tulips

FRIDAY FLOWERS: THE TULIPS

By |2019-05-02T20:44:37-04:00May 2, 2019|8 McDowell, Color, Friday Flowers, Garden|

Tulips
My very favorite flower.

Princess Irene

This was not my best year for tulips. I think the warm winter didn’t allow them time to fully develop: some of them came up quickly, were short and stumpy, or had flower heads that were much too heavy and large for the stem. Not sure.
However, yes, I did get some really nice shots of those that flowered and put on quite a show!

The next four shots are
Tulip Blumex Favorite from Wayside Gardens

 

 

 

Ok, I have to admit, they were pretty stunning! And mixed in there is the
Triumph Princess Irene from Terra Ceia.

 

These next three pictures are
Sensual Touch from Burpee

 

 

These bloomed very late, well after all the others, and were definitely stunted in growth. Short stems with bulbous flower heads….not quite what I had been expecting! But yes, they make great photo subjects.

Here are some […]

FRIDAY FLOWERS: AROUND THE VILLAGE

By |2016-04-21T20:39:22-04:00April 21, 2016|Friday Flowers|

This is one very inviting and clever sign, just asking you to join  in…
The Roost
is the place to be several evenings a week in my village: music, craft beer, hand made pizza and always lots of friends.

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I love these white azaleas in part of the outdoor space: the double flowers are spectacular:

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And in another, totally different part of the village:

One of my favorite morning walk routes takes me by this old, old family cemetery. It’s especially nice with just the right morning light.

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Back at home and the fading tulips:

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This was just before they really faded; I love that the pink Encore Azalea bloomed at just the same time.

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I’ll be visiting with my favorite young lady, aka daughter, this weekend so you can expect some Instagram updates. Things are getting busy around here so I’ll be popping in and out on the blog! See you soon.

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SUNDAY BEST

By |2016-04-03T16:53:04-04:00April 3, 2016|8 McDowell, Color, Garden|

As I write this, the weekend is almost over.

Let me share with you some of my “Sunday Best”: the small and large things that happened around here this weekend!

First, daughter arrived and is here for three days. That is always
A L W A Y S
a good thing.

Prepping before going out to do some shopping. Mother/daughter shopping is one of life’s finest experiences I have found. My daughter and I just get along. We have fun together (as you have seen from our various trips and travels…)

E and me

Second, I entertained thirty four women on Saturday morning for our monthly women’s group. This is the third year I have hosted the group the first Saturday in April and it is no coincidence that my tulips in the front garden are at their peak this week.

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I’m liking the display this year, but you know, I think there is something missing in here. I wish I had planted some lavender tulips, or perhaps a deep purple/black. It needs some oomph and more color. But that is exactly why I pullout all my tulips every year and start again for the next season. Part […]

FRIDAY FLOWERS: SPRINGTIME

By |2015-04-02T18:59:04-04:00April 2, 2015|Friday Flowers|

 

First came the daffodils, those cheery harbingers of spring!
I have a huge selection of various kinds and most of them came with the house. Here I mixed them with the hellebore foetidus in a crystal vase.

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Next came the hyacinths, here in the vase made by my sister…

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And now, the tulips! My favorite flower. It is very rare indeed to see planted tulips here in North Carolina: most people feel the winter is too short and mild to produce quality tulips. This is true…..sort of. My tulips are never as tall or grand as they would be up North, but never mind, they are there, in my garden and that is what counts.

Here we have Wildhof white; actually a creamy off white that was the first to bloom. If you follow the link and take a look, they appear so much whiter than in reality. I think they are my favorite white/cream tulip to date!

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And here is the first of my

FRIDAY FLOWERS

By |2015-03-19T21:12:21-04:00March 19, 2015|Friday Flowers, It's Local, Shopping|

Ok… Let’s see if this post comes up just fine for everyone, shall we?

Believe it or not, I, and about three other people, have been working each and every day for over a week to get this blog up and running. No, you do not want to know the problems. In fact, there were so many problems and they changed and morphed so quickly that is has been very difficult to begin to fix them.

So let’s open with a fresh, spring, colorful image I took the other day. The tulips are “store bought” (Trader Joe’s) as mine are just
6″ high and won’t be flowering for about another three weeks.

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I am loving this wonderful green, tin tray I bought last weekend.

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This I had posted on Instagram they day I bought the green tray:

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Local people, you really should take a trip over to Apex (or Raleigh) to
Two Old Birds
 The Apex store is in a former gas station which just makes it all the more interesting. It’s fabulous! Lots and lots of goodies. They are also a dealer for
Annie […]

FRIDAY FLOWERS

By |2015-01-22T20:26:00-05:00January 22, 2015|Friday Flowers|

January is the month for Paperwhites in my house. Christmas is over, all the holiday greens are gone, and the paperwhite bulbs that I started in December are in full bloom. I know there are people out there who don’t like (or can’t stand?) the scent of these delicate flowers….but in our house they are a winter mainstay.

IMG_5544_wm From the top down…

 

IMG_6764_wm About two weeks after being planted, they seem happy!

 

Remember these? I had done a post and tutorial on
how to force Paperwhite Narcissus.

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And, last but not least, some tulips that have been brightening my kitchen for the last week. It’s been warm and (sort of) gardening weather here and I can already see about 1″ of green above the ground… daffodils and even tulips wanting to emerge! We will certainly have cold weather again but it’s so wonderful to see the first signs of growth.

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See you next week with some fun new products!

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