A Garden Tour to a Wildlife Cottage Garden Continues

Our tour of Christy and Barry's wonderful wildlife garden continues with a buckeye butterfly sipping some nectar. It is clear the buckeye butterflies have found something to be happy about. There are many many plants to please even the most discriminating butterfly in this garden.

Here irises, salvia, and zinnas mingle amongst the boxwood.

Another one of the wonderfully creative vignettes in Christy's garden. Don't you love the pumpkin?

More flying critters on blanket flower. This is probably another Crosswing Skipper.

This is a mystery plant to everyone so I am asking my blogging friends that if they know what this is that they please let me know. Thanks!

This garden is flooded with sunlight, color, and whimsy. I wished the sun was not so strong when I visited but sometimes it happens like that. In warm sunshine gardens zinnias are awesome. Their bright, bold colors grandly stand up to the sun and say "Bring it on Mr. Sun!"

Here is a snapshot of the front door. I think Christy said she and Barry have lived here for about 7-8 years. To see all that they have done to the five acre garden in these few short years makes my head spin-it is a LOT of work! But it is clear it is all a work of love. I like very much how the front door is cushioned with evergreens but has a lot of flowing flowers to add interest.

A path through the frontyard gardens. Anyone driving by this house will easily recognize gardeners live here. The entire front and backyards sparkle with color.

More of the frontyard gardens looking toward the road. The massing of the plants and the groupings of hot colors really rock this part of the garden.

As promised, here is a longer shot of the irises. There were several groups of irises blooming in this lovely wildlife cottage garden on this sunny October day....

in the garden....

I think Christy may wish to try her hand at blogging so I have agreed to let her post a guest post on this blog at some point. Please show her your support and let her know some good points about blogging. 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

A Wildlife Cottage Garden Tour

I had the pleasure of visiting one of my gardening friend's lovely, colorful, and sunny garden week before last and lucky for you all I took my camera! This garden is one of the most colorful and natural gardens in our area. In fact, if you bought a ticket for the Montgomery County Master Gardener Garden Tour this year you probably were lucky enough to tour it in June. Well, now it is fall and the garden still sparkles and hums with all sorts of wildlife and insects and butterflies as you will soon see. The sparkly metal dragonfly pictured above leads us to the whole theme of this garden-alive and shiny with life.

Christy is the gardener and she was a lovely host for my friend Eddie and I on our visit. This visit had been long overdue but finally I made it. Just look at the happy bee above! It didn't pay any attention to me so busy was it collecting pollen and getting ready for the upcoming winter.

All cottage gardens require roses. This one caught my eye and smelled delightful. Yellow is one of my favorite colors in the garden as most of you know. This soft yellow was stunning.

Clematis and asters were blooming alongside one another in a delightful manner.

Just one of the many vistas in this very large garden. I took so many pictures that even with two posts dedicated to Christy's garden I will not be able to show all of the pictures I took. I have selected several of the best though.

The garden is filled with many vignettes. I believe Christy and her husband sit here in the evening and enjoy all of the birds, butterflies, bees flitting about their garden. It is a lovely spot to enjoy the garden. Christy's husband Barry also gardens.

This red climbing rose spotlighted by the classic white lattice made for a perfectly classic combination.

And who would've thought irises would be blooming October? Christy had several groups of irises enmassed around the garden in FULL bloom. Wow! Come back Wednesday to see some long shots of the irises and more flying insects. I believe this skipper to be a Crosswing Skipper. I believe the name of this reblooming iris is 'Autumn Circus'. Fitting huh?

No post about Christy's garden would be complete without a picture of at least one of her cute dogs. This one stole my heart! He wanted to come and join us outside of his yard. All I could say was "Awww."

And lastly here is the gardener herself (on the left), and on the right is Eddie. We are all master gardeners and love to garden and tour gardens....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Forget-Me-Not

By SKEETER
Here you see a Blue Daze flower blooming in my Georgia Gardens. This is NOT a forget-me-not flower as I do not have one to show you. But it is as close as I could get without borrowing one from the Internet. With our recent issues of a blog thief, I decided to not borrow one from the Internet. I will ask you to click HERE so Wikipedia can show you one.

The Forget-Me-Not flower has been used as a symbol for veterans since World War I. Some of you may be familiar with the paper Red Poppies and may even wear them during a Poppy Fundraiser Drive. I have never seen a Forget-Me-Not Drive but according to the DAV Site, (Click HERE), they do have the Drives. The Forget-Me-Not's are used in literature we receive with donations to the Disabled American Veteran's.

With our latest donation, we received a poem. With Veterans' Day being tomorrow, I would like to share the poem with you. Now keep in mind I DID NOT WRITE THIS POEM. I have searched high and low on the Internet and cannot find the author of this poem to give proper credit. I did find many poems about this beautiful flower though.

FORGET-ME-NOT

Forget-Me-Not
When you're lost in thought
As you make it through your day

Forget-Me-Not
I am one who fought
And was scarred along the way

Forget-Me-Not
For the Freedom bought
With the lives one can't repay

Forget-Me-Not
When your child is taught
To remember yesterday

Forget-Me-Not
When the day is hot
And you bend your knees to pray

Forget-Me-Not
Yes, I heard the shot
But I did not run away

Forget-Me-Not
I'm a patriot
And I need your help today...

Don't Forget Disabled Vets!

If you see a Veteran, give them a big smile and say thanks...
In the Garden...

Tina and Mr. Fixit, THANKS!!!

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

A Vase of Flowers

By Skeeter
I have missed a lot of things blooming in my Georgia Garden this summer with my constant coming and goings. Some flowers do not last long therefore some things are missed during bloom time when away. I was happy to spot this Gladiolus blooming since I lost most of the bulbs to the Voles last winter. This pretty pink was a pleasant surprise as I had no idea I had any of this color.
Here was another nice surprise in the garden as well. This is one of 3 Gladiolus of this color I discovered a few days ago. These all came up by the Free Lilies given to me by our neighbor! The bulbs must have been in the clumps of soil holding the lily roots in place this spring. It was very hot during lily planting so I left the root balls intact the best I could for fear of the roots drying out in the heat. Unbeknownst to me I planted Gladiolus bulbs with the lilies! I think I shall move these Glads to a place where I can enjoy them better next year. Hopefully, the Voles will not find them.
It is now too hot to enjoy sitting in the garden so I decided to bring a bit of the garden inside to enjoy. I cut a few of my pretties and put them in a vase. I don't cut many flowers as I prefer them to be outside for the Butterflies, Bees and Hummingbirds to enjoy but I could not resist a small vase full yesterday while pulling some weeds.
Gladiolus, Balloon Flower, Salvia, Butterfly Bush, Statice and Rudbeckia make a pretty arrangement in the living room. I posed the vase on the coffee table for this photo op but the flowers must remain high up, away from kitty paw's. My girls (cats) love to nibble them so I must keep them at bay. Another reason why the flowers are best left to the yard then inside my house.
As I turned on the computer to write this today, sprinkles of rain started to fall. I was happy to see the rain drops as we so desperately need them to feed the gardens and lawn as things are drying out in this heat. This little Hummingbird was happy to see the rain drops as well and opened her feathers to take a bath! This little Hummer was having the best time with the rain drops. I watched her until she flew off into the Butterfly Bush for a sip of nectar. From inside my climate controlled cool house, I can see the flying jewels and A VASE OF FLOWERS, In the Garden...



Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Oak Flowers: What a Mess!

Every spring brings a bit of a messy problem in my Tennessee garden. Oak flowers fall everywhere and get into everything. There is no escaping them when you are shaded by mature oaks in the garden. Do you see all the oak flowers swamping my deck? What a mess to clean up! And here you thought trees only dropped leaves, and those only in the fall. At least this is what I thought prior to moving here in 2001. Big surprise for me! It's okay, give me the shade any day and if I have to put up with all these messy flowers falling for a week long period in the spring, so be it. Right now I have to get back to sweeping the deck....

What messy problems do you have in your garden caused by trees? Cottonwood? Pollen? Flowers? Branches? Do you do anything special to deal with these issues?

in the garden....

I'll be out of the net the next few days. Finals and projects will occupy most of my time. So don't worry if I'm not around. I'll do my best but it is a BIG project. (read tough!)

GBBD February 2009

Tina normally writes the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (GBBD) posting here at In the Garden but today I will be talking with you from my Georgia Garden. However, Tina reports her wonderful Helebores, Pansies, Witch Hazel and Crocuses blooming in her Tennessee Garden. She also continues to enjoy color from Geranium and Begonias as they stay warm inside her home.

Click the above video to get a good taste of spring. Ah, nothing says Springtime like singing birds and dancing golden flowers!

Speaking of golden flowers, the forsythia is glowing with color. Each day, I see more and more blooms popping open!

The Bridal Wreath also continues to open showing new white blooms each day.

Pretty purple blooms of Vinca are opening up by the patio!

Pink blossoms on the Plum tree are showing their faces.

The crab apple tree is starting to pop open.

A bright red bud is filling up some of the trees in our front woods. No idea what tree this is but the Cedar Waxwings like to nibble on it with their Spring migration. Ah, what a perfectly blue colored sky!

The Nandina bush is showing a vibrant shade of red never seen before on her!

Look how the leaves glow with the sun shining on her!

If only we could have a spring without weeds! I know these are weeds but they do have a wonderful flower to my eyes. If only they would stay where welcomed and out of my grassy areas, then I would be totally happy on this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, In the Garden...

Note: Thanks to Carol at Maydreams for hosting GBBD each month!

Tennessee Rest Stop

We have been on Interstate 24 south headed out of Tennessee many times since we moved here to Georgia. Leaving my hometown and family in TN always depresses me a bit. A smile is always put back upon my face when seeing the rolling hills of Tennessee one last time while taking the journey over Monteagle.

Just at the bottom of the hills we find the most beautiful Rest Stop I have ever seen in the state of Tennessee. Welcome to Nickajack Rest Stop on the Tennessee River!
This is usually our first stop on the way back to Georgia and a great spot to become rejuvenated by fresh air and beauty. As you can tell, it was a bit hazy when we stopped but the greeting out front was an awesome treat.
We were greeted by a beautiful flower garden which I failed to capture on film. I was captivated by the activity within the garden. This Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly as well as....

this Cloudless Sulfur butterfly were busy as the bees we saw. I was snapping pictures away when the Saint said, "Come here and check out this dude." My camera then went to the Saints discovery.

This carnivorous Dude, being a Praying Mantis was busy munching away on a meaty meal. The Praying Mantis eats flies, moths, crickets, grasshoppers and even its own kind. Yep, the female is known to eat her mate during or after mating. Wow, aren't you men glad to be human and not bugs?

The Praying Mantis gets its name of course by the folding prayer position of the front legs. It has big eyes and can see movement up to 60 feet away!

They are brown or green and can blend in with their surroundings. I am not sure what this dude was eating but it was sure enjoying the meal.

The Saint had to practically drag me away from the Rest Stop as I was having a blast watching all the fun. But we did have two furry babies waiting on our arrival back to GA so we had to cruise on down the road.

We have made this journey many times and have yet to stop to take a peek at Rock City or....

Ruby Falls. Maybe one day we will fit them into our schedule and stop for a bit to admire the beauty from above.

I am always a bit sad to leave that TENNESSEE REST STOP, but I always know that soon I will be back, In the Garden....