Fall Foliage at the U.S. National Arboretum

The fall foliage at the U.S. National Arboretum seemed to peak this week and it's a great time to visit if you're close enough. If you look closely you can see the capitol columns in the background in the photo above.

I love the different reds in the Japanese maple trees in the photo above (taken outside the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, which is within the National Arboretum).

This interestingly shaped tree is near the old capitol columns (I plan to feature a picture of them in an upcoming post so be sure to return in a few days!).

 Graceful yet fiery Japanese maple tree.

Here's an overall shot of the little bonsai maple from yesterday's blog post. Some of its companions have lost their leaves already but it's still a striking display.

May God bless you this autumn and always!

Related posts:
Autumn bonsai: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/11/autumn-bonsai-exhibit-at-us-national.html
Autumn blessing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/09/happy-autumn-blessing.html
Fall foliage in Maryland: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/fall-foliage-in-my-suburban-maryland.html
Peaceful pond trail foliage: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/peaceful-pond-trail-photos-haiku-poem.html

Tulips, Fire Poker Lilies, Japanese Maple & More: This Week in My Maryland Garden

In between rainstorms yesterday I popped out to take these photos for you. Here is what is likely our last tulip of the year and it's a beauty. I think it's a parrot tulip and like the red and white contrast.

Here is one of our first rhododendron blooms of the year. We only have one rhododendron bush but it's a big one. The azaleas are still blooming too.

I suspect that these are fire poker lilies. They're in the shade (imagine we should move them but we still have hundreds of plants in clumps in pots waiting to be replanted since the yard excavation so moving things is taking a back burner to getting our front yard put back together).

 Looking forward to seeing blue iris blooms before next week's post.

When our windows are open the Josee lilacs fill our rooms with their sweet scent. Our old fashioned lilacs aren't likely to bloom this year but I'm just happy they survived the overzealous pruning they received last fall. We still need to dig out the dead wood (which is more obvious now that the tree like bushes now have leaves) so that air will circulate better and hopefully the lilacs will get even healthier.

The Japanese maple seedling I posted about last week and had transplanted directly into the ground wasn't looking so good so I got three more (in hopes that at least one will survive). One is pictured above. They're all in pots and seem to really like the potting soil more than the regular garden soil.  Of course, they'll be more likely to survive if I weed around them so I think I'll go do that after this post.

Every time I view the amazing variety of plants and flowers in my garden or anywhere out in the world I'm amazed at God's creativity and thankful for the beauty on this side of heaven. Imagine how much more vibrant and amazing it will be in paradise! May God bless you and may you enjoy the beauty around you.

Multicolored Blooms, Seedlings, Garden Decor & More: This Week in My Maryland Garden

We've had this geranium (potted) for about a month. I took this photo yesterday (all of the photos in today's post were taken by me either this morning or yesterday) and today I moved it to a bigger pot.

Our potted African daisy is also doing well. I loved the coloring on this particular flower (yellow, lavender and the pale white petal tips).

When I was writing last week's post our yard had been obviously (and significantly) excavated. My fantastic hubby took a day of leave and spent part of the weekend mixing in 6 cubic yards of top soil and laying 11 cubic yards of mulch so now the front yard looks a whole lot better (yay, Ben!).

Hopefully when it's time for next week's post we will have replanted the front yard plants that survived the excavation (we had multiple rose casualties but. God willing, it looks like most of the day lilies and irises will survive). Because so much grass was torn up we decided to expand the flower beds and the hosta you see in the photo above will likely be relocated to the front yard. The snow on the mountain is kind of crowding it out anyway so it will be better for the hosta once it adjusts. I'm hoping to divide the clump into 4-5 smaller plants.

These Chinese character stepping stones are one of our few bits of garden decor left after our giant white rock and other decor were victim to the excavation process.

This is a Japanese maple seedling I'm hoping will make it.

 Last week none of the seedlings Ben planted in March were physically distinguishable from one another but this week we can clearly see that these are cosmos seedlings.

And these are zinnia seedlings. Ben only planted cosmos and zinnia so it's easy to tell them apart. I planted a fresh batch of annual zinnia seedlings yesterday (to fill space in the front yard this summer while we work on a long term plan).

This little fern was stuck under a pile of leaves on our shady side garden. I pulled it upward so it could get some sun and crushed the leaves around it so they will break down faster and eventually provide  nutrients to the little fern. I suspect it's a Japanese Painted Fern (aka Ghost Fern) so once it recovers it should be beautiful.

In late March I posted a photo of our old fashioned bleeding heart and it's still blooming beautifully. This week our new fringe leafed bleeding heart started blooming. I just planted it last fall so it's a tiny plant but it should eventually grow to a decent size and bloom from about this time of year to frost (unlike the old fashioned kind which die back after their spring blooming period).

Hope you enjoyed my photographic tour of my Maryland garden! May your blooms be bountiful and may God bless you!

Spring Tulips at the National Cathedral

I love the National Cathedral's Bishop garden. While it's most impressive in the summer (there's an amazing rose garden and a great variety of other flowers), I was thrilled by the abundant tulip blooms. The garden was much less crowded on this visit than any of my previous summer visits.

As you can see from the artwork embedded in the stone wall, the National Cathedral's gardens have delights for the eyes all year.

Although I live not too far north of Washington DC, I'm in a completely different planting zone and our tulips have just barely started to bloom.

Going south to see favorite flowers before they bloom in my area helps extend the season (as does going north after they finish in my area).

I hope you enjoyed this mini tour of the National Cathedral's Bishop garden's tulip beds. May God bless the National Cathedral's staff and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
National Cathedral photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/04/national-cathedral-photos-and-good.html
My red and white parrot tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/tulips-fire-poker-lilies-japanese-maple.html
My orange Angelique tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/tulips-daisies-and-more-flower-photos.html
My pink and white Angelique tulips: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/azaleas-lilacs-ghost-ferns-tulips-and.html
Tulips, daffodils and spring blooms: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/happy-spring-floral-photos-this-week-in.html

Nature: Day 15 of 30 Days of Thanksgiving

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1 (NIV)

Today I'm focusing on being thankful for this beautiful world God has created. I love nature enjoy getting outside whenever possible. Even though today is an overcast, gray-skied day, I had a wonderful walk this morning. First of all, I'm very thankful to have recovered from a recent string of illnesses. While I still need to take it easy and rest more than usual for a while, it's a huge blessing to be able to walk for exercise again. 

Even in my busy suburban neighborhood there were many natural autumn joys to see. I saw a squirrel feasting on an acorn, birds flying, beautiful red, feathery Japanese maple leaves and some late blooming black eyed Susan flowers. 

I like to pray as I walk and getting outside helps me connect more fully with God. Although the skies were overcast, for just a few seconds there was a break in the clouds and the sun shone right on my face. It was like a kiss from the Lord. Beautifully touching and a moment well worth savoring and being thankful for.

What are you thankful for today? What natural beauty surrounds you? May God bless you and keep you, dear friend!

Rain Drenched Flowers and a Squirrely Surprise

First firey dahlia blooms: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" We've had a lot of rain but that's good for the flowers. The bright reddish orange and yellow bicolor dahlia pictured above is a new addition to our garden and I love it. 

Hot pink dahlia flower: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

 We planted the hot pink bicolor dahlia outside and I hope it survives the current cold snap.

Dianthus with raindrops: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

The window box dianthus is thriving and I thought it looked neat with the raindrops on its petals.

First white impatiens: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Another new addition to my garden is this white rose-like impatiens. The red in the background is my mini Japanese maple seedling garden. For now, they're sharing the window box. I'm hoping enough survive to make some bonsais for inside and grow a few in pots for outside. The one I started in 2012 made it through a few winters but is no longer with us so this time I wanted extra plants, just in case.

Surprise squirrel: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

On a rare sunny day this squirrel kept running in front of our hellebore and azalea bushes and I finally got a photo. She's a fast one. I think she likes making my cat's head go back and forth (my cat watches from the window).

That's all for this week's mini garden tour. I hope my flower photos make  you smile.

Which was your favorite? What is spring like in your area?

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!
 
Related posts:
Black squirrel close ups: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/04/black-squirrel-close-up-photos.html
Dahlias and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/04/dahlia-hyacinth-tulip-lilac-and.html
Dianthus and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/04/first-and-last-azalea-strawberry-pansy.html

Irises, Pansies, Begonias and a Rose with Tiny Bees

Pale purple iris: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The irises and roses have started blooming and I think they look especially pretty with raindrops on their petals.

Burgundy & yellow pansies: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Most of my neighbors have already pulled up their pansies but as long as they look great we're letting ours stay. I did plant other flowers in between the rows of pansies though so once they start to fade there will already be established plants in their area.

Creamy yellow rose with bees: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

This pale yellow rose, which I think is a knockout rose, smells lovely and the bees (even the teeny tiny ones in the photo above) seem more drawn to it than our other roses. It was also the first to start blooming this year.

Deep purple blue irises: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

These deep purple/blue irises smell lovely too. The only iris we have that smells nicer is our giant yellow and that one's just starting to bud. Maybe next week I'll have a yellow iris photo to share.

Yellow nonstop begonias: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

This is my first ever nonstop begonia. The largest flower is almost four inches across. I wish I'd asked the nursery worker what they used for fertilizer because the new blooms coming in are much smaller. But they're still a lovely yellow which brightens up a shady corner of our side yard, which I appreciate. That's all for this week's post. I hope you enjoyed my flower photos and pray that God will bless you this spring and always!

Which photo(s) did you like best? What's blooming in your area?

Related posts:
Yellow irises: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/05/yellow-blue-purple-and-white-irises.html
Kenilworth irises: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/flowers-at-kenilworth-aquatic-gardens.html
Iris  buds: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/tulips-fire-poker-lilies-japanese-maple.html