Clematis – Barefoot Lily Lady

Waiting for Flowers to Bloom

Flowers blooming in our garden are one of my favorite things to photograph. To my eye, even the buds just waiting to open hold a special kind of beauty. The too numerous to count buds intrigue me with the anticipation of the beauty yet to come as they await their unfurling. If the buds whisper His name, the glorious unfurling of the blooms shouts and cries out, “See! See my design? Take a look at the intricacy of my petals! Take a deep breath and bask in my aroma! Praise be to God, the Master Designer and Creator!”

Throughout the summer I have been spending snippets of time reading a beautifully written devotional, The Well-Watered Woman–Rooted in Truth, Growing in Grace, Flourishing in Faith, by Gretchen Saffles. The pictures she paints with her words make me feel like Gretchen is walking me through a garden and pointing out spiritual truths to be gleaned, much as Jesus did as He walked with his disciples.

“Waiting for flowers to bloom brought anticipation to my heart after a season of loss. Each day I looked forward to checking for signs of change. Through that process of slow growth, God showed me that sorrow and darkness don’t last forever. Even in death, God can bring about life.”
Gretchen Saffles, The Well-Watered Woman

“The well-watered woman doesn’t put off living as she waits for “someday,” she knows her mission is now and she lives with Gospel purpose guiding her every step.”

~ Gretchen Saffles, The Well-Watered Woman

“As we behold the beauty of God in Scripture and in creation, our hearts are sparked to praise his name, both now and forever. Every sunrise, every sunset beckons us to set aside distractions to enjoy the best part—praising our faithful, righteous, steadfast, glorious God.”

~ Gretchen Saffles in The Word Before World

I love (and need) this reminder:

“In our quest for a fruitful life, it’s important to remember that blooms aren’t continuous. They come and go, but that doesn’t mean the moments in between are unnecessary or less important. Blooms result from the faithful labor done in the planting, the rooting, the growing, and the waiting. You can’t enjoy a flower without the long process that brought it to that point.”

~ Gretchen Saffles, The Well-Watered Woman

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

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.

June Chair Garden Update

On May 12th, I shared this photo and wrote, “I can’t wait to see how this year’s chair garden fills out.”

I added, “I’m already enamored with its beauty. I’ll keep you posted.”

Well, here’s the June update!

The chair back provides a lovely support for Clematis ‘Sunset’

Isn’t she lovely?

For the Love of Purple

Come with me for a little tour of lovely purple-y blossoms in my flower garden.

One of my mom’s irises now blooming beautifully in my garden.

Earlier this Spring, Allium looked sweet popping up Willy-nilly in my sunny flowerbeds

Iris ‘Honky-Tonk Blues’ is a reliable re-bloomer.

An iris I have dubbed ‘Beth’s Favorite’ in honor of my daughter Beth.

Violas, or ‘Johnny Jump-Up’s’ have been re-seeding themselves for years

A timeless beauty—Clematis ‘Comtesse de Bouchaud’ is bursting with pinkish-lavender flowers. Love it!

Another view of gorgeous Clematis ’Comtesse de Bouchard’

I call these gals my ‘Carolinda’ irises — shared from the gardens of my two sweet aunts, Carolyn and Linda

I have a love-hate relationship with Spiderwort. It stays because it’s beautiful…and because it refuses to leave.

Love the lavender fluff in the center of this white spiderwort!

No post featuring the color purple (my mom’s favorite color) would be complete without a photo of one of her blue flowerpots brimming with purple and white supertunias.

On second thought—I think I will end this purple flower show with a photo of my sweet, purple -lovin’ momma.

Rain-drenched Beauty

Mid-Summer Garden Lovelies

First sunflower to open—a volunteer from 2022’s crop.

The succulent chair garden is flourishing!

This lacecap hydrangea is from a funeral basket arrangement 15 years ago. A sweet reminder of the love of my cousins and my dad’s legacy of faith.

A white Asiatic Lily on the west side of the house.

Clematis ‘Princess Diana’ still looking rather regal

This & That – an eclectic hodgepodge of plants and purple-y painted miscellany after a refreshing rain. The purple in my garden is my quiet nod to my sweet Momma’s battle with Alzheimer’s. .

***“And the yellow sunflower in beauty stood.”***
***~William Cullen Bryant***

Six on Saturday: Gushing with Beauty

Welcome to my garden. If you love all things purple and pink, you’re in for a flowery treat.

What a difference a few weeks of time can make in the metamorphic beauty of a garden.

We’re going through quite a dry spell here in my part of the world–a few sprinkles and light showers here and there, but nothing earth-quenching to speak of. My husband has been helping me keep the gardens watered, so most of our plants are holding their own and not too stressed. The peonies and iris have completed their summer visit, but my clematis vines are now absolutely gushing with beauty. Here’s a peek at six of my favorites (at the moment).

It’s been a pleasure having you stop by for a “Six on Saturday” peek at what’s happening in my Wisconsin garden. If you’d like to see more beautiful garden spaces, pop on over for a virtual visit with Jim at Garden Ruminations–where you’ll find his comment section to be a pleasant pastime.

Wordless Wednesday: Budding Beauties

(Not) Six on Saturday: Winter Thaw

Winter is waning here in southern Wisconsin. According to the groundhog, it’s certainly not over, but we’re inching our way to its inevitable end.

The days are getting brighter, for which I am glad. The sub-zero weather is finished (for now) and warmer temps are moving in to melt the snowy, icy mess dumped on us on Thursday.

Though it’s not exactly gardening weather yet, I did go outside today to tidy up a few things.

It was definitely time to get rid of these gourds leftover from fall decorating. I had already tossed most of them, but found a stray buried beneath the snow. The gourds pictured (and more…24 in all) were all grown on one volunteer vine that pretty much took over an entire flowerbed in the front yard. It was novel and fun, but I don’t want a repeat performance, so out it goes.

I also surveyed a clematis vine that needs pruning back. I hope to tidy this one up on one of my days off next week.

Unfortunately, I left my galvanized watering cans out in the snow this winter. I pulled them both out of a drift of snow and was saddened to see how much the bottoms had buckled. I’m kicking myself for that negligence, as the bottom of both cans is now bulging, so the cans rock when you set them on a flat surface. One was my dad’s watering can, so it makes me especially sad that I didn’t take good care of it.

Joining in with Jim and the SOS gardener-types on this spring-like, yet snow-covered Saturday from my Wisconsin garden. Somewhere underneath our blanket of snow, I know things are gearing up for Spring, but there’s not much going on right now that’s worth photographing. If you want to see some real garden color, visit the gardens around the world represented on our Six on Saturday host’s site at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/