Monday, May 31, 2021

T Stands for Garden Flowers

 Hi everyone.

How was everyone's week? 

I had a busy week last week. I visited my mom, got to see a couple of friends I haven't seen in well over a year since before Covid arrived,  made some bread, and I visited a couple of gardens too. Then the long holiday Memorial Day weekend came along and basically it rained. 

You would think the rain would be restful, but my daughter and her beau arrived for an overnight. When they were here we had a bathroom overflow with water running from the second floor down through the ceiling onto the first floor. Luckily there was 4 of us to mop it up quickly, and nothing seemed to be damaged or needed major repair. Of course that meant many loads of wet towels that  needed to be washed after my daughter and her beau left. I had been planning on having a quiet afternoon of art, reading or watching TV.

 Oh well, it is a more interesting story to tell  than if it had been quiet.  

The exciting news is that bees will be here Tuesday (tomorrow for those of you who post on Monday and today for those of you who post on Tuesday). 

They were scanned into Manchester, New Hampshire early Monday morning, which means next scan is at my post office.The post office worker in my town told me he will be giving me a phone call around 7 AM so I can go get the bees. Everything is ready for them, including me, and hopefully they are still buzzing around in their box. 

For those of you who are interested in how they ship bees, there are new post office rules that don't allow bees to be shipped overnight on planes, and since my bees are coming from Georgia, that would have meant a long road trip if I had decided to go pick them up.  The same worker who told me he'll be phoning me at 7 in the morning also told me he's had several shipments of bees as well as chicken and ducks already this year and there has been no problems with any of them. So keep your fingers crossed.

My gardens are also ready for bees. All my hard work this month and the much needed rain we had is making them look very lush (and weedy too) right now. Here's some photos from last Friday and also in between rain drops.




If I could figure out where to plant them, I would make an iris garden.  Too bad they don't bloom for very long.

I also have azalea blooming.  This orange-red one was once a little shoot next to the one my Dad had, and he dug it up and gave it to me. It always has wonderful blooms, and a lot of them too. Dad's original tree is gone (my brother cut it down) and so is Dad, making this plant more important in my garden than most.




I bought this pink one a few years back, and this is the first year it has had more than just a few flowers or buds.


My concord grape plant is getting its leaves.


My peonies will be blooming soon.


My cornflowers are blooming.

 My veggie garden is mostly planted and so far no critters have destroyed anything.


Look at the sizes of my rosebushes this year. 


I also recently found this photo of when I planted them in late May 2014.


What a difference 7 years make. 

OK, enough of my going on about my current obsession. 

It is T day so stop by Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog   to  catch up with all the lovely ladies who join in.

My walking friend and I went out for lunch after we visited Bedrock Gardens again this past week.  I had a salad with some water and a glass of red sangria for lunch. It tasted yummy since it was still on the warmer side that day, and the rain hadn't yet arrived. I'll post those photos from that garden trip later this week.



Thanks for sticking through this yet again long T day post. Hope you T day is a good one!



15 comments:

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Your flower gardens and also the veggie garden look very nice, Erika. Too bad about the bathroom overflow and then the soggy towels that followed and disrupted your lovely afternoon plans. Hope the bees have a safe journey and will check back for the updates. We had a stay-indoors holiday here.

kathyinozarks said...

Hi Erika, so sorry about the leaky mess-hopefully once dry everything will be good.
I am so excited for you getting your bees. Reminds we when years ago when we were doing allot of homesteading skills-raising our own meat, making cheese from our goats milk etc we ordered in bees-I will always remember the call from the post office-"please come and get your bees-now"-haha some had escaped from inside-but they buzzed around the container knowing the queen bee was inside.
You will enjoy all your honey-I really enjoyed that time in our lives.
Loved seeing all of your pretty blooms
Happy T wishes Kathy

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I hope you didn't experience any damage to the sheet rock or floorboards/ceiling due to the overflow. At least you had help cleaning it up.

I know you are excited about the bees. Do you have one of those suits people wear when handling the bees or when collecting honey?

I am so bummed when I saw your peonies. My neighbor killed mine when he put up his fence. I love your irises and your incredible roses. What beauties.

Glad you were able to return to Bedrock. That salad looks really yummy and I know you enjoyed your sangria, too. Thanks for sharing your flowers and sangria with us for T this Tuesday.

Iris Flavia said...

Oh, boy, some watery affair!! And you are right - a story to tell :-)
Always look on the bright side of life (whistle)... (sorry... ear-worm...).

Great with your bees. Ingo once ordered tiny fish (don´t ask for the name, I don´t know) - the dumb post-guy did not take care, only one survived and that poor fella hung around alone for some sad two years.

Wow, beautiful flowers, the pattern is amazing, nature sure is a great artist. Oh. Ok. You do know where my name is from ;-) Ours don´t look like that, I guess?

Oh. how, why did your Brother... my Mum´s strawberries still sit outside, not now in my hometown but here in Braunschweig.

WOW your roses have grown!!!

Hmmm, yummy salad. Ohhh, and that drink! Yum!
Happy T-Day, the sun is out and about here!

Valerie-Jael said...

Lovely post Erika, except perhaps for the watery mess you had to clean up. Your garden is looking wonderful, you have really worked hard there. And how exciting that the bees are coming! I'm looking forward to seeing the busy bees buzzing in your hives. Your food and drink looks great, too! Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

Lisca said...

It seemed to have rained right across the USA as everybody was complaining about it. And you had rain in the house too! What a disaster! Luckily you say there wasn't any real damage. And four of you mopping up. Never a dull moment!
How exciting that the bees are arriving. By the time you read this they will have arrived! I'm looking forward to hear all about it and perhaps see some photos.
Your flowers are gorgeous. The peonies are looking very promising. The azalea is beautiful. I love that color. The irises are doing well too. Wow, a bit of sun and warmer weather and look at them!
That salad looks absolutely delicious. How are you doing weight wise since you have retired? Do you find you have lost a bit because you are more active, or have you put on because there are more temptations around?
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

CJ Kennedy said...

When it rains it pours! Glad the plumbing problem wasn't too costly. How exciting to get your bees. Your garden will be a very welcome spot for them. Nice to get back to normal and go out to lunch. Happy T Day!

Divers and Sundry said...

This is one reason I'd love a single-story home. Those upstairs leaks don't do the downstairs popcorn ceilings any favors.

Your irises are lovely -they are our state flower :) - and I _love_ azaleas! Grapes bring back memories of growing up with grape vines in the yard. Your flower beds are such a treat to see. You must put in a lot of work to maintain them so they do so well. Your lunch salad and sangria would hit the spot after a garden trip. I can almost hear y'all taking about the gardens over lunch :) Happy T Tuesday!

Let's Art Journal said...

Fabulous post! So lovely to hear of all your visits to family and friends and I'm glad the water didn't do any damage 😁. How exciting to keep bees, my sister used to keep bees and the honey was amazing, she really enjoyed it and wants to start again. They will certainly love all the flowers in your garden too, your azalea sounds very special and looks gorgeous! Happy June and T Day! Hugs, Jo x

J said...

Erika I hope you didn’t suffer any damage from the flood! How exciting that you bees are almost with you, I’m looking forward to hearing how it all goes although I would be scared as I don’t like wasps and bees near me but the thought of having your own honey sounds wonderful.
Your meal looks tasty and Sangria is alway good.
Have a great T Day,
Jan

nwilliams6 said...

Yay! So glad the bees are here or almost here. The bathroom overflow does not sound like fun at all. The flowers and veggies look fabulous and will look even better once your bees love on them. Great looking salads and sangria too. So glad to hear you had lots of visits - esepecially with your Mother. Many hugz and happy T-Day, Erika!

LA Paylor said...

pass me some sangria...I looked at the news...
thank you for helping bees

Sharon Madson said...

Your drink and salad look great. Pretty flower photos. I should take photos of our pretty flowers before they loose their blooms! Happy T Day!

DVArtist said...

Hope there wasn't too much damage. The garden looks amazing as does the food and drink.

pearshapedcrafting said...

I hope it was just case of mopping upland that nothing had any lasting damage.
Your garden certainly looks ready for those bees - I expect by now they are buzzing away!
Your meal and sangria look great! Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx