just plain flowers

With all the open studio business going on around here, it's been a while since we had just plain flower pictures.

as more sculptures arrive...

As we continue to countdown to Open Studio (a week from today!) our showing partner, Patrick, continues to arrive with (literally) tons of sculpture. We will truly have a sculture garden, if only for a while. He will install a second fountain this weekend.











Oh, and we have sweet peas too! These grown from seeds I saved from last year, originally from 'Enchanting Sweet Peas', a charming little local business (see link at right).

Something really new...!

I came home the other day, & found this in the front yard!
Actually, it wasn't totally unexpected; when we do Art at the Source (open studios) next month, we'll be sharing our yard & garden space with friend Patrick Scott, who does sculptures of many kinds, some including water, & light. This one lights up with 2 colors of neon, which reflect from the center off the shiny insides of the curvy bits. Below are the night shots. Oh, and there's the front of the house, and the smoke bush (with the red leaves), which I love!



Hard to capture at night, of course; and looks different depending on the side you approach.
The red is a bit much on our quiet country street at night...

and kitty too

There I am in my little garden world, with studio building behind me. I'm always trying to get a good shot of the garden furball, but the camera has a delay, and he blurs...

Did you know that rays of sun like this are called 'crepuscular'? Does that seem right to you? Surely we could come up with something more apt.

rosesrosesrosesroses

1 & 2) There's an adage about planting climbers: "the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap." (We just like to repeat that) Autumn Sunset seems to be entering her third year...
3) Brandy, always in the top 5
4 & 5) Golden Celebration. Planted bare root in January-- this one is intended to climb that trellis...

a blurry bouquet!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers I know, but especially my very own MOM/JAN, from whom I inherited this gardening gene!

fleurs

this is one of the four new roses I managed to limit myself to this year: 'honey perfume'; I like it so far!



'just joey' has been relocated to a spot where he'll get more love (& water)


yellows & greens

just photos

Hot Cocoa rose. a love it or hate it rose color, occasionally called 'liver on a stem' by the 'hate-its'. Those rose people!



the latest iris to bloom for its first time in our yard. I bet it has a name, but we don't know it...

more

This iris (as a rhizome) was hand-labeled 'grandma's pink-- ?' at the Graton Community Flower Sale; and I'm guessing, not 'grandma's pink'. Nice, though!

Graham Thomas, a 'David Austin Rose', one of my fave's. We'll have some of his siblings this year, too.

Queen Elizabeth.
Pink like this is not one of my top rose colors, but this was given to us as a mature bush, and anything as healthy and bloom-happy as this rose is is welcome in our garden anyday.

from inside

Here's one from inside the studio, looking out.
'Cuz that's where I'm supposed to be, right? INSIDE the studio...

three roses

gingersnap

heirloom

hot cocoa

finally foxgloves

It feels like two years ago I put in a little six-pack of foxgloves, and finally they have bloomed (is *that* what they mean by bi-ennial?).
Now that they're here, I'm wondering, why don't we have more of these? Why aren't they everywhere? Why did it take us so long? I LOVE these. (Iparticularly like this peach-y shade.) I hear they self sow readily, so maybe next year they WILL be everywhere.

scratch & sniff

This is when that deluxe scratch & sniff computer screen would really pay off: Fragrant Cloud has arrived.

Fragrant Cloud

is about to pop!
This is one rose that truly lives up to its name.
(click image to see dew more clearly!)

Margot!

For friends of Caroline, who may not have seen photos of her darling daugther Margot recently! She & Tony (with mystery hand) are engaging in a time-honored seasonal tradition-- when we visited them in SF a couple weeks ago.

ladies & gentleman, i bring you... 'Roman Song'

Remember that bud from yesterday? well here she is:

also a clematis

and.. 'Autumn Sunset' topping the fence.

My computer says it's 96 in Santa Rosa. yikes!