Peacefulness in Minneapolis

In July 2016, I attended my second Garden Blogger's Fling in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area.  The first stop on the whirlwind trip of looking at gorgeous gardens and fabulous flora was the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary.  This 15 acre plot was the perfect location to begin the tour and ease us Flingers into the next few days.

The garden, although close to downtown Minneapolis, feels as though you have been transported into a land far, far away with its wooden pathways that lead through tall trees, peaceful sanctuaries, and a field of cattails.

Butterflies and Bees

This fall has seen an abundance of butterflies and bees in the yard.  This was the first year I had Gregg's Mistflower blooming and the monarch butterflies seemed to set up camp there.  They also fancied the Mexican Bush Sage, as did the bees. I had many different colors of butterflies from yellow, orange, black, white and grey, but these are only ones that would pose for me.

Favorite Things

I love the color purple in the garden. It's warm and inviting and playful and peppy at the same time. There are many plants that you can use in the garden to capture the power of purple, but one of my favorite plants is the Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia Leucantha). This beauty has long, soft, velvety flower spikes that butterflies and hummingbird birds are drawn to.  

This particular plant was given to me as a pass along plant less than a year ago and it is a show stopper. I also love to use it in cut flower arrangements.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

This is my first Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post.  The 15th of the month is the date for garden bloggers to display what is blooming that day.  I finally remembered to put it on my calendar so I could post some of the wonderful things going on in the garden.

Many things were blooming today, but I am limiting the post to my favorite photos.

Enjoy!

Wisconsin Ditch Lily

Greg's Mistflower

Blackfoot Daisy

Indian Blanket

Plumbago

Four O'Clocks

Yarrow

Yucca

Esperanza

Begonia

Columbine

Daisies

Lemon Bee Balm

Indian Blanket

Indian Blanket from the cutting garden.

Simple Bouquet

Peggy Martin rose and Spiderwort. I'm going to take it to work to bring some happiness to my day.

Iceland Poppy

I bought four Iceland Poppies, two yellow and two orange, at Lowe's from the clearance section. I have never grown poppies before, and I have no idea why. These are stunning!  I wish I had bought more.

Bouquet of the Day

Daily Walkabout

One of the things I enjoy the most after coming home from a long work day is doing my daily walkabout in the backyard to see what's blooming, what's about to bloom, and what needs a little attention.

Today was an exceptional day for the walkabout.  The passionflower was blooming, my new red proud land rose bush had a gorgeous bloom, the pink knockout rose was blooming, and the poppies greeted me with their spectacular vibrance.

Appreciating Yellow in the Garden

I have never really cared much for the color yellow. Yellow clothes don't look good on me, the color makes my skin look jaundiced.  I never understood people that painted their walls in their home yellow, it's too bright a color for walls. However, when I get home from a long day of work and battling the Austin traffic to find my yellow beauties greeting me, I appreciate the yellow and the sunny disposition.

Iceland Poppy

 Copper Canyon Daisy

 Lady Banks Rose

 Italian Jasmine

 Marigold (I know, it's really more orange than yellow)

 Marigolds brightening up the garden.

Cestrum

Bringing the garden indoors

With all of the progress with things growing in the yard I have been cutting flowers and bringing them indoors to enjoy.  There is definitely an art to flower arranging and I have not perfected this art or come close to it. However, that won't stop me from enjoying this beautiful iris arrangement straight from my garden.

Wednesday Vignette: Pink Roses

I think the roses I like the best are the pink ones. They remind me of romance. The light pink rose is is Madame Alfred Carrier and the dark pink rose is Peggy Martin.

Caturday