And this one's for the patio. It is always nice and sunny here at the flowerpot cafe so plantgeek, blossom, candee and all of you who are tired of the rain, this is the place to go LoL
The Flowerpot Cafe'
rain... we are supposed to be in for a deluge but the last two days it has been -2C frost & sunshine.
I am shivering at the keyboard & I think it is time to crawl into bed & warm up.
Most of the garden looks to be surviving for now but winter has just started & it will get colder before spring arrives.
At least it kills the bugs.
LOL Yes, I know about bugs. They are beggining to wake up in waves here, little bitey ones that get ya when you are busy up on a ladder slopping paint around. I'm sure I look pretty silly swatting at things no one sees.
OMG! The skeeters are out here with a vengence from all the rain, but the good news is is that the dragon flies hatched too and they are going after them left and right! We are seeing gazillions of the dragons!
We were playing in the bog yesterday and holy cow, dint realize poison ivy even grows in water. Just hoping we dont see any snakes or that will surely ruin my summer! I can handle the poison ivy, but snakes, no waaaay. They send me to the laundry mat instantly scrubbing my drawes!
What lovely arrangements soils! I love the m both!
The finches are still at the birch seed. We are seeing close to 100 now,
Last night we saw a beautiful deer. I think she may have had a baby nearby, but we did not see it. SHe was a lovely reddish buckskin white tail. Too bad I can never get close enough to them to get a pic. Drat.
I did this yesterday for garden club. The theme was an arrangement that could be a wedding bouquet.
Peonies, kale with outer leaves pulled off to leave just the centers, white stock, blue delphinium, sea holly, pink veronica, amaranthus, and purple alium.
I got 1st place! Okay, there were only 2 entries. LOL
With the leftover flowers I did these breakaway arrangements.
Love them girls!!
Well, I am off to the GPS4
Beautiful posies!
Lovely arrangements. I can see why you got first place it does remind me of a wedding bouquet. Very full and fresh.
Dianne thanks for your contributions to the cafe that one with the lilies is my favorite, loven the colors.
Hey BB we saw a doe drop a baby yesterday in the field. It was the first time I had ever seen such a thing. She was out in the middle of the field and then suddenly started spinning in a circle and out he popped and immediately made his way to the woods. Momma continued to eat at the corn stalks?
And for those snakes. We were at the cabin this weekend and haven't seen any blacksnakes for a couple seasons. Well we returned from the creek and there was one stretched out right in front of the front door on the porch. He got away and now will have to be careful on the next trip up case he is still around eating mice and such.
What a treat that must have been, witnessing the birth of a deer. And snakes viviting too!
Yes it was quite a site to behold not something I will likely see again. Took the day off today thought I would bring in something fresh for the cafe as I haven't brought anything for a while.
Astillbe finally the coffee grounds have given them new life and they are finally flowering, and gypsophilia gone crazy this year and sundrops and valerian.
Taken from the top
Haighr, how awesome! We saw a young buck yesterday and have several deer holding up in our woods. Just about every nite we go out to watch them. Been looking for babies, but no such luck. But did see two lovely does. An older one and probably her yearling baby.
Beautiful flowers!
OMG... no snakes allowed! Me and snakes are not the best of buddies! LOL!
I best be watching my containers for them... It has turned humid here and I am sure the sneaky slitherers will be finding refuge in them one day for sure. They always do. YUK!
NOTE TO SELF: Remember that when houseplants come back indoors! NO SNAKES! .....OR OTHER PESTS for that matter!
NOTE TO SNAKES....go vivit GEEK! please leave the froggies alone!
Beautiful flowers. I've never had good luck growing astilbes but I was putting in tiny plugs. I'm going to put some larger plants in this year and give them another go.
How amazing to see that deer born! And then the mama eating away while baby went off. Wow.
Seeing a fawn drop into the world sounds wonderful. It always amazes me how quickly baby animals are on their feet. My favorites are the spring lambs. In no time at all they are frisking about and playing.
I have been busy trying to keep the starlings from nesting on the front and back porch. They make a horrid mess. I use the garden hose and keep knocking the nests down before they can get it built to chase them away to another location. This year they discovered the little used porch on the side of the house that I only use when I take out the trash on Sunday nights...and since the nest is already completed I don't have the heart to knock it down.
I think a pair of hummingbirds has a nest in the ivy along the breezeway. I can't see it but they keep disappearing into the same area with little bits of stuff. So maybe we will have baby hummers this year.
Well, the sun is shining and Pyxle is tugging at my sleeve so I suppose it is time to take her to the park for her daily run. Have a great day everyone!
Haighr - that is a lovely arrangement, bright & cheerful:)
I really like your vase, can you tell me a little about the thing in the top holding the flower stems.
Like what do you call one of those & where do you get them?
Did it come with that vase?
cheers - Dalfyre
Yeppers, all snakes welcome here. Saves me the trouble of dealing with solicitors.
How wonderful to have hummers nesting nearby. Those eggs are soooooooooo small.
Great arraingement Candee!
Howdy dalfyre. I don't believe we have met. Help yourself to a cool glass of fresh-made real strawberry lemonade. Spiking is optional.
It was quite a site and no time spared before the babe hid in the woods. Amazing. I must tell my DIL who is pregnant that she should just go out in the woods LOL!
dalfyre, not sure what that wire thing is called. I am quite sure I bought them from plow n hearth or perhaps it was Lee VAlley.com. CAn do the same thing with scotch tape and likely a lot less expensive.
Zany glad you got a dog walk in today, humid or not. Nice to take another day off and just chilax. Can you actually see the hummingbird nest, I have seen them on photos online and they are just so tiny and very odd to see.
mmm - strawberry lemonade, thank you.
I used to grow strawbs until my darling doggy realised what they were.
She had a knack for sniffing out the ripe ones before I could find them.
I keep thinking I should try them in a pot on the terrace, have been here nearly 9 years & still just thinking about it...
I actually have some nice roses this year after 20+ years of trying got one to bloom.
A pup that loves strawberries so is her name strawberry shortcake? What a doll baby!
What a cutie pie of a dog. She's worth giving up strawberries for!
Aww, she looks like a sweetie, so I assume you are talking about trying strawberries in a pot and not the dog for eating them. lol
Candee, those are beautiful roses. Well worth the wait. Yeah, it would be cheaper to go in the woods and let one drop on out. Toughen them up too. Bumbles bounce.
Hello Gwen. We haven't been introduced either. Do help yourself to some chilled honeydew melon and mango slices garnished with cilantro.
Whew, just signed the contract with Finishing Line Press for my next book. I'm hoping it will be out in Nov/Dec. Finally, a real publisher. Whoo hoo!!!!! Doing happy dance. The cats think I'm nuts but I don't care, I don't care, lalalala
Thank you, don't mind if I do!
You're a writer? Wow! Everyone's dream. What have you written and what's your new book about?
congrats on the book!
It is not easy to get published so well done.
Love the rose arrangement, I love roses full stop:)
Is that a clematis as well?
Very nice flower.
My old girl is officially NZ Ch Mingrin Honey Myrtle (imp Aust) CDX...
we call her Chita or Spud... why spud?
Because with her spots she looks like a badly peeled potato.
Her breeder named that litter for Australian native plants,
I'd like to grow a Honey Myrtle but can't find one here, may not like South Island frosts.
Chita had pups 11 years ago - I kept one & to keep up the tradition he is named for a tree - Dalfyre Copper Beech.
Copper for short or Roo... because since he was a pup he has had a real roo, roo, roo kind of bark.
dalfyre, I like the name Roo. Dalmations are good dogs. We have a friend that breeds them but ended up moving to a ranch in the mountains because they tend to become too attatched to 1 or 2 pups from each litter and now have 15 of them. LOL visiting is a lot of wiggling dots competeing for attention all at once!
No, I can't see the nest without climbing a tall ladder. I watch them hover and then dive into the same spot in the ivy that is climbing a tall redwood next to the house. It is a spot about 20 feet off the ground. They are sheltered by the tree limbs above and the house to the side so they don't get a lot of wind or rain in that spot. They must have done their research well.
Lovely arrangements, Candee. They really brighten up the cafe!!!! I have tried growing both astilbe and gypsophilia, but no luck with either. And you are so lucky to be up close and personal with the wildlife. That must have been an amazing sight.
Zany - we get bird nests sometimes in the eaves area by the front porch. They can be noisy at times, but no mess thus far since they are far enough from the porch and walkway itself.
Plantgeek - congratulations on your new contract. We are going to have to have a booksigning party one of these days.
Dalfyre and Gwenalou - welcome to the cafe!!! I always lose some of my strawberries to the snails and birds.
Roo, what a great name! Sounds like the dalmations do a lot of multiplying LOL! 15 pups, whew!
Thanks on the arrangements. I never had much luck with my astillbe either until I started putting the coffee grounds on them and this year they are all bloomin even if just a wee bit. The gypsophilia I have in white and pink and it is getting much bigger this year as well, musta liked all the rains we have been having like blossom. Yes dalfyre that is clematis. Thought it a nice color contrast to the pink roses.
More rain coming today, heavy downpours and perhaps hail so better go duck! Can't complain though the weekend was nice and the poseys do seem to love being drenched this season.
Thanks y'all. And no, it isn't so easy getting published. I'm very greatful for it. I mostly write poetry, a bit of flash fiction and have been working on a novel - historical fiction - for a while. I like poetry best because what needs to be said is intensely pared down to its essence, then it's done with, time to move on to the next thing.
Gwen, do you write?
Dalfyre, your pooch seems to have a lot of personality. Love the name too. All of them. lol
I can't imagine the worth of being on this planet without the company of critters. Just us and our chatter? No moments of stroking fur or feather or scale only to be covered with a big slobbery kiss for our trouble?
And the way cats look at us, as if to say, "my dear sub-cat, who do you think you are fooling with all that scribbling and wit. I see the way you watch me hunt mice in the cupboard, how you wish being there beside me, waiting to crunch their little bones. You are a hairless-monkey who has forgotten the trees but wants to remember the feel of weightlessness while swinging through the air.
You certainly have a way with words geek and so descriptive. No wonder you have been published. We don't have any pets, used to have cats and kittens but that was several years ago. It is hard for us to sometimes manage taking care of each other let alone a pet so it is now just the 2 of us. Will just have to enjoy your pet stories all the more.
Hi everyone!
Nice to see the cafe' busy. Great news Plantgeek, well done, you've earnt it!
Thanks for the Beautiful arrangements, they all look great and it smells fab in here.
No, I don't write, at least nothing I've submitted for publishing. I sometimes will write little short articles or essays. I think I have a cookbook or gardening book in me, tho I'll probably never do anything with it. Sometimes I think about it. Started a children's story once but didn't get far. You get the picture.... :)
Hi Gwen, Loved your garden club arrangement and the others in the glass vases. I'm growing Amaranthus this year, hope it grows as well as yours! Well done on first place!
Sally has a new glass and crystal floating arrangements thread, good excuse to get your best stuff out !!
Thanks for that reminder terri, I forget about the glass and crystal and I told Sally I have an dish just like that one of hers. Blonde thing again LOL!
I love lemon bon bons! Thanks got a handful here. I also have a hankering for some cherry pie, off Friday and not going to the cabin so may have to get some bakin done.
Terri, Are you growing the purple or green? I may try and start some this year if it's hardy in my area. If it's an annual here, then next year for sure.
I have both colours Gwen, so hopefully I will get some of those dangly things! what are they called?
This can't be good. It rained and stormed so hard a tree came down and I could not get to our house the usual route then I was stranded in the car for 1/2 hour as I could not get into the house because of the marble size hail would have crushed my tiny skull LOL, and then the temps dropped and 3 hours later there is still ice on the deck and nasturiums and in the yard?
The poor things iced in in June!
Nasturtiums are pretty hardy once they get going. Amazing weather!
Terri, I think those things are called amaranthus.