Hello Friends, with summer moving
so swiftly, I thought I would take
you on a little walk to meet my flowers
before it is too late!
As the sun was setting last evening, the clouds
were moving in and today we are
expecting showers.
I am happy about that, as it saves
me from watering!
So come along with me and we will
see what is blooming in my woodland gardens,
here in the foothills of the Cascade mountains
of Washington State.
Here we have Butterfly Bush,
against a backdrop of tall trees
with Tansy and Sedum in the foreground.
The garden is in the front - side of the house.
This Butterfly Bush is very old
and extremely fragrant, scenting
the whole property from one end to the other.
The Sedum has not 'colored' yet,
but it will soon turn a beautiful,
rosy hue.
The Butterfly Bush flowers are so large
and so strongly scented that I am not
able to bring them inside.
They make Ramblin' Man sneeze!
But the butterflies and hummingbirds love them!
And the snails seem to love the Tansy!
Another very strongly scented plant;
the leaves are gathered for drying
and used in herbal moth repellent sachets.
Nikko Blue Hydrangea blooms in front of the house.
It seems like they are right up against it, but
there is actually a picket fence behind them
and space for more gardens against the house
with a pathway in between.
On the other side of the house,
I have woodland Phlox blooming,
alongside more Nikko Blue Hydrangea.
I have just recently added these, and
they seem to like living under
the drooping boughs of the large Hemlock tree.
At their feet bloom creeping Campanella.
A large Bleeding Heart (not in bloom)
floats above.
The Hydrangea lives in the barrel planter.
Pink roses and blue hydrangea make a pretty combination.
I've added a birdbath, too.
There is a cement garden turtle inside,
as the birdbath is deep with slick sides.
The turtle allows any creatures to safely escape.
Next to the birdbath is the rose arbor.
A view from the back deck.
You can see the Hemlock tree
and how it dominates the garden.
I love this tree <3
Once, there was a young Mountain Lion
perched there, chased up the tree by my dogs.
I was standing beneath, giving sympathy,
as I thought it was a large, lost house-cat -
until it turned and looked at me with large, golden eyes
while its tail fell down - all three feet of it!
I quickly retreated to the house, bringing in the dogs,
and it eventually jumped down to join its mother.
Oh, my - its mother! I wonder where she was the whole time ?!
Yes, I live in a wild place!
The beautiful Rugosa Rose I planted
in memory of my parents.
Down in the back corner,
we have our fire-pit.
The forest lies beyond.
I've never been brave enough to
sit back here after dark,
but in the evenings it is lovely.
It sits in the corner of a large lawn,
bordered on both sides by woodlands,
with the house to the left and
the mountains and wilderness to the right,
beyond the viburnum hedge.
You can understand why I wouldn't want to
be here at night, although if the whole
family were with me, I wouldn't mind.
Even during the day, I am cautious....
Once I ventured out onto the deck
early one spring morning a few years ago,
to see a very large 'blonde' black bear
standing on his hind legs, trying to get over
the fence there. (Hidden by brush)
Both my cat and Whitey Bear saw it, too.
They flattened themselves onto the deck
and literally crawled back inside the house!
I knew if he got inside the fence, we might have
a big problem, so I ran in to wake Ramblin' Man.
But I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.....
I kept stuttering....B....Be......
finally I screamed, 'Bear!' and Ramblin' Man woke up
with a startled expression, grabbing his robe and slippers.
The only thing we could think of to do was to
grab some pot lids to bang together,
and so out we went, running and shouting,
banging those pot lids, and that poor bear
thought twice about hanging around!
By then, Whitey Bear and my other dog, Little Bear,
who was quite old at the time, decided to join us,
barking and growling hysterically.
We made quite a team and must have looked
hilarious! We never did see that bear again!
(Although I've seen others)
I do keep a large canister of bear spray with me
when I garden 'down back'.
I've planted some bright Black-Eyed Susan
along with Day-Lily (not blooming yet) in some
large tubs.
Tiger Lily blooms behind.
Here, Ramblin' Man holds one up to see.
Arched sections of fencing work beautifully
for staking.
I have fond memories of Tiger Lily growing
in my Mother's garden as a child.
These make a lovely combination.
I also planted orange Crocosmia alongside the lilies,
but they have not bloomed yet.
This is a rather wild little corner, with blackberries
bordering all.
In springtime I have Narcissus that bloom behind the lilies.
I would like to expand this garden with more bright flowers.
This area gets lovely sunshine.
Perhaps sunflowers and more lilies for next year.
Lots of berries to snack on!
xoxo
I hope you enjoyed meeting some of my flowers,
Dear Friends, and hearing my crazy
wilderness stories.
We are always reminded that we are simply
temporary guests
and that this land truly belongs to nature.
We try to coexist peacefully and respectfully,
and our motto is 'Do No Harm'.
xoxo
"I have a garden of my own
But so with roses overgrown,
And lilies, that you would it guess
To be a little wilderness."
- Andrew Marvell -
Occasional Poems (1681)
