GARDEN CLEAN-UP DAY

It was a cool and breezy day in SE Wisconsin and perfect for working outside.  So today I edged, weeded, transplanted, planted, swept, watered, and trimmed.  Late afternoon came with quite a drop in temperature and a great downpour!  What perfect timing!

This is an 8 foot  bench that was inspired by a photo I saved on Pinterest.  Made with 2x4x8 and 1x4x8 treated lumber.  On the right is my mom's geranium (over 7 years old now) getting used to being outdoors for the summer.

My little Bay Laurel topiary tree with the soil covered in moss I pulled from a shady nook in the yard.

A pot of mixed flower seedlings sits next to the Bay Laurel and Yellow Loosestrife is in the pot in the back.

Shallow clay pots of Stone Crop Sedum on the table .

A couple blooms opened on the Clematis today with many more to come!

The raised beds on the deck are bursting with radishes and lettuce.

This year I raised the canopy and underplanted my Quick Fire Hydrangea with 

Stone Crop Sedum and Blue Carpet Lobelia.

Another Pinterest inspired project.  I liked this one because it was all natural, just sticks and stones!

I cut out a special spot for Iris to check on front yard happenings while she's taking it easy on the patio.

Hello world!  It's me, Iris!

It's 64° and even Iris enjoys the warmth of the fire tonight!

Thanks for checking in!

Nan

ORANGE FLOWERS

ORANGE FLOWERS

20 x 20 inch, oil

My favorite summer activity is working in my gardens.  Grooming, watering, weeding, feeding, and finally PICKING!  Now, it's August and the summer garden is bursting with inspiration!  Supposedly, yellow and orange represent freshness, optimism, remembrance, loyalty, and joy, among other things.  That's a lot of positive stuff making yellow and orange great colors to have in your home.  This painting was done on a warm summer night in my little home studio.  

Check it out at Gillyflower Cottage on Etsy.

HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT

The Sun Cherry Zinnia.  

A real stunner in the world of zinnias.  Brilliant color with long-ish petals that stand up well while allowing a few to gracefully "droop" to add artistic flair to this flower in a bouquet. 

This one, with its two drooping petals, reminds me of the whimsical children's game, "He loves me, he loves me not", as illustrated in this old engraving:

"The Decision of the Flower" (1820) 

by Henry Moses

I'm loving the process of working on pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations.  From the outlining of each petal -

  

to the finished drawing -

 . . . to the process of adding color.  It's picky, time-consuming, and detailed drawing, but I love seeing it all come together!

These 8 x 10 inch original watercolor is available in my Etsy shop.  (fits perfectly in an 11 x 14 inch frame) It will arrive safely on your doorstep matted, backed, creatively packaged, and ready for framing in no time!

Other pen/ink/watercolor flowers in my shop:

Or, purchase a commission of your own favorite below:

Thanks for looking!

-Nan

DAD'S "SUMMER GIFTS" TO MOM - A SPRAY OF ZINNIAS

I've spent the last couple days working on some watercolors of one of my favorite garden flowers - the old fashioned zinnia.  I have great memories of zinnia bouquets on display all over my childhood home.  My dad used to love to go out to the garden in the early evening and cut bundles of them.  Then he would proudly head into the kitchen, fill up a bunch of mom's old canning jars with water, and deposit the flowers inside of them for mom to use in arrangements.  Sometimes this would mean multiple trips between kitchen and garden.  I distinctly remember my mom standing there with jars full all around her as she watched dad head back out for a another load.  She gave me a look that meant - "Where am I going to put all of these flowers?"  But, along with the raised eyebrows, there was a smile hiding on her face. I knew that deep down she was touched by his interest in filling the house with the flowers she tended.

And now the tradition continues.  I fill my house with flowers from my own garden.  While I do love bouquets everywhere, I'm sure there's a part of me that is just imitating a favorite memory of my childhood.  Isn't that what we do sometimes so that we never, ever forget?

A SPRAY OF ZINNIAS

10 X 10"

PROFUSION CHERRY

3.5 x 3.5" 

These watercolors and more can be found in my Etsy shop here.

Thanks for looking!

-Nan

THE PROMISED "FAIL".

Okay, last week I listed 5 projects in the making.  A couple days ago I showed you the clay and paper projects.  Well, here's the twig project.  I've made these before and they turned out great - but it just wasn't working this time. 

Below you see what it was supposed to look like!

And . . . this is what they turned out to be!  

There are six of these beauties.  They were supposed to be centerpieces for an outdoor party we're having in a week.  Those of you who have been following my blog for a bit, may remember my speaking about my 32 year old son going through treatment for testicular cancer.  Well, he's all finished with chemo, his hair has grown back, and he's out riding the highways and byways of Minnesota and beyond.  (185 miles in one day a few weeks ago)  He takes his biking seriously.  

Now, he is officially in remission and we're so thankful!  The whole time he was going through chemo, he worked on fundraising for the LIVESTRONG foundation, riding a trainer bike in his basement.  To date, he has earned almost $30,000 and the opportunity to ride with Lance Armstrong in Austin, Texas this fall in the Livestrong Challenge.  We'll be there to see him cross the finish line.

ANDY AND KATE ON THEIR WEDDING DAY TWO YEARS AGO

Anyway, we're going to celebrate his recovery with family and friends . . . and the tables need centerpieces.  These seemed appropriate - kind of "Survivor" type-looking-things.  But they're a little too rugged for me and we're going with something else.  But . . . since I said I'd show the 5 projects, I'm going to show ALL 5 projects!  So, here it is!  Live and learn . . .

And now to try to retrieve a better reputation - it's a good time to throw in some pictures from the garden - since that's where the party will be.  This is the first chance I've had to get outside in a few days - we've been getting some much needed rain.  

Coneflowers - a Wisconsin Native

 Zinnias

 Some pink hydrangeas

Another pink hydrangea nestled into some Lamb's Ears -

 And one of my husband's favorites - the tall Nicotiana.

Jan and I always overestimate how much we'll be able to get done.  So two of the five projects are still in the making . . . coming soon . . . as promised . . . 

birds and furniture!

JUNE FLOWERS

It's June 25th.

Twenty-two years ago today, I married my best friend, and the most wonderful, kind, and generous man a girl could ever hope for.  Anniversaries remind us of weddings, and weddings remind us of white,  lace, and FLOWERS.  So, here are some flowers from my June garden to celebrate 22 wonderful years!

 Snapdragons

 The promise of lilies . . .

 Lemon Drops

 My favorite new flower . . . the Orange Cone Flower

Veronica

 Fairy Candles . . . gaining speed!  It won't be long.

 Honeysuckle Vine

 . . . and Climbing Hydrangeas

Also, in case you didn't know, it's National Iced Tea Month!  

 Enjoy one in the garden!

-Nan

Last summer's garden, spring, and a moon garden

If any of you are as ready for spring as I am - these photos will give you hope!  Snow has covered our ground for so long, it seems like we'll never see the grass again.  Well, here are a few pictures to remind us that those flowers will be poking through the ground in Wisconsin in about 10 weeks.  I can't wait for a fresh load of mushroom compost to be delivered to top off my gardens.  These days I'm dreaming of the smell of thawing earth,  the rhythmic sound of my sprinkler, followed by lawnmowers humming,  and the scent of freshly cut grass.  It IS coming!

 I made the walking stones by cutting out a circle of sod and pouring in a bucketful of cement.  Then I pressed in a design with pebbles and shells, or "drew" a design in the cement with a stick.  This is a lot easier and faster than forming walking stones in a mold.  Over the years, mine have sunk a bit.  They'll need to be dug up this spring and have a little soil or gravel added underneath.

Black and Blue Salvia

 Fairy Candles (also known as Cimicifuga Racemosa, Black Cohosh, or Black Snakeroot)

 For the past two summers, we've had wrens in this little, beat up birdhouse.  They don't seem to mind that there's a hole in their roof.

 Honeysuckle vine

 Raspberry colored Bee Balm (Monarda)

My trumpet vine that took about 5 years to finally blossom - worth the wait!

And now, a couple flowers I want to add to my garden this summer . . .

RANUNCULUS
I love to paint these and I would really love to grow them.  In particular, I'd like to grow the Tecolote Ranunculus.  They are known for their long, straight stems which will be great in arrangments.  They also have a long vase-life and the shades are described as "mouthwatering"!  I think these may be my new favorite flower!


         

    

And, DAHLIAS.

         

                 

And lastly, I'd like to plant a "Moon Garden" (a special garden designed to be seen at dusk and into the night, usually with all white flowers).  There's nothing like loads of white flowers glowing at dusk.  According to some sources, "night blooming flowers use their light reflecting properties and fragrance to attract insects for pollination.  They reflect the moonlight and advertise their beauty to passing moths and other insects.  Pandorus Sphinx Moths are the primary pollinators of night blooming flowers".   These moths love to hover around my Bee Balm on summer nights - they are quite large and look like hummingbirds!



      

           

        
The night blooming "Cereus" has been dubbed "the queen of the night" by gardeners.


Crinum

White Impatients


Summer Phlox


White Althea



Put them all together and you get a
BEAUTIFUL MOON GARDEN!