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Friday, September 18, 2015

Blue Ribbon Flowers for Floral Friday

Happy Floral Friday! This is a special edition of "this week in my Maryland garden" as all the flowers were grown in my garden but the photos were taken on location at the fair (several days after they'd been cut then judged and displayed). The flowers looked nicer the day I cut them but I wasn't able to get photos at that time.

I am amazed, honored and excited to have been awarded at least 21 blue ribbons in the flower department (I entered in 49 categories)! A large number of my entries were in the zinnia categories, such as the pretty little orange zinnia in the photo above.

Until I'd entered in the fair for the first time I thought you could only enter one type of flower for the fair (for example, one rose, one zinnia, one marigold) but it turns out that my fair has many categories, mostly based on color and diameter/size (and they even get out their rulers when you submit to make sure you're entering in the right size category). I think I was able to enter three different white zinnias, in the "under 1 inch", "1-2 inch" and "2-4 inch" categories, and two, including the one above, won blue ribbons. Pretty neat! Especially since I grew these white zinnias from seed.

I was especially excited that my giant red zinnia, also grown from seed, won a blue ribbon. I thought I'd have giant orange, pink and purple to enter too but while they were close, none of the pretty ones were over the 4" in diameter required for the "large" zinnia category. Only the red had large enough blooms. Although, when I bought the seeds, they were all supposed to be red anyway. The giants of other colors were a surprise blessing.

My dahlias have mostly petered out but I was able to enter two in the miniature category and they both won blue ribbons. The bicolor one, pictured above and a burgundy one.

The roses are also producing fewer blooms now that autumn is approaching but this divine smelling red rose won a blue ribbon. My pink one won a lesser ribbon but the person who earned first place definitely deserved it.

Hearty thanks to my kind hearted husband who carried all my vases in for me and waited patiently while I entered everything! And for all the times he watered my flowers for me too! And congratulations to him on his photography ribbon!

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

If you'd like a vote in selecting this week's most popular flower photo, please let me know which photo you like best from today's post. Also, if you enter in your own county fair, I'd love to hear about it! And feel free to share any tips on entering fairs too.

Related posts:
2013 county fair flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/09/county-fair-photos-haikus-and-results.html
2012 county fair flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-flower-photos-for-floral-friday.html
County fair flower art: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/flower-paintings-for-floral-friday.html

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Flowers from Missy's Gardens

On Thursday I shared some overview photos of my friend Missy's marvelous gardens. Today I want to share some close up photos of her beautiful flowers. My bee balm isn't even blooming yet but hers is full of beautiful pink flowers.

Missy had at least five different kinds of phlox but this pink and white phlox was my favorite.

I also loved her flowering strawberry plants. The bees did too (if you look closely in the flower above there's a bee in the center of the most prominent flower).

Neither one of us knew what this foliage plant was called but it sure is pretty.

Missy's purple widow's tears flowers had bright chartreuse foliage and provided nice contrast to the darker green foliage surrounding it.

Thank you so much for sharing your garden, dear Missy! May God bless Missy and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
Missy's fall flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/chrysanthemum-rose-and-butterfly-plant.html
Missy's garden photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/06/missys-marvelous-gardens.html
Flower macro photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/05/dahlias-ranunculus-azaleas-lilacs-and.html
Close up flower photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html
Rainy day flower photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/rainy-day-flowers-this-week-in-my.html

Friday, June 19, 2015

Coreopsis, Zinnia, Hydrangea, Dahlia and Golden Sundrop Flower Photos

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" I had so many "critter on flower" pictures that I'm saving some for the next "wild Wednesday" post so be sure to come back for those. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today's pretty blooms. The red coreopsis are still going strong and the bees are enjoying the sea of flowers.

I was super excited to see our first giant zinnia bloom. After falling in love with the giant red zinnias at the National Arboretum last year, I bought a seed packet that was supposed to produce only red flowers in hopes of having some of my own. Even though this one is clearly orange (and not red), I love it. Since this flower opened I've seen another from the seed packet with white blooms. I think more than 20 of the seeds sprouted so there are at least 18 more changes for an actual red zinnia.

Last year I don't think our hydrangeas produced any flowers so I was thrilled to see flower heads forming this year. This is our very first bloom of the year (it's just starting to open).

The miniature dahlias I planted earlier this spring are producing another rush of flowers.

And the heliopsis plants (also called golden sundrops) are producing a lot of bright yellow flowers which have been atracting golden finches. Usually I deadhead flowers this early in the season but I've been leaving spent blooms on these because I like watching the finches feed on them.

That's all for this week's mini flower garden tour. Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Giant dahlias: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/four-dahlias-and-dianthus-for-floral.html
Sunflowers and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/sunflowers-dahlias-marigolds-verbena.html
Bright dahlias: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/delightful-dahlia-close-up-photos.html

Friday, July 1, 2016

Lavender, Spirea, Double Day Lily, Mexican Blanket Flower and Vinca for Floral Friday

Happy July, floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The bees love our lavender. I have five hardy lavender plants in this bed and think of it as my mini lavender field.

Our spirea bush has been in a medium pot for years and the roots have grown through the drain holes into the soil so we decided to leave it in the pot.

The double flowering orange day lilies started blooming this week and I think they might be our most vigorous day lilies, growing larger clumps and spreading more each year.

I thought our red Mexican blanket flower didn't make it through the winter but was pleasantly surprised to see its leaves appear a few weeks ago and its flowering start this week.

The vinca is holding up nicely in the heat. It's a lovely time for a Maryland flower garden.

Thank you for visiting! That's all for this week's mini garden tour. May God bless you!

Related posts:
Funky lavender and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/05/funky-lavender-thyme-allium-marigold.html
Red, white and blue flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/red-white-and-blue-flowers-and-haiku.html
Bicolor day lily and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/morning-glory-bicolor-day-lily-magic.html

Friday, October 16, 2015

October Flowers and Fall Foliage

Happy floral Friday! Looks like we're going to have our first frost of the season tonight so I spent some time in our Maryland garden potting up tender herbs, cutting flowers and gathering tomatoes. The best looking thing in our yard right now is an artificial flower arrangement. But I do have some actual living things photographed below for you.

Here's an overview shot of our autumn flower arrangement. It's hanging beside the door we use the most often. Even though it's outside it has a protective overhang so should survive the season.

This unusual chrysanthemum is usually the last of our plants to bloom for the year. So that means the end of this year's "this week in my Maryland garden" posts. But, God willing, I hope to be back next spring with more garden photos to share.

The miniature marigolds that took so long to start blooming are now looking their best. I hope they survive the frost.

Our nandina is starting to turn a beautiful red color, at least in the sunniest parts. The rest of the bush should start turning soon. We used to have two of these but one was victim of the backhoe.

This isn't the prettiest time for a flower garden but there are still blooms, the birds are singing, the foliage is lovely. Autumn is an enjoyable season for us.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you this fall and always!

Related posts:
Autumn flowers in MD: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/autumn-maryland-garden-flower-photos.html
Unusual chrysanthemum plantings: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/11/chrysanthemum-kaleidoscope-photos.html
Raindrops on autumn flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/10/raindrop-drenched-dahlia-chrysanthemum.html

Friday, July 15, 2016

Lavender Wreath Making at Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm

Happy floral Friday! Last Saturday my friend Sandy and I enjoyed a lavender class at Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm. We had a great time and she kindly agreed to model with the wreath she made in our class (thank you, Sandy!).

We also made some new friends, including Barb, who kindly modeled the pre-made wreath form provided to us for making our lavender wreaths (thank you, Barb!). If I heard correctly, the wreath bases were made from organic thornless rose bushes grown on Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm.

The instructor (whose name I didn't hear, but who was super nice) demonstrated each step.

These are some of the materials used to make our wreaths. We harvested our own lavender flowers from Willow Oak's flower and herb gardens. We each cut 36 stems from their lavender plants, lined them up (using the bottom of the flower heads as the alignment point), trimmed the whole group of stems to about three inches each, then separated them into six piles of six stems each for making the wreaths. As you can imagine, the wreath making area smelled great.

Willow Oak also provided previously dried statice and tiny white flowers as accents and a piece of lavender ribbon to finish off the wreath. The lavender class was a fun experience, made even nicer for having been shared with friends.

What is your favorite herb? If you have any wreath making tips, I'd love to hear them!

Thank you for visiting! May God bless my kindhearted models and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
My lavender: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/07/lavender-spirea-double-day-lily-mexican.html
My Spanish lavender: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/05/funky-lavender-thyme-allium-marigold.html
DIY sleep tea with lavender: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/diy-sleepy-time-tea-recipe.html

Note/disclaimer: I wasn't asked or paid to write this post. All opinions are my own.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Sparkling Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, Zinnia, Pansies and a Busy Bee

Happy floral Friday! I took these photos yesterday after a heavy rain. I love how the flowers sparkle and glisten in the sun when covered in raindrops. The yellow chrysanthemum above is starting to turn bronze on the edges and makes it feel more like autumn here in my Maryland garden.

But the buzzing bees make it feel like summer is still hanging in there. I love the curly petals at the center of this bicolor dahlia.

The bright yellow zinnias are a ray of sunshine, no matter what the sky is doing.

These funky petaled pink, yellow and white dahlias make me smile every time I see them. I love how the pinks go from pale to hot pink with other shades in between and all on one flower. This year I'm going to try digging up tubers again. Last year I didn't succeed so any tips from you would be greatly appreciated! Particularly on how to dig them up without piercing the tubers (which I found out the hard way aren't necessarily directly below the stalks), how long to let them air dry before storing them away for the winter and how to store them away.

My husband planted the wheelbarrow full of pansies and bought some more to fill out the triangular area they're now enjoying (previously occupied by a load of marigolds and a few pink zinnias). They were beaten down by the heavy rain and are showing the stress of being transplanted but should perk up in a few days if the weather cooperates. As I mentioned last week, when God smiles on our garden the pansies can bloom right through winter, into spring and sometimes even early summer.

You can see (from left to right) some of our coreopsis, zinnias, roses, perilla and lantana in the closer background and our and neighbors' trees and big shrubs in the far background.

Thank you for visiting! Every week brings new joy in my Maryland flower garden. I aim to post every Friday from spring through first frost so be sure to visit again soon for more flower photos. May God bless you!

Related posts:
Wheelbarrow pansies: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-wheelbarrow-full-of-pansies-for.html
Freeloaders and flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/search?q=funky
Autumn Maryland flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/autumn-maryland-garden-flower-photos.html

Friday, September 14, 2012

Fair Flower Photos for Floral Friday

Earlier this week I posted about my county fair frenzy so I thought for floral Friday I'd show you some of the flowers I entered in the fair. These aren't the actual blooms entered but are flowers from the same plants (thought you'd appreciate the prettier ones still on the plants).

I think our yellow knockout rose earned a blue (1st place) ribbon. I love this rose because it smells slightly lemony and the blooms fade to white so it's like you get two kinds of roses on one plant.

I think our white hybrid tea rose also earned a county fair ribbon.

I'm not actually sure what type of rose this is but I guessed it was a floribunda and I think it earned a blue ribbon.

Last year our orange zinnia earned a first place (blue) ribbon but this year I think it earned third place (white). Even though I grew this plant from seeds I gathered from last year's blue ribbon winner, the rabbits kept eating the seedlings down to the ground and this plant is a good two feet shorter than it's parent was. The birds, butterflies and bees still love it though.

I think our red and pink zinnias that I started from seed after our front yard was excavated this spring earned white and red ribbons. You might wonder why I keep writing "I think." Well, I entered over 30 flowers and floral arrangements and I didn't write down my results so while I'm pretty sure I remember correctly, I'm not 100% sure. On Monday I'll pick up my vases and ribbons and then I can give a true count. I wish I'd taken pictures of the fresh floral arrangements before submitting them, especially because they were my first floral arrangements ever entered in any kind of contest. However, they are already suffering from the heat and humidity and don't look so hot now. Also, as a separate note to remember for next year, I'll have to find out if it's permissible to add a flower preservative to the water (I assumed it wasn't but it can't hurt to ask) because that would help them all to last longer.

So, those are 5 of the 30+ flower entries I clipped from our Maryland garden and entered in our county fair this year. It was a lot of work to make sure all the flowers and vases met the requirements and fill out the paperwork and tags. I'm not sure I'll ever enter so many again but it was certainly fun to do once.

Which flower did you like best? Have you ever entered anything in a county or state fair? I'd love to hear about it!

May God bless you, dear reader!

Friday, June 10, 2016

Rose, Purple Coneflower, Shasta Daisy, Sweet Pea and Zinnia Flowers

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The roses are at peak glory with beautiful flowers covering the bushes.

The echinacea (also known as purple coneflower) is just beginning it's season.

This is the very first shasta daisy flower of the year here in my Maryland garden.

I'm not sure if this is year two or three for our sweet peas but from two surviving plants we now have about an eight foot diameter spread of their vines.

Last week I finally planted my giant red zinnia seeds but my kind husband bought these mini zinnias for me while I wait for the giants to grow. It's nice to have color in the zinnia areas already.

That's all for this week's mini garden tour. Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Which was your favorite photo? What is your favorite flower scent?

Related posts:
Bees on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html
Giant zinnia and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html
Butterflies on coneflowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/butterflies-and-bees-love-purple.html