Garden Delights

 

Happy Monday!

More flowers for Sue--and you--today.  Happily for Flower Friday, Wendy is sharing more delights from Nantucket.  Many of you wished you could be in Nantucket.  Thanks Wendy!

Even in the midst of the drought, I find things that delight me.  I was worried about the bees in our garden and found an early morning solution...Lady's Mantle!

I was trying to figure out how to water for the bees beyond putting out small bowls of water that the squirrels drink up right away.  The bees and the moths actually showed me this solution while I was watering.

I've always been charmed by dew drops on Lady's Mantle.  The water clings in perfect drops even when you water them.  By watering the top of the plant (versus the soil as I normally do), there are plenty of droplets for insects to enjoy.  I tell them each morning, "here have a drink on me" and they do!

Actually, the dew drops on Lady's Mantle was once believed to carry mystical powers.  European folks collected the water from the top of the plants and added the droplets to their magic potions.  The scientific name for the plant, "Alchemela Mollis", is where the word "alchemy" originated.

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Every year I find something new that delights me in the garden.  My husband has finally aged to the point where he finds these small gifts enjoyable as well (versus rolling his eyes and changing the subject to "important" things).

I like to have a hanging basket of Fucshia in my garden because the hummingbirds like that plant.  I haven't had any since we took the big willow tree (where I always hung it).  

This year I was determined to have Fucshia again.  I bought a a few seedling at the nursery hoping that at least one or two would take.  And then, at a local farm, I found two wonderful hanging baskets at an affordable price.  I had to have them.

Fucshia is a favorite plant in British gardens.  My favorite English garden writer, Beverly Nichols, always seemed to have them in his garden.  And in Britain, some of the flowers are hardy and return each year.

What has charmed me this year is the variety of colors that my seedlings are producing.  Even the pink basket of fucshia has an an unusual ruffled corolla:

Parts of the flower.

This seedling has developed into a pretty small plant but is blooming.  Two different colors are featured on this one plant!

A pink and lavender variety that just started blooming.  

So that's what some of what is interesting me in the garden these days.  What is delighting you?

Have a safe and happy and hopefully rainy day!