Poppy Time!

I have many fat and hairy poppy buds in the garden inspiring me to paint them. My cherry blossom weasel painting sold and I miss it so I painted a poppy weasel. I also noticed that peonies are opening. Suddenly there is so much to paint!

Penny Harvest

I harvested this wonderful old penny yesterday while digging in the garden. The house was built in 1907 so the coin may have been in the ground ever since. Henry and I spent an exciting few minutes with Google hoping we had found something rare before figuring out that an 1897 Indian Head is worth about a dollar. Oh well. This means that we get to keep it as an archeological treasure and a bit of local history.

Ouch!

A "gardener's smile" to celebtrate the season. I bet I am not the first gardener to forget to apply sunscreen here.

Camouflage

A sunny holiday weekend is a great time to take a nap in the garden. It helps if you are well camouflaged.

Serendipity

Where did this Fringe cup come from? It has volunteered to grace my garden with its funny fringy-ness and its weird lime green brightness. I almost weeded it out this spring but the heuchera-like leaves looked so intentional that I left it. It is native to the Seattle area and I have seen its cousins growing in the woods around here. I am wondering if I planted it...Am I the only gardener who can't remember what I have planted? If you are a kind friend who gave this to me, please forgive me forgetting and know that I am enjoying it. If a kind bird dropped the seed in a perfect spot in the front of my perennial bed, thank you serendipity.

Goodbye Tulips

What could be more delicious than this late flowering tulip. I photographed it just before the weekend heat wave finished it off. It reminds me of my favourite ice cream, sadly no longer being made - Godiva white chocolate raspberry ripple.

Good bye tulip season. Hello summer!

High School Plant Sale

My daughter's high school, Nova, had a festival and plant sale yesterday. The school includes organic gardening for biology credit - just one of the wonderful and unusual things offered by this very alternative public school. Fire spinning and fancy hoolahoop tricks are also part of the phys ed program. (I have blurred out the kids because I am cautious about putting their faces on the internet.) One of these pics shows the hurdy gurdy players who entertained us while we shopped for plants.





I was shown around the school garden or "farm" by a couple of knowledgeable kids. We couldn't identify these two plants though. Some kind of acanthus type thing and some kind of pea type thing. Any ideas anyone?

Peas and an Ambush

Henry and I planted these peas on President's Day at the end of February and they seem to be enjoying the unseasonably cool weather. The cats, on the other hand, are sun lovers like me and are waiting for the sunshine. In the meantime they keep busy by wrestling in the garden and vying for center stage whenever I try to take photos.

Happy Mother's Day

These violas were grown from seed given to me on Mother's Day last year by my children and their dad. They are sweet and make me happy - both the violas and the people. I am lucky indeed.
I am thinking of my own mother with whom I will spend the day tomorrow, and my sister who is a wonderful mother to her young boys. And I am thinking of my dear friend's mother whom I just visited who is having a very sad time. So much love and emotion associated with mothers...