False Indigo, Blue Wild Indigo

I don't know why False indigo, Blue Wild Indigo
Baptisia australis is not grown more frequently, it is a beautiful plant. It is one of those plants that even looks great when it is not in bloom, it is trouble free, lasts for years and years, it behaves itself, has lovely blue seed pods in the fall, what more could one ask for?? It is in full bloom right now in zone 4, Iowa.

We received almost 2 inches of rain last evening and last night. So no watering for a couple of days at least.

Prickly Pear Cactus

Most people are surprised to know that Prickly Pear Cactus grows in Iowa. Not only grows but thrives. It is aptly named, the stickers are wicked! I have an old pair of leather gloves that are only used to weed the cactus bed and I am still picking stickers out of my hands for days. They are will be in full bloom soon.

I always say I am going to use the fruit to make jelly but that has not happened yet, probably won't this year either.

My hubby has been working on another raised flower bed, this is a smaller one, I think I will put a couple of climbing roses in it, there is a fenced directly behind the new bed. I have not grown climbing roses in years, I am hoping there are some new varieties that survive our Iowa winters better.

Morning Dew

I took these photos early Friday morning, there was a heavy dew. On mornings like this after we get home from walking the dogs, my little Cavalier, Erin, has to have a bath she is low to the ground and gets soaked.

Old Rose

I love old roses, they require so little care, they are survivors and are happy where they are planted, maybe we could all take a lesson from this beautiful bush!

I took a cutting from this bush over 20 years ago, I don't have any idea what it's name might be or even how far back her heritage might go. The blooms smell wonderful! If I ever had to move, I would list this bush as a "must take along".

It is a beautful cool sunny morning! We received almost two inches of much needed rain.

Little Pink Columbines

Columbines are just such a dainty pretty little flower, don't you think?

I am keeping my fingers crossed for rain tomorrow, we need it.

Peony Pretty Peony

How could someone grow up in Iowa and not love peonies, the scent takes me back years, every yard had peony bushes. Mine are starting to open up.

Sunday In Iowa

Another nice weekend in the state of Iowa, is that anything like being in the state of grace?????? Is this heaven, no this is Iowa.

The Baltimore Orioles have been at my grape jelly all weekend, almost standing in line, it has been fun listening to their various songs. There have been several males at the jelly at the same time, I have seen a female at the jelly occasionally. The hummingbirds have been at their feeder as well.

We do need rain! I gave everything a good drink today. I purchased a few more herbs, lemon verbena, lamb's ears, and cinnamon basil. I made some new garden stones but they did not turn out, I had the wrong kind of concrete, it had too many stones in it. We went to Menards to get the kind of concrete that is used for patching, it is much finer. So next weekend, I will be making stones. I also bought some charcoal color concrete dye, I have always used the terra cotta tint.

Clematis

Some of my Clematis are starting to bloom.

Photos from my corner of the world.

The first picture is of a Jack in the Pulpit, the second Bleeding Heart and the last is a Nine Bark bush. The Nine Bark is listed as a shrub that attracts butterflies, as of yet I have not seen a butterfly anywhere near it. The Jack in the Pulpits are finally starting to spread after several years of just sitting there.

Baltimore Oriole

I put out grape jelly and an orange half to attract Baltimore Orioles, it took less than a day for the birds to find it, thankfully they seem to prefer the grape jelly over the oranges, grape jelly is much cheaper than oranges! These pictures are not very good, I hope to get some better shots in the coming days. There is a large basswood tree by the jelly, they congregate there first and then come down for the jelly. I counted four or five in the tree waiting their turn to eat. The orange on a couple of the birds is not nearly as dark as the others, I wonder if they are immature males? I have not seen any females.

A Trip to a Local Nursery

I took these photos while shopping for bedding plants a couple of weeks ago.

Tuesday Tuesday

What a change a day can bring in Iowa, yesterday was in the high 80s and hot hot hot! Today the winds are from the north and it is 57 degrees. While walking around my yard tonight I discovered a nest with 3 baby birds that has fallen to the ground, no doubt from the wind yesterday. My husband says they are robins. Poor babys, they could not have been more than a couple of days old.

Right now I have some pretty little pink dianthus in bloom, they often winter over for me, I always buy a few new ones and plant in with the ones that survived the winter. My Korean Lilac is its usual showy self this year and the Clematis are starting their show.

See the lime green flower pot with a sweet potato vine in it? I was given this pot with some fresh flowers in it as a gift, it is not really to my taste but I decided I should do something with it, I think the pot and the sweet potato vine are a perfect combination, what do you think?

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. All my planting is done. All my containers are in their spot that they will occupy for the summer. Saturday AM I did all my containers while listening to the Kim Komando computer show on the radio, I try to listen to her show every Saturday AM, it seems I always learn a little something new from the digital goddess.

I ordered two new Brugmansias this year, they are in their new homes and appear to have taken the shock well. The only thing I have left to do is get last year's Brug out of the basement and transplant it.

We did some fishing, our grandsons spent Saturday night with us and we saw the rest of the family, all except our daughter who lives in GA, life is wonderful! It was a great Mother's Day weekend, I hope yours was wonderful as well.

Mother's Day Weekend

Spring Blooms

I wandered through my yard tonight taking a few pictures. The weekend is here a day early for me, I told my boss I needed a mental health day :).