Beautiful morning

The yard is beginning to recover a little from the hail damage of 4/27/11. I have one bloom on two different hydrangeas. You can see just a little hail damage on the greenry.

My daylilies are going to bloom, but it appears that all my asiatic and oriental lily bulbs have been eaten by something since last year. I had a 12 ft, by 3 ft patch, and a single row about 20 ft long. Not one single sprout this year. I don't know what else other than some critter must have enjoyed the taste. Thank goodness they don't like daylilies.

The roofers came today and are hard at work.

Old Fashioned Daylily

One of my very first daylilies. I do not know the name of this one, had it before I started buying daylilies. I have shared this one with so many people that it is all over East Tennessee now. Thought I had given them all away, but was glad to find 2 small clumps this year.

As an added note to previous post. I was with Audrey and Mason yesterday, I had printed the picture of Mason and he saw it. He told me that Mason was 'using the bathroom'. I told him, no not quite. He is such a joy to be with.

Today I am going to spend some time with Noah and daughter Wendy.

Spring is in the air

When we first bought the property we now live at I planted crocus on the bank at the road. We bought the property in 2004. I had forgotten about the crocus, until this year, when they finally decided to bloom.
They are scattered across the 300 yards of road frontage.
Hopefully they will get thicker over time.

On that same embankment I also planted extra daffodils. They have been doing very good and begin blooming every year before the ones in my yard bloom. This is due to the way the sun hits that small hill.

But when Granny Sorrells' daffodils begin blooming is when I really get excited.

This row of Granny's daffodils is the width of an old style tiller. Jimmy tilled 140ft strip to plant these numerous blubs in. Then I sat and planted one bulb in each hole I made. These were planted in October 2004. One week after the closing of property purchase. After all, I have to keep my priorities in order. Notice Jimmy also lined both sides with a brick border.

Here is last year's post about Granny's daffodils. The daffodils were further in the season than they are right now, so they look alot thicker.

Mason (at 2 years old) loves his Granny's daffodils. Someday he will know they are actually his Great-Great Granny's daffodils. I hope he (and all my grandchildren) will cherish them as much as I do.

Old Fashioned Surprise Lilies

Old Fashioned Surprise Lilies look like large leaf daffodils in early spring, but then they don't bloom. The greenery dies down and you kind of forget about them.

Then late summer they just shoot up these stems with such pretty blooms. No greenery at all. It is easy to forget about them, so if you are lucky enough to get any of these be sure and plant them in a flowerbed, or you might mow down the stem when it starts out of the ground.
They are just a little early this year. August is when I remember them blooming before.

I haven't been home much at all this past week. I did spend the night here on Thursday after getting off work at midnight. But then I was up early Friday to go keep Noah.

Then I went onto Rockwood from there (didn't have to work Friday evening),
to spend the night in Rockwood.

When Jimmy and pulled in the driveway today it seemed like
the surprise lilies were in every flowerbed.

This last one is the fullest, because it has been in the same place longer. These lilies don't like to be moved around much, and usually don't bloom the first year even though they do send up the greenery that year. Notice the 3 stems on this last one. The spotted leaves you see are Calla Lilies in the background. (Just in case there are inquiring minds.)

I got mine from John and Lindsey's first yard. I did share them at that time and have several friends that also get to enjoy these each year.

Old Fashioned Snowball Bush

There was a little break in the rain on Sunday afternoon,

and I went out and took advantage of it.

No sunshine, but at least I could get the camera out without damage to it.

The insects are loving all the moisture from the rain we have been having.

This Old Fashioned Snowball Bush has been transplanted to 3 different houses since I met Jimmy. When we married and he sold his house we got a start of the bush by a cutting, since he could not dig it from the yard. Then we have built 2 houses since then. This is one of those items that was moved to the new property before we sold the old house, and before we even started building the new house. When we moved it this time, we divided it into 4 bushes. Three of them survived, not sure why the 4th did not. They are all 3 about waist high, but the Old Fashioned Snowball will get much taller, in time.

The top 3 photos are from the bush at the back of our property.

The bottom photo is from the front of our property,

think the snowballs are smaller on it.

Daffodils in the Rockwood yard

Spring has been such a nice surprise at Rockwood.

Not just the different birds I am adding to my lifer list.

But there are flowers everywhere. Notice in the background the greenery.

That appears to be Siberian Iris, by the thousands.

I love these white daffodils.

I have some of these in the stained glass I did of daffodils.

This clump will be moved to our home.

I always leave some when I transplant,

in this case I will probably move some to

somewhere else in the yard

instead of where they are.

Granny Sorrells' daffodils

My Granny Sorrells' had daffodils all the way around the edge of her farmhouse yard. The daffodils were between the yard and the barbed wire fence that kept the cattle in the fields and not in her yard. Her daffodils were the first flowers I have memory of. So when I got my first house I had to have some of those bulbs. I sure am glad I got a couple of clumps and brought them to Tennessee. I have moved them with me everytime I have moved over the years, each time having more of them to move.

If you have followed my blog very long you might remember when I was tagged. I spoke of my Granny Sorrells twice in that tag. Click here to see that post. When we bought the property in October 2004 we transplanted all my daffodils that originated from those clumps I dug back in the early 1970s. My husband took a tiller and prepared a 140 ft long one tiller wide 'trail' for the bulbs. He lined the 'trail' with bricks on both sides. I sat and scooted along and planted all those bulbs. Well over a thousand by that time, one at a time. It took me 2 weeks, my left thumb has not been the same since.

So this is their fifth spring to bloom in this location, and they are prettier each year.

This photo is still Granny's daffodils, but this clump was planted on the bank at the road. They always bloom before the yellow trail.

I have not been able to photograph the whole row. This photo does start at one end, but you can see the left side goes on over the little hill and I couldn't get both ends in the photo.

Zinnia Collages in different stages

Have so many photographs of zinnia blooms decided to make collages of them.

Now we will have to wait until 2009 for more blooms. Tomorrow I will be back to winter scenes.

They even come in 2's

The life of zinnia

The zinnia buds are so unusual. That black just looks out of place. I love it, so I just keep taking photographs of the buds. Probably have another post with just the buds. Side view with the zinnia middle trying to pop right through.
So many different colors out of one package of seeds. Although I cannot guarantee that since I plant several packages of zinnia. I want to attract the butterflies.

Attract is putting it mildly. Most of my butterfly photographs are at the zinnia blooms.

Then they begin to fade.

This is what they look like at the end, when the wind is sending seeds everywhere for next year.

I am tired of the cold, just had to remind myself what to expect when the cold is gone again.

Cactus in the attic

My Christmas Cactus blooming in the attic. Blooming in time to be called a Thanksgiving Cactus instead of Christmas Cactus, which mine do most years. I bring them down on the day of visitors, so the buds don't drop from coming into a warmer area.

Mine are not as large as Dorothy's blooming cactus. The blooms are gorgeous, but my plants are not large like Dorothy's.

I have a friend that has one that has been passed through 3 generations in her husband's family. It had not bloomed since she had received it. I told her to put it outside in the summer in an area well protected from the sun, leave it until the buds set in the fall. Be sure and bring in before any chance of the cold killing it. She has now had blooms for 5 years. I have read they have to have certain hours of dark and light. I have learned they just need some cool air to set their buds. If you can put out in early spring (well protected) they will also bloom at Easter. I put my on my glass porch after the coldest weather is over, and then I have 'rebloomers'.

Just have to take the close ups.