The Artistic Japanese

Touring in Rockford, Illinois today I paid my second visit to the Anderson Japanese Gardens.  My first visit there last year was on a pouring rain day in July.  Exquisite!  My second visit today in May was a sunny day.  Exquisite!  I could go anytime and do plan to go in a Fall and Winter also.

Lovely, serene with waterfalls and an authentic Japanese pond strolling garden among other delights!  Not to be missed if you can get there!  In my pictures here do notice the three leg ladder used for pruning.  Wish I had one!

Bon Bon The Gardener

My son Bon Bon, you know the one.  That little ball of white fluff I keep around for set decoration.  Well, as any dog lover knows; once an owner has bonded with their child...I mean pet...the owner knows that their pet wants to be involved with everything the owner does.  In my case this means Bon Bon helping me garden.

So, I explained to Bon Bon what the task at hand was to be.  We would be removing a cold frame set on the south side of the greenhouse and then planting that area with mums in colours of white, pink, rose and red.  In between the mums we would be planting white, purple and lavender alyssum to fill in (they grow rapidly) and be in constant bloom until the mums started blooming in the Fall.

And so we set about our gardening task.  Bon Bon watched me dig a hole with my trowel and saw me set a mum in place where upon I then added soil around the plant and pressed the ground down.  After seeing my efforts he said, "Mama, I can help you.  I know how to dig holes!  Just watch me!"  He then proceeded to dig a hole and he didn't come up for air until he was finished.  Here are the pictures....to prove he did just that!

Well, how do you think my dog looks in black face?  His legs and paws match his face too by the way!  So proud of what he accomplished in a few minutes time, he walked away saying, "No problem, call me any time!"  As Voltaire said, "Cultivate your garden."  Bon Bon and I intend to do just that!

By the way, here is a picture of the finished planting.  I will leave you here laughing in stitches and will post a Fall picture of these mums when in bloom.

What a little helper!  I can't wait until we garden again!

My Beloved Tree Peonies

Tree peonies are SO BIG in bloom, seven, eight, nine, ten and more inches across that when first you see them you think you are in some more tropical climate....and not in Wisconsin.  But, you are in Wisconsin here in my backyard.  I love them.  I love their colours.  I love their dainty charms.  I love their perfume.  I love to touch their ever so soft petals.  I love their super size buds.  I love them...and they know it!

I have six of them in colours of red, pink and shades in between.  They grow bigger in shrub size every year.  They make excellent cut flowers (later today I plan to pick some for an indoor bouquet).  They are quite hardy for as you know, they grow in the mountains of China.  Their cultivation is easy.  But enough!  Let's get on with the pictures!

This picture is a bonus!  It's my lone surviving a Wisconsin winter pond frog.  But, not to worry!  Look closely at the right side of this picture and see newly hatched tadpoles swimming on a lily pad.  And, in the next picture too!

The Robin Family

Remember in April I posted a picture of a Robin's nest in the pergola just built?  Well, that family has come and gone!  In the short space of less than two months three Robin blue eggs were laid, hatched, fed and taught to fly.  This nesting site was just one of three in the yard for the Robins that come back each year.  The other two nests still have mothers sitting on their eggs.  But, I promised I would blog the first nest from beginning to end...so here it is!

And, that's the end of this story!

The Rock Garden

On  the south side of my home is a Rock Garden I and my husband created back in about 2003 or so.  The site is on a slope which is a natural for this type of garden application.  I did not want my husband to have to mow grass here because of the slope and the difficulty of a mow.  So, I proposed a Rock Garden which he agreed to do.

First my husband added additional soil from another excavation site on the property.  Then he and I made field trips scouring the surrounding countryside for large rocks that we hauled back (three at a time) in his van and added to the slope.  I also purchased three identical very large hollow faux rocks that are made by a Wisconsin firm that also created faux rocks for the Milwaukee County Zoo.  The faux rocks look very real and I positioned the three of them in different poses so as they don't look alike at all.  Of the field rocks we collected, one has a huge chunk of quartz attached and another has a hollowed out natural seat.

At this point my husband stepped back and I completed the scene.  I selected rock garden plants that spread, that grow an average of 6 to 7 inches high, various colours, drought resistant, in short easy to no care required.  And, so the plants have grown together forming colour blankets over the rocks.  All plants are very hardy in Wisconsin winters.  Take a look!

From all directions this Rock Garden looks fantastic!  A few of the plants have not bloomed yet for example, the miniature pinks that smell so devine!  And, all who see this garden assume it has taken mega years to establish...but YOU know better!