Blog

This is a very precious day.

 The whole garden is early this year. Usually, the catalpa trees are just starting to bloom and the feverfew is opening.

Every year is different.

One rainy morning we discovered this little guy in the kitchen. He was hiding in a corner, surrounded by the cats!  Luckily, they seemed pretty puzzled by him. We shooed the cats out of the room, and It was pretty easy to coax him into a cat carrier with nuts and peanut butter on bread.

I put the carrier outside under the cherry tree,  but he finished the rest of his trearts  before scampering up.

Spring arrived soon this year. Peonies, delphiniums and roses are blooming about 3 weeks early.

Milkweed pods and seeds ready to scatter  and plant themselves

Some of the old ornaments

 Madder roots

I dug up some of the madder roots that have been creeping toward the neighbor's yard. This part of the patch has been growing for over 10 years. 

These were very easy to chop with the garden clippers. I'll let them dry for a while, but it's hard to wait!

Beautiful cherry and redbud leaves.

Serviceberry leaves

Coreopsis and Bright Lights cosmos blossoms

Silk dyed with coreopsis and cosmos flowers

 The garden is so full of color!

Late delphiniums tiger lilys and coreopsis

 Dahlias

Madder root dye on wool yarn

 Wool yarn dyed with madder.

The variety of shades makes me wish I had much more yarn and madder!

 It's been such a long time since I've added anything to this little blog.

The months have marched along, full of wonder, action and beauty. It's impossible to gather them back, but it's not too late to begin sharing again.

The bird bath

 The neighbor's magnificent elm tree was cut down this September.  The process was very unsettling, to put it mildly.

A small part of the cut down elm tree.

 I asked for a couple of the logs. The birds and cats take turns perching on them.

These pictures are a tiny sample of those I took during my recent, (and first), visit to the Garfield Park Conservatory for the annual spring flower show. What a beautiful display! The colors and fragrance were beautiful and inspiring. This place is a jewel in the city.

Orchids

 I love these giant snapdragons

The air was sweet.

Stock and azalea

Beautiful yellow azalea

 Camellia