Purple – Barefoot Lily Lady

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.

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.

A Gardener’s Quiet Nod to Alzheimer’s Awareness

I walked alongside my mother in the part of her life where Alzheimer’s dementia was her daily companion. I’m grateful for that time spent with her and learned so much as we traveled those years together.

She’s been enjoying heaven for three years now —freed from the bondage of failing mind and body. In these three years, I’m gradually learning to enjoy the freedom to spend moments (more like hours) of joy playing in the dirt in my garden.

If you were to visit my garden (and I hope you will), you might notice little splashes of purple objects d’art sprinkled throughout the flowerbeds. Second-hand curtain and drapery rods, trellises, and various chairs have all taken on a coat or two of purple spray paint.

Why purple? It’s both in memory of my mother (who loved that color), and also my quiet nod to Alzheimer’s awareness.

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.

Six on Saturday: It’s a Dirty Job

It’s midnight. Given all the time I’ve spent the past few days in my garden, you’d think I’d be sleeping. This week has found me out in my garden tidying up flowerbeds. The casual passerby probably won’t notice what I accomplished, but I see it in the little things. Buckets and bins full of weeds and garden debris. Dead branches trimmed out of trees and bushes (courtesy of my wonderful husband). Spent peony blossoms removed. Bits of this and that moved here and there. Korean lilac bushes trimmed back by a third. Flowerbeds weeded and mulched. There’s much more to do, but it feels so good to see progress. Without further ado, here are my six:

This week I’m seeing Japanese iris blooming. They always seem to wait until their German bearded iris and Siberian iris cousins are finished blooming before they unfurl their lovely petals. This one is my favorite and it looks adorable next to my painted mailbox (I keep a spare set of garden hand tools in there). The purple is not as vibrant as it was last year, but they are still gorgeous.

2) There’s a cute not-so-little backyard garden center on the edge of a nearby town. The lady pots up divisions of her perennials and sells them for $5 each. I try to visit her each Spring and bring home a new treasure (or two or three). Last year I added this lovely bit on the front edge of a very sunny front yard flowerbed. It has doubled in size, has very interesting and attractive crinkled foliage, and is loaded with flower spikes in the prettiest shade of purple. I think I’d like to add a few more of these to my garden next year (might even be able to divide this one).

3) I volunteered some time earlier in the week to tidying up the gardens at BeeHive, the assisted living memory care facility where my mom lived for the last year of her life. I was trimming up a dwarf crabapple tree and found this sweet little robin’s nest with three napping babies.

Snuck a quick photo while Momma Robin was out shopping for breakfast.

4). My clematis vines on my arbor entrance to the backyard are definitely climbing and just might meet up in the middle by summer’s end. The pink clematis on the left is ‘Princess Diana’, a lovely bell-shaped rebloomer. I should have trained it to the trellis earlier, as doing so now might damage some of the blossoms. I’m still not sure what the purple one on the right is called, but it’s a transplant from my mom’s garden in Milwaukee and I’m just happy it’s thriving and blooming at relatively the same time as ‘Princess Diana’.

I’m considering painting the arbor next year. It’s about 15 years old, but still in good shape; however, it seems to be made of 2 different metals, which are aging differently too. As you might have noticed in previous SOS posts, I’ve painted a lot of things purple as garden accents, but am unsure what I’d do with this. Should I leave it more neutral, or give the arbor a punch of color? (Please leave a comment below if you’d like to weigh in and help me decide.)

5) The surprise Asiatic lily bulb (a surprise only because I forgot that I planted it last fall and had NO IDEA what color it was) is now open. Definitely a pretty shade or orange.

6) And what would a garden be without lush greenery? I’m loving how much this hosta bed next to the deck on the north side of my house is filling out this year.

That completes my better late than never “Six on Saturday” post for this week. Here’s my invitation to join with me and gardeners from all around the world who post photos (words optional) of six things in the garden on a Saturday. Let me tip my hat to The Propagator, the creator of Six on Saturday, who provides the forum for gardeners to virtually traipse through one another’s gardens every week. It’s a lovely way to show off our gardens (both the pretty and the yummy), share knowledge, and even glean some advice for how to deal with our garden failures. Have a great week, friends.