A Blooming Good Time!

Well, this year's Amaryllis finally bloomed!  Since I go in with some friends on a variety package purchase each fall, it's always a surprise to see which kind I'll get.  This year, just like back in 2010, it's a "Candy Cane" variety.  About a month too late for Christmas, but that's because we keep our house pretty chilly.  (The key word around here is 'layers'!)

Begonia

I received this pretty coral pink begonia a few years ago from my mother-in-law. It spends summers on our patio and in "over-winters" in our chilly dining room during the winter.  This year, it took almost all summer to finally re-bloom and now it is quite spectacular!   (Thanks, Dolly!)

Secret Garden

During my morning walk in Sister Bay, I passed this old-fashioned patriotic garden with pretty flowers of all varieties and colors, along with a few pots of tomatoes, lettuce, and other veggies as well!

Smell-O-Vision

Seriously - if you have never had the chance to inhale the intoxicating perfume of the milkweed flower, you are missing something amazing.  I wish I could share the air around this bloom with you.  It's no wonder that the Monarch Butterflies go crazy over it!

Clematis Bloom

I've been playing around with "Instagram" features recently and liked how this one turned out.  It's a clematis flower bloom from our patio.  The vine is doing quite nicely this year. Happy Summer!

Spring Wildflowers

Spring is truly here and there are a variety of wildflowers, blooms, and fungus scattered throughout the woods during our daily walks.  Here is a delicate variety of spring beauties (or fairy spud!) growing in the shade under a canopy of ash and hickory trees. Latin name: Claytonia virginica. I'll have more postings of our discoveries throughout the week.

Faith

Last night some places in western Wisconsin got over a foot of snow! Earth to Mother Nature:  "Hello! It's May!"

Thankfully, the Milwaukee/Waukesha area was spared this indignity. We do have sunshine this morning, but it's only in the 30's, and most flowers and trees have still not budded out.  That's why I am posting this pretty image of my blooming clematis taken in May a few years ago - to remind us that spring will eventually be here - even if she is taking her sweet time!

Pink Lady

The "Pink Lady" lily's latin name is Amaryllis Belladonna. It's also called the"naked lady" lily because - as you can see in the photo - it has no leaves to cover its long, thin stem.  Technically, it does have leaves, but they show up in early spring like a clump of long blades of grass, and then die back after 4 to 6 weeks.  Then after another 4 to 6 weeks, the graceful lily stalk appears out of seemingly nowhere with this lovely topper of pale pink blooms.

Sunny Delight

We are growing a variety of sunflowers in our garden this year and they are in full bloom. I love this burgundy/peach version, and apparently, so do the bees! If you look closely at the photo below, you'll also see a shiny metallic Japanese Beetle in the center. They were especially pesky this year and invaded many of the trees and gardens in our neighborhood.

Sister Suzie Sittin' on a Thistle...

(Love that line from the "Music Man"!)

Every year thistles grow wild throughout the fields in the upper midwest, and every year I am always perplexed as to why such a gorgeous flower is considered a "weed."

[Note: Be sure to click the photos, and then click again, to see the full size view.]