Garden Bloggers Bloom Day 2008 Review

Since I have very little to show for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day in December I'll display a review of each Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post over 2008 that I've done. Inside this post you will see one or two pictures from each post that in my view are the best of the blooms. Unfortunately I missed a few months like February, July, and November but all the others are accounted for with plenty of photos! The highlight of the Bloom Day Pictures for me was the Monarch Butterfly I photographed in October. Click on the Month to go to the original post for more pictures of my garden! Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens for more Bloom day posts.

January

Nandina Berries














March

Bradford Pear Buds

Henbit!

April

Tulips

Redbuds and Dogwoods

May

'Caradonna' Salvia

'May Night' Salvia with an Achillea backdrop

June
Asiatic Lilies















August

Sedum/Stonecrop

Verbena x hybrida

September

'Oranges and Lemons' Gaillardia

'Longwood Blue' Caryopteris

October 2008

Monarch Butterfly on Asclepias

Pink Cosmos

The Garden, with Frosting!

This time of year it isn't unusual to see the garden in a crystallized form.  Wet winter weather insures that enough moisture is around to turn the landscape into a frosted garden.  The unique appearance of the frosted garden gives the gardener a great opportunity to play around with some photography.  Here are a few photos from this morning at 23 degrees!

Rosemary with frosting.

Here are the dried flower heads of a 'Clara Curtis' mum.  I leave most of the perennial foliage along then cut it back in the early spring.  It adds some winter interest and protects the crown of sensitive/border-line plants from the cold.  The foliage creates and air pocket that insulates the ground just a little.  Sometimes a few degrees matters a lot when you are pushing a zone! (Although 'Clara Curtis' doesn't really need the extra protection here in TN.)

Yews and other evergreens always look nice with a little ice.

'Autumn Joy' sedum seed heads.

'Leyland' cypress trees don't come recommended by many due to their susceptibility to disease but they are beautiful this time of year.  Green with white, very Christmas-y!

I leave coneflower seed heads up to feed the birds.  Finches love them.  Of course I collect them also to grow more in the spring.  Coneflowers are one of the best ornamental plants for your garden or landscape.  They are native, feed the birds, attract beneficial insects and can even be used medicinally.

The birds failed to clean out the 'Arrowwood' Viburnum this year.  The mummified berries look pretty with a layer of white frost.

Heucheras are my favorite planting for shade gardens. Their "evergreen" nature allows them to be enjoyed year round.  Here is one with a frost rim around the leaves.

A self-sown Bradford pear seedling is attractive with a frost rim, despite being one of my least favorite trees!

The catnip is still nice and green and looks attractive with a little frosting.  Perhaps a new treat for the kitty cats in the neighborhood - frosted catnip anyone?

The frosts are chilling the soil a little which makes me wonder about our winter weather this year.  Will we have a snow that actually sticks?  Hmm...my kids are counting on it!

A View from the Dome

Can you ever have too many sunset pictures? Here a picture of a sunset I took from Clingman's Dome in the Smokies, taken about 3 years ago.

Reflecting on the End of The Line

The end of the line has come at last for the leaves on our trees. Today I went out and took a few pictures around the greenhouse project and happened upon this image of the trees bereft of leaves in one of the large picture windows I installed on the greenhouse and thought of the Gardening Gone Wild Picture Contest for this month "The End of the Line."

The pale sunlight was filtered through the gray clouds that moved for a short time earlier in the afternoon. In fitting with the theme of the contest the picture highlights the end of the foliage but also shows the crooked, snaking, and branching lines that create the structure of the tree.

When the Color in the Trees leaves...

...One looks to the sky.

The Sun and Sky after an Autumn Rain

Here are a couple pictures I took on Friday November 7, 2008. In the morning it rained; in the afternoon it rained sunshine.

Autumn's Morning Light Through the Trees

Here are a couple pictures of the morning sky through the newly bare trees. The trees with leaves are either oak or eastern cedar depending on where you look.  The cedar of course is evergreen but the oaks tend to hang on to their leaves until much later.

This old tree is marked for cutting but sometimes you can find beauty in the least expected places.  The sun's rays through the center of the trees two remaining branches create a heart of golden light in the center.

I hope you'll stop on over to visit the Fall Color Project 2011.  There have been quite a few new additions.  Two today from Tennessee and as soon as I can write them up we'll add Alabama and Ohio to our collection of fall color states!

The above pictures were taken with a Nikon D40. Which (I think) is no longer made, its upgraded replacement is the Nikon D3100.

Frosted in Fall (Photo Post)

This morning we awoke to what is our first hard freeze of the season. Here are a few photos of the frost for your chilly enjoyment!

Frost on Grass

Frost near the garden shed.

Frost on the 'Shasta' Viburnum.

While you can't see the frost on the Sweet Autumn Clematis I thought the seed heads were worth a look!

The Frosted Garden

The first frosts are almost always something that this gardener dreads.  Mostly because it is the end of the growing season - mostly, some plants will grow on through the winter. But if you look closely at the frost you can also find it is a thing of beauty.

Frost on Viburnum x burkwoodii

Frost on Butterfly Bush

Frost on a Solar Globe Light

Frost on Oregano

Frost on 'Shasta' viburnum

Frost on Thyme

Have you had your first frost yet?  

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Join the 2011 Fall Color Project and share the brilliance of Autumn!

Through the Trees

I took this picture over the weekend while the afternoon sun was beginning to descend. It was taken from the very back of our yard looking up toward the treetops of sassafras, dogwood, tulip poplar, and walnut. The fall colors are beginning their peak time and I know I'll be loading my camera card with many more pictures than I could possibly share with you. Of course maybe that's a good thing because you will see only the best!