This is graduation weekend at Kansas State University. My Siberian irises are heralding the occasion by being in full bloom. (K-State’s colors are purple and white, so I have plenty of these colors in our May garden.)
Congratulations, to the graduates and to their families!
Happy autumn!
Have a lovely autumn day!
(From the garden today: Fragrant Phlox, Russian Sage, Chrysanthemums, Beauty Berries, Liriope, and Blue Mist Spirea)
Our irises just started blooming, which is really a wonderful thing. There are only a few open just now, but over the next month we should have hundreds and hundreds of iris blooms. So exciting!
I don’t usually cut flowers from my garden. I like to leave them in place for passers-by to enjoy. However, with freezing temperatures approaching, I decided to cut a few hyacinths to bring in the house. Their fragrance is remarkable, so I’m glad to have them inside. Have a lovely day!
With cold weather upon us – it was only in the 30’s F. at lunchtime today – I am not sure for how much longer the garden will be in bloom. So, of course, I am trying to enjoy it as much as I can before winter hits. Here are some photos from this morning. My fingers were numb taking them, but it was still a great pleasure to be out with the flowers.
I am not sure that I can explain it, but I find there to be something romantic about an autumn garden – perhaps it has something to do with its beauty and quietude and all of the memories that it contains.
Several of the roses – Mr. Lincoln and Secret – are especially fragrant now. I wish that I could share their scent with you.
Have a lovely day!
This weekend is Kansas State University’s Homecoming Weekend. Earlier this evening, the Homecoming parade passed right in front of the Bed & Breakfast. How fun! Have a great weekend, everyone!
I have a weakness for roses. Even though I really didn’t have room for them, I added two beautiful hybrid tea roses to the garden this year, which meant digging up some of my perennials and putting them in pots. One of the roses is Royal Amethyst – a gorgeous and highly fragrant plumish-pink rose. Â It is supposed to put on the showiest blooms during cooler weather – which is exactly what we have been having this spring. (We’ll have to see what summer holds in store.)
I wish that I could add a dab of fragrance to this blog to go along with the photos. Can you imagine the fruity-rose scent of these blooms?
A few pictures from the bed and breakfast as we celebrate Kansas State University graduations this weekend with our guests …
Wishing the best to all of the new graduates out there!
(For the buttercream recipe, see my Wild Blueberry Cupcakes post.)
When working in the garden the other day, I noticed that my Fragrant Phlox (phlox paniculata) was blooming in some unexpected places. While quite lovely, once it is done blooming, I’ll yank it up so that it does not become established where it is not supposed to be.
Here it is growing up through the edge of one of my Beauty Berry bushes (callicarpa americana) …
… and here it is growing too close to one of my rose bushes (variety unknown).
Fragrant phlox likes to move around in a garden, though it is certainly not the worst offender in that regard. I find that rigorous dead-heading keeps it mostly under control. And when it does appear somewhere unwanted, it is easy enough to eliminate. I tend to let it bloom once anywhere that I like the look of it – and then yank! Afterall, I don’t want it taking over my other plantings. But in the meantime, occasionally it is nice to enjoy some of nature’s accidental pairings.
Manhattan is home to Kansas State University. Since the school colors are royal purple and white, there is no shortage of purple around town. (For more photos see my post Putting on the Purple.) Thank you to Varney’s Bookstore for letting me take the bottom two photos inside the shop.
A Taste of Morning 