Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day – The Salem Garden

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- July 2016

Happy Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day!

Things are cooking along in our garden…

Here’s what’s blooming…

Carpet Rose

Pink Geranium

Pink petunias

Pink Mandevilla

Salmon pink geranium

There’s a theme here…

Most of the front yard is pink this year. I’m just in this very pink place and I’m loving it!

I’d like to post some broader photos but I’m not feeling quite that brave.

There’s gaps and paint that needs some work. Maybe we’ll get to that soon.

We have several knockout rose bushes which will bloom all summer long, no painting needed…

I just planted this clump of daisies that I won at Garden Club in June. They’re on their second bloom.

I believe that this is obedient plant, or a volunteer foxglove? We’ve discussed this other years and I’m quite sure that the consensus was obedient plant.

Lovage flower, not too lovely, but interesting..

Bee balm/monarda

This is the very first purple coneflower, and a friend 🙂

The beginning of the black-eyed Susan and day lilies…

Liatris, just getting started..

Bellflower

One of my favorite day lilies

Balloon flower

Yarrow

I believe that this is a very old type of rudbekia. It’s originally from the Derby Garden at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, but I’ve had it for years.

Much newer pink gaura

and Peach Blossom Blanket flower..

We’ve been selling lots of blanket flower at my workplace so I had to plant some and I’m enjoying it. It seems to be very tolerant of changes in temperature and humidity and it’s very compact and low growing, so perfect at the front of a bed. I’ll keep you posted as the summer goes on.

What’s blooming in your garden? Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens and check out the links to gardens all over the world. It’s so much fun to look around from there!

Take care and enjoy!

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and Wordless Wednesday (Or, an Unusually Quiet GBBD)- June 2016

Here’s a little bit of what’s blooming here today! The wind was blowing, so there’s some blur here and there, but you get the idea.

Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens by clicking here to see gardens in bloom all over the world!

Enjoy Everything!

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day-April 2016

Hey everyone! Happy Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day!

I’m a little behind schedule today so I’m just doing a quick post to stay in the groove.

I looked back at last year’s April GBBD post and saw crocus and snowdrops.

I’m happy to report that this April 15th we’re way past crocus and snowdrops!

We have pulmonaria or “Bride and Groom” as my mom called it..

and forsythia.

Our forsythia are planted in a space out back, between a pine tree and the neighbor’s fence. I should put some out in the sun where I can enjoy it and it will grow better.

Grape hyacinth… remind me to plant some small daffodils in this area in the fall. Wouldn’t they be pretty?

Greek Anemone

and a new pink Anemone. I hope these take off.

Buds on the Juneberry (Serviceberry) tree

This tree has been on the brink of bloom for the last ten days! Let’s go Juneberry tree…

I have a pot of daffodils, tulips and a few hyacinths on the front porch. These bulbs have been through two snowstorms and several very cold nights.. they literally frosted over and bounced back twice.

If you have a chance, check out my instagram account for pics of the freezing and defrosting process . While you’re there, follow me and I’ll follow you back! I’m starting to really have fun with instagram. I’ve been posting some seed starting photos and connecting with lots of gardeners and great websites.

Just below the bulbs are a few cute little pots of pansies. These guys are also a bit weather worn, but they’re hanging in there!

Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens to see the other GBBD posts. I had fun looking at them this morning. April is a month when all subtle changes in temperature create a wide array of bloom stages as you travel around to different time zones and climates!

Be well, be happy,

and remember on this third anniversary of the Boston Bombing that Boston is strong!

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- March 2016

Happy Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day! I don’t think I’ve published a GBBD post in March in a very long time. Last March looked like the photo just below and I was blogging about our Salem snow farm.

This has been a very different kind of winter!

With the exception of two days of minus ten degrees, our temperatures have been unusually high. No one is complaining, expect for the skiers. It hasn’t been their best winter, but here in the city I think I can safely say that we’re all quite happy that we didn’t get last winter’s four plus feet of snow.

We have blooms in the garden this March that we didn’t see until well into April last year.

The scilla is about to open up.

And my first anemone bud is also almost ready to pop!

The crocuses are surviving the basketballs somehow.

And the snowdrops have been beautiful for a few weeks.

Inside, the Christmas Cactus is in it’s second bloom. My very large Christmas Cactus was my mom’s and it’s been a joy all winter.

What’s bringing you joy today? I hope it’s a spring bloom or some seedlings that are sprouting.

Happy Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day! October 2015

The fifteenth of the month has become my very favorite day because even if I don’t manage to publish a post myself, I enjoy visiting all of the other garden bloggers to see what’s blooming in their gardens.

Reading GBBD posts is always an uplifting way to spend an hour (or two)!

We haven’t had a frost yet here in Salem, so while the garden is starting to wind down, it’s still producing and blooming almost as much as it did in September.
The morning glories are glorious, even at ground level and paired with rosemary.

The mexican marigold is happy hanging out with the lovage.

Lovage is very similar to celery and I’m using it often these days in soups and stuffing.

I’m always posting photos of my volunteer snapdragons. I remember my mother using snapdragon in an arrangement for my first communion when I was seven years old, and I can never quite believe that it grows so easily in my garden. I’m hoping that the foxglove right behind it blooms in the spring.

Here it is up close with the macro setting…

I can never get enough of snapdragon or the macro setting.

Macro’d cilantro…
These yellow chrysanthemums survived last winter’s difficulty. The other chrysanthemums really did not.

The taller zinnias are supposed to be a giant variety, but their not too big. I planted them quite late in the season (maybe the first week in July or so) so it took them a long time to bloom, but here they are!

It is a very pretty bloom.
I’m still kind of partial to the Cut and Come Again variety of zinnia.

This single shoot of bellflower popped up on the opposite side of the fence among the pepper plants.

Sedum is one of my favorite fall plants. This small variety has very delicate flowers.
This white daisy-like chrysanthemum is being crowded out by other plants in the bed, but there’s a bit that’s still with us. I need to thin the iris, echinacea and black-eyed susan that surround it. If anyone from the area would like starts of any of those plants leave me a message in the comments and we’ll work it out.
And the knock-out roses are non stop. Yay for knockout roses, you just can’t hurt them!

Be sure to visit May Dreams Garden by clicking here to see what’s in bloom today in gardens all over the world!

Be well,

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and Wordless Wednesday Combo- July 15, 2015

Off to camp!

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- April 2015

Yes! It’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and we have a few blooms.

I can’t forget that April 15th is also the two year anniversary of the Marathon bombings. The city of Boston has declared April 15th One Boston Day.

This day will be a celebration of the resiliency, generosity, and strength of the people that make Boston the great city it is according to the Mayor of Boston’s office.

The city and region are stronger for what happened. I’m personally working toward that too. Sometimes strength comes when I least expect it, but so does weakness.

We will never forget or be quite the same, but we will move forward and it does get a little better gradually. You can read about our marathon experience by clicking here if you want to. I have a little ptsd, but not as much as others who suffer(ed) much more.

It was quite a day, week, year, two years…

And Back to Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day…

The snow is gone… totally gone…

That’s hard to believe considering that just two weeks ago the garden still looked like this:

But it’s gone and our crocus are blooming. They’re almost on their way out already. A few of the anemone bulbs that I planted last fall are about to bloom.As I looked back at my photos from two years ago I realized that the scilla has filled in quite nicely. One of the best things about garden blogging is seeing your plant’s progress in just a few clicks.

These two little daffodils are the first that I’ve seen here in our garden this year.
The pansies arrived (from up the street) late last night and we got them planted this morning. I haven’t planted pansies this late in the season in many years, but it happens when spring is three weeks late.Case in point, the snowdrops… they’ve made it, but by a thread! The snow was at the top of the six foot fence thats behind them not long ago.

Be sure to read the other GBBD posts on May Dreams Gardens, and send prayers and positive energy to the thousands of victims of the bombings here in the Boston area.

We are strong!

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day from Incredibly Snowy Salem

We’ve received 87 inches of snow in Salem Massachusetts since January 23rd.

That’s a lot.
Here’s the garden this morning. We’ve lost sight of the fence and picnic table. The chickens are in there somewhere.

The flowering plum tree is in danger of being completely covered.

Our front walk is a memory. It’s buried 89% of the time these days.

And I’m not sure that the Juneberry tree is going to make it. It’s always kind of fragile, even in good weather.

But we have puzzles to do.

And Michael gave me this pretty orchid for Valentine’s Day.

It’s still Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, even with 87 inches of snow!

I had a good time taking photos of it..

Different backgrounds, different camera settings…

Who knew that one day I’d enjoy photographing orchids?Maddie and I think that life is pretty great like that.

In other news, I came across these onion seeds in the basement…Their from last year but if I can find some seed starting mix I think I’ll get them planted!

Spring will be here before we know it!

Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens to see blooms in gardens all over the world.

Those wonderful posts will fast forward you straight to springtime!

Stay warm and well,

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- From the Cold Northeast USA- January 2015

What’s this? A GBBD post from me in January?

I think that’s progress!

I looked back at my Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day posts from last year and there were none at all in January or February and I posted pictures of my birthday flowers in March. How sad is that? I remember wishing for winter blooms and thinking that the likelihood of that ever happening was a long shot..

But, here I am…

There may only be four but I think we’re moving in the right direction.
This kalanchoe plant was a gift last year. It bloomed as it arrived in February then spent the summer in a shady spot on my deck. I’ve been reading about how to care for it and it looks like it’s naturally winter blooming and could continue for awhile.

I bought this poinsettia for 99 cents on Black Friday and added it to this pot with the philodendron. It still seems pretty happy but it’s probably heading out soon unless I find a cat proof place to let it rest for awhile.

This Christmas Cactus in my office was given to me at the end of a plant sale last summer and I have to say that I was a bit skeptical about my ability to stay with it. It’s very forgiving and clearly enjoys hanging out with my seed catalogs. I’m also seeing some success with this pretty African violet. It’s also in my office and gets lots of filtered light at this time of the year. This room is adjacent to my kitchen so I think the humidity level might be favorable to plants.

That’s it for me! It’s very cold here in Salem, as it should be at this time of the year, but spring is coming!

It’s nice to have a little bit of color and bloom to get us through.

Be sure to check out the other GBBD posts on here on May Dreams Gardens!

Stay warm!

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- November 2014

Happy Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day!

Sometimes I have things blooming into the fall and sometimes I don’t. This has been a pretty forgiving fall with the exception of some snow storms that lasted for a few hours so we still have some color in the garden here in Salem, Massachusetts.

As I posted last month our lavender is still with us. The stevia flowers are sweet, both in appearance and taste.

Actually the flowers aren’t sweet but the leaves sure are! The snapdragons are always pretty hardy and this year is no exception. This is the last little bit of a new ivory echinacea that I just planted. I’m pretty excited about this addition. I think it’s going to mirror the traditional purple echinacea just across from it nicely. We still have rose buds but I’m worried about this one. Are those little thorns evidence of rose rosetta disease? What do you think? I have lots of grasses scattered around and I love the transformation that they make at this time of the year when they “bloom.”And of course, I have a red chrysanthemum on the front porch. This one is still beautiful!

How’s your garden growing? Be sure to check out the other GBBD posts on May Dreams Gardens right here!

Three posts in four days for The Salem Garden… hmmm…soccer and hockey seasons must be over! 😉

Enjoy everything!

Michele