The irises are done blooming now, they finished up while we were out of town. But, can you stand just a couple more pics of them? They were just so spectacular! I love these white ones.
And I was so impressed with these purple edged ones with the white centers.
On the mountainside behind the house, the wild blackberries are blooming. I never get any of the fruit as they are surrounded by poison ivy and the bears and squirrels usually get them first.
There is a flame azalea back in the woods too.
A few days ago, this guy paid us a visit. Luckily he didn’t stay long, and ambled on down the road. I used my good camera with the long lens to get his picture.
He was about 200 pounds, and when he stood up on his hind legs could reach over six feet.
The peach trees promise to have more peaches this year. I hope I can get them before that bear does!
I am getting a late start on my veranda plantings as I didn’t want to buy a lot of plants then leave town for two weeks for someone else to care for. It was so sad to see all the empty pots just waiting for some flowers. But I knew if I did it before we left, some wouldn’t be there when we got back, and I really didn’t want to impose on anyone to come water them. The last time I asked a neighbor to do it since she walks up this hill every day for exercise, she complained that I had too many plants. Well of course I have a lot of plants, it is a big veranda!
When we got home from England, after a day of rest, I went to the garden center with my fingers crossed. Luckily, they had some torenias left in the deep purple I wanted, but not enough for all my hanging baskets. So I got a mix of violet and deep blue, along with yellow and a new white one with a purple throat. After getting a flat of plants there, along with a few others, I went to the big box store to hit their clearance rack. I must have been there at just the right time as they had a lot of things for just 50-cents, and three large basket planters with multiple plants each for just $9 each because the hangers were broken or they were potbound. I came home with the trunk loaded!!
Unloading the bounty onto the porch, now to decide what will go where.
The torenias were planted in my hanging baskets as I usually do to attract the hummingbirds. Right before we left, a hummingbird came by, hovering in each of the spaces where the baskets usually hand, looking for them. I was delighted to see her yesterday evening at the newly planted baskets.
This is the first planter with the whole root ball lifted out. You can see how the roots are running around the edge. This is a potbound planter, ready to be split apart and made into multiple plantings. This pot held four red geraniums and a tall spike dracaena in the middle.
Carefully pulled apart and replanted with some bargain petunias, this one planter filled three pots.
In the back, I planted a cleome, a plant I have never seen before. I like to try new plants each year to see how they do. This one is tall, and has a beautiful pink bloom. And I just saw it on a garden show on Sunday on PBS.
DH brought my planting bench up to the sidewalk, and once again it was so helpful to be able to use it. I was going to do impatiens in my table planters again this year, but I was a bit stunned at the prices of them this year. So, instead, from the clearance area I got some vincas and petunias.
Once again, you can see why these guys were on clearance, the dry roots were growing out of the bottom. These will come back nicely when they are potted up and given a little TLC.
All done. Instead of white this year, these pots will be mostly purple.
I use these next to the rockers to hold a drink or a book.
A new visitor to the feeder, this chipping sparrow turned his head towards me as I got the camera out to take his picture. His rufus cap is his most distinguishing feature.
I pulled the pink calibrachoa out of its pot, and put it on the bench to separate the plants. These annuals did really well last year, so I got more for the veranda.
I decided to use part of it in the two pots I have in the front flower bed.
When I started digging in those pots, one of these guys came scrambling out of it. I don’t know who was more startled, LOL!! They are called skinks and their tails are bright blue.
I got three pots full of flowers from that one basket. The third one I set on top of the little wheelbarrow from an auction last year. DH helped me modify it by taking the top boards off, and cutting the side pieces level then replacing the top boards so I could use it as a table. Before, the top was slanted like a roof. In the little black iron candle lantern, I put a tiny pot with a little vinca. The pots below hold seed geraniums, smaller flowers than the standard geranium, in a pretty pink.
The pink calibrachoas fill the pot next to the upright purple penstemon perennial I planted last year. It was laying on the ground from the rain, so I put a tomato cage with it to hold the flower stalks upright.
The third pink calibrachoa sits next to the snapdragons coming up again from seed. I should have a lot more snaps, but I am afraid the seeds may have been eaten over the winter.
The Veronica ‘Inspire Blue’ perennial planted last year is already blooming. It should spread a bit more this year, and the flowers will reach up behind the iris fronds.
Tackling the next big pot, I pulled out the root ball and set it on the ground to separate the plants. This one had a bunch!
From it I got three yellow bidens, two red petunias and two calibrachoa also in red.
I added one of the yellow bidens to the corner grouping.
The petunias and calibrachoas got separate pots.
Basil goes in a large pot, four plants should produce enough to keep the kitchen supplied. A fuschia went into another ceramic pot. These pots are on a black wrought iron plant stand I found at the thrift store.
The large pot next to the front door has begonias and the white torenia. More white petunias fill the smaller pot.
In another large pot on the west end of the veranda, a beefsteak tomato shares the space with a couple of begonias for color.
I’d been working all day and was almost done. A few more extra plants were put in the flower bed for now, to fill in with some color. I did some weeding, but I need to do more.
The strawberry pot got impatiens in the little slots and a flat leaf parsley in the top. That worked well last year to keep the kitchen supplied with fresh parsley.
More black iron plant stands collected over the winter help add varying heights to the grouping. The tall one was moved from the other end for this year.
The veranda is looking a bit more like spring and summer. We spent an entire day washing the veranda and the railings to remove the pollen from the flooring and algae that grows over the year from the railings. When we were done, I did a bit of rearranging. For those with sharp eyes, I’ll show you what I did with the birdcage soon.
I have just a few more pots that could use a plant, and I moved the tall black metal plant stand back to the porch too. I need to do a summer wreath now, with more vibrant colors to go with the reds, yellows and purples that are more dominant this year, rather than the pastels of last year. It is a work in progress, all summer long, LOL!! What is going on in your garden?
Prize Announcement – The winner of the London prize from Monday’s post is Barb Y, with a guess of 857 photos. She was just 19 points off the actual total of 838. If I had been able to take photos inside the cathedrals and some of the museum and castle rooms, it would have been much higher. Congratulations, Barb! Thanks to all who took a guess, and to those who participated in the poll. The top vote getter was Kensington Palace and Gardens, and I’ll post about that next week.
Sharing
From My Carolina Home 
Your flowers are beautiful! Your home reminds me of my grandparents farm in Georgia – they had a large veranda also —I am allergic to grass so my chores were around the house including watering the plants 🙂 Great picture of the bear!
Ohmygoodness! Memories of experimenting with Cleome! A fascinating plant to watch throughout the day as it changes color & form each time you look! What looks like a tiny white cigar unfurls into pink or lavender, then sprouts “whiskers”. But be aware! It spreads like crazy! Had surprises all over the yard (grass too!) for a few years as the volunteers were very exuberant. Enjoy the fun!
You flowers are beautiful. Your veranda looks so welcoming.
Always love your pictures of the flowers and animals. A bear, scary but he is pretty.
Your flowers are all going to be full and beautiful in no time at all. That little skink would have scared me too.
What a beautiful time travel watching your veranda turn into spring. Love that white torenia with the purple throat. Does your beefsteak tomato plant do well in the pot? I’ve not had much luck growing tomatoes in pots but would love to try again. What variety are you happy with? Also I’ve been on the lookout for a strawberry pot but all I can find (so far) are plastic. Ugh! Not what I have in mind! Hahaha! Thanks for sharing your flowers & tips!
Wow, that was a busy day of replanting. We have been so hot and dry (unusual for this time of year) that I have fallen behind in the garden realm. Not sure how the cleome will behave in a pot. They grow quite tall and yes they will reseed. We’re supposed to cool down to normal next week, so I’ll try to finish my pots at least.
Pat
I do enjoy your blog and your pictures. Loved the flowers. I was brought up in New Zealand then lived in
London for 30years before ending up in Scotland. Had one trip to the USA and love reading about your life.
Wow…I am tired just reading about all the work and planting you did. I am from Ontario Canada and I am just starting planting and repotting. You have given me lots of inspiration! Thanks for sharing😀
Beautiful flowers. A lot of work, but worth it.
Congratulations to Barb Y. I was pretty close with my guess of 817. Just 21 fotos off, 2 more than Barb 😉
Oh, gorgeous! we’ve gone from wimpy winter to wimpy summer, back a little to spring and now summer… our lawn is confused, the peony has tons of buds but they look rusty today and haven’t burst out.
Granddaughter Charlene born Monday night late. They’ll be home this afternoon.
Hello Carole; Your flower plantings has been a pleasure to read and delightful to see. You have chosen some beautiful flowers to use in your planters again this year. I especially liked the wheel barrow! Is it new this year? I do not blame you for being startled by the skink, it would have scared the bejevies out of me also! Plus, your adorable bear visitor is amazing. I am glad that you were able to get and share such wonderful pictures. I always look forward to your posts about your garden and any and all of the wildlife that comes for a visit. Thank you for sharing and have a fabulous day!
Love your veranda! I would spend all my time in those rockers! Love to see your garden pics-they inspire me. We’ve had so much rain every weekend here that I have not been able to plant anything yet….I am starting to feel like a mushroom!!! Found the most gorgeous giant ferns & hanging baskets at Ingles’ this year!
Your Cleome, they are also called Spider Plant down here, a friend had them one year, and are so delicate. Your pots on the veranda are so lovely, divided, new ones, a beautiful display, and so well worth the extra time. Your photo tally, very restrained final number, I thought you would be in the thousands. Congrats, Barb Y. well done.
Hi Carole,
Happy to have you back with us.
Your pictures of the white Irises are gorgeous, my irises haven’t bloomed as yet, they should be sprouting the blooms soon. We have had so much rain thee last couple of weeks an more for the rest of this week. Is there a possibility you could get your better half to get you some cutting of the blueberries and you could stick the ends into some root starter and you could keep them in a special area away from the predators, especially the bear, wouldn’t want to encounter him on a visit. He does look pretty big, even without standing up. Sometimes I think about living with the bears and Mt. lions there in the Mts. And have second thoughts about moving to the Mts. Guess I’d better get myself married again so I would have a good protector, huh? Would love to have a single story home with a wrap around porch to have a couple of swings an all the plants I love on it. I seen an idea on Hometalk using a chair and making a swing out of it and I would love to have some on my porch and use a couple of them to make a double swing to have my best friend (perhaps a boy friend) some day. The mixture of blue and purple sounds lovely, those are the colors of my master bedroom along with cream.
Your little visiting bird looks so similar to our state bird the brown thrasher. I think our bird is more the size of the mockingbird. My cat, Trigger loves to chase the green lizards on the railings but they head for the shutters when he gets to close. Found a cinnamon fern at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and got them planted and have them on the front porch. They seem to be putting out new leafs and the cinnamon centers, am so anxious to see them this year. Bought some last year but they didn’t ever come to life, was so disappointed.
Have a great week and weekend
You must have quite the green thumb! The flowers are gorgeous.
Here in Iowa the cleome seeds itself down. This year I have hundreds of baby cleome that would grow to be nice tall plants, but I don’t want only cleome in my flower beds so I have to take out most of them, leaving a large patch next to some other tall plants.
I like how you rescue those plants on special, separating them & replanting so they can thrive. Now you have another accomplishment to add to your list…plant rescuer.
I enjoyed reading about all the plants you bought and how you distributed them. We had chipping sparrows on our deck for the first time this year. I’m glad you got a shot of yours.
Your garden is looking really lovely! Look at all those lovely flowers. I love your iris. I have some lovely huge white ones, but it was a disappointing year. As soon as they were in full bloom we had torrential rains and they all got pushed down. Have a great day!
Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos. Your bargain plants have been given a new lease on life and will reward you all summer with blossoms. How nice they must feel getting to “stretch their roots” again! We have porch “pollon clean up” coming up on the schedule for Friday. Hubby bought a car wash brush on a pole that connects to the garden hose for the job this year. The pollen is sticky and we have a large wrap around porch to deal with. Not much happening in my garden, it needs a good clean out, and I haven’t made it there yet. Must stop traveling in April & May…..I get so behind. 😉 p.s….I’d rather be sewing but not getting much of that done either.
I love buying marked-down ,root-bound sad plants and with some TLC ,new soil,and bigger pots seeing them come back and reward me with beautiful blooms! Your veranda in late June will be glorius! Would love to sit a spell in a rocker and chat !
That was an exhausting day I bet! So many lovely pots in the veranda again, the perfect welcome mat I think. 🙂 We have been weeding daily, attempting to get ahead of our bindweed and thistle problem this year. Last year we put down all hat cardboard to slow it down, and that seems to have helped with the thistle, but the bind wind is going to be a battle. Thankfully, the dandelions are down to a quick go over each day, so we are making progress!
I never get tired of photos of iris. Yours are stunning. Give me snakes and spiders over your bear – that would totally freak me out. I’d never go out in the garden again. A dear friend gave me some cleomes many years ago and they self seed each year. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.
Beautiful blooms!! I too just planted most of my pots with annuals!!
Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Deb
This was a fun gardening post and Mr Bear! WOW!
I love Cleome…and so do the bees and butterflies. I’ve purchased it at garden centers in the past….don’t often see seed packets for it. But last year, having given up on successfully raising strawberries in a raised bed ( too much rain. they get a fungus ) I pulled them up and planted a seed packet of assorted flowers from the Dollar Store. This and that came up over the summer and to my delight, in later summer there were Cleome which survived several early frosts and lasted well in to fall.
Wow beautiful post loved everything, we have little bears here sometimes we see them walking around but not often-yours is a big one for sure. we do see the big cats here though-so I don’t venture for walks in our woods alone much any more.
I didn’t buy much this year in plants- everything was soooo expensive this year, the time I went everything in the clearance needed to be pitched-was very sad. so you did awesome!!
enjoy your weekend Kathy
Your garden is looking wonderful. And now the pots on the verandah look great, too. That is a lot of work but so worth it.
Do you get the bears visiting very often?
You are so very thrifty in your flower planting this year. I totally understand how complicated it can get leaving the watering to someone else. Often, I must rely on my husband which is…now always on the positive side but most usually make it till I get back. After a very late cold spring, we are now in HOT weather breaking records with 100 degree temps. Crazy riduculous! My garden is in and after a nice rain the other night, it will certainly take off better than using the hose. More hot temps are to be here shortly. The cleome that you placed in a pot….I have grown them in my big garden from seeds many years. Some have been over 5′ tall and very huge. One year one of my kids used it for a flower gardening entry in 4-H and was crowned the Grand Champion. It was magnificent! Often, planting by seed….they will reseed the next year so that can be a hindrance if it wasn’t your plan. The stems have pokeys on them which give many an Ouch! Lovely veranda….nice to fill up!
That bear! Whoa!
It’s hard to find flowers when you get back in the later Spring. But you did. Your veranda looks lovely!
Beautiful gardens my friend!
Carole, you did great to find so many flowers after your trip. All of your containers look fabulous and will be so pretty all summer. Wow the bear. We have bear near us, but we have never seen one. The hubby has trail cams, but one hasn’t shown up yet. Thanks for joining Gardens Galore!