Early in the year, I wrote about our olive tree that wintered in our spare bedroom. I wasn’t sure if the growth was blooms or fruit. Well, it turns out what we had then was blossoms.
The plant has been outside for a few months now and folks, we have fruit. Granted it is still in the early stages but I’m claiming it!
In fact, with the olive tree, the pot of herbs, and the stone walls, I may just pretend I’m in Italy!
Time for a quick stroll around the patio garden. It was hot over the weekend so that is my inflatable pool chair behind the hibiscus.
This is one of my $2.00 clearance finds from one of the big box stores. It is a mounding annual vinca vine.
Another clearance find. This is called pentas. I wasn’t familiar with this one but I am enjoying it.
The coleus growth is slow this year but they do provide a lot of color.
The Peruvian lilies are getting their second round of flowers.
Mandevillas are a perennial favorite at our house. Pun intended.
The hydrangeas are becoming quite spectacular. This one is a little confused. It is part bluish purple and part pinkish. This might be good for a yin-yang theme.
Here is a picture of our newer flower bed with Cassius lounging in the background.
The roses are doing fine and as you can see, it will soon be the season for gladioli.
Summer is good to measure in mini seasons, for maximum enjoyment. Lily season, rose season, glad season, and so on. There is always something to enjoy, and something to look forward to.
We almost dug up this rose at the beginning of the season with the intent of trashing it in the compost pile. It died nearly down to the ground and had not produced a bloom in two years. We thought the extreme cold for our area over the past two winters had killed the grafted portion. This would have left the rootstock which is likely a wild rose with many thorns and very small, wild flowers. Something more weedy than flowery.
The plant showed new growth so we decided to give it one more chance. We patiently watched while a bud developed. It was nearly ready to unfurl that bud so we could determine the color and see which type of rose it was, when…something, most likely a chipmunk or possibly a skunk, ate the bud! We went out to check the flower the next morning and it was gone.
Luckily, there were more buds on the way. And when they opened up, we discovered that it was indeed the climbing rose that we hoped for. We may have to mulch and cover our roses to help them survive and be healthy if those colder than usual spells continue. But we are glad to see our old friend blooming once again on the trellis.
It was a beautiful Sunday for hanging out on the patio and enjoying our gardens. Here is a video I took so you could enjoy it too. Life is good!
See, even the dogs appear to be enjoying the flowers!
It is lily season in Ohio right now. The main reason we don’t grow more is because the bloom season is relatively short and we want something to be blooming all summer.
So we also have hibiscus.
And roses.
And much more! I will keep you updated as the summer progresses.
What do you do when you have a spare hour or so and some extra stone? You put in a new flower bed. Of course then you have to drive to the store for plants. These are lantana and heliotrope, marked down at the local grocery. They attract butterflies according to the tag.
I made this bed myself. (Hubby did haul a couple buckets of dirt for me. Thanks dear!)
Now I can enjoy while I’m lounging on the patio. Until I decide it’s time to replant the green beans that never sprouted, either because the seeds were eaten or washed away.
But first, I must read a chapter from a book!
What’s the first thing we do when we finally get a day with no rain? Take dogs for a walk! That’s why you see all the happy faces. (Nikki stayed home because being tiny and 12 years old, she can’t keep up.)
After that, the day got even better. We it spent it on the patio with dogs. Our plans for tomorrow are a repeat of today. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Zekie laying in front of the new flower bed under construction. He has been spending a lot of time with me while I’ve been weeding and planting. For the most part, he’s been good.
He’s stayed nearby while I worked on the rose bed. He’s even learned to stay out of the rose bed. I do have to preplan everything I do so he isn’t alone for more than a few minutes. Otherwise he gets stressed out. And a stressed Zekie, is a destructive Zekie.
He was with me for the urns I planted too. I tried to tie him to a leg on the patio table but he chewed through the leash. Change with Zekie is slow, although he does improve. In the interim, dealing with him is done with a lot of management.
I volunteered at an AKC Obedience Trial yesterday and today so only a little time for weeding this evening and a quick walk around the yard. This is my new foxglove plant, also known as digitalis. Haven’t decided where to put it yet, but we have been wanting one.
These blooms are from three different azalea bushes. The last one is very old. The trunk is as big around as a small tree.
Our traditional lilacs are in bloom. Not a lot of flowers on them this year, but the Miss Kim’s and the French lilacs are still to come.
And the lily of the valley are just starting to open up. My mother used to have lilac and lily of the valley perfumes. I wish I could find them now. They smelled remarkably like the real thing. I hope
I hope you are getting out to enjoy your own flowers. Spring is a beautiful and peace inducing thing.
Even in the off season for gardening, we have things growing. These are future olives. We have an olive tree that my daughter gifted my husband with for Father’s Day last year. It resides in our spare bedroom right now, along with a gardenia that we are wintering over.
We don’t know whether these are flower buds or actual olives. Either way, they will eventually result in olives. It was an exciting day when we found these little orbs. Gardeners can go through a form of withdrawal when nothing is green or growing outside. These indoor plants help.
As for myself, I am happy in the spring when plants resume growing again. But I am also happy (relieved) when frost comes. After a spring and summer’s worth of planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting, I am tired. I enjoy the best of both these worlds.
So, will we get olives? Only time will tell.
Sanctuary Acres 