Brugmasia

My Brugs are in full bloom again................YIPEE, I love these flowers. Since I took these photos last Saturday, I have brought them inside for the winter, it had been so windy and they were getting blown over, it will be too cold for them soon anyway. I put the plants in the basement by a south window with a grow light close by, I will water them until they are done blooming, then I will slow down with the water until early next spring. The fragrance in the house is almost over whelming...........wonderful, wonderful scent.

Black Swallowtail Caterpillars

After seeing a "garden for the senses" at the Omaha Zoo last fall I decided to plant one this spring, I have really enjoyed it. I planted all kinds of herbs, scented geraniums, a jasmine plant, cayenne pepper and some ornamental grass. I planted parsley and fennel with the hope of getting some butterfly eggs and it worked!!!! Our grandsons spent this past weekend with us, we were outside looking around, I was pulling leaves from the plants in my garden for the senses for them to smell, I was getting the "that stinks" remarks when my oldest grandson discovered the caterpillars of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly, I was so excited, of course we got the camera right away. My grandson took these pictures. I think they turned out really well.

I have been debating about bringing one of the caterpillars inside to watch it turn into a chrysalis, I found instructions online, but have decided I would rather leave it outside. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the butterfly itself earlier in the summer but I could never get a good shot.

Bee, Boxer and Cavalier

Just wanted to share a couple of pictures of my gardening buds.

Sunday Blooming Sunday

Iowa Blue Sky

It was hot, muggy and very windy today, it just finished raining, the temps are supposed to get into the 40s tonight, I sure hope so, I am ready for some cool fall weather. My hardy hibiscus are still going strong, the last thing to pop out of the ground in the spring and one of the last to quit blooming in the fall.

September Peach Rose

This is in my humble opinion a beautiful and perfect rose! This is the first year I have grown tea roses in many years, I will say I have enjoyed them, I wonder how many will make it through our winter.

The weather has warmed up here again, but it is starting to look like fall in Iowa, I am seeing some trees starting to turn. It is almost time for our annual trip along the Mississippi for picture taking, apples and cheese curds. This year we are going to stop in McGregor to try and find an old cemetery where my great grandfather is buried. I have only seen pictures of him, two pictures to be exact and in both pictures his shirt sleeves are too short for him, I have the same problem, it was the first thing I noticed in the photos. He is my mother's grandfather, my husband calls that side of the family the fighting Irish, no truer words were ever spoken :).

Whiter Shade of Pale

Well, our freeze warning for Friday night turned out to be not really a freeze. The temps got down to 31 for an hour or so. It didn't kill a thing not even the mosquitoes, it may have slowed them down a bit. As I worked outside today for quite awhile and was only bitten a few times. I dug some peonies that I wanted to move and divided more iris. Dumped more pots of annuals. I bought 3 big pots of mums for my fall display, my hubby is going to get the bale of hay tomorrow. I also bought a big pot of asters.

Yesterday morning we were walking the dogs early, it was very foggy and as the sun was coming up it was shinning through the fog, it was very halloweeny (is that a word?) anyway it was very cool.

Mellow Yellow

The weather is beautiful, sunny, and cool, absolutely perfect except for the blood thirsty mosquitoes. I am hoping for a nice Sunday so I can dig some peonies and finish up dividing my iris, it may be a bit late for the iris but I think they will do OK.

Roses of Reiman Gardens

We finally managed to get to Reiman Gardens last Friday. I love going there! The butterfly house and the gardens are a very pleasant place to spend some time. For those of you familiar with Reiman's magazines (Taste of Home, Birds and Blooms, Country and many more), Ray Reiman graduated from Iowa State University, he decided to donate a large sum of money to create the gardens and butterfly house. The butterfly house is as nice as the one at Calloway Gardens in Georgia. It is a wonderful place to take pictures.

I have lots of other pictures also :).