today's flower: dwarf iris

the first dwarf iris of a bunch shot up this past weekend.

today's problem: florals

at fashion week, florals were the thing! i love this planting ensemble: perfect for the greenhouse seed planting!

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day

weekend gardening events

if i could only go to one gardening event this weekend, it would be the seminar on native bees in new hope, pennsylvania.

(bee pendant from my etsy shop)

flower power

my first sunflower of the season is a volunteer.

unusual heat

we have been experiencing an unusually hot june. thankfully, i shot these photos of my garden flowers last week before they all melted today...

rose garden

i have about 10 rose plants left in my garden...i used to have over 50, but when they built the house next door, more than 40 of my lovely plants were bull-dozed without warning: one of them was a huge heirloom that my 90-year old neighbor said had been planted back in the 20's! i cant remember the names of the various varieties i still have- or maybe i never knew them- but i love each and every one of them! i trace my affection for roses back to my roots in berkeley where i played in the rose garden almost everyday.

plum peonies

I love the idea of peonies: big gorgeous fluffy heads bursting with color! in reality, mine had always fallen over and became infested with ants, so even if I wanted to bring them indoors I couldn't. but then I ran across these plum peonies this morning: standing erect despite the rain and looking gorgeous! I might have to rethink peonies...

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nasturtiums

alas: my hummingbirds have left me for warmer pastures:(...i always plant nasturtiums near the deck to attract them as close to house as possible: they are so cute. and the nasturtiums are so pretty! nasturtiums (and hummers) bring back lovely memories of growing up in berkeley, where they bloom year-round. this variety is called 'alaska mix' and has wonderful variegated foilage.

got bees?

apparently i do! just since the sedum started flowering this past weekend did i finally see some serious bees: very great!

iris alert

when we bought the place, there was this very small patch of beautiful green and blue mini iris-type leaves near the entry steps: a few weeks later lovely little purple flowers shot up! after four years, the patch has spread to about 2'x3' and its annual blooms are one of spring's highlights around here! i had never seen the plant sold anywhere, so i planned on digging and dividing it this fall. searching sunshine farm & garden's website this afternoon, i see they are selling it! it is called iris verna, and it is a native species wild flower to many east coast and mid atlantic states. i ordered a bunch for the upcoming river bed garden, but i think i will still divide the patch i already have.

euphorbia!

euphorbia is one of my favorite plants because they have a modern, sculptural look i really dig. i already have 'martini' growing in my front yard in kensington, but decided i needed 'jessie' while researching the post below. this gorgeous, tall blond has been patented by barry @ sunshine farm & garden and will look fantastic where ever i decide to put it... and it works perfectly with this year's hot color trend!

sunshine farm & gardens

barry, the proprietor of sunshine farm & gardens always has something new to show me: this time, its a phreakin phabulous phlox! Phlox paniculata 'Jeana': what a beauty!

flower of the month: poppies!

august is my favorite month for a lot of reasons!

horticulturally speaking, poppies are august's flower.

i made this ring from a poppy stem cast in sterling silver.

sunflower in the summertime

sunflowers in my front yard reseeded from last year's batch. totally summer!

warp-ed design

i love these modern flower vases from warp design.

that is truly brooklyn in the house.

i ♥ san francisco geraniums

geraniums blooming big-time in the city: fantastic shot from my dad's iphone of their amazing flower boxes on the roof top deck.

blooming postage stamps

they have been around for about a year, but i still love the idea of the blooming postage stamp put out by the dutch postal service. not that i am getting anything other than bills these days!

yellow rose of texas

i was just planning on posting this prickly pear flower blooming in my front yard: i saw on some garden show it was known as "the yellow rose of texas". i went to wikipedia to add a garden reference, and was shocked by what i found! i knew the yellow rose of texas was also some random country song, i did not know it was based on a legend of a high yellow hotty (pc for me as i am a high yellow hotty (?) with a very light skinned grandma from texas). wow...you learn something new every day...and, i did not see that coming!

short and sweet

iris verna is gorgeous! a wild flower native to seventeen eastern states, hardy most everywhere: you can find this diminuitive doll at sunshine farm and gardens. short...sweet... and deerproof, too!