What is it?

Climbing up on this tree even almost up to the top of this picture is a vine

with flowers though they are hard to see here you may be able to make out some yellow dots (I used my older camera so it doesn't zoom as well)

Here are the flowers, falling now everywhere

They are so pretty with the yellow and deep red in the center, but I have no idea as to what they are! I do not think that they are a trumpet vine as we do have several of those around, but I could be wrong. Would any of you know?

What is really cool, and I can't believe I actually got the shot!, is the inside! The filament (at least if I remember biology!) grows around in a circle and meets the stamen in the middle. Totally cool!

Here is another plant. Hubby found it in the woods near where the creek runs (sometimes!). He dug some up for me, and they are in a bulb form, send leaves which have a tendency to stand straight up until the flowers come out. Then the leaves all fall down!

Here is the flower. It can have several although I guess it depends on the number of bulbs!!

I am very curious as to both of these flowers. One a vine, the other a bulb. The white one really does not have a scent, but the yellow one, well, let's just say I don't want to make any flower arrangements from it!!!

Isn't she lovely

So many years ago on this date......isn't she lovely?!!!

Now she is grown and married

Goodness! Where did the years go?! All I can say is that I am so happy that she is here this year for her birthday. Life is very precious!

The dainty ones

I am so excited! I thought that I would show you the dainty ones in the shade today. I got the lily of the valley last year from another aunt who warned me that they would take over given the chance. Doesn't matter, I'll deal with it when it happens, but look! is it not pretty?!! I also have bleeding heart, the "wild" geranium, and a trillium that I also got from my aunt that was growing like crazy in her woods.

It's sad that they don't last all summer. Though I have seen inpatients sprouting up from where I had them last year. We will see if they can make it. Now I am off to check out some fencing as the chickens love all the soft, moist areas too!

Bloomin' Day

Today was a very cool, slightly rainy day which gave me a chance to get caught up on inside work. We really need the rain which is funny to say after all the rain we had over the winter. I plant (no plan, guess I can't get gardening out of my mind!) on getting caught up with my blog reading although it might take part of today and tomorrow! I know a lot of bloggers have been busy with gardening too so I am anxious to see what everyone has done. I hope I have not missed too much, but by the time I sit down at the computer at night after working outside I could fall asleep, and who knows what keys I would hit!
I thought that I would show you some photos of what is blooming around here now. The azaleas have been slow to come out, but there are some that are blooming for the first time that I have seen here. I believe all that rain had a lot to do with it. Oh, and I thought I'd show you the dogwood tree in the bottom right corner. It has been gorgeous! We have quite a few around here too.

I have some roses blooming now. This yellow rose is the Lady Banks rose, and oh how it has grown in the past year. It has started growing up a tree! I wish that it bloomed all summer, but it is a spring one only.

I am so enjoying seeing all of this color now! So tell me, what is bloomin' your way?

Have not forgotten

No, I have not forgotten you, but I have been very busy outside. I have spent a few days up in the mountains helping my 92 year old grandmother with her garden. My aunt said she was going to be there and asked if I wanted to come up to help. It was something I had planned on doing for quite a while, but this was the extra little push! So, no pictures yet, not until my aunt emails them to me. My grandmother is so funny! She loves her flowers! I start digging yet before I get very far I have to move the hole over by 6 inches to put the plant in! She wants it just so! Then you have to watch her as she is very unsteady these days, and has fallen quite a few times in her garden. Yet she will take her walking cane, and go to town pointing or bashing a dirt clump! Those were fun days with her, and if it wasn't for her being so unsteady she would probably outlast me in the garden! Then these last few days have been working here at home, so there has been very little computer time. I'll get back on the bandwagon soon. Hope all is well with all of you!

Up and down in the greenhouse

These past few weeks have been busy. First we had cold weather so the lights in the greenhouse stayed on, and then it got really hot. Last night cold again with today in the 70's which is normal springtime weather. It's a wonder I have anything coming up in the greenhouse with all of these ups and downs! So here are a few things that I have sprouting, and not sprouting!
Cherokee purple tomatoes along with Brandywine, and one little survivor out of a lot of seeds my aunt had in the freezer. Have no idea what kind of tomato it is, but I guess I'll find out!

In the front are some squash from my aunt again. She bought some squash up in PA Dutch country, and said it was the best!

A few more hollyhocks coming up. I don't think I like these little pellets too much, but I tried them anyway.

Here are the hollyhocks transplanted to bigger pots

Ah yes, my try it out mix. Geraniums, how I love them! So last year I left a few in pots, a few in paper bags, etc. Some may not make it others that I thought would not have actually sprouted new growth on the bottom.

The big ones I left in pots, sorry the photo is a little dark.

Leslie at Comfrey Cottages, there is a New Dawn and Pearl D'Or in here for you! First time I have tried rose cuttings, and I actually see some new growth! I am really excited as I have a lot of antique roses. These will be going outside the greenhouse shortly as I want them to be used to being outside if that makes any sense!

Yes, the lonely tomato plant. Hubby can not stand not having something to put in the ground the minute it warms up. So he usually buys a little plant here and there even though it is always best to wait after Easter. An update too, it is now in the garden!

I have no idea what these seeds are called since I lost the little brown pack it came in. Well, it's not lost, just in the greenhouse hiding!

To the left are cucumbers, bell peppers, and somewhere sage.

More geraniums!

Love Fuchsias! So I overwintered some, kind of straggly looking, but I also took some cuttings. We shall see. I also overwintered quite a few Mandevilla vines. The red is a fern that I bought last year from the growers outlet. Have no idea of the name. It has survived. I bought it late, and did not want to put it in the ground then. It does have new growth which is green so I'm happy.

Outside the greenhouse we have apple trees growing in pots which need to be planted. I saw these blossoms getting ready to open so we will see if it makes it.

This is a shot of the side. The greenhouse is made out of a lot of that plastic ridge stuff, forgot the name of it. Hubby had collected window panes for quite a while, and put them together to make a better greenhouse. So we added it to the side, but don't look at how dirty it is! I haven't had time to clean my home windows yet, and I'm not going to until this pollen is gone!!!

So, those are just a few items growing right now. I have so many more seeds to plant. I decided that this year I was going to do a lot with seeds. The local nursery wanted $1.50 for a little pot of one little cosmos, well forget that! For that price, no, if I go to the local dollar store I can get 3 packs of seeds for that price. And if I buy from ebay I can get a lot more!! Well, it is a really windy day today so I better get busy finish inside house stuff, and by that time it will be warmer outside. Just perfect for the greenhouse!

Florals from across the pond

A while back a fellow blogger had a floral swap that I happened to catch the tail end of the very last day of signing up. It required a floral fat quarter, a flower seed packet, homemade sachet, and a few other items of your choice with a floral motif. Louise who was also the host became my swap partner. Here are the items that she sent all wrapped up in that pretty wrapping paper. Pretty floral postcards, gorgeous floral fat quarter, two Cath Kidston soaps, a floral luggage tag, a floral wrapped book to write in, a gorgeous sachet she had, a beautiful little sewing kit that she makes (she also makes things for children), super garden gloves!, and yes! floral seeds from England! I don't have them pictured here as they are already in the greenhouse!!!

So, here are a few items I sent to her. The lavander sachet I made with lavander from my garden, and the bird house I painted for her.

I also sewed a tote bag with a little help from my crafty neighbor as she has the serger!! You can check out everything I sent to Louise at her blog http://sewscrumptious.blogspot.com/
She makes beautiful items for the little ones, and really the cutest sewing kits!! My crafty neighbor was so impressed, and of course, I was tickled pink!

Bee Happy & Bluebirds of Happiness

We are going "bloomin" crazy around here! Thought I would show you a few things to bee happy!

My new header pictures is from last year. I happened to be looking out the window watching the birds at the bird bath when these two came. I could not believe that they stayed there long enough for the photo! I titled it stay on your side!! The blue birds are all over the place right now, and I just love them. Hope you have a happy day too!

Buzz, buzz

Since we lost a hive this past winter, and actually it was just within the past three months, we decided to replace it just recently. We bought two extra queens which are pictured below so we could split a package. I had to bring the queens inside as they would call the other bees in the area like they did where we bought them. The man who sold them to us has been taking care of bees for 50+years. He doesn't need to advertise either.

The two packages of bees which one half of one package goes in one hive with a queen, and then the other bought queen goes with the other half. This gives us four new hives.

Hubby getting the smoker ready just in case.

We had the queen out, but there are always a few to stay in the box so we placed them next to the hive.

Since those photos we lost one queen, and the other bees probably went to one of the other new boxes. It is always interesting working with bees, and the bees from this man are so calm too. He offers quite a few classes which I am thinking about, hmmmm, I wonder where I could fit the time in!!!
By the way I received a package last week, my extremely busy week, from Louise in the UK. We did a floral swap so I'll get the pictures taken and show you what I got!

Begin A New Day

To all of my friends in blog land a joyous beginning of a new day

Here, there, everywhere

I can't believe a whole week has passed. First thank you to those who have sent a virtual Easter basket, and I am sorry that I have not done anything sooner. This past week has been exactly as my title. Monday started out with my daughter's father being sick after his surgery so I have had hospital time this week. Then an aunt is moving out west to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to work in one of those resorts for a good part of the year, and then she will be back again. She wanted to get rid of everything and place it all in a yard sale which I will have sometime. So two separate days I helped her pack up boxes. The big what we call the milk truck had a flat tire, would not start so my little 20+ year old VW was my truck!! (I am so glad I have kept that VW because when the other is in the shop old faithful carries on!!) My daughter got a good laugh one day since I looked like one of those "gypsy" caravans!! My aunt lives in the mountains of North Carolina so I had over an hour and half drive each way. I had some heavy loads in that VW, and coming down the mountain all I could think of was please don't break down, get a flat tire, etc..! The list goes on. I have spent only one day at home, and that was yesterday. We burned the garden, plowed it, etc.. Then we went to a welcome back party for the neighbor's daughter and her family last night. They came back this week from Germany, and he is out of the military now. So all in all as hubby said I have not been home this week to do anything.
Today I made a promise just to do a quick catch up post, and then I will read all the blogs later to catch up. Don't know what today will hold or tomorrow! I wish everyone a super wonderful weekend!!!!!