Between the Raindrops

Well, it feels good to be back to blogging again! I took some time off from the computer because in between the raindrops, i have been doing a LOT of gardening. I really missed visiting all my friend's blogs, and am so glad to be back and full of stories to tell you... There have been some BIG changes here in the landscape, some good and some sad. But today we will start with the shade garden.

It has been an incredibly rainy, chilly Spring here in the Northeast so far. But as i keep reminding folks, that's Spring weather for you! I do believe that April showers bring May flowers but rain almost every day in May so far brings soggy ground and flooding all around us. The shade garden is a bit weedy because of this, but i hope to have that under control soon enough! The bleeding heart bushes are just blooming now.

I dusted off my Aunt Joey's statue of Mary and put her in her rightful place in the garden, right next to the bleeding heart and the lily of the valley. I see little chipmunks who like to hang out in the space with Mary quite a bit and eat their seeds and nuts from the bird feeders there...

This is a statue i absolutely Love made by my friend and gallery owner Samson Contompasis. He named it "Mary" after Jesus' Mother.... The hosta and columbine are coming up nicely all around her....

Here is a better look of the section of the garden dedicated to "Mother Mary"

In the back corner of the shade garden is another sculpture by Samson that i call "The Waterfall". It is surrounded by lilies, hosta, astilbe, columbine, and right behind it is a young white cedar sapling. It was intended to be a bonsai in training, but i think i like it there. And it seems very happy there too.

Against the garage wall, we have a spot where a few of my cats who have passed on are buried. A little sleeping cat statue marks the spot. The chippies love this spot and hide behind the piece of driftwood. Here there's more hosta planted as well as coralbells and lily of the valley

A collection of rocks waiting to be made into a little border

and my old rusty wheelbarrow that is going to become a lovely rustic planter if it ever dries out enough for me to paint it with rustoleum and drill a few drainage holes in it!

I am hoping that the weatherman is right and by the end of the week we might just get a little sunshine and dry days and i think everything will burst into bloom! Now i think i will go and visit your blogs and see just what i've missed!

Fruits of our Labor: Blueberries

The little blueberry bush i bought in the early Spring to train into a bonsai has recovered and become a very healthy plant

I decided to let it bare fruit before trimming the branches

And it has...The fruit is delicious!

The Deck Garden

My daughter told me i should blog more...And i admit have been a bit spotty lately...But honestly, i have been so busy with the gardening that i just haven't had enough time to do much else! For the first time in years i have become so excited about rebuilding my gardens again. I lost many old plant friends these last few years due to some heavy construction work, but now that it is finished and the coast is clear, i have decided to start fresh by adding some new friends. I break my gardens up into different sections and they all have different requirements. This is my deck garden....

The deck has a southern exposure, with some shade... Here i have some of my hearty bonsai mixed in with some veggies and herbs. The pot on the deck floor in the front is a blueberry bush i am training for bonsai....

But before i start trimming the branches, i think i will let the blueberries ripen! Yum!

Here is my mini leaf Linden and a Japanese maple.


my Japanese pagoda tree and a Zelkova

and a juniper bonsai and a boxwood in training....
Here is one of Samson Contampasis' sculptures that i have in my gardens. You can read more about Sam and his work here ..This is just a little peek at the deck garden because i have so much more work to do! I have a few empty pots waiting for more patio tomato plants from the Farmer's Market, and maybe some more herbs too...And more geraniums. Next garden up is the Front garden...

Spring in the Trees...

There are signs of Spring everywhere! There is Spring in the trees!
Inside and out..... This little tree on my windowsill (center) is a tropical pre bonsai (not trained to a bonsai pot yet...) and it is blooming. It's called a Vietnamese Water Jasmine tree, and the flowers are very tiny, but very fragrant. These little star like flowers hang from their stems in a pendulous way and every tiny movement of air, causes them to sway a bit. It was very hard to get this picture, as any little movement by me or the plant due to a breeze, caused the picture to blur. I'll try to set up my tripod to see if i can take a better shot later....

And here is an old friend of mine, just starting to bloom. This plant is older than my oldest daughter. I remember going to Boston on a bus trip to see the huge annual flower show with my grandmother Mary, when i was 18 years old. That is when we first laid eyes on her favorite, the Martha Washington geranium, and this little gem, an Easter cactus. Up until then we had only seen and heard of the Christmas cactus. This plant is almost 37 years old! It is the original cactus, but there are many many cuttings all over the place, as all you do is take a branch of it and pop it into the soil in another pot and let it take root.

It's flower is flatter than the Christmas cactus bloom, and actually looks like a St. Michaelmas daisy to me....

This little plant is just one of the things that keeps my memories of my Grandmother alive and with me every day. I remember us coming back on the bus with our plants, happy as clams! I hope to share so many experiences with Lola and Seth so they will remember their grandmother too....

Bonsai Blooms

The first bloom of the season from my little Bougainvillea cutting that my friend Ron(otherwise known as The Bougie-man") gifted to me. It is still a young specimen and is technically considered a "pre-bonsai"

Bonsai Bliss...Jasmine in the House...

This is one of my favorite inside trees...A bit too big to be an official bonsai, but in my mind, any tree that is dwarfed and kept in a pot indoors is a bonsai. I do not know what variety of jasmine this is, but it is very hardy and very prolific in it's gorgeous blooms!

Just one little cluster of these flowers can scent a whole room....
And a few clusters scent my whole house. It may only be 19 degrees outside,(actually a bit of a heat wave compared to recent temps) but in here, it SPRING!!!

Autumn Bonsai

My hardy Bonsai are putting on their finest before they get ready for the long hibernation in the garage for the Winter months. The tropical bonsai have been indoors since early September, but these little native trees are out on the deck until the temps stay consistently cooler.

My Zelkova is always beautiful this time of year...

Some, like my mini leafed Linden, have already dropped their leaves and have formed their buds for Spring already.

Others, like my Japanese Quince, dropped their leaves but gifted me with a few lovely blooms, quite unexpectedly!

Here is a closer look at the little blooms. They look like colorful paper flowers shivering in the chilly wind today...

And then there are my Japanese maples....some in training

And some that are little seedlings, plucked from the lawn of my friend Ron...Don't they look like little jewels?

Indoor Harvest

Even tho some of my Tropical Bonsai never leave the windowsill , they still know when the seasons change....

Here is my little Fukien Tea tree... Can you see the little red fruit on the branch?

The little white buds you can see below the fruit will open in a few days to reveal tiny white flowers....

Peace and Quiet (There's No Place Like Home)

Well, the major rehab work in the house is finally done! We have moved out of the Holiday Inn Express, which magically turned into the Ramada Inn literally overnight while we were staying there. And tho our three week stay there was, well, pleasant, there really is no place like home! This morning i grabbed my cup of coffee and went out on the deck to sit in the rare weekend sunshine and soak up the late Summer warmth...

I started taking a beginner's knitting class at The Paper Sparrow, and am amazed at how fast i am learning this new art. My Grandmother Mary taught me how to knit...just knit, when i was young but i never learned how to DO anything with the skill. ( I crochet and work all my knitting on the looms) My goal is to make a sweater for Lola before she is an adult, and Seth wants a sweater with an alien on it...Hmmm...that may take some time, but i will try! My next goal is to get good enough to make this:

I bought this pattern from Barbara from Fuzzy Mittens. You can find her Etsy shop here for more beautiful knitting patterns...After that-the sky is the limit! Before i sat down to do some serious knitting homework, i thought i would take some pictures of some of the things that caught my attention this morning...

Some hen and chicks i forgot to actually plant in the planter...Tho judging by the way they are flowering, they seem happy ....

The baby Japanese Maples

and the Japanese maples in training (pre bonsai) are starting to turn color already from all the rain we've had and the cool crisp night air....

One of our favorite pre bonsai, our Jacaranda tree, has fully recovered from an attack by aphids earlier this Summer....

And Bill spent some time sitting in the sun..something he loves to do and something we have just been too busy to take time for....

Yep...everything just seems so calm and peaceful...There really is no place like home....

More Tiny Flowers

Jasmine on my windowsill...

One of my Bonsai, the Vietnamese Water Jasmine (Wrightia Religiosa) has bloomed, and it is absolutely lovely! The little blossoms hang from their branches like tiny paper lanterns. And they have a sweet soft jasmine scent too. I thought you might enjoy seeing them at their best...

A closer look

Beautiful delicate flowers...i wish i could share their scent with you....

Have a wonderful weekend!