Decorating with Flowers

My gardens are really starting to shine. Things are springing up and starting to bloom.

A little vase of the first blooms in my garden beds. The Bachelors Buttons I must have
planted last year. Two huge plants have come back and are full of blooms. The Knock Out
Rose i planted last spring after I last a previous rose. The triple purple Columbine and the
Lily of the Valley were planted by a previous owner.

  The Bearded Iris are every were on the side of the porch and were also planted by a previous
owner, she must have been a true gardener planing old fashioned flowers.

 Three dozen red rose varieties for Mother's day fill a large vase. I love filling my house
with fresh flowers. It adds a little happiness to each room they are in and it also makes me
giddy each time I enter the room. Happy Monday! 

Spring Plantings

I feel that it is finally Spring, the days are getting warmer, the nights are staying in the forties.
It is time to start planting my urns, planters and my hanging baskets.

I went to Walmart and Lowe's and bought some pretty plants to fill the area around my porch.
I over purchased, so the extra Dianthus went into the beds in the front of the house.

This is a planting from last year, it is either a Pincushion flower or Bachelors Button, we will see
when it blooms.

Impatients and Dianthus in planters around the porch, by June they will be full and colorful.

Red Geraniums in the hanging baskets on the front of the porch.

Last years Day Lilies coming back in the insulated urns and more impatients.

In my big metal urn I planted Snapdragons, Verbena, and Dainthus. This will be beautiful
in a couple of weeks. Spring has sprung.

Summer Flowers In my Gardens

With all the rain we have had in my yard, my flowers are beautiful this summer. Some of the
flowers are from seed and some are from a bare root and there are the ones that came back from
last year. So here we go....

Salvia in my large urn with fresh herbs.

Geraniums and ivy in my urns that flank my front door.

Impatients in the plastic window boxes that I found in my garden shed.

Bachelor buttons in several colors.

Some type of purple flowers and a yellow Daisy.

Little white flowers and a Trumpet Flower,

Coreopsis and Cosmos, these guys get really big.

Queen Anne's Lace and new and old Yarrow in bath the front bed and my back bed.

Blue Bells and Hydrangea that come back each year. The Hydrangea has come with the to
the houses.

Geraniums and Day Lilies in pots on my steps.

Hollyhocks, snapdragons and existing flowers in my back garden. The rainy days are gone and
the heat is on.

The Backyard in Bloom and a Lost Dog

We have had a ton of rain which has lead to a yard that
is in full bloom......

The Lamb's Ear that I brought from the other house, I love the soft silver green color
that adds a little texture to a garden.

The Columbine I put in early spring, love the purple.

Spider Wort that came with the yard.

Bearded Iris in two shades, the yard is full of them, a lot for a little yard.

The Bachelors Button that I brought with me by seeds and planted in the Fall.

More of the Ferns, they are going crazy!!!

Good news and bad news about this familiar face. Twice in two weeks my sweet little
Bichon Fise, Elfie, has wondered of and was lost for several hours. The second time it
happened, I thought he was a goner.

This guy is almost 13 years old, I have had him since he was a puppy. He sticks to
me like glue, but as soon as he sees a chance to explore, he is gone. The first time he
was on the porch with me as I was watering my plants. I turned around and he was gone.
The whole neighborhood was looking for him. My neighbor suggested searching down
the hill to a busy area behind my house. As I started down the hill calling him, I heard his
bark and sure enough, there he was, tied to a tree waiting for me at the home of Brian.
I was happy and relieved. Did I tell you that Animal Control was also helping search for
him. Gone time 1 2/1 hours. I started preparing my life with out him.

 Yesterday, I at some I thought this picture above would never had been possible. Because of
all of the rain, the back gate is warped and isn't closing properly. Some time Friday night it
blew open. I let Elfie out when we first got up, he came right back to the door, ate his food
and I let him out again. After a couple of minutes I looked out the window to check on him
and realized the gate was open. I rushed up stairs and got dressed, grabbed his lease and rain
around the neighbor hood searching for him. After an hour I came back, called Animal Control
again and reported Elfie lost. I got in the car and drove every where, even the farmers market
downtown where there are food smells, people and dogs. No Elfie. I came home and got dressed
for work and then gave it one more go around of driving around before I had to go to work. All
that I could think of is that he has been hit or taken, I had him for 13 years and now he is gone.
Why would he leave me, why would he wonder off, am I a bad Mom, do I not show him enough love? And so I went to work and thought Happy Bloody Mother's Day. He ran off at 9 am it is
now 1:30 pm, my phone rings and it is Laurie at Queen City Downtown, "Margaret, what is your
dogs name?" I say Elfie. "There is a lady here with him, is he missing?" And there  it is, he is
found. He was found by the Clock Tower Convenience, he probably walked in the door, they
shut him in the bathroom and asked customers if they new who he belonged to. Luckily one
of the customers rights for the newspaper and wrote about Elfie and I when I had my store
and he was my shop dog. A happy ending to a scary story, Happy Blessed Mother's Day. My
two children sent me Mother's Day texts and Elfie sent me a Mother's Day card via my Mom.

Flowers In The Yard

Yesterday afternoon I went around and took pictures of the
flowers in my yard. I also picked a bunch for my bedroom
before the Peonies are all gone.....

The Larkspur is from my old house, I saved the seeds and will do it again when I move.
The house I rent has sold to a rent to own couple who is coming in in September.

The Canterbury Bells and the Bachelors Buttons came from the Farmers Market
last Spring.

The Knock Out Rose Bush and the Delphinium I bought at Lowes last year and
will put in containers and take with me.

Volunteer Poppy, Lily and loads of Lambs Ear. Pictures of the flowers in my bedroom.

Will update you on my move when I know were I am going, lots of possibilities!