Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Flowers in the Gardens


Hello, Dear Friends, I hope all those who 
celebrate Mother's Day had a wonderful day! 

Before I take you to meet more of my flowers, 
I want to show you the reason I celebrate Mother's Day.....


This was taken at my youngest son's wedding
last August. He is the one on the left. 
His brother was best man and his sisters
were bridesmaids. 

They are the loves of my life
and are also a lot of fun. 
I can't imagine life without them. 

There is only 5 years between the eldest and the youngest.
(They are now in their 30's) 
They are not only close in age, they are also
close in spirit. 
We are truly blessed. 


Now that they are all living lives of their own, 
I have more time to spend in the garden :)

This garden was built by my youngest son
when he was a teenager. You can't see the stone
wall now with all the flowers, but even in the winter, 
it looks very pretty. 


I have Forget Me Not with other wildflowers....
Buttercup and Fringe Cup. 
Blue Camassia blooms behind. 
Ramblin' Man steps out of his tool shed. 


The Fringe Cup is the tall green flower. 


This is a close-up. They self-seeded and I welcomed
them into the garden. 


Can you see Weenie Baby in the background? 

I planted fragrant Narcissus along the front this past Autumn, 
and I was very pleased with them.


They bloomed for weeks and filled the whole yard
with their fragrance. 



I interspersed them with native Camassia.

This bulb was an important food source 
for native peoples of the area. 

There are many varieties and I would like to plant more. 

I will show you these again when they are fully bloomed. 


I love wildflowers. 


I'm not the only one! 


The Spanish Hyacinth multiply in 
a wooded glade by the house. 


Bleeding Heart grows nearby. 


The Apple Trees are blooming, too. 


A view of the garden from the Apple Tree. 


Ramblin' Man's tool shed garden
has a few blooms already, too. 


Azalea makes friends with Ivy. 
A carved stone owl peers from
the window ledge. Ramblin' Man
has had this since we were newlyweds :) 
I think he needs to wash the window! 


Vinca and Forget Me Not bloom at 
Azalea's feet. 


Columbine with unfurling Western Sword Fern. 

The fern self-seeded and I let her stay. 


Peanut walks among a woodland colony of Fringe Cup
along the driveway. 


Western Bleeding Heart grows alongside. 


Sweet and delicate, they carpet the forest floor. 


The trees are nearly all leafed out now. 

Everything is so lush and green. 
Can you see the tiny Weenie Baby and Peanut?
(They are just to the right of the driveway)

Since I have stopped feeding the birds, 
it is much quieter this spring, 
but there are several species
nesting, still. 

Dark-eyed Juncos, Song Sparrows, Mourning Doves
and Wood Pigeons. 

Robins, Chick-a-Dee's, and the beautiful 
Western Tanager, but I have lost
my Stellar Jays and the orange bodied Black Headed Grosbeak. 

The Crow pair nested in a nearby fir and I saw
them today with their two fledglings who 
have learned to fly already. 


I still have the hummingbirds;
the tiny, brightly colored Rufous, 
and the larger, green Anna's. 


They are fearless in defending their territory,
and we are 'buzzed' by them every time we step
outside. 


'Down Back', the Snowball Viburnum hedge is in full bloom. 


Big, fluffy pom-poms! 


So many! I need to fill some vases! 


That will have to wait, as we are having
days of rain right now. 

In the meantime I will be finishing the updates to my sewing room
and will share that with you when I am done. 

I also hope to share some very special news 
with you soon! 

I hope you have enjoyed taking a stroll to visit 
my flowers with me, Dear Friends. 

Thank you for your sweet visits. 

xoxo  




38 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post, starting with your lovely family. Your gardens, flowers and property are just gorgeous. I can see why you have all the beautiful birds, they love your yard. Your puppy dogs are cute! Have a great day!

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  2. What a lovely garden, you sure have spent a ton of time getting all those beauties planted. Glad you are enjoying all the native plants as well. So sweet to see the birds too. What a lovely sanctuary!

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  3. Your garden is absolutely breathtaking!!! What an amazing area to spend your days. I'd definitely be hanging out there if I was a bird:)

    We had a hummingbird feeder on our deck when we lived in So Cal and they used to fight like crazy over it!!! My husband got buzzed all the time when he was grilling out there and once two of them were fighting so ferociously they flew into our living room. Funny little creatures!

    Your children are gorgeous, I can see why you're so proud of them!

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  4. you keep a wonderful garden - and i know 'keep' implies plant it and watch it grow, but i know you work hard at your yard and blooms, too. :)

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  5. It's all so beautiful! A garden in spring just fills your heart doesn't it?

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  6. Your family is lovely! Your gardens just beautiful! So nice to see such beauty after the grey days of winter. :-) Looks like your dogs are enjoying it too. I was excited to see hummingbirds for the first time this year the other day. So i rushed inside and cleaned their feeders from last year, made the nectar and promptly hung them outside. I love hummingbirds and hope we see many all season. Have a wonderful day!

    Blessings,
    Jill

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  7. WOW! A beautiful family, and a beautiful place to live with oh so lovely flower gardens. It is nice to see your bit of paradise.

    Great shots of the hummers.

    Thank you for this sweet tour.

    FlowerLady

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  8. Your garden is lovely. The snowball bush is my favorite! My grandparents had one in their front yard that was so pretty and fragrant. Have a blessed day! Heather

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  9. Reading your lovely post today made me feel like I was in heaven with all the beautiful flowers and surroundings! And, your children are so beautiful. How precious to see them all grown up and so successful. I wish you a wonderful day. It's always a joy to hear from you. Hugs, Pat

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  10. Stunning pictures of your garden, and what a beautiful family you have! It's very obvious that you take pictures with your heart and soul.

    I could almost smell the various fragrances in your garden and feel the grass under my feet!

    Again, breath-taking!

    Marilyn (in Dallas)

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  11. I can't believe how much you have blooming already!!

    It still feels like it's taking forever around here to get going and now this is quite a cold week. So thanks for sharing yours, as your garden is so beautiful and helps me get my fill until we get more action here!

    Truly beautiful and I love seeing the poochies and the Mr. too. ;)
    xoxo

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  12. Karen, your gardens and flowers are so beautiful. It's so nice to see everything in full bloom and greening up. We are starting to green up here too and the bulbs are putting on a pretty show right now. The grass will be mowed probably early next week for the first time. Shrubs are pushing leaves but no blooms yet. Seeing your world makes me happy knowing I'll soon see that here. Have a beautiful week. Pam

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  13. Hi dear Karen 'ñ!! Que bonito es tu jardín con esos bellos poajaros !! Adore ese arco iris .. Que tengas un buen día

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  14. Hello Karen, you have the most beautiful garden & flowers growing on your property! It must be a lot of work but worth it! Enjoy the rest of the week.
    Julie xo

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  15. Hello Karen,
    Wonderful shots of all flowers. Great!!
    Very nice post.

    Many greetings,
    Marco

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  16. Hi Karen,
    So lovely a post, as usual.
    I was looking forward to a profusion of hydrangea blossoms this year. But, alas! The deer ate the top half of the bush. Rats. Oh well. Got a bonsai azalea for Mother's Day. Apparently, I have a new hobby. LOL!
    :) m & jb

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  17. Hi Karen
    Beautiful! Starting with your family and ending with a rainbow with your garden as the pot of gold! Looks like a whole lot of love has gone into your garden, you must be busy, it is wonderful.
    Wren x

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  18. Your property is just gorgeous and so are your children!!!!!!

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  19. You have a sweet looking family Karen and your photos are all glorious!

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  20. You have such a lovely family, Karen...such a blessing! Your photos are so pretty...BEAUTIFUL flowers and I love the hummingbirds, too. Thank you for sharing!

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  21. Your garden is a dream Karen! You have so many beautiful masses of blooms that just make my heart smile! All of those pretty forget me nots and your stunning azaleas!!!! Thank you for taking us along for a tour! And a Happy Mothers Day to you!!! Your crew up there is beautiful!!! You are so blessed my friend....and you had them all in 5 years!!!! I thought mine were close together! What a joy!!!! I can not wait to hear about your new addition soon!! Wishing you a lovely Thursday! Nicole xoxo

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  22. I really like your natural looking flower beds, Karen! They integrate so well in the greater landscape of your gardens and surroundings and everything just seems to be in harmony with each other. I love the different daffodils and the Camassia, a "new to me" plant, has such a beautiful dainty flower. Your gardens are so lush and green, it is truly a joy to see them, especially when you are living, like me, in drought stricken Southern California. Thanks for the tour!
    Warm regards,
    Christina

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  23. I so loved seeing all your lovely wild flowers in your garden. All around where I live the wild flowers are blooming en mass as it's been so warm and wet. I'm hoping that our commune will delay coming to cut back all the banks along the edge of the lanes. I've warned my Mr France to leave ours, I love the wild flowers that grow in our garden and he likes all the edges neat and tidy, I'll have to lock his strimming machine in the shed.

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  24. Hi - my first visit to your blog, and what a lovely post to read and look at.

    Family is such a delight ...

    The Garden is such a delight ...

    Lovely photo's - thank you for sharing.

    All the best Jan

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  25. Oh my goodness, Karen, the only thing better than seeing these flowers, would be strolling along, in person, with you! It must be pure joy to your senses when you take your walks, no matter what time of the year. I so loved the rainbow pic towards the end. Thanks for the loveliness, my friend...sigh!

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  26. Your garden is gorgeous. I love the forget-me-not overflowing your flower bed.

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  27. Your children are so beautiful, my friend....just like you :) Thank you for a tour of your gloroius garden! Your blossoms are quite enchanting. Enjoy your day, dear Karen. Love and hugs!

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  28. You really are blessed to have such a beautiful and close family. Love all your beautiful blooms and the tool shed too.

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  29. Dear Karen, my friend, thank you for those wonderful pictures from your garden-paradise, wirth hummingbirds and peanut ;O)
    Lovey picture from your children too! It is wonderful to have them so close with you!
    Wishing you a lovely and blessed weekend, filled with love and hugs :O)
    Claudia xo

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  30. Dearest Karen,
    Lovely paradise you created with so much color from blooming plants. Your climate is just perfect for all those. How cute to see the two dachshunds in your garden; they must love to stroll outside.
    Glad you had a happy Mother's Day. Mine was kind of sad, my very first one without my Mom... There was a Mass in honor of Mom at my home town Church and we went here to Church, 6 hours later.
    Sending you hugs and blessings,
    Mariette

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  31. Such a wonderful picture of your children, wow you were a busy Momma weren't you, I bet that helps keep them close, although there is 8 years between my sister and myself and we are very close. Your garden looks wonderful, I bet it is so nice to walk though so peaceful, wonderful photo's!

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  32. Wonderful flowers and a lovely family!
    Have a beautiful weekend!

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  33. Your children and your gardens are so beautiful, thanks so much for sharing. I really enjoyed looking at your amazing flowers.

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  34. What a beautiful garden! The flowers are all so lovely, as are those hummers. We have just started seeing them at our feeder this week. But the best "flowers" in your garden are those beautiful children!!

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  35. Hi Karen,
    The photo of your sons and daughters-in-law is lovely, filled with joy and happiness! And your garden, the hummingbirds, and the rainbow ... Growing and thriving in your care!
    Have a wonderful week to come,
    Love from Nina

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  36. That little hummingbird sure was a great photo to take. And I love seeing your beautiful family. I have four sons and they are close in age...only 7 years apart. It was fun while they were growing up. Lots of playmates! Enjoy your evening sweet friend! Hugs, Diane

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  37. So, so lovely, Karen! The flowers are all beautiful! I loved the ones you have planted as well as the wildflowers. It was interesting learning about the Camassia! I always want to learn about edible plants! :-) The rainbow is gorgeous and how neat you were able to capture the hummingbird on the wing...that is so hard to do! Also greatly enjoyed seeing the photo of your beautiful/handsome children! You & your hubby are definitely blessed! I know you had a very happy Mother's Day!

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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