Love, Joy and Peas: July 2016

Friday, July 29, 2016

Day Lilies, Strawberry, Dahlias and Butterfly Bush Flowers

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The double orange day lilies are still producing a few flowers, which I greatly appreciate.

I planted this pink flowering strawberry (Tristan) last year but didn't get any flowers or fruit so I'm thankful to have flowers from it this year. I hope one day it will grow a strawberry or two.

This pretty pink-purple dahlia has been producing flowers for months now.

As long as I remember to water them frequently enough the dahlias keep flowering.

The butterfly bushes are great survivors and butterflies and bees love them.

This special little bicolor day lily survived under some larger day lilies' foliage. I think of it as my miracle day lily as it doesn't get much sun.

It's hot and humid here in Maryland but the flowers are gorgeous. Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Unusual dahlias: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/four-dahlias-and-dianthus-for-floral.html
Powerhouse dahlias: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/sunflowers-dahlias-marigolds-verbena.html
Philadelphia Dahlia Show: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/philadelpha-dahlia-society-flower-show.html

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Stretching Kitten for Wild Wednesday

Happy wild Wednesday! Just a short post today. The summer heat is getting to the kittens, who are lounging about lazily. I thought this photo of our Sandman kitten was funny. He started to reach for something and then gave up and just stayed there. Cuteness!

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and those you love!

Related posts:
Our new kittens first pics: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/05/braveheart-and-sandman-our-new-kittens.html
Yawning cuddling kittens: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/06/cute-kittens-yawning-and-cuddling.html
Lion cubs: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/05/little-lion-cubs-for-wild-wednesday.html

Friday, July 22, 2016

Apricot Rose, Pink Veronica, Dahlia, Zinnia and Day Lilies for Floral Friday

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" I'm loving our new apricot (light orange) rose flowers. So are the Japanese beetles but I pick them off as I see them and enjoy the flowers despite the bites taken from them.

Last year we planted bluish purple veronica in our main flower bed and it survived the winter so this year we put in some pink veronica and I think it's beautiful.

This Mr. Optimist dahlia was a great surprise because the tuber survived the winter in our raised bed. I don't think any other dahlias have ever survived the winter in my Maryland garden before. It was one of my favorites last year and I couldn't find any locally this year so it's extra nice.

This is my first giant red zinnia flower of the year. I grow them from seed so they're extra special.

The orange-yellow day lilies are blooming heavily. It's nice to have early, mid and late blooming day lilies to extend the day lily delights in our Maryland garden.

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

Related posts:
Flowers and funkiness: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/09/flowers-freeloaders-and-funkiness-for.html
Orange rose bud: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/05/big-yellow-irises-and-multicolored-roses.html
Fun flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/autumn-maryland-garden-flower-photos.html

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Sunflowers and Bees at McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area

Happy wild Wednesday! I hope you enjoy my bee and sunflower photos from McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area. Today was my second ever visit but I hope to return again.

I thought this bee in flight over the sunflower field was neat.

Some people bring ladders, chairs and stools but I just did the best I could with what God gave me.

It really is amazing to see so many sunflowers with bees buzzing about happily.

I feel blessed to have been able to enjoy such a beautiful experience. God is good!

Thank you for visiting! May God bless and keep you!

Related posts:
Battling bees and sunflowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/bees-fighting-over-sunflower-photo.html
Teddy bear sunflower: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/teddy-bear-sunflower-black-eyed-susan.html
Sunflower and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/06/sunflower-day-lilies-vinca-and-mystery.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, July 8, 2016

Red Coreopsis, Purple Coneflowers, Yellow Day Lilies, Sunflowers and Fairy Marigolds

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The red coreopsis is still blooming heavily and is often visited by bees.

The echinacea, also known as purple coneflower, is also blooming heavily. This old fashioned purple coneflower not only survived but made many volunteer babies which have now formed a mini echinacea field. I'm thrilled because Bermuda grass invaded that bed and echinacea is one of the few things strong enough to thrive with it tangled in its roots.

Last week I featured our double orange day lily but this week the bright yellow is the day lily star. My favorite thing about it is that it was a gift from some kind neighbors (they wish to remain anonymous) but I love the true yellow color too.

Last year we planted a few sunflowers but this year we didn't plant any. It was really exciting to see this volunteer sunflower develop from one of last year's mother plants. It's not in a convenient place (it's crammed in between a rose bush and some very robust oregano) but I'm letting nature take its course and just enjoying it.

Another volunteer is this teeny tiny marigold. I think of it as my fairy marigold, although I don't remember its actual name. The flowers are about the size of a dime and the foliage is feathery.

For me, one of the greatest delights in life is gardening. I love the happy surprises, watching things grow (especially from seed) and seeing nature take its course during the year. God certainly was creative and generous when He came up with so many amazing plants for our world.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless and keep you!

Related posts:
Butterflies on coneflowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/butterflies-and-bees-love-purple.html
Bees on pretty flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html
Dew drops on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/dew-drops-bees-and-pretty-flowers.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