Sharing Nature's Garden Archives | Page 53 of 124

Playing hide and seek in the garden

This amazing moth made an appearance around our Datura the other night – entranced by the sweet scent of the white trumpet-shaped blooms. In the dark, my DH and I both watched it fluttering around.

When I first heard it close by, I thought it might be a hummingbird, but then I caught a full-moon lit glimpse and realized it was a huge moth.

Then yesterday a giant thing blew by my head while I was out pruning, and lo and behold it was our moth. I raced to get the camera, expecting it to be long gone by the time I returned.

Happily it was not. I climbed on a chair to get a closer look and took her portrait.

One of my twitter tweeps thought it might be a leopard moth. I haven’t been able to ID it yet — what do you think?

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:13-05:00August 29th, 2010|Blog, datura, moth, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Gardening that’s not gardening…

It’s been too darn hot to garden — even for me. Temperatures hit 107 more than once in the last week and it’s just oppressive.

And, between the heavy blanket of heat and the start of school, I haven’t blogged either.

I’m feeling a little disconnected, and looking for ways to get back into some semblance of a routine. Know what I mean? It happens to all of us sometime — things are just out of sorts.

Last night I went with a group of friends to “Painting with a Twist.” It’s a group painting class — they offer a different painting each evening and an instructor guides you from start to finish. Like Bob on the old PBS series — remember that? I know you watched it! We all did.

So last night we painted “Dancing Sunflowers” which isn’t based on a famous painting, but rather a composite that they offer.

We brought food and wine. We laughed and we talked, and we painted!

No surprise that I voted that we go on a night with a garden theme – I did that when I painted pottery past year as well. Guess it’s my “thing” when I’m being creative, even in other mediums.

I was pretty happy with my final painting, and it’s now hanging on my wall. It’s there to remind me of all the beautiful things in my garden, even when I’m not outside to enjoy them.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:26-06:00August 26th, 2010|Blog, painting, Sharing Nature's Garden, sunflowers|0 Comments

Blooming in spite of August…

Maggie Roses keep each other company.

Ok.

It’s hot. Dang hot.

But they’re still going and so am I!

This is a cooler summer than the last two summers have been. We’ve enjoyed lower temperatures and much more rain than we normally have. But not too much rain, like 3 years ago!

So my garden is pretty happy this Bloom Day. Carol, of May Dreams Gardens, invites us to share what’s blooming in our gardens on the 15th of every month so we can share and compare and contrast with what’s going on all around the world.

Sapphire Showers Duranta leans down to mingle with Sedum Autumn Joy.

So, here are some of my blooms. Some things are not as full of blooms because they’re used to the blazing heat and drought.

Love Lies Bleeding

My Amaranth, a passalong from Phillip, of East Side Patch, is 4 feet tall and just sprouted a lovely bloom. I’m hoping for many more blooms trailing over soon!

Grandpa Ott Morning Glory

Plumeria

The Plumeria were stunning last month, but they are coming to the end of their bloom cycle now. This is the last bloom on my three plants.

Cypress Vine

The Cypress Vine looks pretty here. But what you’re not seeing here is how it has taken over the vegetable garden and is trying to choke out the tomato plants, the pepper plants, the strawberries … you get the idea!

Trailing Lantana

Datura

Esperanza

The Esperanza is bursting with blooms all around the pool area.

Mandevilla

Clematis Jackmanii

Buddleia

I love the look of this Crape Myrtle next to the Ruby Crystals grass flowing in the breeze.

Angel Wing Begonia

I love how this beautiful plant from my good friend looks in the pot by the front door.

Homestead Verbena

This is the verbena that was supposed to be the wonderful deep purple but it turned out to be white.

Senorita Rosalita Cleome

Moy Grande Hibiscus

The fabulous big-as-your-head hibiscus is performing up to it’s reputation again this year.
Dianthus
Can you believe that these dianthus all around the walk way up to the front door, planted last November, are still blooming? I’ve lost a few to the heat, but boy, are they hearty.

Yarrow – Paprika

One of many different colors of Lantana around the gardens.

Sedum Autumn Joy

Blackfoot Daisy

And, last but never least, the ever xeric Blackfoot Daisy. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking!

Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – what’s blooming in your garden today?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:26-06:00August 15th, 2010|blackfoot daisies, Blog, Crape Myrtle, duranta, GBBD, grass, maggie rose, Moy Grande hibiscus, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

How to cool off in the heat wave…

The Texas heat has followed us to Indiana. The big heat wave of the Midwest has seen uncharacteristic heat indices of 105-110.

While we’re avoiding actual temps of 100 in Austin, it feels that hot or more here. But after we leave, the heat wave is expected to break and temperatures here will be in the upper 80s.

Sadly, we’ll be gone by then.

Everything is looking for a way to cool off. Yesterday we watched as hundreds of beautiful butterflies found their way to the creek to get a drink. I wish I knew what kind of butterflies these were – they were all over the white and red clover in the pasture.
These swallowtails loved wallowing in the mud.
And Ed the dog went to lie down in the creek, lapping up a nice drink of water while he cooled off.
He’s in the creek about 3-4 times a day – smart enough to know when to cool down in the heat. He showed up at the farm after a long journey last May when we were here. He was lost or abandoned. I believe he was sent as a gift — at a time when the love and companionship of a wonderful dog was the answer to a prayer.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:14-05:00August 11th, 2010|Blog, butterflies, creek, dogs, Ed, farm, Indiana, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

High tea and Hosta happiness…

What a delight.

After a busy morning of garden oggling and riding to and fro on the bus while at Buffa10 in July, we got a wonderful break.

We were treated to high tea in bone china cups, home made scones with clotted cream and jam, and a delightful visit with gardener and author Mike Shadrack and Kathy Guest Shadrack at their home in the woods outside Buffalo.

Mike is co-author of The New Encyclopedia of Hostas, and several other books about hostas. He signed books for those of us who bought them and entertained us with some tales about his life and garden.

This garden was an oasis. Though it was a hot day, the setting there was serene and cool as we were surrounded by tall trees, green ferns and hostas. A sparkling creek trickled below the wooden deck and even flowed under the Frank Lloyd Wright-style house.

Like ladies of leisure (and gents), we sat in the dappled shade and enjoyed our tea and scones, feeling pampered and special on this lovely afternoon. Pam of Digging, Melissa of Houston Garden Girl and I had a great time chatting over tea.

The deck overlooking the creek far below was the perfect spot for relaxing and comparing notes from the gardens of the day.

One of Mike’s specialties is miniature hostas — they look so cool and inviting — I can’t help but wonder if I might not be able to grown them in Texas and just bring them inside in the heat of summer!
The views from all around the property were spectacular.
And more miniature hostas scattered all about. What a fun collection this is.
And the Alliums were staring at me everywhere I turned. You may remember I was smitten with them at last year’s Spring Fling in Chicago. After we returned, I tried for the second time to grow them in my garden, but they fried when the sun really came out. Even these spent blooms were calling me in the garden.
It was hard to know where to look – the beautiful tall canopy of lush trees or the little magical secret gardens that adorned the bases.
I posted many blooms from this garden, particularly day lilies, in my previous post about the flowers that struck me most in our adventures.
And yet more little vignettes of hostas to delight the eyes.
No stone left unturned in this garden – there were little green surprises everywhere.

I jokingly suggested to Jim, one of our Buffalo hosts, that we could spend the rest of the day and the evening under those glorious trees in the shade, and just order in pizza! He laughed, but I could see that he, too, liked the idea of spending more time in this glorious garden.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:26-06:00August 9th, 2010|African hosta, alliums, Blog, Buffa10, Buffalo, day lilies, hostas, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Favorite Flowers From Buffalo

Buffalo was an explosion of garden goodness – beautiful gardens just bursting with wall-to-wall flowers.

I was so in awe of the waves and waves of plants that each gardener turned into a collage of color.
But in many of the gardens, I was struck by one particular plant – one bloom, one leaf, one, singular item whose beauty, form or color just blew me away.
I’m really not going to try to name these, my favorites. But I do remember that this one above is a twist-leaf Dahlia — yes, a Dahlia. I was shocked, and spent some time with the gardener in Mary’s Garden, marvelling at this plant.
The dark and mysterious lilies drew me in the Shadrock garden.
And I couldn’t forget the amazing Hydrangeas we saw all over — made even more interesting to me because they are too elusive for us in Austin, Texas.

I’m all about the exotic forms, too, especially this pretty little thing at Lockwood’s Greenhouses Garden Center.
And this spicy number really caught my eye at the Erie Basin Marina University Test Gardens.
Loving Tropicals like I do, I was smitten with this orchid at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.
Many of the gardens were dotted with colorful Crocosmia, another of my all-time favorites.
Love the purple foliage on this little orange piece of sunshine at the Urban Roots nursery.
And you’ve seen these before in a previous Buffa10 post, but they are so darn perky I had to give them a second time down the runway!