Wildflower Garden I Photographed with Mostly Bachelor Buttons

 I went out on Wednesday to do some food shopping and to my favorite thrift shop to donate back at the loading dock. To my great surprise they had planted the most wonderful wildflower garden against the metal siding. I was mesmerized by its beauty. I have always loved bachelor buttons or blue cornflowers and there were so many of them. I took a video shown below but I might have to delete it if it doesn't upload correctly. I won't know until I publish this post. I only bought one thing when I went inside for 50 cents. It was an old fashioned squeeze nutcracker. I always have trouble unscrewing the Half & Half tops since they reduced the height. Now they are so shallow I have a really hard time unscrewing them. The nutcracker worked perfectly for this task and I am thrilled. Tara made me feel guilty about not blogging in a while but I have been very busy with many things. More about that later. xo

Have a great weekend. We finally got rain and I have two baby groundhogs that I've been enjoying. I only have weeds and they are welcome to eat all they want. Will try to get a photo to show you.The video worked♡. To see it in your email notification you have to click "continue reading". xo

Bluebirds Galore and a Boss Baby

Proud Father.

Father, trying to teach baby everything.

Baby is on railing to the right,

Boss Baby, trying to bluebird.

Isn't he adorable? I love him💙

Buttercups, my favorite wildflowers (right now) outside my front door.

It's supposed to get quite cold tonight but I am not going to cover my geraniums. I think they will be fine, fingers crossed.

xo

The Wildflower Window

Can you even imagine being able to lean out your own window and pick flowers? via

Cultivated Wild Landscaping in Napa

I loved reading the article about this Architectural Landscaping couple who got stuck at their vacation home during quarantine and totally revamped the outside with cultivated wildness. It looks fabulous and the poppies growing in the cracks are right up my alley. Followed by hollyhocks! What could be better? Read the entire article here. Enjoy! xo

Enlarging My New Garden

I put this photo taken yesterday late in the afternoon on Instagram too. I moved my antique iron urn to this spot that started out as a large clump of my mother's daffodils. They have bloomed out now and this garden with no plan is telling me what to do. I planted my large rosemary that was wintering over in my pantry in the urn and I love it. To the left of the urn is a giant mullein i found growing wild against my foundation that I transplanted. 

I forgot to bookmark the location of this photograph of a clump of giant mullein growing in a beautiful garden. I found it on Google Images. My single giant will be probably overpower its small garden space but for now it is a free plant I rescued because I have always admired these wildflowers (or weeds) that must be in the lamb's ear family with their gray green fuzzy leaves. 

Stay safe, stay home, and enjoy the first Sunday in May. xo

Violets to Brighten Your Day

My wild violets are all over my front lawn and I dearly love them. Their sweet faces always brighten my day or, in this case, my evening. Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay home. xo

Bunny Ears

This bunny looks as if he is on high alert and his ears indicate he has heard something straight ahead. photo credit Rabbits' sense of hearing is their most vital sense. Their large ears can detect sounds from a long way off. But the key to rabbits' hearing ability is their ability to swivel independently. This helps the ears funnel sounds from every direction. More information on their 5 senses here. I never knew their ears swiveled, and independently at that, did you?

The life expectancy of a wild rabbit is much shorter than our domestic pets. In fact, a wild rabbit usually only lives for about a year….sometimes two.

Wild rabbits don't live very long because of a variety of different factors. Disease, harsh winter conditions, lack of food and predators all influence how long the rabbit will live.

Although it seems harsh, this is nature's way of balancing the rabbit population. via

May Flowers in Bloom at My Cottage

I have no idea what this is or where it came from. A bird must have planted it for me. The purple flower is small, measuring only two inches across the two lower petals. There is a spider inside and some sort of winged pollinator on his way to the yellow stamens in the center. This looks like a small flat iris and I love having it in my front garden.

This is the third nasturtium blossom I have had from my overwintered plants.

My lamb's ears in the back are standing proud and tall this spring. The lace cap hydrangea in the distance is full of bud that will be blooming soon. The limelight hydrangea in the left foreground has no buds yet but it's are loving all the rain we've been having.

My pink peonies will be opening soon. This bud is the most advanced. They are already starting to droop because of all the rain drops inside. They are taller than ever this year, up to my chin. They are the loveliest of all spring flowers, agreed?

And last, but not least, the humble wild daisy.

Random Photos at My Cottage

I was standing in front of one of the French doors leading out to my balcony for this photo of my kitchen.

I leaned out of my bedroom window for this shot of my backyard. You can see the brick pillars holding up my balcony and one of the Adirondack chairs I set in to cool off while and after mowing. I honestly have mowed more this year already than I did all summer last year. I mowed my front and my back yesterday starting at 6pm and finishing at 7:30. It was worthwhile since today it rained again around lunch time.

This male deer with tiny fuzzy beginning antlers waited for me to go inside to grab my Nikon and hadn't moved an inch when I returned to the balcony to photograph him. The two little wrens on the post were determined to get their picture taken too. The wild buttercups come back every year in this location and they complete this nature photo of the day.

My lady's mantle is the perfect perennial plant for capturing dewdrops and rain drops. It is grown primarily for its leaves but the chartreuse flowers are pretty nice too, especially in mixed arrangements.

That's about it for a Friday post. Click any photo to enlarge. xo

Wild Violets + My Living Room

I need to do a third mowing but I don't have the heart to decapitate my wild violets. They are considered to be a broad leaf weed by some, but not me!!!!

I love both varieties. These are solid purple.

These are white with purple pansy-like faces.

Grape hyacinths, crowded out by long grass, but still gorgeous.

A view of my living room as seen from my kitchen. French doors on either side of the sofa lead to my balcony that was power washed on Saturday. I cannot believe how controlling I am when I hire outside help. The workers did a fabulous job at the house I am getting ready to list but they didn't bring those skills to my cottage. WHY? But in the end, my balcony floor looks much better and my red barn garage looks brand new. So all is well I suppose. I am actually so much happier doing things myself. I am a hard taskmaster when I hire things out and I can usually work circles around almost any worker. 

Now if I only had a chain saw and a power washer of my very own. 😂

Images from My Cottage

Storm clouds over my balcony on Sunday at dusk. Moments after I took this photo, the heavens opened up and it started pouring.

The grape hyacinths are blooming and I adore the deep vivid blue color of this sweet spring flowering bulb.

This clump of jonquils is bigger than ever this year. I did everything in the book to them after they bloomed last season to ensure a splashy return and it worked. They are planted in a raised bed outside my mom's bedroom on the lower level of my cottage where she had her own quarters. She had to give up her condo in Charlotte after turning in her driver's license due to her diminishing eyesight. I actually bought my cottage with this living arrangement in mind. We had such fun furnishing the whole lower floor together with treasures from consignment shops and yard sales. She still missed her independence but adjusted to having me be her eyes. I can remember when she planted these bulbs that have numerous blooms in the clump to remind me of the 10 years we had here in my cottage.

The wild violets are back in my front yard. I love them and leave them alone by not mowing my grass for as long as I can hold off.

I have posted all of these photos on Instagram so many of you have already seen them. xo

Snowdrops: Storm Ready

This clump of snowdrops by my front door has open flowers that I don't want to get trampled if we have really hard rain along with the wind if the Nor'easter comes my way. So I went out to my garage/barn and located a cloche to protect them.

Now I can relax because these early blooming spring bulbs will be fine! They are also called Galanthus.

Milkweed Plant, Monarch Caterpillar, Limelight Hydrangea

This Limelight hydrangea is three years old and 7 feet tall. WOW. I love it so and it's wonderful to have something showy blooming in August through the fall. The pink flowering plant is a Milkweed that planted itself. The pink flowers are lovely and the leaves are food for the Monarch butterfly caterpillars. I saw my first ones today and took a video. I don't know how to do it on Blogger but it's easy as pie on Instagram. Click here to see my monarch caterpillar video. Click on the arrow in the center of the photo to start the movement. I am so happy I am helping save the Monarchs. Milkweed is their primary food source and it is being eradicated by farmers who consider it a nuisance. Did you know each Monarch lays 500 eggs in one season and only 20 survive? I hope my little plant, in a very protected location, has a better ratio of eggs to butterflies. See you later. xo

Milkweed Seed Pods

I have one volunteer milkweed plant growing in the bed next to my Limelight Hydrangea. I can't wait for the seed pods to form and take me back to my childhood when we lived in a house with fields full of these plants the Monarch butterflies love. via

Oxfordshire Church and Wildflower Meadow

St. Nicholas’ parish church in Chadlington - Oxfordshire, England. I love this no-mow zone filled with lovely white wildflowers. via

💛 D A I S Y 💛

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💛 D A I S Y 💛

Mushroom as big as a dinner plate.

via Instagram http://ift.tt/29NFWPp

Mushroom as big as a dinner plate. I put three small wildflowers on top for scale. The purple one is a clover blossom. Photographed on my evening walk tonight. xo

#mushroom #fungus #wildnature #wildnewjersey #goodnight #watchingPBStonight #tv #ig

Weeds can be beautiful too.

via Instagram http://ift.tt/29piA0g

Weeds can be beautiful too. 🔶🔶🔶  These look like little orchids.

#weeds #wildflowers #yellow #orchids #inmylawn #ig

Queen Anne's Lace

Such a lovely photo. Via

Queen Anne's Lace, also called "Wild Carrot," is a common plant in dry fields, ditches, and open areas. It was introduced from Europe, and the carrots that we eat today were once cultivated from this plant. I did not know that, did you? Info found here.

Tiny Wild Grapes

The wild grapes are beginning to form on all the grape vines. I have to admit, I've never gotten to taste one after all these years. The birds get them first and that's fine with me. I love that my property produces food for the birds with the wild grapes following the wild raspberries. The birds leave plenty of ripe berries for me simply because they are so plentiful. Enjoy this beautiful Sunday. xo