Gardens – Page 3 – Valerie's Voice

Garden Tour

There were six gardens to visit on Northfield’s garden tour so I donned a flower dress and took off to enjoy the beauty.

Two gardens were in public places but it was fun to get into the yards of four residents in Northfield. There were artists stationed at each place, which adds to the fun.

The garden is a simple rain water garden. Some of the artist’s works were displayed as he was painting another picture, and visiting with the guests.

The theme this year was water so there were a few water gardens. I learned you can apply for a grant from the city of Northfield to cover up to $250 if you plant a water garden in your yard.

I so enjoy flowers and am amazed at the beauty and uniqueness of each one. I like learning of new plants too.

It was hard to capture the enormity of this flower pot. When I asked for the name the gardener said the official name at the store was, “Big Pink Begonia”. I guess sometimes you just call it what it is! This size begonia was new to me.

Someone asked me if I got inspired while looking at the gardens and I said yes… but then I know it’s too hot this time of year to change my garden so I don’t do anything now.

Another new to me flower: a hanging begonia. The white blooming flowers draped over the pot.

But, I do tuck away ideas for next year…

The blue glass tulip shades from an old lamp was used as garden art mixed in with white hydrangea.

It was fun to see the sculptures people use as gardens art, as well as the visiting artist’s creative works.

The last home I visited on the tour was at the top of a high hill.

It’s hard to see the swing hanging from the tree near the gardens in this yard, but it’s easy to see the expansive view.

A watercolor artist was stationed in the screen porch of the house at this garden, so we could peak into the house to see a bit of it’s loveliness. I noticed dinner plates and crystal goblets on the dining table, gathered for what looked like an upcoming party.

I thought this was clever…two arborvitae woven together at the top to form an arch.

While meandering in the gardens the owner said they were having a garden party that evening since they already had spent a lot of time grooming and weeding and getting their gardens ready for the tour.

Beautiful gardens at this beautiful house on the hill where they were planning a lovely garden party.

They had lights wired in the garden and on the lovely patio with a water fountain. I’m sure it would look awesome at night. I wanted to stick around for the party!

Look, the winter is past,
    and the rains are over and gone.
¹²The flowers are springing up,
    the season of singing birds has come,
    and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. Song of Songs 2:11-12

Aspelund Peony Garden

Even though it was cool, cloudy and windy we decided to drive to Aspelund Peony Garden on the last day of their June open houses. As soon as we got out of the car I was glad we were there. The colorful array of peonies were so inviting they made me smile.

It was difficult to take photos with the peonies swaying in the wind. There are great photos on Minnesota Prairie Roots blog where I learned about this farm. Click here.

According to the proprietor of the peony garden, the wind and storms the day before, on Saturday, wreaked havoc with the peonies, but that didn’t stop several folks finding their way to the farm to decide which peony bush they wanted to order…order now, pick up in the fall (a good time for transplanting peonies we’re told.) The farm has 150 varieties of peonies. We do not have any more space for sun-loving flowers so we just enjoyed looking.

The proprietor was friendly and out in the field talking with everyone. You could tell he loved his peonies. He told us peonies are hardy. He said if you go to any abandoned farm in Minnesota, you are likely to find lilacs, rhubarb, peonies, day lilies and iris’. Interesting!

He told us the oldest peony in Minnesota is 150 years old and is at the governor’s mansion. He said the oldest peony in the world is in the Emperor’s Garden in China and is 600 years old. I could not find any confirmation of these facts on the Internet (a very reliable source! ha).

The farm also includes the Aspelund Winery…grapes and apple trees and pear trees are grown on this farm. It’s in a beautiful setting in Aspelund, Minnesota. The winery only had outdoor seating and it was too cool to sit outdoors, but we peeked our heads inside to check out the tasting room…we’ll save that for another time.

A view of southern Minnesota countryside.

The drive home was lovely…we love driving in the country…and I love this time of year when the green plants are popping through the soil a couple of inches, forming neatly, defined rows in the field.

As we approached our house we could see our three peony bushes from the road. They looked so insignificant in comparison to what we just witnessed – we laughed.

But they are beautiful and cheerful flowers…and they are blooming…and they are hardy! And I love cutting one stem at at time and having them show off their beauty for me in our house.

Morning Stroll

“Make a morning ritual of strolling through your garden. No weeding allowed – do it for the pure and simple joy of observation.” Jane Austin Miller

Every year, about this time, I think of this quote. I like it.

When I do stroll, I like carrying a cup of coffee in my hands.

It’s not a long stroll, and not daily, but it is an early morning stroll, and I do not pull any weeds…just enjoy.

It’s fun to watch the garden grow.

The Color Green

Green…spring greens…such beauty…everywhere you look. It’s dazzling.

And there is not just one color green but many shades of green.

Just think if everything green was the same color, tint or shade of green.

Of course the same can be said for the color blue and red and purple and other colors – they all have different shades, but shades of green surround us and are so pronounced, especially in spring time.

Shades of green are on display for us all to see just by going outside.

My camera didn’t capture the shimmer in the tree tops.

Green is an amazing color.

When my boys were little and coloring with crayons I explained that God created all the colors before Crayola made crayons. What fun to look inside a fresh box of crayons.

I love color…our brains like color…but right now I’m partial to green.

Springtime

Spring is finally here and so begins the yard work. For the most part, working in the yard and digging in the dirt is fun for me…but spring clean up is a lot of work. We decided to do some trimming over the weekend.

We started with a tree in our front yard. Gary climbed the ladder to cut off a branch and noticed, there in the crook of the tree, my “missing” fairy. We surmised a squirrel grabbed the fairy from it’s secret place in my garden two years ago. The squirrel must have decided it wasn’t food after all, so he left it sitting up properly in the crook of a tree, watching over us all that time. It was a fun surprise to find this fairy-angel in the tree after two winters.

Although this is not the exact spot Gary found the fairy, it was sitting upright and up high in a crook of this tree.

Next, in our back yard there is a honeysuckle vine climbing a trellis on the deck and it was getting out of control, as honeysuckle vines tend to do. So this year we decided to trim it way back. We revved up the electric trimmers and started cutting back the vine when Gary spotted a bird’s nest with eggs in it. Hmmm…we had already started trimming so we decided to quickly finish and then get out of there with hopes that the mama bird would come back to the nest and tend to her eggs.

The mama mourning dove returned to her nest to protect her eggs.

Fortunately the mourning dove is back and sitting on her eggs in the nest. It will be fun to watch them hatch right outside our window.

I noticed the lone daffodil blooming on the side of our house. There are several daffodil bulbs planted there but they didn’t seem to make it through that last winter blizzard. Even so, the one bright, yellow flower is perky and brings joy.

April showers bring May flowers, but not April snow blizzards.

It is always a delight to discover fun surprises in nature. Some are so obvious and some so hidden. I am reminded to keep my eyes open for there is so much to see.

A Peek at Spring

Sending spring vibes to Minnesota from the East Coast.

A beautiful purple/pink bush – not quite sure what it is. It was blooming in Williamsburg.

Neighborhood Butterfly Garden

I stopped in at my neighbor’s garage sale. They have a six-year old granddaughter so I thought maybe there would be some things of interest to me. But first I came upon their small garden along their driveway. Standing tall was another beautiful hibiscus blooming bright pink alongside sedum in full bloom, with a metal sculpture in the middle of it all.

On that metal sculpture was a little, lime-green tree frog, and fluttering all around the sedum were Painted Lady butterflies. My neighbor said it was like having their own butterfly garden – there were dozens of butterflies swarming around – and they have been for several days. At times a few would land on his finger.

Franklin Park Conservatory Butterfly Garden, Columbus OH

I’ve been to several indoor butterfly gardens. It’s a fun experience to walk through hanging plastic strips into a room where several species of butterflies are happily flitting around you, some landing close by or, on your body. What a great idea for a botanical garden or arboretum to create the space for butterflies and then invite the public to see and experience the wonderful creatures.

And mentioning butterflies…last year a friend found a chrysalis on his house and I took a photo of it. I was so amazed to see it up close and then to see the Monarch wings through the chrysalis. Click here to see a two minute YouTube video of a Monarch emerging from its chrysalis. The whole process of their transformation is amazing.

There are so many interesting facts about monarch butterflies…as there is for all creatures. Nature is absolutely fascinating and sometimes unfathomable.

And the Lord God made them all.

My Hibiscus

On my daily walk in the neighborhood I pass many manicured lawns and beautiful gardens. In one yard there is an amazing hibiscus in full bloom with flowers the size of dinner-plates. It’s stunning. Back home I check out my own hibiscus and it too, has many blosoms. And it’s beautiful in it’s own way…it’s blooms are not meant to be the size of big plates.

During the summer my hibiscus enjoys a wonderful home on our deck. It is a flowering plant that cannot survive the cold Minnesota winters so I need to bring it in the house during the winter. It is a plant I have cared for for many years and every year I threaten to throw it into the compost pile instead of bringing it indoors! Although I love my outdoor flower gardens in the summer I’m not too interested in indoor plants. I have two: a pothos that trails down my cupboard in the kitchen and a Christmas cactus that a friend gave me…which was started by her grandmother years ago in Norway. Those two plants are hardy and survive with little attention from me.

So every fall I have to decide if I’m going to bring the hibiscus indoors for the winter. I have a friend who is the hibiscus’ advocate. She encourages me to keep the plant alive. When I went out to water it the other day it had so many blooms…I think the hibiscus has a sense that it needs to perform to save its life. So I guess I’ll keep it over winter again but I won’t bring it in until the last possible moment.

Berry Picking

Two mornings last week I picked raspberries at a local farm. I love raspberries and am grateful to have places where I can go pick fresh fruit near-by when in-season: raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. The berries look so pretty on the bushes and being out in the crisp morning air makes the chore of picking berries more like a fun outing. When I bring the fruit home I fill a bowl for eating, freeze some for winter, and make strawberry and raspberry jam.

We have some friends who grow raspberries on their property. A few years ago, very early in the fall season, frost was predicted one night so I went over to help harvest the produce from their large garden. My friend put me in the raspberry bushes and I started picking the fruit. A while later she joined me. We were talking and she started to pick where I had just picked and I wondered…I’ve picked berries many times over the years and I know what I’m doing and I thought I was doing a pretty good job…but come to find out she was picking the yellow raspberries they had growing intermingled with their red raspberry bushes! I passed the yellow berries thinking they were not ripe.

We laugh about it still.