Driving

One of the delights of living in an established area is the old fashioned plants I see while en route. On my way to nearby Harbor Beach for breakfast I saw a fabulous row of mock oranges which reminded me of the bushes around Grandma Harding's back porch. The smell in the summer was amazing. I've planted several bushes up here; I'm enjoying their growth and the few blossoms that appear even though they are still very young. There's also the grandest Weigela bush I've ever seen along the road. I have a good sized Weigela bush that was a volunteer back in R.O. This year it should look nice - but not anywhere as nice as the one below.

For the first time one of my transplanted peony divisions bloomed. Again, I left the established plants back in R.O. and just took a small division. Peonies are not difficult to transplant despite rumors to the contrary.

Years ago I took a garden tour in B'ham/Bloomfield Hills and borrowed a poppy pod. I was hoping for more diversity in the seedlings but these 'mauve' flowers are lovely anyway.

Most digitalis (foxgloves) leave me less than enthusiastic; they are not long lived and are what I call picky eaters. However, my digitalis ambigua are amazing; they are survivors and self-sow. They only come in cream color but are lovely looking plants and the flowers are really nice. These are still in the bud stage but are attractive nonetheless.

 

Traffic is not a problem up here.

Main Street Harbor Beach

 

I've tried to photograph my sage flowers but blue seems to be a difficult color to get right. This one below comes close.

 

I love the annual Cleome - aka spider lilies although they are not even distantly related to lilies. I'm hoping this is a good "before" shot and the "after" shot will knock socks off. I stay away from annuals unless they self-sow and/or are spectacular. Time will tell.

I haven't had a real garden for years. The soil here sucks big time. Because of heavy equipment I wasn't able to plant until most of the work on the addition was completed - it's still not completely done but at least I finally got some seeds in the ground. With luck they won't have to be disturbed. Beans -yellow and green, Zucchini, also yellow and green, Swiss chard, winter squash, radishes to mark rows, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbages, carrots, tomatoes (of course) - time, again, will tell. At least they're up. Now we watch for rabbits, deer, etc.

 

Clicking on photos enlarges them.