Flowers

 Spring and early summer are my favorite times to be in the garden.  It's so camera ready....so here is a view of what is blooming around Irish Gardens today


My pretty pink roses

 A purple rose or two

 This peony is flowering for the first time and boy does it look beautiful.

 My Rhoda was looking dead but behold it flowered.

 A yellow rose

 Another peony also opened....lots of blooms this year

And the 4 o'clocks opened too.

Lots is going on here in Irish Gardens and I will have more posts ready in a day or so.  Stay tuned to find out whats going on.  See what we are growing and what we are doing.

Little bugs everywhere

 Bugs are everywhere even after a rainy day.  With the right type of camera you can get up close and personal with them and see what they really look like.  Each bug is either good or bad....finding out which they are can help with a good close up.

 Like this ant.  He is on the peony bud and is very good.  They do something to help the buds...not sure what but I know they are supposed to be there.

I believe these are aphids.  The jury is still deliberating on what they actually are as most aphids are green.  But what ever they are they are on my Rose of Sharon plants and not good.  And as you can see there are lots of them.

 Not the clearest picture in the world sorry but these green winged guys I also am not sure if they are good or bad.  They are on my roses.....personally unless you are a ladybug you don't belong on my roses so I say bad.

A Daddy Long Leg on my Rose bush......not sure where to put him in the good vs bad category cause he is pretty harmless but in my opinion like above isn't a lady bug and there for should not be on my roses.


So what kind of bugs do you see hanging out around your gardens?  Ever think to take a picture of them up close and see what they really look like? Click on any of these pictures to get a bigger view of it.....you may be surprised as to what you can see.

GBBD May 2012

Ahhh it's that time of month again here around the blogosphere.  Time to post about whats blooming in our gardens.  After this crazy winter and beginning of spring things are blooming earlier than usual.  I don't mind much though as I have lots to show off today.....so here goes.

 I'll be honest not sure what this guy is.  His leaves look like that of a columbine but he is so tiny I am just not sure if that is what he is.  But sure is pretty.

Growing wild all over my vegetable garden.....why? Well because I haven't weeded in there yet.  And this guy is right in the middle of some parsley....crazy.

 This gal I bought this year.  I liked the difference between all the others that I have....the white and yellow are very delicate and quite pretty.

 I love snapdragons.  They just look so neat.

 What interesting designs on the pedals don't you think?

 More snapdragons.

 My columbine....I know what this one is....

Even the coral bells have finally come out and bloomed.  Ok so they were out before but now the flowers on them are actually starting to open.

 Strawberry buds are all over the place.

 My blue Iris just opened up today....I love this guy he stands out next to his buddy below.......

 .....that would be this guy the purple Iris.....who is showing off all over the yard this year.

 Although not open yet the peonies are out and ready to go.....the ants are seeing to that.

 Two different views of my Iris in what I now call the Iris Lane Garden.  I transplanted these here last year when I created the garden and they didn't bloom but they did multiply a little.  I just think it's cool that all of them are the same color.  I couldn't have done that even if I had tried.  As I have yellow, blue, and these purple all growing in the same area (these were from previous owners).  Either way I think it looks cool.  Just pay no mind to the truck ....it's full of wood that needs to be piled up.

So now you've seen mine let me see yours......or rather stop over to Carol's blog and see others and post a link there so I can see yours.

Blogging dilemma

I love my blog.  I love writing about what is going on in my gardens and sometimes other things.  Actually I just love to write.  I always have.  But thats neither here nor there.  My big dilemma of the day is simply this - what should I do when I like someone else's idea and want to post about it?  Silly I am sure but think about it.

My sister has a great blog that started as a place to put her cooking adventures.  So to speak.  I can't remember how it started but she wanted to try a new recipe every day for a month and did...then My Side of Life was born.  A few months after she started her blog I started mine.  She's my younger sister but it sorta felt like I was copying her.  Granted my blog is about the garden and hers started as cooking but also has garden stuff and so much more.  So if I have a recipe that I like and want to pass on I feel funny adding it to my blog.  But she is a guest author on here.  She has a wonderful garden out in CA and posts about it. Hence asking her to join me in telling others about gardening.

Then there are blogs or post like ONG has.  His post about his peony made me want to post about mine.  Instead I wrote a comment on his blog.  Is there a waiting period before I can post about mine with out it looking like I stole his idea?

Then there is one of my favorite blogs to read May Dreams Gardens.  I love her witty humor and posts about Fairies.  In fact I loved it so much that I sorta used her idea but with birds not fairies.  Is that steeling? Other in this post now does she get the credit for the idea?

Or how about Heather's Garden and her post about Iris this morning.  I have the same Iris in my yard and would love to post about them if not to show her that I have some that are the same coloring.  Or would that be rude.

Thinking about all this gives me a headache.  Course then I look at those blogs with good idea's and see that either they have been blogging years longer than me or they have hundreds of followers unlike my small 41.  Do the blogs I read read my blog?  Would they even notice? I have no answer to this question but regardless of a lack of answer I will continue blogging and hope I don't step on any toes.  I will post about my

Bowl of Beauty Peony.  Even if it doesn't look like the catalog pictures or like the one in ONG's garden. Because it doesn't look like his and I love the way it looks.

And I will post about my

Pretty Iris because they are just so pretty like Heather said.

I will post about foods I cook but most likely only if I used something I grew. But what happens when I see someone else using an idea I used on my blog?

Easy due to my lack of readers I will jump for joy.  But until then I guess I will just post about what I want to post about.  Like my Rose of Sharon...

But you'll have to wait till later as the post isn't ready yet.  But it's gonna be a good one.  I can tell. And you know what?  Not everyone started with over a hundred readers so I may catch up.  If not....thats ok too.  My thoughts are out there and available to those who would like to read it.  Steady readers doesn't a good blog make.  It's the passion and content that makes a good blog.

A month behind

Mother Nature sure does need a new calendar.  Irish Lady's Garden's are in for yet another week jam packed full of RAIN. Don't get me wrong we need rain.  But come on now....can I go weed my gardens please?   My poor Iris are trying to bloom but they are lasting a day if that long.  The rain keeps ruining the delicate pedals.

Hard to see unless you enlarge it but these poor beauties don't seem to be lasting long.

Again don't get me wrong we need rain.  Can't grow flowers and tree's with out rain.  Could do with out the every growing grass though....too many mosquitoes.

But I will say this for the rain...it sure makes for some wonderful pictures.

 One of my Peony's about to open.  But look how much prettier it is when water droplets.

Add water droplets to the purple Viola and it seems to change the color altogether.

 One of the light blue Iris that just opened looks quite striking with water all over.

 Now this Rose is looking quite drenched.

Another Iris beginning to bloom showing off it's yellow color between rain drops.

Rain may make it hard to get into the gardens to take pictures and weed - or as I like to call it de-weed - but it does help the flowers grow.  And when you can get out there to take a picture or two just imagine what interesting shots you may find.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - May

It's the 15th of the Month.  Time to join Carol at May Dreams Gardens and many other Garden Bloggers in the joy of posting pictures of our gardens in bloom.  Although not part of this for very long I look fwd to it each and every month.  Hoping that each post I will get to show something different that is in bloom.  Although there are new blooms this month some are on plants featured last month.  But it doesn't matter. So to start the show we will begin with the houseplants.

 Not a new addition to the blog but the Polka Dot plants are blooming again.  This time a Purple color instead of Pink.

 A Spring Cactus.  Such pretty and different flowers.  These guys close up at night and open again each morning.

Another old timer is the Spider plant flowers.  Only difference this time is this particular flower is on my newer younger Ocean spider plant.

Here is a picture of the whole Ocean spider.  Very different variety from my other spider plant.







With the Houseplants in bloom taken care of it's time to head outside and take a look at what is going on.

 Although still a bud it's worth showing off.  The Peony's are gearing up for their show.

 Another bud worth showing off is from one of my rose bushes....2 of the 3 older ones have buds on them.

 This rose bush is new this year...Tiddly Winks.

 One of my new columbine.  Such pretty delicate flowers.

 The other new Columbine.

 Found growing in the gardens this year was this extreme miniature plant from the Narcissus family known as Jonquilla.

 Another bud begging to be shown is the Iris.  After watching the leaves grow it was a great joy and surprise to find that many are now sporting buds.

 Silly Pansy plant decided that it really liked IrishGardens and came back this year.  Although the foliage is very sparse the flowers are not.

 The other Pansy plant that came back.  There were 4 and although the other 2 show some signs of foliage only 2 have truly come back and bloomed.

 Lily of the Valley.  These were transplanted from my Mothers Garden.  They survived the transplant well and still bloomed.

 The latest in the Hope Blooms Tulips to show off it's color.

 Just cause I love the way they look more of the Tulips.

 A new container I planted Mothers Day.  Containing a Mini Rose bush....with Apricot blooms and a Brazilian Jasmine vine with pink blooms.

 Although hard to see a areal view of my Garden in the front.  I call it the Rose garden as to the left and still part of the garden is my 3 main rose bushes.  but the Columbine, Lily of the Valley, and Tulips and Daffodils are also located in this garden and picture.


Looking down at the gardens show a lot of beauty but now lets take a look up....at the Show stoppers.

 Although not quite high enough to look up at the Magnolia tree is looking good and it's single bloom is a real joy to see.

 Simple yet beautiful one of my Dogwood tree's is in full bloom now.

 Beautiful doesn't begin to describe this Lilac tree....the smell of the blooms alerts visitors to it's presence long before the sight does.

Nestled in the back by the Gas tanks is what I believe to be a Crabapple tree in full bloom.  So incredibly beautiful.  If it wasn't part of the big shaded area in the back yard that seems to house the mosquito's it would be my thinking spot.

So thats my May edition of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  I hope you like what you saw.  If not oh well I did.

Each Month Carol Hosts this beautiful meme over at May Dreams Gardens and hundreds join in.  So to see more blooming Garden's stop on over and take a hour or so to click through the virtual Gardens.