Moody and Broody

Livin' Easy awaiting the arrival of tropical storm Bill.  

Wind Weary

:: faded bloom of Old Blush climbing rose :: after the storm ::

Winter :: Rescued Roses :: Blessings

While spring teased only a day ago, today is bitterly cold and a thunderstorm brews to the west, marching steadily this way.  Ice threatens and there is a day more to ponder the beauty that is winter.   Soup simmers on the stove and an early, bashful rose, rescued from the cold, absorbs warm sunlight on the kitchen counter.  Life is beautiful...winter is beautiful.
 

We give thanks for the blessing of winter:

Season to cherish the heart.

To make warmth and quiet for the heart.

To make soups and broths for the heart.

To cook for the heart and read for the
heart.

To curl up softly and nestle with the heart.

To sleep deeply and gently at one with
   the heart.

To dream with the heart.

To spend time with the heart.

A long, long time of peace with the heart.

We give thanks for the blessing of winter:

Season to cherish the heart.

Amen

The Prayer Tree - Leunig

When One Gets Quiet

When one gets quiet, then something wakes up inside one, something happy and quiet like the stars.

                                                                                                                    W. B. Yeats

                                                                                                                                          

Saved From Frost and Livin' Easy

The Livin' Easy is just that ... livin' easy.  A bud rescued from frost to quietly grace the window ledge  has opened up into full blossom.   Amazing how a single rose can light up the whole room ... just like a smile.

GBBD ~ The Roses of Autumn

'Marie Daly' sitting on the swing offering delicious fragrance.

Old fashioned Martha Gonzales with stock tank pond as a backdrop.

Livin' Easy with goldeneye in gorgeous autumn sunlight.

One pollinator or two on the Livin' Easy?  Do you see?

Stop by May Dreams Gardens to see what is going on in gardens around the world this fine October Garden Blogger's Bloom Day! 

Inside Austin Gardens Tour: Get Your Inspiration!

It's often said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and I promise you, if you venture out to the Inside Austin Gardens Tour you'll find tons of inspiration and ideas galore worth imitation.

The 2012 Inside Austin Gardens Tour, hosted by the Travis County Master Gardeners takes place on Saturday, October 20th, from 9am-4pm.  In addition to seven beautiful gardens to explore, there will be educational presentations and plant and book sales.

These gardens have so much to offer.  If you live close enough to visit Austin next weekend, I really encourage you to take the tour.  Each garden has its own unique story and personality.  I walked away from the experience with zillions, seriously, zillions of new ideas for my own garden. {Sorry, DJ ♥}  Some are easy to implement, others will have to be on the five year plan!

The "white" garden in Renee Studebaker's charming cottage garden. 

Looking for path ideas?  There are numerous designs and materials to contemplate.  A couple that I really liked:

Concrete slabs artfully arranged in the Donnis Doyle garden.

 A nice mix of materials is used for unique pavers in the Ann and Robin Matthews' garden.

The theme of this year's tour is Edibles in the Garden.  This is an idea that is attractive and practical.

A fairly easy way to add decorative, raised vegetable beds to the garden.  Soil filled stock tanks allow 

for easy gathering of vegetables in David and Jennifer Phillips' garden.

Several plants caught my attention and have been added to my "gotta have" list:

 Malabar spinach growing in the Phillips' garden.  It. Is. Gorgeous.

Salvia mexicana in Carolyn and Michael Williams' garden.  Anyone familiar with this cultivar?
The pale, lavender flowers are so unique and unexpected compared to the
commonly grown bright purple of 'Limelight'.

 The sunshine yellow flowers of butterfly vine spill over a weathered gate in the Phillips' garden.

Close up of butterfly vine going to seed.  These are as enchanting as the floral display.

Many of us desire to have beautiful rock work in our gardens.  This recirculating stream in the Hill Country garden of the Phillips got me thinking about how I could implement something similar in my backyard where we have water rushing through after heavy rains.  

I love how the plants play along the edge of the stone work giving a very natural appearance.

A simple display of rock using a variety of materials to enhance a few xeric plants in the Phillips' garden.

And every garden needs whimsy and these gardens are abundantly whimsical!

 

A sweet tribute of love to his wife... Ask Carolyn Williams about the story behind

 this tender demonstration of affection.

The Donnis Doyle garden is one of the most whimsical I've ever toured...colorful furnishings, handmade stars and hearts adorn the eaves and walls, unique bottle trees and screening ideas...the whimsy goes on and on.  Really.  Go visit!

I adore everything about this little vignette in Renee Studebaker's garden.  The stacked stones
rest close by three dainty, weathered chairs entwined with vines and foliage at the edge
 of her white garden pictured at the top of the post.  Simple and beautiful.

This rustic arrangement of dried artichokes and juniper in the Phillips' garden is captivating. The juniper is simply adorned with the artichokes and malabar spinach grows at it's base.

I said at the top of the post that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.  Well, let me just say that Renee Studebaker can make some mean ratatouille from garden fresh ingredients and I could hardly wait to get home and make it myself! 

I made this yesterday and between myself, my girlfriend and my husband, we ate the ENTIRE pan.  It's that good.  She will be giving a presentation on appetizers prepared from garden fare during the tour.  Go.

There is so much more I could tell you.  I haven't even touched on the wealth of information about rainwater harvesting to be discovered.  Really.  You should just go ☺

A Rain Soaked Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Well it's just been too long since participating in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  While taking in the posts of my fellow gardeners, I became so inspired to join the fun that I grabbed my camera and ran out into the rain soaked garden to see what I had to share.

There are rain lilies...lots of them in the space beyond the fence.  They've been blooming for a week now in response to all the May showers.  You can see they look a little tattered from the .80" we received last night but they'll spring back.  Last night's shower was a slow, gentle, soaking rain with periodic rumbles of distant thunder...perfect to drift off to sleep to.

The dill sends up fireworks of yellow blooms to entice the swallowtail butterflies and hover flies.  As much as I enjoy cooking with the dill and parsley, I seriously look forward to photographing them more!

The dwarf oakleaf hydrangea, planted last spring, is coming into its own.  The foliage is gorgeous and the blooms are just beginning to fill in, brightening up the shade of the Japanese maple bed.

In the sunny bed along the back fence, verbena bonariensis floats above other perennials attracting near by butterflies.  This pass-a-long plant from Amy at Go Away, I'm Gardening, makes me smile and think of her every time I walk by.  Thanks, Amy!

And one last shot before the skies opened again with another soft, soaking rain!  Hallelujah!  Livin' Easy is on it's second round of blooms this season.  I counted 14 buds the other morning!  This spring has been so fabulous especially in contrast to the horrid drought of last summer.

I hope this GBBD finds you all soaking up the joy that spring has to offer!

Thanks, Carol, for hosting this meme on the 15th of every month.  Stop by the other bloggers' posts to see what they have going on in their gardens this May. 

A quick note about comments:  Unfortunately, I've tried unsuccessfully to leave comments on many Wordpress blogs.  There are a few I'm able to but many redirect me to a page requiring that I sign in to Wordpress.  Any information as to why this is happening would be much appreciated.  Also, I've made The Whimsical Gardener a word verification free blog.  It has been no problem with only one spam comment actually making it through Blogger's filter.  I would encourage y'all to give it a try; it sure makes it a lot easier on those wishing to leave a comment ;)

Glimpses of a Spring Garden~Some Favorite Shots

Antique Rose 'Marie Daly' and Lyre Leaf Sage - left/mid foreground

Jerusalem Sage

Gulf Coast Penstemmon and Livin Easy Rose

 Globe Mallow

Aeonium

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Bloodgood Japanese Maple

Red Admiral (haven't seen any Orioles but the butterflies love the oranges)

To those of you celebrating the Easter holiday, I wish you and your family a blessed and joyous weekend!

Plant Me! Plant Me!

Perched upon the swing with eyes closed, the evening breeze carries the delicious scent of roses

 and transports me back to childhood...

Sweet memories of walking to school along rose-lined sidewalks, enveloped in the heady aroma of dozens of blossoms and sometimes dangerously daring to pluck one from the bush to carry the scent home...

Antique rose 'Marie Daly':  fragrant, disease tolerant, repeat bloomer, few thorns, sun/part shade, 3'x3'.  'Marie Pavie' is the white version.  A great, reliable selection for Central Texas. 

In Matters of the Heart and Garden

Happy Valentine's Day persistent gardeners!

Tick Tock...

My word for 2012 is STRETCH...

Just because he is so cute.

In an effort to stretch my knowledge about the best timing for taking care of gardening tasks in Central Texas, I've been reading the Garden Guide for Austin and Vicinity, published by the Travis County Master Gardeners Association in 2009.

Filled with anticipation at being organized for the new year I went through the list of tasks for January and circled those that needed to be done in my own garden. 

Roses were planted,  larkspur seeds purchased, a few summer and fall blooming perennials were divided and transplanted...things were rolling right along.  I was feeling organized.

The last day of the month stealthy approached.  Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.  I kept going over my mental list of the jobs needing my attention.  A couple of small shrubs needed to be planted and the daylilies, irises, pansies and roses needed to be fertilized.

I made it just under the wire!   I can put a big check mark next to the items on my list!  Now to start thinking about February's list...I'm gonna have to be on it; February is such a short month.  Luckily, it's leap year...we get an extra day!

What about you?  What kind of gardening tasks are you checking off your list and what will you 

do with your extra day in February? 

Really cute.

30 Day Challenge ~ Thanksgiving ~ Day 15 ~ GBBD!

Yes!  It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and that means I'm halfway through the 30 Day Challenge of Thanksgiving!  After watching Matt Cutt's inspirational presentation two weeks ago, I was inspired to try something new for 30 days.  Being intentionally thankful during the month of November seemed a good fit. 

Taking the time to find gratitude in the simple delights of my life has caused me to slow down and really absorb and live the meaning of the Thanksgiving season.

Today I'm thankful for the transformation in the 

garden since summer has released it's relenting grip.

Martha Gonzales Antique Rose

Livin' Easy

Sunflower Goldeneye

Although more is blooming than not, there are sure signs of colder days to come.  Esperanza flowers litter the ground along with the fallen leaves of the crepe myrtle.

It won't be long and this gardener will be finding gratitude in the muted palette of late fall.  But for now, the pollinators and I are enjoying the blooms of many of the native and adapted perennials rejoicing in relief.

I hope you're finding plenty to be thankful for in your gardens on this GBBD!  Stop by May Dreams Gardens to see how autumn is progressing in gardens around the world.