Tag: pictures

Good Bye Winter – Pictures of Snow

snow winter
Late Winter Snow

In this post I am saying good-bye to winter. Here in the northeast we had a cold winter with plenty of snow, and as usually happens we got a coating of snow in April. The light-post picture here was taken February 14th, 2014 and the image below was taken April 16th.

Whenever Spring arrives I hear everyone say how awful the past winter was. It doesn’t seem to matter what the winter was really like, it was always “the worst”. I don’t think we got as much snow this year as last year. And it was cold, that’s true, but it’s winter in New England! Shouldn’t it be cold? There were no power outages where I live due to nor easter’s, which I would consider to be bad. I think the middle of the country got it a lot worse in places, so I am thankful for the winter we had.

Oh well, next we’ll have a horribly hot summer according to “them”. Even if it’s just normal with some hot days, many people will be dramatic and think it was just awful too. Why complain? We choose to live here and part of the reason is the beautiful area and nice, yes nice, weather.

After living in central Florida for 27 years, I think the changes in seasons are nice. I expect snow and cold in winter – imagine! I have to shovel and lug wood myself all winter and I have to cut my own grass, stack wood, and tend my own gardens in summer. I don’t have it exceptionally easy, but I enjoy the different seasons which bring different needs. And I’m always thankful for a body that lets me do it! You want to see bad weather? Live in Florida!

I plan to write about hydrangeas and other flowers very soon!

morning april snow road
April Snowfall

The Big Leaf Hydrangea Variety

big hydrangea leaf blue flowers
Why It’s Named “Big Leaf”

The macrophylla hydrangea variety is also known as “big leaf” and I’m adding a photo here of my Endless Summer to show you the size of the leaves. This blue flowering plant is doing quite well.

The other macrophylla I have is Blushing Bride and it’s also blooming, but in white. It is also full of big, green leaves like this one. I’m hoping that as the plants mature, the flowers will show up better in stead of being hidden among the greenery.

The blue one has one big bloom on top which is slowing fading to lavender. And it has a small flower on the side which began as light lavender and is now changing to pink.

Go here to read more posts about the macrophylla hydrangea.

Pictures of My Backyard Raised Bed Tomato Garden

large fabric raised garden
The Bigger Fabric Garden
raised bed with tomatoes
The tomato bed as of mid-July

Here are two (before and after) pictures of my backyard gardens. I planted 4 tomatoes in this fabric raised bed back in June. I added a few basil plants and radishes around the edge. As you can see, by mid July they are growing like crazy. I haven’t eaten any tomatoes yet, they are still green. I have one red grape tomato that I will probably eat tomorrow and that means there will soon be more that are ripe. All my fabric raised beds are doing well except for the potatoes, but I don’t know if they are just ready to be dug.

The potato stalks look like they are dying, so I hope when I dig down into the bag I will find potatoes worth eating. Those little turd bugs got ahold of the leaves while I was away for 10 days.  My carrots don’t look too good either.  I haven’t grown carrots for many years because I never had much luck with them getting large enough to use.

My concrete block raised bed is also doing well.  I have zucchini in that along with a couple of grape tomato plants.  I just ate boiled zucchini for breakfast!

Early Spring In My New England Garden

Here are some pictures of what is growing in my New England garden this time of year. April is early Spring and planting anything outdoors that is susceptible to frost, in this area, is not advised until at least late May. These are the perennials that are blooming or just beginning to grow.

Did you know that chives will come back each year?  I’ve already used some in my cooking, and the clump is looking good already.  I need to get parsley soon.  That has become one of my favorites for the garden, and it can take the cold.

The peonies and bleeding hearts are sending up shoots and the hostas are just pushing through the ground.  The Coral Bells kept many of it’s leaves and new ones are growing from the center.
Not much is happening with my hydrangeas yet, but the macrophyllas seem to be starting with leaves and growth more so than the paniculatas.
I had wanted this to be a slide show, but as usual, I can’t figure out how to make that happen. It seems that even though I use WordPress for most all my blogs, each theme works differently and I can’t see a slide show option for this one.
So enjoy the big photos instead.

lenton rose bush
Lenton Rose
chives
chives
Peony
Peony
perennial coral bells
Coral Bells
early spring flowers
Spring Promise “Emma”

I have some ♥ Blue Flower Pictures at a previous post.

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Winter Snowstorm Photos: Thankful This is Over!

cat shovel snow
NEMO Snowstorm

Skittle is wondering where the deck has gone. This snow came all at once and was around 30 inches.

I had posted this on my other blog but thought I’d share it here while we wait for the warmth of Spring to arrive.

Limelight: A Beautifully Named Hydrangea

budding limelight hydrangea flower
New Flower on the Limelight

I’ve never grown the Limelight hydrangea nor been around any of the shrubs. I purchased two of this type bush in Spring this year and planted them in front of my house.

Figuring that they would need this summer to grow good roots and become hardy, I didn’t expect flowers, so what a nice surprise to see them begin budding!
Sure enough, more and more little round petals began to form and now both bushes are filled with the elongated, lacey looking flowers. I expect that as the flowers age they will become more green. I am very happy with these healthy looking plants. I highly recommend the Limelight hydrangea as a perennial planting for your yard.

white limelight hydrangea flowers
Lacey white Limelight flowers
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