A few July RU photos!

Even though we missed some people and wished John and Liza had felt well enough to come, we had a lovely time. This first pic is a mini-group shot but a few people were missing at the point when it was taken....

Post your photos here!

Sherrie and Mr. G. - who made his DG debut as a very well-behaved and awesome dog - chatting with Frank 65's DW, Bonnie, and Robindog.

Nutsfordaylily, A Yankee Cat and Pixie62560 walked around the gardens after lunch.

A surprise(!!) birthday cake - which was a work of art which rivaled Kate & Will's wedding cake, if truth be told - and some special presents were a really lovely and thoughtful part of the day for me! Here are the DG gals, including little "Maddison With Two D's", Flowajen's very well-behaved and adorable young gardener with the birthday festivities. Pixie and Brian delivered this beautiful confection all the way from Maine!

Lots of relaxing conversation in front of the fireplace....

It looks like Bill is eyeing your rock wall in the last one - trying to figure out how he can grab a few without anyone noticing ;)

Bailey and Carli made a late afternoon appearance at the request of Maddison. OneWish1 and Maddison played with them and got good kisses in return!

Oh yeah, Songs, don't worry - he was shopping in our back woods and found some potential turtle stones.

More chatting - we moved as the sun moved, so we could all find some shade!

"Cuppatea" was ready for people to stop and take a break for a quiet moment on the garden walk......

"Bess Ross" provided her first bloom ever for the occasion!

"Indian Giver" (an RU gift from Pixie62560 in 2008) opened her first bloom for the day as well....

Sweet

Gorgeous color - is it really that purple?

All of the food everyone brought was delicious!! The Plant Swap was also terrific as always....everyone walked away with some very nice additions to the gardens!

Yes! I love it!

Thanks for sharing the day with us. Looks like an especially nice gathering. And cake too. Sorry I couldn't get there. Patti

looks like alot of fun today. Maddison is adorable!

We really missed you, Patti...next time, hopefully! You are always welcome to come by on your way back and forth!

Lucy - we'd love to get you and your Mom to an RU one day too!

I'm thinking the same thing. Tomorrow I have a horse show this this year was out.

Nice pics, Louise. So glad I got the opportunity to come and see old friends and meet new ones. Thanks to all from whom I got plants and to everyone who brought food. Everything was great. Dad had a wonderful time, even though he really doesn't remember. I think he remembers we went to someone's house in NH, but that's about it.

After leaving we went to Harmon Hill Farm in Hudson, NH right by Nashua. It took just over an hour and a half, but it was a nice drive with lots of great scenery. We passed a few yard sales on the way that I wished we had time to stop at. The daylily fields were in full bloom, and absolutely gorgeous. Dad and I wandered around at our leisure, and I took, quite a few photos.

Carl Harmon was very nice, and I enjoyed chatting with him. He gave me permission to post my pics from his place online. I bought a bunch of nice daylilies from him, and I was thrilled that he gave me good sized clumps on nearly all of them, at least 4 or more fans. Haven't had a chance to count them in each clump, just remember looking at them in wonder at how generous he was. I will certainly buy from him again.

On the way home we stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel, so we didn't get home till about 10:45.

I am uploading my pics now and will post some when I'm done.

Thanks, Louise and Hank, for all you're hospitality.

Karen

Thanks for the pix Louise.

here are my pics.. I slacked with the camera yesterday
https://picasaweb.google.com/AllisonNJ71/71711LouiseSRU?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Thanks for the pix Allison.
I love Louises place. Great DL's

Wow, Allison! Those were great pics! I think having the RU in July instead of the fall was a good call so there are some blooms. We were lucky to have such a beautiful day too! Hank and I love sharing our little spot with gardeners especially, because they really relate to the nature surrounding us. It was so pleasant for us to enjoy sharing some time and conversation with each of you. We will do it in July again when the rest of you can come and relax with us too.

here is the portulaca in that basket for Celeste
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260766664884&ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:US:1123
and the blue thunbergia
http://www.selectseeds.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/003328.2.4033226057012010798

You slacked? This was the first RU I didn't "hide" behind the lens. :) I took 3 pictures of her flowers, a few of her opening her gifts and Brian took a few group shots. Thats it!!

I love my basket!!! That blue is stunning!!!! I hope I don't kill it!!!!!!

I was hoping they were going to be further along.. but might be my lack of full sun effecting the growth.. hopefully it will like a sunny spot by you better

:)

I left Maine yesterday for AZ otherwise I'd have loved to come looks like a great time, beautiful gardens and nice to put the faces to the names :)

Love your photos, Allison.

Here is Frank and his DW Bonnie.

Karen

Monarda with Louise's bird house from Bill.

Karen

Siloam Double Classic. Sorry, Louise, I didn't get a chance to dig my clump for you. Mine hardly ever looks like yours.

Karen

View of the house with that great flag.

Bill's raffle prize...

Marilyn (Robindog) talking with Frank and Bonnie.

Karen, can you remind me of the name of the hosta you brought? It is different from any we have and I appreciate it very much! I have planted so far: the huge purple clump from Celeste (planted it last night in the moonlight so the flowers wouldn't crash), Memory's thornless blackberry and Celeste's New Hampshire Heaven and anemone. The sun is out pretty hot right now, so I'm inside for a break! We are both still on a high talking about all of you yesterday. Hank has also developed quite a fondness for you folks, and he is very perceptive in "getting" who you are. He really gets it!! So nice for us!

Bill, Hank said to thank you for the gift of that nice chair. LOL He wants to know how you fold it up so we can lock it inside our shed for the next time we see you here. hahahahahaha!

Oh yeah, Celeste - what was the name of that daylily that I had incorrectly labeled a Siloam out by my garden? You recognized it right away and I want to get it labeled correctly. Thanks a lot!

Dad

Very nice shots, Karen! You are as good at photography as you are at gardening!

That hosta is Striptease. Sorry I forgot to make a tag for it, apparently. I'm glad you like it and didn't already have it. It doesn't like too much sun.

Thanks for the compliments on my photography. I consider myself a professional quality amateur. I've had many years of practice and studying books on technique, exposure, etc. Always use manual mode so I can set the exposure to how I want it.

Oh, I just realized I don't think I got the thornless blackberry from Memory. Did I? I still have not unloaded my car or even taken my shower yet. Didn't wake up till 10 this morning. Got home close to 11, and didn't get to bed till around 1, I think. I got plenty of sleep, though, but I'm slow getting going this morning. I have a lot to plant, and I bet it's hot out there. Ugh!

I drank at least 4 or 5 bottle of water yesterday and am still dehydrated. Apparently a person who weighs as much as I do needs a lot more water than the average weight person does to keep hydrated. I really have to lose a lot of weight, and one of these days I'll get motivated enough to crack down on myself to do it.

Here's that daylily, Louise.

Full sun shots give you correct color, though bright overcast days are some of the best for nice soft looking photos without any contrast from shadows. Though our eyes can see detail in shade and sunlight both at the same time, the camera cannot. You have to expose for one or the other. When exposing for bright light, you get darkness in the shadows. When exposing for shadows you get overexposure in the sunlight. It's hard to get a good compromise. That's why I prefer overcast days for photography.

Another shot of the Mondarda 'Scarlet'. I really like this one.

Karen