As I walked the yard this morning (before the heavens opened up) to my dismay, okay disdain, there it was ( two weeks early by my account) a Japanese Beetle, the evil nemesis of flower gardeners everywhere. I refused to give the beetle the honor of a photo shoot.
I just love the feel of warm soil in my hands as I work among my plants and really, there is not a flower I do not dislike, well okay I admit it- carnations. There is one perennial however, that is high on my plant list and one I do believe gardeners everywhere should hold a spot for and that is the Heliotrope.
My white perennial Heliotrope came from a division from my mom's Island garden, which in turn came from my aunt Gail's Island garden. As you may guess it is hardy, gives off a sweet heavenly fragrance which lingers in the air and remains in bloom over a long period of time. The Heliotrope grows tall and appears quite regal in the flower garden. To some it has the fault of spreading, but to me it's a plus. If it overtakes a patch in the garden pull it out and "fling" it in the woods or field whatever you have and come next Spring it will have taken root. In my book that's a good thing.
With the weather being somewhat inclement today I was able to finish up a set of primitive hooked fall pumpkins. I do not possess a "selling blog" and have no intention of starting one, however, now and again I am offering some of my hooked items for sale. If anyone is interested just drop me a comment on my blog.
My items are hooked in the "primitive" style with wool dyed by me and hooked on linen. No two items are hooked or dyed exactly the same. The pumpkins to be sold come in a set of three.
And this little fella, well he's just patiently waiting for his buddies to be "hooked" to join him. Happy gardening everyone!
I just love the feel of warm soil in my hands as I work among my plants and really, there is not a flower I do not dislike, well okay I admit it- carnations. There is one perennial however, that is high on my plant list and one I do believe gardeners everywhere should hold a spot for and that is the Heliotrope.
My white perennial Heliotrope came from a division from my mom's Island garden, which in turn came from my aunt Gail's Island garden. As you may guess it is hardy, gives off a sweet heavenly fragrance which lingers in the air and remains in bloom over a long period of time. The Heliotrope grows tall and appears quite regal in the flower garden. To some it has the fault of spreading, but to me it's a plus. If it overtakes a patch in the garden pull it out and "fling" it in the woods or field whatever you have and come next Spring it will have taken root. In my book that's a good thing.
With the weather being somewhat inclement today I was able to finish up a set of primitive hooked fall pumpkins. I do not possess a "selling blog" and have no intention of starting one, however, now and again I am offering some of my hooked items for sale. If anyone is interested just drop me a comment on my blog.
My items are hooked in the "primitive" style with wool dyed by me and hooked on linen. No two items are hooked or dyed exactly the same. The pumpkins to be sold come in a set of three.
And this little fella, well he's just patiently waiting for his buddies to be "hooked" to join him. Happy gardening everyone!
13 comments:
I sure wish I learned to hook like that Julie...well...hook at all!!! I will have to see if the Heliotrope grows in the sunny south. Beautiful. I love the pumpkins...someday I'm going to order a crow.......
Hi Julie - I just laughed with a real child's glee when I saw the photos of your hooked pumpkins - how totally cool. I've not seen this type of craft before. It looks more fun than crocheting is for me. On another note, I did see on the Weather Channel that you all would be getting some relief from the 3 H's - in the form of rain - I hope the temperature has dropped some for you. We've had some cloud cover even in the heat of the day, so it's not been as bad as it was earlier in the week. And there's been a stiff breeze most days. Hope this finds you well. Love the looks of your Heliotropes - the size reminds me of Queen Anne's Lace a bit. Take care, from KY.
Believe it or not, heliotrope is a plant that I didn't know until I visited the Minter Gardens last week. One sniff and I was hooked. I'll look for one like you've described, as I'd be happy to have something with a lovely scent to go wild with all the other crazy plants in my garden.
Your pumpkins are adorable!
Yes, I saw our first Japanese beetles today too. They were on a plant I leave specifically for them in our wildflower field- I think it's mullein. I used to pull them out, but decided to leave them since the beetles seem to congregate there and leave my other 'real' flowers alone.
What a beautiful display of flowers, you have a special talent and it certainly shows itself. Love the picture of little Winslow inside the chicken coop.
I love your rug hooking. These guys are great. I never knew that about heliotrope. I always wondered what it looked like. I wish I could smell it.
It all looks good, but you don't like carnations? I know you didn't want to give Mr. Japanese beetle his day in the sun, but I have always wondered what they look like.
I always have these things hanging in my trees to catch them from the Agricultural bug place and I don't know what I am looking for.
I do love those rugs! (pillows)
Have a great day,
Kim
I love te white perennial Heliotrope, do you think it would grow here? I'm in a zone 6, sometimes 5 on some maps.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
LOVE your pumpkins and would love to purchase a pair! How to contact you?
You have such beautiful gardens! And I LOVE the pumpkins. I myself am going to learn how to hook. I bought a kit and hopefully one day be able to hook like you. Thanks for the eye candy today.
Mary
Oh my! Your garden... your hooked pumpkins! Just wonderful! I will check out the Heliotrope as well.. it's something I definitely don't have yet.. thanks! Enjoy your weekend :) -Tammy
Julie your Heliotrope AND yard, beautiful! I want some Heliotrope. I love flowers that are fragrant. I will have to tell CH. Looks like it takes full sun and we have some of that! I love those pumpkin boys :) I have not hooked since Spring sprung. And boy do I need to do some learnin'! Too much running around. Don't tell anybody I said this but I am ready for Fall and sittin' on the porch hookin' and readin'. I won't even begin about the Japanese Beetles. Bring out the BIG GUN-Sevin.
Auntie, those pumpkins are so cute! Sorry I haven't blogged lately. Summer camp is here!
I've been seeing those darn japanese beetles around lately too. They are always on my green pepper plant. I think your rug hooking pumpkins are the best! I've always wanted to try hooking. Maybe some day.
Tammy
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