#barefootlilylady – Barefoot Lily Lady

Momma’s Purse

A woman and her purse are not easily parted.

I had to laugh when I stumbled once again upon this screenshot. Oh, my sweet momma could have me in stitches.

Her purse came with her for snack time at Beehive, oftentimes carrying an extra snack or two given to her by the caregivers. I mean, who could resist giving this pretty lady an extra snack or two?

Whether living with me, or living at Beehive Homes of Oregon (WI), momma’s purse was always within reach. Sorting through her purse was a favorite middle of the night activity, so I tried to keep it stocked with all kinds of treasures and little things to sort and discover over and over again.

Momma and her babies

Momma always seemed to have her purse along when she was caring for her baby, Dolly. The purse would usually be in her lap with her baby sitting on top. I treasure the sweet memories of my momma loving on Dolly. They gave me little glimpses of the love and gentle kisses I know she once bestowed on me.

Never leave home without it

A woman never wants to leave the house without her purse, you know. We even rigged her walker so she could take her purse with her on our little walks to the mailbox and back.

An early sign of cognitive decline

Momma’s purse held one of the earliest signs of cognitive decline. I remember a day when I was visiting mom and helping her search for her lost checkbook. Her purse was one of those multiple zippered pocket contraptions that seemed to always swallow her car keys, wallet, hearing aides, and checkbook. As I once again searched the pockets she had already searched, I found both the lost checkbook and a list written in my mom’s familiar cursive hand. The list told a story of something else that was lost–the names of her very best friends at church. My sweet momma had taken her church bulletin and had practiced recalling and writing their names over and over again, willing herself to never forget them again.

Under the Weather

I managed to get caught by a virus I was trying to avoid, so am staying home to try to shake it off. This quiet day at home has found me poking through some of my old blog posts and quietly tap-tapping the keyboard trying to write new posts. This particular old post that I’m resharing today reminded me that, should this cold hang on much longer, I have some excellent reading only an arm’s length away.

Have a blessed and beautiful weekend–and stay well, my friends.

Six on Saturday: My Favorite Gardening Reads

Daylily Royalty

Daylilies reign supreme in the garden during the sultry months of July and August. On this last day of August, the flowers of my summer garden are putting on their final show. Daylilies have moved out of the spotlight giving the hydrangeas and zinnias their chance to shine, but here’s a little sampling of their beautiful performance.

Somewhere in Fitchburg Wisconsin there is a barefoot gardener standing in her flowerbeds giving the 2025 daylily performance a standing ovation.

“Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” ~ Luke 12:27 (ESV)

More Clematis Love

Just a little splash of Clematis love coming from our July garden.

I would describe the color of Clematis ‘Prince Charles’ as lilac-blue. My husband dug this clematis up for me earlier this summer and then rehomed it in a spot about 2 feet away so that it wouldn’t have to reach so far toward this backyard arbor. I call this handsome guy “Charlie” as it is planted to remind me of my oldest grandson, Charlie.

Clematis ‘Comtesse de Bouchaud’ is most definitely a gorgeous showstopper gracing the south-facing front of our house. We gave her a bigger trellis a year or two ago, but it looks like we may need to upsize again in the near future. “Comtesse” is the French word for countess, a female member of nobility. This lovely lady is definitely regal.

A closer look at lovely Clematis ‘Comtesse de Bouchard’

Another view of ‘Comtesse de Bouchaud’ earlier this summer–just loaded with buds waiting to burst into glorious bloom. I just love her six-petaled rosy-pink (almost lavender) blossoms with creamy yellow stamens.

The petals of profusely flowering Clematis ‘Sunset’ are a stunning, velvety purple with streaks of sunset red radiating from her beautiful creamy white anthers. She’s a reliable repeat bloomer, but I’m going in with my pruning shears this week to snip out spent flowers to encourage a stronger repeat bloom.

Pretty in pink Clematis ‘Princess Diana’ is charming and super-happy this summer. I have her planted in full sun on both the southwest and southeast sides of our home. Though not technically a climber, I’ve trained her to the arbor at the entrance to our backyard.

Before life with Alzheimer’s necessitated moving my sweet momma out of her home, I took a digging of clematis from her lovely garden. I never found a tag for it, but think it just might be Clematis ‘Multi-Blue.’ This beauty has scrambled up one side of the arbor at the entrance to the backyard for almost 10 years now. I call her ‘Lady Charlotte’ in remembrance of momma, and hope that she will one day meet up with ‘Princess Diana’ regally scrambling up the other side.

That’s a wrap for my Six on Saturday from hot and humid Southern Wisconsin this Saturday. To enjoy the world garden tour visit our Six on Saturday host Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Peony Love ‘Gold Standard’

The peony love continues in my Wisconsin garden with Peony ‘Gold Standard’ taking center stage today. The frilly central bomb of golden yellow staminodes is a perfect jewel to accent the sweet creamy white guard petals of the Japanese-form blossoms.

Peony (Paeonia x lactiflora ‘gold standard’)

Two of these beauties grace my mailbox garden. Their arresting beauty and light fragrance stop passersby in their tracks. Like most peonies, she enjoys basking in full sun, but would be just fine in part shade.

Her annual show begins in late May or early June with each beautiful blossom lasting a week or two.

It’s always a bit sad when her floral show ends, so I usually cut a few of the unopened buds to save in my fridge. I choose buds that have a little marshmallow-like squish to them, then wrap a few of them up in a dampened paper towel, slip them into a Ziplock bag, then store them in a refrigerator drawer.

A few weeks later, I remove a stem or two from the bag, give the stem end a fresh cut, then display it in a bud vase and wait for the petals to open. It’s definitely worth the effort to extend the ‘peony love’ out for a few more weeks.

Itoh Peony Love

There is great joy in my heart and a smile on my face when I first spy the Itoh peonies opening. Itohs are a hybrid cross between tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. I love their sturdy stems that can stand up to heavy rains. This deep pink peony opened on Sunday.

This sunshine yellow peony unfurled the petals of her first flower today.

They both hold the promise of many more blooms yet to make their debut. Which color is your favorite?

Clematis Love

We got into a friendly lunch table debate on the proper pronunciation of a plant that’s taking center stage in my garden right now. The lovely lady known as Clematis.

Any way you pronounce it, Clematis ‘Samaritan Jo’ has proven herself to be a stunningly beautiful addition to the southeast corner of our home.

Gardening: Sunscreen and Hats

This is a painful (literally) and somewhat embarrassing post for me to write. I’m not writing it for sympathy comments; rather, my hope is that it will be a reminder to gardeners everywhere.

Sun is a friend of your flowers, but not a friend of your skin.

A Week of Flowers 2024: Day 2

I’m joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for her annual ‘A Week of Flowers‘ meme, taking place this year November 30 – December 6. Though I’m a day late in joining her this year, I appreciate the opportunity to bring a bit of colorful beauty to our chilly December days. It’s December 1st–the sun was out today making it feel a bit warmer than the 19°F registering on my thermometer. Let’s travel back a few months and look at a few garden photos from Spring of 2024.

Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’ put on a very brief show this spring. A late frost turned her beautiful yellow, tulip-shaped cups brown before they had a chance to fully open. However, I caught a glimpse of what beauty this tree will hold in future springs. ‘Elizabeth’ put on a few inches of growth in her first year in our garden, but is still much smaller than her anticipated mature height of greater than 20 feet.

I have forgotten the names of most of my daffodils, but truly love each one of them. The little white one on the left has a lovely waft of fragrance that truly ought to be bottled. The lovely daffodil on the right is a charmer with peachy ruffled cups.

This lovely tulip stood all by herself for quite a few days before she was joined by a few neighboring tulips. I smiled each time I spied her stalwartly standing her ground in my flowerbed.

If I had to pick a favorite type of tulip, it would most definitely be the Angelique tulips. This magnificent red one looks like a peony. She extends the tulip season by opening a little later in spring and her tight double petals can hold their own when brisk winds fly through on nippy days. When fall arrives, I can’t resist planting a few more Angelique tulip bulbs in anticipation of the next year’s daffodil and tulip performance.

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold, when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Henry the Hired Hand

My yard is less than a half acre, but heavily planted with flowerbeds. It keeps me busy in July with digging, dead heading, and dividing. The time has come in my life as a gardener where I have to admit that I need help with the gardening tasks.

Thankfully, Henry (grandson #2), loves his grandma and enjoys helping me in my garden. He also enjoys earning a little pocket money.

Today’s task was digging out the orange ditch lilies which are usurping more than their fair share of flowerbed real estate. I really appreciate his joyful help.

Henry is the world’s best at carefully deadheading spent daylily blossoms.

He also had a little fun with soapsud mustaches as he washed my car.

I’m so thankful for this young man.