GOD MADE RAINY DAYS SO GARDENERS COULD GET HOUSEWORK DONE!!!!

closeup of my rose of sharon bush

this is the after picture of the front garden i posted above

Was not in the garden today my husband was back from italy for 12 hours and off again to monaco so we had a few things to get done laundry, purchasing a new tv our old got struck by lightening!! We did get one now i can watch tv again after 5 days without I didnt think i watched much tv but I sure missed hearing it and watching the news and some gardening shows!! Remember when your flowers go to seed, collect the seed and store them in paper lunch bags (thats what i use) and put them in cool dry place and you can plant them next year instead of purchasing packets of seed!! My marigolds that i planted from seed are doing better than the ones I purchased already grown in six packs!! Zinnias do well also from seed... but if you buy hybrid seeds .. example: purple, striped, lavendar, green etc... they will most likely revert back to the parent colors....red, pink, yellow.......the old fashioned ones that you see blooming most places!! So keep that in mind so you will not be surprised if you plant purple zinnias and they come up red!!! Another good flower to collect seeds from is bachelors buttons.... cosmos.... and its a lot of fun and will save you money!!

A happy heart makes the face cheerful.. Proverbs 15:13

Fairy Garden/ Gnomes

Orange meadowbrite coneflowers!

This is a shot of the front of our house!

Zinnias

I found this little guy sleeping in my herb garden!!

This guy was a little busier.. though he is hard to see!! Notice the owls peeping out in the background / and the little yellow shoe!!

The beginning of my fairy garden that i started this year 2009!

Little fairy on old stump i love how the lichen is growing!!

Fairy under the arbor!

Fairy gardens are so much fun it is fun to try to find miniature plants and flowers that work well with the fairies..... if you cant you can still incorporate the fairies among the regular sized flowers, i found trayers in Mercersburg, Pa has a wide selection of miniature plants and flowers!! My mom got the fairies for me when she was on vacation in Maine!! They are hard to find in the flea markets etc.... you can purchase them online with lots of other mini things!! Im trying to use my imagination and create some stuff instead of buying everything!! (thats a feat)!! Fairies are known to live in your garden.... so i imagine they are smiling when they see the pretend fairies and chuckle as they merrily flit from flower to flower!!

Gnomes in your garden bring you gardening luck, and they also do little chores around your garden..... even though one of my little guys is sleeping im sure soon he will be at work!!! LOL!!!

Today was a beautiful day in the garden.... the tomatoes were plentiful, the zinnias are beautiful and the colors were extra bright. The butterfly bushes are doing their job the butterflys are flitting here and there and the hummingbirds were busy and the bees were busy too!! The herb garden is lush as well as the coneflowers... i especially like the light orange coneflowers from the meadowbrite series..... the bee balm is starting to wane and the shasta daises are getting fewer.... it is sad to see the flowers that were once so pretty go away but i guess we have to open our hearts to the new ones coming... remember with zinnias , daises, black eyed susans the more you cut them for arrangements the more blooms they will produce!!! Hope your day was enjoyable and you were able to take a few moments for yourself.....

Legend says that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. The hummingbirds delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life's sweetest creation.

"A SOCIETY GROWS GREAT WHEN OLD MEN PLANT TREES WHOSE SHADE THEY KNOW THEY SHALL NEVER SIT IN." -Greek

song sparrow

monarch butterfly on golden yarrow!!

the picture below is one taken out front in march , i will snap a pic later when the lighting is better so you can see the after in July!!!

today we had a little rain , very little still had to water my potted flowers.... ive discovered japanese beetles are attracted to bannanas they come to them in swarms (mainly the big ones)... maybe a bunch of bannans will do the trick to keep them managable?? did not feel well today so was not able to much outside... hopefully on monday i can do more.... so until the next time remember: "An addiction to gardening is not all bad when you consider all the other choices in life"- Cora Lea Bell

The beginning of fernwillow.......

It seems i never update my blog bethsbrightspots!!! but one thing i know for sure i love gardening..... especially flowers and landscaping ..... the older get even veggies!! for years i try to remember gardening happenings the previous year and of course forget!! so i decided to try and gardening diary maybe with a little added of everyday happenings... which is mostly : weeding, pruning, deadheading...... cuttting flowers picking of japanese beetles!!! etc. so here goes a try with my gardening diary and daily thoughts!!! i will try to post most days about recent gardening happenings.... hopefully i wont bore you to much.... if you do get bored ...well at least i will have a record of what is happening in my garden to refer back to year to year!! it seems like every year i have the same questions..... when do the hummingbirds come? why do they come and then leaver for a few weeks.... why does my redtwig dogwood get blackspot every year no matter where i move it ( i finally disposed of the offender)!! LOL!! why do the zinnia seeds take longer to sprout some years than others, why does my spiderwort with the chartreuse leaves get blackspot?? why do some things after years decide not to come back (perennials)... so hopefully my onling record will help me with all these babbling questions and i will get some answers...... and maybe my fellow online gardners will have the answers and inspire me to greater gardening heights!!! The sun is shining today July 25th (at least this morning) and the air is crisp for july..... i have to go out and check out the garden and will be back later to report the progress and i promise im going to learn to post pics what is a blog with out pictures!! oh Lord help me......