. 

 

For the last 3 years or so my friend Julie and I have been painting for this couple as they restore and renovate a house from the early 1800's.The great bonus in all this is that they have a garden they have worked on for years, that is so beautiful and well thought out and I love just working in the midst of all that splendor. 

 

I decided to share some photos of their work in the coming months so others can enjoy what they have done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have a fabulous collection of lilies that they add to whenever they visit Ohio where Don's mom lives. There was a farm there that was devoted to lilies and they have gotten a number of the lilies in their garden from this source. Here are just a few, enjoy and have a wonderful flower filled weekend!     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                  

I Love Bees

          Is this not the greatest little guy ever? Working their little hearts out to make the garden and this world a more beautiful place.
I had decided to take a late afternoon break and just head outside and see what the world was up to and I got lucky enough to get a picture of this guy in mid-flight! I hadn't realized I had caught him on film until I opened the pictures to edit. I was really excited about it as all summer I watch them and their friends working my flowers and admiring their persistence and dedication. He's obviously a typical drone, but I have seen many different kinds  of flying insects that are not in this fella's genus. I have no idea what the others are but they seem to work just as hard so they are all welcome here!

I have actually gotten up on a crisp fall morning and found these sweeties asleep on the flowers where they stayed for the night. While they are still groggy I can reach over and pet their little backs and to me that is a thrill. The garden, no matter how humble, never fails to amaze me.

Simple Garden Vignettes

I just had to go out into the garden this morning and snap a some pictures, although not all the buds are fully open it was the first morning that wasn't sweltering here and to tell the truth there were a few moments when I wondered if we would get rain in time to save some of my plants! Praise the Lord that it rained yesterday and today again we are expecting thunderstorms.
Also I was impressed with the way some of the wild flowers at the periphery of the garden seem to compliment the plants I placed.
The Sunflowers are just starting to come into their own and there are so many varieties, each with it's own color variations and sizes. Later in the summer I get some that have blooms that are almost totally burgundy.
The two little yellow/orange guys are from plants that were here when I arrived and they seed themselves each year and spread to wherever they want to. I was told they may be  flowers called a "strawflower" and to tell the truth those little flowers never wilt, bugs don't bother them, it's strange!

I took a few pictures of the Queen Anne Lace just because they are so beautiful and require zero help from me just like the lovely french blue Chicory. Next to each other they form a color combination that I just love.
And lastly my sweet little Dahlia, the first one to attempt to open this year and already the edges of her petals are looking raggedy.

Funny that the little plain yellow Sunflower (which for some reason only gets about 24" high) is the favorite of all the bees.
Nature is amazing! Have a wonderful gardening weekend!

Sunflowers & Delphiniums

 I just had to post a quick picture of the first of the Sunflowers to open here in my garden. My sunflowers are all thanks to birdseed not my planting but they are such a treasure and the bees have a field day with them and that makes me happy. As the summer progresses so many different kinds of Sunflowers will emerge, different shaped leaves and colors from pure light yellow all the way up to a reddish shade that is gorgeous. But for right now this beauty is one of the first and I was very thrilled to see it open at last!

 Also yesterday while braving the craziness at Wally World I found this little guy and as it was on sale I just had to have it. I am a huge fan of Delphiniums but have never had any of my own and here was this sweet little guy who only gets 12" high!!! "Summer Nights" it is called and look at that blue, isn't that just the most lovely thing? So home it came and this weekend I will find the perfect spot for it, hopefully near some Queen Anne's Lace as the white flowers would set off this guy perfectly. Have a delightful 4th fellow gardeners!