Love, Joy and Peas: floral friday

Showing posts with label floral friday. Show all posts

Friday, March 17, 2017

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Green Orchid Photos and Haiku Poems

Happy St. Patrick's Day and floral Friday! The plaque in the photo above has this Irish blessing:

"May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

The rains fall gently upon your fields

And until we meet again

May God hold you in the palm of His hand"

This plaque hangs, year round, in our bedroom. I am a wee bit Irish, after all.

I thought green orchids would be perfect for this St. Patrick's day post. The photos were taken at the U.S. National Arboretum in their Bonsai Museum. It's a great place to visit, any time of the year.

Back to St. Patrick's day. While praying and walking today, God gave me these two haiku poems.

St. Patrick's Day Haiku Poem I:

Saint Patrick was real!

He spread the gospel message

and loved our Lord God!

St. Patrick's Day Haiku Poem II:
He used shamrock leaves

to explain the Trinity:

Father, Son, Spirit.

Saint Patrick was a devoted Christian and I'm glad to celebrate his life by wearing green but I think loving God and serving others honor him best.

The photo above is an overview of the green "cymbodium goeringii" orchids in their pretty pot. When I first saw the pot, I thought it was a pot of grass! But when I looked more closely I could see the orchid flowers.

Just in case you wondered what our kittens were doing on St. Patrick's day - they were relaxing. Every time I went to make the bed, a cat was on it. It's late afternoon and I still haven't made the bed, but the day isn't over. But their kittenhood almost is - they will be a year old a week from today!

May God bless you and all you love!

How do you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day?

Related posts:
My Favorite Funny Cat St. Patrick's Post: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/hilarious-happy-st-patricks-day-cat.html
More funny Irish cat photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/funny-st-patricks-day-photos-of-moose.html
Cute cats wearing the green: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/funny-st-patricks-day-cat-photos.html

Note:
This is not a sponsored or paid post. All opinions are my own.

Friday, March 3, 2017

First Daffodils, Periwinkle and Forsythia Flowers of the Year

Happy March, floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The spring flowers started extra early this year. But it's not truly spring yet and God reminded me of this by sprinkling snowflakes on my camera as I took these photos earlier today.

We only have one remaining forsythia bush but its sunny yellow flowers brighten up a shady corner of the yard.

The purplish blue periwinkle flowers (also called vinca) are popping up all over. I think periwinkle is my favorite ground cover. It spreads nicely and squelches weeds but still lets my larger perennials grow through. Last year I planted some under one of our rose bushes and I'm looking forward to seeing how that works out later this year.

This daffodil has an unusual shape but I thought it was still pretty.

It'll be a while before it flowers but I was happy to see tulip foliage popping up through the mulch this week too.

Although I didn't get any photos this week, the hellebores are blooming too and you can see them here.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Daffodils, pansies and cyclamen: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/03/daffodil-pansy-and-cyclamen-flower.html
Primroses, daffodils & quince: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/03/primroses-daffodils-and-flowering-quince.html
Funky daffodil and more flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/04/pretty-pansies-periwinkle-forsythia-and.html

Friday, October 28, 2016

Autumn Asters, Honey Bee and Capitol Columns at US National Arboretum

Happy floral Friday! Asters are one of the joys of autumn. I think this honey bee would agree.

This week at the U.S. National Arboretum the purple autumn asters are in full bloom.

The area by the capitol columns is a great place to view them.

The asters contrast nicely with the autumn foliage of nearby plants.

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

Related posts:
Autumn bonsai tree foliage: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/10/autumn-bonsai-flowers-and-chrysanthemum.html
2013 Autumn bonsai foliage: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/11/autumn-bonsai-exhibit-at-us-national.html
Fall foliage at USNA: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/11/fall-foliage-at-us-national-arboretum.html

Friday, October 21, 2016

Grasshopper on Golden Chrysanthemums

Happy floral Friday! This neat grasshopper and I surprised each other when I was photographing our golden yellow chrysanthemums last week. The insect took off before I could get a second shot but one is better than none.

Thank you for visiting! I hope this autumn finds you well. May God bless you!

Related posts:
Pretty insects on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/03/pretty-insects-on-giant-red-zinnias-and.html
Tiny bee on cosmos: https://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/09/big-fat-raindrops-on-beautiful-flowers.html
Yellow finch on black eyed susans: https://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/yellow-finch-feeding-on-black-eyed.html

Friday, October 14, 2016

Delightful Dahlias in Early Autumn

Happy floral Friday and welcome to this bonus edition of "this week in my Maryland garden!" Often by this time of year all of my dahlias have been killed by frost but this year they're still blooming and I thought that was worth celebrating with a blog post.

I'm not sure of the actual name of this cute red and white bicolor dahlia but I think of it as my peppermint twist.

This pretty yellow and white bicolor dahlia isn't perfectly formed but it is still beautiful.

This burgundy dahlia plant has been producing beautiful flowers steadily since early spring.

I believe this is a Mr. Optimist bicolor dahlia. It started out with yellow tipped red petals and then faded to this pretty sunset color scheme. I think I cut it over a week ago and it's been in a vase by my computer ever since. The yellow came out more as the red faded.

I feel blessed to have dahlias still blooming in mid-October here in Maryland. It is delightful.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Summer dahlia: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/09/bright-summer-flowers-dahlia-tithonia.html
Sunset dahlia: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/06/bee-balm-sedum-sunset-dahlia-coreopsis.html
Raindrops on dahlia: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/09/big-fat-raindrops-on-beautiful-flowers.html

Friday, September 30, 2016

Big Fat Raindrops on Beautiful Flowers and a Surprise

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" This might be my last installment of regular garden photos for 2016 but, God willing, they'll return in the spring. For this week's post I waited and waited... and waited for a break in the rain but it didn't come so I went out and got soaked for you all. Hope my raindrop on flower photos make you smile!

If you look closely you can see big fat raindrops filling some of the little lantana flower cups.

The raindrops were so big and heavy on this rose that it was facing down toward the ground.

The dahlia was sturdy enough to support the heavy raindrops.

The tiny little bug on this yellow cosmos was a pleasant surprise to me. I didn't even notice it until I downloaded the photos.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and all you set your hands to do!

Related posts:
Yellow finch on black eyed susans: https://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/yellow-finch-feeding-on-black-eyed.html
Bright summer flowers: https://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/09/bright-summer-flowers-dahlia-tithonia.html
Butterflies on flowers: https://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/08/butterflies-on-mexican-sunflowers-at.html

Friday, September 23, 2016

Mexican Bush Sage, Purple Coneflower, Impatiens, Giant Zinnia, and Tithonia Flowers

Happy autumn, floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The Mexican bush sage has started to bloom and I'm always thrilled to not only see the flowers but feel their super soft texture. They're almost as soft as pussy willows. I overwintered this plant in the house as it's not perennial in our planting zone.

The white impatiens I planted in early spring is still putting out lovely flowers in a semi-shady area.

This volunteer purple coneflower sprung up in the middle of my giant zinnia area but I let it stay. I'll probably move it later this fall or early next spring, but for now I'm enjoying the contrast.

I only planted red giant zinnia seeds but also got pink and purple from the package. The bees and butterflies like them all so I do too.

Our biggest annuals this year are the tithonia (also called Mexican sunflower). They are huge and covered in pretty flowers.

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

Related posts:
Butterflies on tithonia: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/08/butterflies-on-mexican-sunflowers-at.html
Monarchs on chrysanthemum: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/10/monarch-butterfly-on-pretty.html
Brookside Gardens butterflies: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/monarch-butterflies-from-brookside.html

Friday, September 16, 2016

Bright Summer Flowers: Dahlia, Tithonia, Rose, Marigold and Salvia

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The dahlias are still putting out nice sized flowers and this pink one is a favorite.

I think some of our tithonia plants (also called Mexican sunflowers) are over six feet tall. The butterflies and bees love them and I occasionally even see a hummingbird visit them. They are especially precious to me because I started them from seed.

These creamy knockout roses smell like a mixture of honey and lemon.

I love the contrast between the giant yellow marigolds and the blue salvia. You can also see some red zinnias in the background.

Because this pretty butterfly was kind enough to open its wings for a photo I thought it deserved to be included in today's post.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Butterflies on tithonia: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/08/butterflies-on-mexican-sunflowers-at.html
Dahlias and marigolds: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/08/dahlia-marigolds-zinnia-butterfly-bush.html
Funky flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/05/funky-lavender-thyme-allium-marigold.html

Friday, September 9, 2016

Pretty Water Lily with Unique Foliage

Happy floral Friday! Hope you enjoy this water lily with interesting variegated foliage photo. I wish you a joy-filled weekend. May God bless you and yours!

Related posts:
More water lilies: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/dragonfly-and-butterflies-on-flowers-at.html
Aquatic garden flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/flowers-at-kenilworth-aquatic-gardens.html
Wild swans: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/03/beautiful-swans-at-thomas-point-park.html

Friday, September 2, 2016

Washington Youth Garden Fun and Unique Features

Happy floral Friday! It's been four years since I featured the Washington Youth Garden on my blog so I thought today would be a great day to share some of its unique and fun features. I love the big hand-painted sign that greets visitors to the garden (and there are some flowers in it - can you find them?). One of the rules in the garden is that you must stay on the paths so please forgive some crooked/odd angle photos. I did the best I could while obeying the rules.

Once you enter the chain link fence area you're greeted by this whimsical sign for the Sensory Garden. I love that they have many mini gardens within the main area. The sensory garden has lots of neat flowers and herbs to experience.

This fun giant bird statue is one of my favorite features of the Washington Youth Garden. They move it around from time to time but today it was near the center of the main garden.

They have some lovely signs explaining gardening basics and events throughout the growing season. The Washington Youth Garden is located within the National Arboretum so I imagine you could contact the Arboretum for dates and times of the events. I did see a flyer once at the visitor's center but rarely see any advertisements for this wonderful garden.

I'm not sure why this program wouldn't let me put text between the two photos above but it wouldn't so I'll just explain both here. The top features the Beekeeping area within the Washington Youth Garden. I didn't enter the area because I didn't want to disturb the bees. I imagine that's an area best explored with a staff member. The staff members I saw were busy watering and weeding so I'll save that adventure for another day.

I love their unique garden bed in a real bed frame and I think it's fun that they painted the frame purple so it stands out more. They have herbs and flowers planted in the bed and it spills over on either side like a generous comforter.

These pretty fuchsia colored flowers are the same kind in the top left corner of the garden bed photo.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoyed my mini photo tour of the Washington Youth Garden! May God bless their staff, the young gardeners and YOU!

Related posts:
2012 Washington Youth Garden: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/06/fun-ideas-from-childrens-garden-at-us.html
Bright summer flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/sunrise-zinnia-pink-rose-sunrise-dahlia.html
Mary's amazing garden: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/05/marys-amazing-garden-retreat.html

Friday, August 26, 2016

Butterflies on Bright Summer Flowers

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" Many flowers are blooming and it seems like we have more butterflies than we've had in the past couple years, so that is an added blessing.

The butterflies love many of our flowers but the butterfly bushes (aka buddelia) often have several butterflies per plant, especially in the morning.

The dahlias get their share of butterflies too.

And the giant red zinnias definitely attract butterflies.

There often are butterflies, bees and even golden finches on the giant zinnias. The tithonia have started blooming too but the flowers are up so high I have yet to get a sharable photo. Hopefully next week. The tithonia are special in that they also attract hummingbirds.

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

Related posts:
Cute critters on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/06/cute-critters-on-flowers.html
Monarch butterflies: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/monarch-butterflies-from-brookside.html
Bees on butterfly bushes: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/10/bees-and-butterflies-on-butterfly-bushes.html