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.

GBBD - June

Ah yes it's that time again when Carol over at May Dreams Gardens host this lovely event called Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  A day where we all post about what is blooming in our gardens.  A day we get to see what is blooming in other gardens all around the world at all times of the year.  I would like to take you on a blooming tour of Irish Gardens now.....see what we have blooming today:

 The lilies have started to make their beauty and presence known in the front yard.  Pretty in pint these guys are big and bold.

 In the butterfly garden the first of 8 different Butterfly Bushes has begun to bloom as well.

 More lilies showing off.

 And add to that the day lilies have begun to open up.

 Still in the front yard but in the Rose garden we find but of course the Roses.

The morning sun shining on a newly opened rose makes for a lovely start to the day

 Right next to the Rose bush the 4 O'Clocks are still doing their blooming thing and showing off their yellow flowers.

On to the side of the house or also known as the driveway garden the Hosta's have decided to come out and play the blooming game too.

 A few mixed zinnia that still need to be planted have decided that even though they are becoming root bound and are craving some water they will bloom for me too.

 And into the heart of Irish Gardens we go.  Starting in this years bean and pea garden.

This Marigold decided to grow from a seed that some how was missed in the fall clean up....so the seed lasted the winter outside.....weird.

 Continuing our tour we head into the Greenhouse and see whats going on.
Anyone want to take a guess as to what this flower is of?  Many don't see it....it's lettuce.  Yup in case you didn't know if you leave the tops of lettuce alone long enough they will flower and produce seeds....

 Behind the lettuce is Echinacea showing off their pretty flowers now too.

 Here is another one that not many folks know about.. Marshmallow.  Pretty delicate flowers with purple pollen.

Leave the onions in the ground too long and this is what you get....I am wondering what happens now.

And finally we stay in the greenhouse for our last flower for bloom day....Dill


Hope you enjoyed the tour and come back again.  Leave a comment....let me know how many of my flowers you knew what they were before reading.  Be sure to stop by May Dreams Gardens and see what others have blooming this fine bloom day.

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 - October 2011

 Welcome one and all to another month where here at Irish Gardens there is still blooms.  I can't believe it.  I thought for sure that I wouldn't have any.

But alas I do.  So joining Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for another exciting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post my first bloom is one of my Hydrangea bushes.

 And of course the Marigolds are still in bloom.  I chose this picture because I loved the contrast.  First of the Marigold's them self with the red, yellow, and green but also because of how much they stand out against the signs of fall.

 A few Roses are still trying to make known that it isn't yet winter

 A pretty sight this morning was that my Basil is flowering.  I usually never get to see this as I harvest the basil often and it never gets to this stage.  But with all the rain lately it has been hard to get out to the garden to harvest.

 Another herb that is showing of some color is this Pineapple Sage.  Can't wait till it opens up.

And this stunning beauty is all alone on the fence.  A deer problem this year as well as wacky weather has kept my Morning Glory blooms at bay.  With barely any leaves left this guy stands out like a beacon.

So what do you have blooming this windy fall day?  Head over to Carol's and see what others around the world are blogging about.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on a Thriving Thursday

Welcome one and all to a very special Thriving Thursday.  Ok so each one is special in it's own way but it sounded good.  This Thriving Thursday is also on the 15th which to many Garden Bloggers is known as Bloom Day.  Carol over at May Dreams Gardens hosts this beautiful event every month.  So after this be sure to stop over there and see what else is blooming around the Blogospere.   So now it's on to my blooming beauties this month.

 Having fun with my flowers I took a bloom off of every currently blooming Rose of Sharon bush and placed them on the table for this picture.  Apparently I have 7 different varieties of Rose of Sharon.  How cool is that.

 In honor of the Thriving Thursday portion of the post here is my Sweet Mint showing off it's pretty little flowers

 Some Saliva flowing away.

 Another variety of Saliva blooming a pretty blue.

A Rose still blooming away small and colorful

 Not the best picture in the world but a shot of my flowering Morning Glories.

 Another Rose covered in dew showing off this morning.

 My favorite Rose bush even decided to play nice this morning even with dew on the petals.

Another not so good picture but it shows one of my gardens full of color....mostly orange but still pretty non the less.

So that's my tour of the gardens and what is blooming this GBBD so what do you have blooming?  Thanks again to Carol for hosting this colorful and fun event each month.  Head over to May Dreams Gardens and see for yourself how pretty it is.

Blooming Friday - 9/9/11

Back again is Blooming Friday - Hosted over at Roses and stuff.  So for my entries today we have......

 Marigolds.  Mini bushes of them.  They are trying to take over my walkway.

 A delicate rose showing off her pinks

 A Rose of Sharon blooming away this cloudy morning

 Another Rose of Sharon showing off it's beauty next to the others.

 A delicate Morning Glory showing off light blue stripes.

 Another Morning Glory striking out with it's bold color next to it's variegated leaves.

Dianthus showing off it's beauty of color.

And finally another rose on my purple bush is beginning to bloom.  So what is blooming around your garden this Blooming Friday?

Want to see what others are showing off in their gardens?  Head over to Catherine's blog Roses and Stuff and take a look at what others have blooming.