Garden Bloggers Bloom Day March 2010

Welcome to Toad Haven Gardens on March 15. Some of yesterdays snow still covers the flower bed next to the front porch, on the north. Later there will be Daffodils, Creeping Phlox, and gorgeous Violets in this area.

Here are new green shoots from the Yarrow planted on the south side of the house last summer. Only dried flower heads are blossoming here.

This is in the same corner of the dooryard patio garden that I showed, looking so dead, in February, with the first Viola to bloom this spring. I love the Johnnie-Jump-Ups that seed themselves all over the garden. Some winters they manage to bloom through the season, but definitely not this year.

In between the March snows we are getting lovely, sunny days with up to low 60s temps so I will soon feel that it is safe to remove the dead stalks and dry leaves that I leave over the winter to protect the plants and for seed heads to feed the winter birds. My fingers are just itching to get out there and do the spring cleaning.

Indoors, the Orchid, that I recently posted photos of, is still in full bloom.

See what's blooming all over the world, today, at May Dreams Gardens.

All Orchid Buds Bloomed Out

Here is how the Orchid looks with all the blossoms open. It will be interesting to see how long they last this time.

New Winter Blooms

These Snow Blossoms were blooming all around the prairie border, at Toad Haven, this evening. I think they are really quite attractive. Brightened up the garden considerably.

The Orchid has a Bloom

Today I was happily surprised to find that one of the orchid buds had blossomed out. It is gorgeous and they usually last for quite a while. There are still more buds waiting to make an entrance.

Thrilled Over Early Christmas

I came home from WalMart yesterday and told Joe about a camera (Canon PowerShot SX120 IS) I had seen on sale and did he think I should get it since the 6 year old Canon Elph has about seen it's end of days. Only problem was, they didn't have any instock, but had some coming soon.

He came back from his trip to Pueblo this morning with a sack from Best Buy. In it was the same camera (10MB; 10 optical zoom), a 4 GB Flash Memory card, and a blue carrying case. He thought I needed it before we went to Denver and Boulder for family Thanksgiving. I am ecstatic! I've been out trying it and comparing it to my beloved little Elph. Beloved because it is so small I can carry it in my purse all the time and it is easy to use. This one is a bit bigger but will still fit in that huge purse and it has a huge screen compared to the other, not to mention tons of mega bytes and optical zoom!!!

I can get all the tiny details in flora and fauna, especially the birds. See examples above. A Downey Woodpecker was gracious to show up at the feeders just as I needed a model. The flower is a very late Gaillardia that I planted on the south side of the house this summer, and it still thinks it is summer, in spite of the 18 degree nights we've had recently. Look at the miniscule details.

The new camera photo was taken with the old Elph.

Do I have a very special husband? Count your blessings, Granny Fran.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day _ June 2009

On the 15th of each month a group of gardening bloggers post photos of what's blooming in their gardens. We manage to have blooms, even in winter, with some of us resorting to house plants when the ground outside is frozen and dead looking, but really only sleeping. Check out participating blogs at May Dreams Gardens.

Now that June is here, Toad Haven is looking quite lively and colorful; and with the long, light evenings, I am able to garden at that time when there isn't a thunderstorm. It is often too hot during the middle of the day.

The above photo is of Lavender, California Poppies, and Feverfew in the 2 years old Dooryard Garden. It was designed to be a Lavender garden with the golden poppies and white German Chamomile, but, the poppies came up and took over while the Chamomile never germinated, so last year I transplanted a couple of Feverfew plants to provide the white; I've never had the Feverfew grow so tall before. I'm now going to try seeding the Chamomile in other parts of the garden. I am quite fond of Chamomile tea, plus I love the look and fragrance of the plants.

These are Goblin Gaillardias blooming in the midst of the poppies. This is a great native plant for our hot, dry climate.

This is a prairie Globe Mallow that happily seeded itself between the Dooryard Patio paving stones and the landscape timber edging the Dooryard Garden. When we moved here there were a couple of these Sphaeralceas growing in the middle of the seldom used back alley. I loved them and wondered if I could transplant them and get them to grow in the garden. Then this surprise popped up when I was constructing the patio and garden and I couldn't force myself to pull it up, even though it was in an inconvenient place. It gets so top heavy that I have to tie it up so it doesn't sprawl all over the patio and garden and I trim it back after the first big bloom, it keeps putting up small branches during the rest of the summer.

This section of the Lilliaputian Prairie border has Stella d'Oro Daylilies, Ice Plant, Coreopsis, and Yarrow blooming. I wish the purple Veronica would bloom a little earlier here. Although I appreciate the self seeding surprises of native and some garden plants, that healthy dandelion is not appreciated and will be cut off down in the root.

The veggie garden in it's raised beds was planted late this year, due to my health challenges and the weather, but it is beginning to take shape with some transplanted plants and some seed. I am still in the process of making a new 8 foot square garden divided into 4 smaller squares ( I was greatly influence by the book "Square Foot Gardening" a number of years ago, but am not always planting as intensively as that book teaches. I hope that means I am not as compulsive as I used to be.) This new bed will be seeded with corn, pole beans and pumpkins (living succotash).

I wish this was a clearer photo of the Eggplant blossom, they are so gorgeous! I grow them as much for the blossoms as for the eggplants.

These blossoms are on one of the various tomato varieties I planted, while there is a label in the bed, I am not going to try to go out in the dark and check it. Especially since my right leg is still black, blue and purple from ankle to knee from 2 falls I've had in the garden in the last 3 weeks. Gardening while dragging around oxygen apparatus, a garden cart, and tools, gets frustrating at times, but I will not give up my gardening!

Here are bell pepper blossoms and even a small pepper.

I fell in love with Marigolds when I was a small child and still can't have a garden without them. I put them around the vegetable beds to discourage bugs; however, since they were one of the first things gobbled up by our grasshopper plague a few summers ago, I have been known to doubt that they are effective, but it's an old habit I can't give up. I love the smell of the Marigolds on my hands after I touch them, so I am a faithful deadheader.

I hope there are many lovely blossoms in your gardens of life.

Peony Fields Forever

Here is one of my favorite local sites at this time of the year. This gentleman grows the Peonies to sell to people to decorate graves on Memorial Day. It is one of the few flower fields left in the area. Before WWII there were many kinds of flowers, as well as vegetable, fruits and apple orchards in the area. It started in the 1860s with the pioneers growing food for the miners in the mountains. A dear departed friend of mine told me of working in the flower fields in the Lincoln Park area of Canon City. I was amazed when he told me that they were packed in crates and sent in refrigerated railroad cars to Chicago.

When I was growing up in the Rocky Ford area, further east along the Arkansas River, there were many fields of Zinnias being grown for a local seed company. Some fields were all one color and others were in a mix of colors. I'm not sure if the seed company is still in business and farmers still growing zinnias down there. Maybe I should do a research field trip later this summer to find out.

That area is losing a lot of farms due to the irrigation water rights being sold to big cities like Colorado Springs and Aurora. It doesn't look like the same place when I drive along the old, once familiar roads, and find the former fields going back to prairie grass and the farm houses that we and our family and friends lived in are no longer there. This is one of the reasons that I am a missionary for native, low water landscaping. I resent farms being dried up so that people can have their large, water slurping blue grass lawns, that have no business growing in a desert. I love my native Blue Gramma Grass lawn, my mini prairie. It takes one fourth of the water and only needs to be mowed a few times each summer. Why don't people understand that an attractive landscape that needs less work and less water is the way to go?!!

Spring Bliss

At the first of the week we had three 90+ degree days with hot, dry sun and wind. Yesterday it cooled a bit to the 80s which was still a bit hot for this time of the year. However, the lady from Sun City, Arizona, who was ahead of me in the Subway line, thought it was cool compared to what she was used to. A pleasant cold front came in during the night with up slope moisture and it was only up to 60 degrees with quite a bit of rain this morning and later in the afternoon. After running like the dickens keeping the hoses running on the drying greenery in my yard, it was a relief to see the plants drinking up the natural showers. Thank goodness, the weatherman expects seasonal temperatures for the weekend and next week.


Here is what the Toad Haven Herb Garden looked like after the morning rain. Not much blooming yet, but look at all those lovely shades of green. And it smells heavenly!




When we moved here six years ago, the landscaping had not been watered or weeded for several years. I found a couple of stunted Peony plants near the back door growing in dirt the texture of concrete. I transplanted them to the front sides of the garden shed and have babied them with water and fertilizer. The plants grew bigger but never a bloom appeared. I had no idea what color they would be if or when they did bloom. This year one plant had one bud and the other had multiple buds so I've been holding my breath and crossing my fingers. This morning I was rewarded with a pink blossom from the single bud. It was worth the wait and I look forward to seeing the other buds blossoming soon.


I love Peonies, and every May Joe delivers a large bouquet of red peonies to me from an older gentleman in Canon City who grows them to sell for Memorial Day. He has a huge field of them wrapped around his Victorian bungalow, and Joe works on his flower cooler when he starts it up each spring. My Dad had wonderful red Peony plants at the house in Fowler and this August I am going to dig one up to transplant into my garden.


My quilt muse has been pretty much absent since my health challenges last Summer. It has taken me so long to regain enough strength and energy to do just the absolutely necessary housekeeping tasks and shopping, as well as looking after Mom's affairs. I am able to do a bit more gardening now and am getting it in shape with the assistance of yardman Carl. I don't know if I can manage to garden and make quilts at the same time, but I have finally been gifted with a concept for what I want to do quiltwise, and am beginning to dream and sketch some ideas that I can work on next winter, when the garden is hibernating. I am so excited about the history of this area where we live, and want to do a series of quilts about Fremont County, beginning with the Dinosaurs and working up to the present. I don't know what size they will be, yet, but they will be small enough to make it possible for me to manage them with my sewing machine, and yet, large enough to present the subject matter well. I don't enjoy working large.



I plan to encorporate my photographs of the County into the quilts. This concept has been working in my mind for several months and is finally beginning to develop. It's strange that the history series idea just took shape suddenly yesterday, and I immediately thought, "Aha, that is exactly what I can get my teeth into," and the creative energy began to flow. It is good to feel excited about a quilt idea again. Now to take my new camera off the shelf and start learning how to use it.

What's Blooming

I can't ever seem to remember to post "what's blooming" on the 15th. Here's what's blooming at Toad Haven in SE Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts on the north side (front) of the house; this clump has gotten huge.

I finally planted a Blaze Climbing Rose in the middle of the front fence; I've wanted one since we moved her 6 years ago and couldn't resist this one at Home Depot with so many blooms.

Basket of Gold Allysum and wild Blue Flax in the Liliaputian Prairie border.

The first bloom on the Austrian Copper Rose this spring. The ashes of my beloved cat, Yul Brynner, the King of Siam, are buried under this bush. It does him justice each spring.

A volunteer Bachelor's Button (Cornflower) at the driveway edge of the Prairie border. I've loved this flower since a child and I also love most volunteers, although some become pests.

These Chives bloom in the Prairie border instead of the Herb Garden because they came in the same pots as some of the other perennials from my previous rooftop garden and got planted here before the Herb Garden was designed or constructed. I should move one of the clumps into the Herb Garden.

A tiny pot of Ice Plants was planted on the edge of the Prairie Border several years ago and have spread into a large mat. They bloom in the mornings and close up later in the day. A great plant in a dry climate garden.

One of the old fashioned Iris that were along the front fence when we moved in. It took 2 years of nurturing to get them to start blooming after being neglected for so long.

Creeping Phlox at the base of the front porch, with a Chinese Elm seedling (the bane of my existence) and some unknown vine that transplanted itself here by putting roots into the soil where it trailed out of a pot.

One of the many volunteer Violets that have begun to travel all around the front porch from the seeds of one transplanted clump a few years ago. This is another variety of volunteers that I love.

How I enjoy the new blossoms of spring after the dark and dreary winter! I still think I was designed to hibernate in a very luxurious fur lined cave during the cold, dark time.

April Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Along with many other gardeners throughout the world, I am sharing what is blooming today at Toad Haven at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in SE Colorado. Check out May Dreams Gardens for the list of gardening bloggers taking part.


Outdoor blooms are still scarce at Toad Haven as we are having our typical April weather; warm, sunny 60/70 degree days interspersed with cold, cloudy snowy days. Because it has been such a dry winter we are overjoyed to have the moisture, even in the form of snow. "April (snow) showers bring May flowers."



Here is a photo of the dooryard garden and patio today, to show what the typical garden looks like in this climate in April. I left the turned over chair the way it was to show you how much the wind has been blowing. Every time I go out it seems that I have to put the chairs upright again.


There are a few flowers poking thru the green grass and dried plant material, such as these Scillas.


In an old whisky barrel the Grape Hyacinths are popping up. This batch of plants originally came from my Boulder garden; some were transplanted to Dad's garden in Fowler, when my kids were still kids; then transplanted into a whisky barrel in my downtown Florence rooftop garden, La Playa Brea; and 6 years ago the whisky barrel was moved into the prairie border here in Toad Haven. This is the one batch of plants that I never transplanted into the garden soil, but they seem quite happy to bloom in the barrel each Spring, where they encourage many lovely memories.



A batch of small Daffodils are blooming through the Creeping Phlox plant, that is not blooming yet. Daffodils always seem like such happy flowers and it thrills me to have a few in my garden. As much as I love them I don't know why I haven't planted more. Maybe this will be the daffodil bulb planting fall.


Here and there throughout the garden are self seeded Violas. This tiny little guy is growing between the pavers in the Herb Garden path. Other than fresh green shoots of Marjoram, Italian Parsley, Oregano and Sage this garden is still pretty much straw colored. I did pick up 6 pots of Cilantro to plant the other day, but with a major snow storm expected it will be a few more days before they can leave the Sun Porch.


A pot of fragrant purple Hyacinths are blooming on my front porch to welcome visitors.


In the dining room the red Phaelanopsis Bonica Orchid is still blooming and the blush white Phaelanopsis Mount Beauty x Stope New Candy Orchid buds are about to pop open.




The Lipstick Vine has done so much better since it moved into the south window of the new Sun Porch a couple of years ago. Right now it is covered with bright red blossoms. Watching the blossoms develop from bud to full bloom is always fascinating.


I should have a lot more flowers to share in another month. Check it out on May 15.

What's Blooming?

I forgot to post a photo of what was blooming in my garden on the 15th, since I was out of town visiting family in Byers, Colorado.


Actually, nothing is blooming outside right now. I did have some snowdrops earlier but the blossoms are gone now and most of the garden is still very tawny and stiff. I have had a few days when it was warm enough and the wind was not blowing everything away to begin removing last years dead plants, that I leave all winter for the birds to forage for seeds. I can't begin to describe how much and fiercely the wind has blown this late winter. We've only had close to one quarter of an inch of moisture all winter and the dust blows in each wind, and every day we hear of wildfires here and there around us. We are supposed to have a big share of our moisture in the form of up slope snows in March and April, but it is not happening this year and I am worried that once again we will have no green grass or flowers on the prairie this spring.




















Anyway, the blossoms I am posting are on one of my orchid plants in the south dining room window. I have had good luck getting my orchids to bloom each year and the blossoms last so long. I love them! There ought to be a way to make a quilt from the design of these orchids.

Edited to say this is in response to May Dreams Gardens' Garden Bloggers Bloom Days.