When the White Lilacs Bloom

When the white lilacs bloom, they look lavender. The scent is absolutely heavenly; you can smell it as soon as you exit the back door. 

Many flowers are in bloom now; one of my favorites is the pansies.

Then I walked through the garden and made a bouquet of all that was blooming at the same time as the lilacs. I believe, now I will be in blooms until frost. 

In Victory,

Sherry

White Spring Arrangement

 
Here I put together a white spring arrangement in a wire basket found at a thrift store.

In this are hypoestes, dusty miller, and bocopa plants.

Also some all-white violas.

With other plants, they look really pretty. Sometimes white is peaceful and works really well for a grouping.

Do you like white plants?

In Victory,

Sherry

Real Time

I am sharing a real-time look at the garden today. It has been raining for a week, and it is in the upper 40s. Some springs just don't spring as fast as others. Here is a look at some of the things I have been working on. 

These are some containers I have been putting together. 

I discovered euphorbia this year, and I really liked its lacy quality.

Some autumn colors I put together that will look amazing later in the year when this is all filled out. 

A thyme that overwintered in this pot got a new planting of pansies to go with it.

This will be my shade container of choice to later place on the front porch. 

A container of pansies I made several weeks ago that has exploded in blooms; they really like this weather.

I have yet to share this white arrangement. I made a post on putting it together. I will post that soon. It likes this weather also.

The tall dianthus that I discovered this year. I like them better than the cottage pinks because they work great in flower arrangements. Every year is different in the garden. This is the year I am really excited about, for I will be closer to achieving that cottage garden look.

How is your garden going? 

In Victory,

Sherry

May Flowers

Here it is May, and the flowers are all deciding to bloom at once. What a wild spring it has been here.

I found a new-to-me teapot at a thrift store that looks like a cottage. Does anyone else get excited about such things? Probably not.

Here is a page out of Edith Holden's 'The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.' I never get tired of this book's illustrations. I wonder if she ever knew how popular it would be.

Has Dianthus always come in a long-stemmed version? Somehow I missed that. I only knew of the cottage pinks that were very short, but these are perfect for cutting and flower arranging. I had several of my cottage pinks die this winter, so I replaced them with these long-stemmed versions. 

Soon the peonies and the roses! It will be marvelous.

In Victory,

Sherry

Spring Garden Looks

The lily of the valley bloomed, and the weather is finally trying to stop being cold. 

Got outside today and played with my flowers.

I am potting up flowers, and when they grow they will fill out more. 

I have always wanted poppies, and I found an Icelandic poppy in the most beautiful color. 

Do you grow poppies? Got any tricks to growing them? 

In Victory,

Sherry

Mini Garden

 

I went to the garden center this year and found a new group of plants for sale. They were mini gardens all in 2-inch pots. I selected a few for a try at this fun garden style and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of my mini garden.

 

The star of my mini garden was a fuchsia plant. I have never had one and wasn't sure what it would work like in this little plot of garden. The idea is to bring a fairytale quality to the garden, and this plant delivers.

It started to open, and I was enthusiastic with expectations.

The fuchsia is a really dramatic plant and fun to watch unfold in all of its glory.

When they all unfolded in the mini garden, they stole the show. 

I have grown this hypoestes plant from seed before and have always loved the leaf design.

This fern was called cotton candy. What a treat for the eyes it is.

This is the blue star creeper, or Isotoma Fluviatilis. It is a ground cover that I would love to use in the garden, but it wouldn't be hardy in my zone.

To finish it out, I tucked in a mini clay pot and a garden fence to hint at the mini garden but not to have too much going on in the container. 

Have you created a min garden yet?

In Victory,

Sherry