A Muse about the Rainbow

My Rainbow Garden

by Marilyn Lott

I have a Rainbow Garden
For inside of it you’ll see
Every color you would find
What a rainbow ought to be

The blue is for Forget-me-nots
(or in this case Brunnera, bloomed earlier)
Yellow for DaffodilsRed is for my gladiolas (or asiatic lilies and monarda)
(Asiatic lily - Crimson Pixie, bloomed in June)
Monarda (Jacob Cline, blooming now)My flowers are such a thrill


Green creates the many leaves
(hosta - Diana Remembered, blooming now)Of my Rainbow Garden too
I get such peacefulness
I would love to show it to you

My roses [flowers], oh I have many
My palette of color shades
I must enjoy them daily
For the time for them will fade
(daylily - Pretty in Pink, blooming now)(miniature rose - unnamed,
blooming now)(blackberry lily -Belamcanda chinensis
blooming now)
(daylily - Madonna, last blossom today)(daylily, Yellow Mammoth spider lily
just finished blooming)(Purple coneflower - budding in the shade)(dwarf aruncus - dwarf goatsbeard
blooming now)(Siberian Squill, very early Spring)(Water hyacinth, blooming now)(Dutch iris, early Spring)
So if you’re feeling weary
And you don’t know what to do
Plant flowers of all colors
And have a Rainbow Garden too!

(More of Shady Gardener's Rainbow)
(Stargazer Lily - blooming now)(Sempervivum - hens and chicks,
one is blooming now)(Aster "Alert" blooming now, new plant,
will bloom later)
(Sedum "John Creech?" blooms now)
(Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed,
blooming now)(Sedum, Blue Spruce, blooming now - about finished)(Sedum - Worm Grass, blooming now)(Lady Sheila Ann Germaney Iris - bulb, bloomed
early Spring)(Tricyrtis Hirta, new plant is blooming now)

Whenever I see a rainbow, I remember say "thank you!" :-) Yours truly will be absent for a week or so. Going to visit son's family in Michigan. Have a wonderful week. And, check out Sweet Home Chicago to see other Muse Day Posts.

An Update on the Layered Sunny Corner Bed

You could visit the first post and the second post with information about change and progress in my sunny corner bed. The following photos show what we saw this past week out there.

Check out that "Stargazer" in the center! :-)

I'm going to apologize for the quality of this photo. You'll notice the catmint on the left, a new daylily in the center front (help, MMD!), Stonecrop Sedum "Pink Chablis" at left behind the daylily, Stonecrop Sedum "Purple Emperor" on the right (taller than it's supposed to be!)

Butterfly Milkweed in the center with Russian Sage behind it, and a tiny dianthus at the front right.

Here's a close-up of my mystery daylily. :-)

Stonecrop Sedum: Purple Emperor (seen above) and "Autumn Joy"with daylily "Pardon Me" and a bit of iris leaf.

Now you can see the iris leaves as well as the turk's cap Tiger Lilies. In the front bed you'll notice a pot of tuberoses next to my new butterfly bush entitled "Adonis Blue" And, yes! Two tomato plants! ;-)

In fact, you might notice another tomato plant between the Russian Sage and "Kwanzo" daylily.

Back to the front bed. After the tomatoes you'll see three parsley plants (two for the Black Swallowtails and one for me), a nice area of carrots that continue to be thinned, a couple of pepper plants (only one is doing very well), and Rhubarb! Alyssum is in the front of the border.

I wanted to have my fun and eat it, too! ;-)

Hasn't this been a great year for gardening in this area?
Hope you enjoyed the little tour.
(Not too "shady!")

:-)


This is a "P.S.". One last (north) view of the bed.
Some of you might also be interested in the Stonecrop Sedum "Matrona!"
It's on the left between the daylilies.

Just a Bit of "Garden Whimsy!"

Nan Ondra at

Gardening Gone Wild

has asked gardeners to participate in
"Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop,"
a monthly posting of interesting topics.

This month it's "Garden Whimsy."
Enjoy your visit!

This metal rose was "created in Mexico."

I believed it, so I purchased it. These flowers are being sold as a fund-raiser in support of the mural project on the exterior of our community's new civic center.

(Click on the photo below to better appreciate the mural.)

My 2-year-old granddaughter is patting one of two "turtles." But in the meantime, it looks as though she'll be soon making a new friend!

I thought this looked like me. At least she represents most of what I like to do outdoors...

She's waiting patiently for more butterflies... as am I.

If you look down, at her feet, you'll see what she stood on to get where she is!

Rounding the house to the backyard,
you never know who might come crawling out from under a hosta.

If you experience the need to go stepping into "light-footed" areas, you may as well have a pleasant place to rest your toes.

Hose guides can be fun, too. Are little white perch-birds nocturnal?

Knee-deep!
This fellow's mom taught him to "sit up straight!"
I believe he's quite proud of himself.

A long-time friend and former neighbor presented me with my first and only Faire Flower Fairy a few years ago. She likes to hide in cozy green places with scented pale petals.

Faire FF's able bodyguard enjoys the bolder blossoms. I don't blame him, as he is often called upon to defend FFF and her territory. Thus, Smell the Roses Whenever You Can, has become his most appropriate motto.

As we enter the Valley of the Shed, hopefully your first welcome is the ever ready teacup... for you and/or anyone needing a refreshing sip of water.
As you begin your South Woodland Walk, you'll notice the emerging hellebore bed. Aren't these plants worthy of a little extra attention? Someone else might give them a pillow...Notice your mid-journey's guide. Just follow her gentle nod.

Did you stop for a rest on the bench shown above?
If so, you were being guarded by our friend below.
He's really a good fellow, so don't be taken aback
by his rakish expression.

Whimsical it may be, for you and me, but the balloon flower is not joking around. She's only trying to whisper in your ear. She caught me the other day. And she has the sympathy of her neighboring daylilies. What was her message?

"Please move me."
Another cozy sanctuary for birds and their buddies.

I found this bespeckled fellow at an art fair two years ago this past June. My sisters and I were spending a "Sisters' Weekend" together, near the quad cities.I'd like to introduce a couple of my gardening buddies. They've appeared on this blog before, but some of you may have missed meeting them. :-)

This is Gardener Gladys.
She is good company while I garden in the backyard.
(soft sculpture, created 4 years ago)

This is Susan Scare-the-birds.

She's known for occasionally hanging around in the raised bed gardens. She vacationed last year, but has been begging to resume her position again this Summer. I'd better humor her. She's pretty good at what she does!

(soft sculpture - created 5 years ago)
Perhaps this isn't exactly whimsical,
but it is exactly where my heart lies.

I can hardly think of any other place I'd rather be,
especially when I'm finding it hard to be out there!

Not a "shady" sentiment. ;-)