Our amaryllis is blooming! Isn’t it lovely?

We (er, Lee) planted it just after Thanksgiving and today it finally decided to show us its colors.

What a wonderful surprise when we are in the middle of blah winter weather!

The Amaryllis Progress Report

Amy continues to grow, but slowly, as our impatience mounts to discover what color her flower will be.  Now that Christmas is past, I'm hoping for an Epiphany bloom.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if it bloomed on Three Kings Day?

Introducing Amy

This is Amy, our hopefully-soon-to-be-born amaryllis.  When I ordered it, I went back and forth so many times, I don't actually remember which color or variety I ended up getting, and the packing slip did not provide a clue.  Will it be pink, or red, or striped — and will it bloom for Christmas? 

Marsh Hibiscus

A crimson beauty from my sister-in-law's garden.

Summer's last hurrah!

My Neighbor's Garden

I'm spoiled.  But can you blame me?  Just look at the view from my deck!

There's no fence between our properties and I've been able to enjoy watching her plant her garden . . .

I see her out there all the time . . .

I'm not much of a gardener, but I love flowers, and I can certainly appreciate the work it takes to create something this lovely . . .

Isn't it wonderful?

Vivaldi's "Spring" Concerto brought to mind.

Everything I learned about gardening this year . . . fits inside this pot:

And this other one:

I learned that the secret to great looking planters is to crowd the plants. Pick a tall one, another one that will trail, one with color, another with a bit of whimsy, and that last one that begged to be taken home. The plants will become a Darwinian experiment, battling it out amongst themselves for space and survival. Inevitably, one won't make it, and the end product might not look anything like the original plan, but the planter will look full and lush, and after a while, the plants will harmonize beautifully with each other, rather like one of Maestro Vivaldi's concerti.

The Mums Are Here!

What an incongruous image, in the hottest day of summer, when my mind is full of the bi-color corn I'm about to pick up at the Farmer's Market, to find that stores are stocked and already selling pots of mums, a wayyyy too early reminder of the coming fall! But how could anyone resist this bounty?

I couldn't make up my mind, so Lee picked the color, this brilliant yellow, and quickly moved me along so I wouldn't be tempted to buy every other color they had. It was a good choice, still summery and cheerful enough to remind me more of corn than of gourds.


I have a love-hate relationship with mums. I love them like this, planted alone, their color and profusion making a grand statement. I don't care for them interspersed in floral arrangements, where they are frequently used as a cheap and unimaginative filler.
But today, it's all about love. The pot is sitting by the front door where I get to see it when I leave in the morning and come home at night. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

Pink Parfait

This peony bush was one of three given to me for Mother's Day in 1989, the year when my oldest son was born. This variety is called Pink Parfait. It didn't bloom the first year, and when I called the nursery from where we bought it, I was told that we had planted it too deep. We needed to replant it closer to the surface. Sure enough, the following year I had a single, spectacular bloom, and every year after that, the bush prospered with an ever-increasing number of flowers.

Peonies can be tricky plants, the flowers are so heavy that they need to be staked, and if a good rainfall comes, it can destroy the blooms. It wasn't unusual to find me outside cutting flowers if a rainstorm was announced. Often, I'd cut a flower on my way to work, to keep in my cubicle. Cubicles beg for flowers.

I was very sad to have to leave my peony bushes when we moved to Naperville, but at least we took cuttings to plant in our new home. However, we've struggled to get the peonies settled in. We've had to re-plant them several times. Two of the bushes are still not talking to us. This year, finally, Pink here seems to like her new spot. It was a happy day when this lovely flower finally unfurled its petals and announced to the world: "I'm home!"

Daylilies

The Earth Laughs in Flowers

—Ralph Waldo Emerson