Monday, May 05, 2008

Cinco


An old friend surprised me this spring. This is ajuga, which I am happy to say hitched a ride with this clump of shasta daisies. Also known as carpet bugle, this plants diminutive flower spires stand three or four inches tall. And just look at the deep blue of those flowers!

I'm pleased to see it's happy in this location, which I can tell by the way it has already put a finger or two of a runner out into the garden bed. Ajuga's a nice ground cover that plays fairly well with others. I like the idea of a little colony of them filling in some of the space between other plants, particularly around the various bulbs I've already planted.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, I also spotted one of the neighborhood cats perched on the roof of the neighboring house. I imagine it must've been nice and warm up there as the sun worked its way through some clouds lingering from the weekend.


This single cream- colored daffodil has also appeared alongside the house by the old hyacinths and the money plant.

It was nodding on the breeze quite a bit this morning, which I offer by way of explanation that the photo isn't more sharply focussed.

Right nearby, the bleeding heart has reached a height of about two feet or so, and lots of sprays of those special blossoms have sprung out on all sides now.


Outside the restaurant, the single pink tulip I photographed last week has a number of companions now, who were all on their best show this afternoon as the bright sunshine returned.



By this point in the afternoon (around 4 pm), our temperatures had climbed back up into the high 50s...with a forecast/promise of cracking into the 60s tomorrow.


Across the path, a quartet of red tulips added to the show.


I was at work a bit later than I'd anticipated, but I still got out in time to catch this terrific sunset at Skaket Beach, before making my way home for the evening stroll around the Hood with My Girl.

By the way, I did get to the Brewster in Bloom parade on Sunday, and it was awfully fun, if you are a fan of parades(which I am). I'm working on a presentation of some of that for you all, but it's taking a little longer than anticipated. Soon...

5 comments:

Butch said...

Wow! Every picture is beautiful in its own way. One of my favorites is the five tulip grouping with all the different textures of green around it. This picture has so much depth to it. Very nice. Of course, the bright red tulips leap out at you. Both pictures are almost three-demensional. The bleeding-hearts are amazing. Now that I have a wee version of them in my yard I will need to find the bright red variety that you have.

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," came to mind when I saw the one picture of the kitty on the roof. We have one cat from next door that occasionally sits on our roof where it meets the solarium. I remember once whilst I was reading in there having the feeling that someone was watching me. Sure enough, there was the kitty staring down at me. ;-)

Sh@ney said...

Ahhhh I am so loving your blooms at the moment and that bleeding heart is magnificent. I must see if we can get them here. Our crab cactus is about to flower, only have the one so I will treasure the blooms to come...And WOW at the rest of your garden...Love it!

Greg said...

Butch, you had me laughing with that cat story--that's SO like them.

The bleeding heart really has gone magnificent now. I was enjoying it last week, but the little flowers are so much more this week, especially now that you can see the whole range of their bloom cycle on a single branch...

I hope each of you can get something like it for your own gardens...but for now, happy to share this one!

Sh@ney, what the heck is a crab cactus? I look forward to seeing a picture of *that*!!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful collection of flowers, particularly the bleeding heart. And thank you for the intro to the ajuga; something I have never seen before. And that sunset is so calming and serene!

dykewife said...

i love bleeding hearts. someday i'm going to have them mixed with columbines and other summer flowers to fill in when the hearts die down in the heat of summer.