Vacation Highlights

8/3/14

Buffalo/Erie County Botanical Gardens

     My family and I just returned from a driving vacation through New York  state.  I wanted to share some of the sights we saw on our trip.  We stopped at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Garens.  The photo above shows the Victorian conservatory opened in 1900.  It was designed by Lord & Burnham, and the design was based on the famous Crystal Palace in Kew Gardens Palm House in England.  It is a national historic sight and is incorporated into a Frederick Law Olmstead-designed park.

     The cacti and succulent collection (which I will detail in another post) was my favorite among all the collections at the botanical gardens, which included palms, ivy, bonsai, medicinal plants, orchids, tropical plants, epiphytes, ancient rainforest plants, a rose garden, a shrub and perennial garden, and a children's garden.

A Penwiper plant, part of the succulent collection.

     We visited the Corning Glass Museum, where they have items from at least 400 BC to today.  I did not realize there were so many kinds of glass:  painted glass, etched glass, stained glass, and more.  We saw plates, bowls, glasses, windows, tables, chandeliers, paperweights, eyeglasses, jewelry, sculptures, bottles, vases and much more all made out of glass.

A painted drinking glass.

A modern glass sculpture.

Another stop was Niagara Falls, roaring with power.

A Maid of the Mist boat takes poncho-clad passengers up to the base of the falls.

We took a cruise on the still-navigable Erie Canal.

We went through two locks on our cruise on the Erie Canal.

Another stop was at the sight of the renowned 1969 Woodstock music festival.

The hill where the festival attendees viewed the stage, which was on the left corner of this photo.

On the way home we stopped in Philadelphia to see the Liberty bell.

While in Philadelphia we also toured Independence Hall.

     It was a very enjoyable vacation.  Next post I show you what was going on in my gardens while we were on our trip.

Midsummer Blooms in the Back Yard

7/13/14

The Asiatic lilies finally opened!  Here they stand between the hosta and cosmos blooms.

A close-up of a lily.

Now that the tulips are gone, I added some begonias under the pink dogwood tree.

My large deck pots are lush with blooms.  Here is a pot of tuberose begonias.

Another deck pot of New Guinea impatiens.

My favorite pot of standard impatiens.  I realize this is a no-no to plant because of the fungus that is wiping them out, but I couldn't resist.

This is a railing pot of diascia, a favorite flower of mine.

I have some red and white begonias in another pot.

Petunias are another favorite flower that graces my deck.

This coleus needs some water.

I was finally able to catch one of the resident foxes with my camera, trotting across my driveway in the middle of the day.  We usually see them at dusk.

Not long after the fox visit, three deer went through the yard and crossed the street.  It was a day busy with wildlife

     There is a toad that has suddenly started to sit at my back sliding glass door each night.  The dog doesn't know what to make of it, and she just walks around it and barks at it.  I will try to take a photo of it soon.

     Our family will be leaving for a week long vacation next weekend to New York state.  I hope to bring some great photos back to share with you.

Garden Growth On The Fourth of July

7/4/14

seashells cosmos

     In the back yard garden there is a pause between spring and fall blooms.  The seashells cosmos that reseeded are one of the few plants that are blooming.  The following photos show what else is blooming there.

The hostas are all blooming.

There are still some blooms on the hellebores.

The Asiatic lilies have still refused to show their blooms, although I have seen some blooming in the neighborhood.

I added solar lights all along the perimeter of the garden.

In the garden surrounding the electrical box, the milkweed  are blooming, and I hope for some monarch caterpillars this year.

The daisies in front of the electrical box are in full bloom.

In the full sun side yard garden the zinnias are producing a riot of colorful flowers.

Although the daisies by the electrical box are blooming, the ones in the side garden that the deer/rabbits ate, are finally recovering under my netting, but no blooms yet.

The under-the-netting balloon flowers that were also eaten are recovering nicely and are starting to bloom.

The oriental fountain grass "Karley Rose" is beautiful now.

     In our area it is a delightful day with plenty of sunshine, breezes, and low humidity.  Hope everyone has a joyful fourth, with good food and fireworks.

Lots Happening

6/15/14

back yard garden

     There is a lot of growth going on in my back yard garden and in the plants that surround the electrical box.  Here are some photos of what is growing in the back yard garden.

The roses have suddenly burst into bloom.

The astilbe have flowered.

The Asiatic lilies are set to open soon.

Brightening the area under the pink dogwood is the ghost fern.

My  hardy begonias have made their appearance.  It looks like they are spreading with lots of tiny new leaves away from the originals.  Their lovely pink flowers will arrive in August.

The seashells cosmos reseeded from last years planting.  For some reason, I have never had cosmos reseed until this year.  Hard to believe they survived the brutal winter we had.

A new garden angel graces the back yard garden.

The plants that surround the electrical box are growing rapidly.  Daisies are in the front with the tall  milkweed behind them.

Here is a photo of the back of the box when the scotch broom bushes were in bloom a week ago.

The milkweed plants in front of the box are just about to open.

     We have only had a few hot days so far.  And even though we had flooding rains again all week, this weekend was dry with low humidity and gorgeous sunshine.  But this week the forecasters say we will have a string of 90 degree days.  That's fine with me.  I like hot summer days.

Lots Of Growing Going On

6/1/14

side yard garden

     During the week that I was gone visiting family in Las Vegas, Nevada, my gardens were filling in nicely.  My side yard garden seemed to have a growth spurt.  It gets the most sun of any of my gardens.  The purple-blue "midnight" salvia is the star of the garden right now. In front of the salvia are the annuals I planted, yellow marigolds and pink petunias. Following are some photos of other growth that is occurring in my side yard garden.







   

coneflower

     While the coneflower plants are still growing and are  not yet at normal height, I found a small bloom beneath them all.

Japanese iris

    
     Here is one of the blooms on the Japanese iris.

oriental fountain grass

     The oriental fountain grass "Karley Rose" is finally greening up.

digitalis

     I can't wait to see the blooms on the digitalis plants.  A friend gave me three of these last fall.

butterfly bush

     My butterfly bush was damaged by the brutally cold winter.  It has a lot of dead branches, but new growth is coming up from the bottom.

zinnias

     I planted these zinnia seeds at least three weeks ago.   They have been very slow to grow because of the very cool May weather.

lavender

     The lavender is just about to burst into bloom.

     There is lots of growing going on in my electric garden and in my backyard garden which I will tell you about in another post.  Also in a future post I will show you photos of a very spectacular park we visited while in Nevada.