Rain, Rain, Glorious Rain

A thundershower rolled over our area right after daybreak this morning bringing another 1 and 1/4 inches of rain. As it moved on and the sun came out everything was so bright and washed clean. One of my happiest spring rituals is measuring rainfall. I like to know how much is actually falling on my garden....not satisified with knowing how much falls at the airport across town! I measure except when the temperatures fall below freezing....have broken so many gauges...can't find one that is unbreakable. We have had 7 and 1/2 inches of rain since the first day of this month.....every drop is a true blessing that cannot be duplicated by any man-made means. Every living thing just seems to dance with joy and thanksgiving to the Creator after a spring rain.




The lake behind our house, which is spring-fed, and never goes very low...even in dry weather, is filled to the brim after all our wonderful rainfall. This photo was taken this morning a few feet down below the spillway where the excess water runs off....what a beautiful sight! This is the first year in recent years for this much runoff. It used to always be this way 20 or so years ago. Our weather does occur in cycles. I hope this current cycle lasts for awhile.

When we open our bedroom window at night we can hear the happy gurgling sound of rushing water.....what a joy to fall asleep to the sound of that music and be wakened at dawn by the singing of a multitude of birds!

Spring Discoveries

A welcome addition to a springtime supper....wild asparagus and morel mushrooms!






Mr. and Mrs. Honker have successfully nested! They scouted out the area for a couple of weeks before establishing residence on the side of the lake nearest our house. In previous years, we have found wild geese nesting on the far side, but, this is the first time to have them so near. This pair seems to not mind us walking near and they are not scared when we drive up the road and find them feeding in the garden. They are still coming off the nest and feeding in our garden, but, now they take turns...where before the nesting, they always came together.

This is the site they have chosen for their nest....just at the edge of the water...and only a few feet from a walking path...directly behind the picnic table in this photo. Guess they wanted a great waterfront view....with all the convenience of easy accessibility!

The sweetest Lily in the field....

This morning I had an email, from a robin post, where several members were giving links to photos of their adorable grandchildren. I remembered these pics I took last summer, in June, when our youngest granddaughter, Lily, visited for the day. She brought along her Mommy, her bff, Saylor, and Saylor's Mommy. The girls were just beginning to walk independently and they toddled all over the place....getting their 'land legs'....having mostly practiced their new found skills inside. What a lovely day outside we all had! We savored watching them explore...and taste most everything they encountered! No worry, we garden without harmful sprays, so there was no chemical danger.....and every part of the daylily plant, from root to bloom is quite edible....the blooms are especially 'tasty'......with a flavor like sweet iceberg lettuce. They can be used in salad .....adds interesting color.

We grow more than 1,000 varieties of daylilies.....and some are quite 'rare' and new, but, none will ever be so sweet and dear as our own Lily....whose full name is Lillian Grace. Her Mom gave her the nickname 'Lily' so she would have her own 'edge' among our 6 grandchildren!

I've added a new Picasa photo link to the right ....with all the photos from our lovely June day.

An old dog CAN learn new tricks!

Hooray! I have learned how to add a link for my Picasa web albums....now I can showcase my daylily photos! There are now 2 links at the top right of my blog; one album for my seedlings (new flowers that have 'been borne' of my hybridizing efforts...and I'm currently evaluating, but not registered ...yet) and one album for photos of registered (with the American Hemerocallis Society) daylily cultivars...these are registered named plants that have been introduced and their hybridizers have made available to the market. All registered/introduced plants start life as someone's seedling.

So, please click on the links and have a look at my daylilies.

Remembering old and dear friends in the garden...the joy of 'pass along' plants!

A walk through my garden finds so many plants that were gifts of friends, old and new, and the 'gifting' enhances so much of my enjoyment of the plants. As I walk by 'Cerise Queen' yarrow...(shown in the above photo) ...now growing in so many spots!....the memory of my Aunt 'Tine, my Daddy's only sister, who so loved everything 'garden'....comes sweetly to me.....like a fragrance on the breeze.

A view of sedum 'Autumn Joy' reminds me of Michael, a man of knowledge and many interests (he taught and did research at Vanderbilt University Medical School and is an avid gardener) who welcomed us to Middle Tennessee Daylily Society with this gift.

My first heuchera was a gift from Linda, across town, who is so kind and generous. There is a row of bearded iris from Margaret, a former postal customer, who had many lovely iris and limited space in her retirement village and just needed some of them 'to go to a good home'. There is black columbine from Gladene, 'Dragon's Blood' sedum from Cheryl, a crooked willow taken as a cutting from the old home place where I grew up ....courtesy of my Mom, and all the remnants of my husband's grandmother's planting of lilacs and daffodils 60+ years ago, when she tended some of this land we live on.

Last evening, at our spring daylily society meeting, I got a fragrant, white lilac from Emily, who got it from her husband's Mother's home in Vermont. I will happily choose it a place of honor among the other treasures. Every season brings new beauty and memories of all I've known and shared with these precious 'givers'. .....and as guests come to share the beauty of our garden, I'll grab a pot or bag, and a shovel....and say 'oh, here, you should have a small start of this for your garden'. A garden is truly a living thing!

This is Pilgrim's Choice, a SDB (standard dwarf bearded) iris....a gift last year from my daylily society buddy, Joyce, who has a beautiful garden in Mount Juliet, TN. Her garden is predominately daylily, but, she has incorporated such a variety of other interesting plants.....it's one of my top favorite places to visit.

Pilgrim's Choice was the second to bloom this season, and it is so pleasing to me situated at the end of my little rock garden. Directly behind it, the new foliage of an old heirloom (hardy) crysanthemun can be seen. It was the gift of a shy elderly neighbor, Cecil, who is no longer walking with us. He came knocking on my door one morning with this plant in a bucket....said it was a piece of his Mama's 'yellow flower' (it is really a bronze) and he wanted me to have some. I had known his Mother....she was quite the vegetable gardener....and it meant so much that he wanted to share with me. Now, walking past the plant, growing and flourishing in my garden, I smile and remember both of them....simple, good, people who once walked this earth....enjoying the feel of the soil in their hands. May they rest in the Peace of God.


This photo is Aurora Sea, a MDB (miniature dwarf beaded) iris. It is the first to bloom in our spring garden. I love it's color....it grows 7" tall and is at the front of a border....it's one of those that must be seen up close....I find so much beauty in it's 'tiny perfection'. I get most of my favorite iris, including this one, from Denise Stewart of Snowpeak Iris in Lebanon, Oregon. Denise is a great gal to order from....I met her originally when she bought a daylily from me on the Lily Auction. I've ordered from her for about 4 years and her plants are so strong and healthy.

Oh, the anticipation of bloom season!

This seedling, also growing in this bed, is from a cross of Rodeo Sweetheart and Grace From Above. I love to remember the blooms as I look over and evaluate the growth and increase of the plants. Every phase of growing these flowers has its own joy!

This seedling, from last year is a cross between Wedding Feast and Mandalay Bay Music.

This is one of my 'seedling' beds....daylily seedlings are 2-3 years old from germination. In the background of the photo is the little 'flower house' my husband has made from a metal framing that formerly was a dog kennel. It is mostly a 'cold frame'....but, if needed, we can heat it with a portable heater to keep the temp up to an exceptable level. I have all my daylily seedlings, grown from last summer's efforts, growing in 20 oz. Styrofoam cups in there now. I will plant them out at the first of May. We also start some garden plants in the little house.

Springtime on the mountain.

We found bluebells all along the mountain road....these plants have such beautiful green leaves...almost prettier than the flower! They are growing mingled with wild larkspur...which was not blooming...just beginning to bud. Together they make a nice combination planting ....the bluebell with its paler lavender flower and smooth leaves and the larkspur with its 'teethy' leaves and deep purple flower.