Crazy. Wild. Wacky! What else can you say about the weather when your daughter has her June birthday off from school because they've used the last "snow day"? While we didn't actually have snow we did have a State of Emergency in my town due to wild weather. We lost our power and didn't regain it for days. But finally life has begun to resume it's "normalcy". Yeah, right, my life isn't ever normal!

And neither are my gardens! I've gone from lush Iris beauty to well...less than lovely. It's that odd time of the season when spring blooms are over and summer blooms need another week or so. But still I can find beauty, peace and tranquility (and weeds) in any garden!

Like this last of my Iris beauties to bloom.

I was surprised by this lemon yellow Iris when it bloomed amongst it's already spent purple counterparts. I find that my gardens go through color changes throughout the year. You might think I planned for Early Spring to be yellow (daffodils, narcissus, and such)...Late Spring to be purples and blues (Bearded Iris, Siberian Iris, etc)...Summer tends to be more fiery with pinks and oranges (daylilies my one true love) and...Fall with it's deep dark solomn reds, oranges, and browns...But you'd be wrong. I simply toss everything in together and then marvel that I haven't made a mockery of the gardening experience. Yet, I've never been truly unsatisfied with any of my gardens.

Such is the case with my Compost Garden. Every plant in this new garden (planted fall of '07) was saved from a Gardening Friend's Compost Pile. I really had no idea of what I was "saving" I just grabbed anything that I could and shoved them in the ground. I am pleased to recognize many of my favorite plants (Siberian Iris, Daisies, and Daylilies) and even more excited about the plants I've never had before including Virginia Bluebells. I love the entire garden but I'm not loving the weeds creeping up over my rock border as they launch yet another attack on my garden bed.

However, this isn't the only gift from a Gardening Friend that is currently giving me delight.

Thanks Apple for this bit of fire in my "Adirondack Fire Garden".

And another "Thank You" to Marci for the gift of Sundrops making today Sunny!

My Iris Beauties!

I hate to Brag...But I'm going to anyways! I have even more Iris varieties opening every day. Because I received these as gifts after blooming last year I've never seen many of these in bloom. So each day is a bit like Christmas for me. Yesterday, I was surprised with this Pink/Peach beauty. And just like the best gifts it has some beautiful ruffles along it's edges.
I was stunned when I saw the coloring of this magnificent Iris this morning. The center is such a beautiful light blue with more traditional Iris colors on the outer petals. I think I'm in LOVE!
And Finally, the Iris that I tracked down for my husband has bloomed. I had heard rumors of an Iris named "Banjo Blue" and had to have it for my banjo-picking hubby. Although in this photo it might seem slightly lavender in reality it is a stunning blue.
I have no idea what the variety name for this Iris is. So I've decided until I find out that I'm going to call it Radish. Seems color appropriate.
We had a lot of thunderstorms and rain last night. I was worried about my poor flowers and rushed out to check on them at 6:15 a.m this morning. I was thrilled to see this beautiful Iris display!

And soon we will move from Iris time to Daylily time. Don't you love gardening?

Veggies: The Good, The Bad & The UGLY

The Veggie Garden has been planted for 10 days now. I wish I was more enthusiastic about it. But like all of my garden attempts~The first year is never as successful as I hope, wish or dream it to be!

We've had some Good: Green Beans! Near the bottom of the Rustic Trellis!

Lettuce Seedlings Everywhere! (Wild Child "helped" with planting.)

Potatoes! First attempt at growing Potatoes for anyone in my family! So far...So Good!

We've had some Bad:

Unexpected Frost takes it's toll on my Precious Peppers!

And we've got plenty of the Ugly:

Is there anything Uglier than a plant killed by frost? My poor Peppers!

June Blooms

Despite my lackluster care of my garden this year (notice the weeds in the background of all the pictures) I've been enjoying the Iris Blooms. They have been absolutely beautiful so far. However, I am still waiting for my favorite "Blue" Iris to open. Until then though, I thought I'd share my Iris bounty with you.

I live in FEAR...

As you know I am trying my first veggie garden. Because we have been sooo busy with the medical needs of my oldest daughter I haven't been able to focus on my gardens (veggie or flower) like I normally would. This has left me in a constant state of worry about my unprotected youngsters ~ yes, I mean veggie seedlings! My children seem to delight in the very thing that causes me the most worry. It's especially worrying to see my young gardeners-in-training lured to the dark side by their new found "friends"...If only the kids could see the truth about their "friends".

"OOOhhh, That Wascally Wabbit!"