June 2011 Happenings

The parents came to visit. We didn't do much, but did have a good time together. The big adventure was a day trip into Anchorage. Here are a few photos during our time together:

Beecher's cheese

There's a company out of Seattle, WA that's named Beecher's. They sell artisanal cheese and crackers.

A must: brunch at Snow City Cafe. 

Somehow my parents had not been to Snow City Cafe yet, even though they've visited a number of times. I think they enjoyed it as much as we do. Yum!

The "Habitat" art installation.

A locally controversial, but interesting piece of art. 

We spent the afternoon here.

It's hard to believe but this was my first trip to the Museum. I particularly enjoyed the Smithsonian Arctic Research Center exhibit. We also spent a lot of time in the Imaginarium Discovery Center playing with the hands-on science experiments. 

First oriental poppy bloom of the summer. 

It seems that the flowers are blooming later this year than usual. I have two buds on my peony plant, but  I've heard unless ants crawl on the buds and do their "thing" (whatever that is) they won't bloom. 

Deck basket.

Blue and Red Poppies

We decided to do some gardening while we had a break in the rainy weather. It's been refreshingly cool and that for us is upper 50s. The upper 70 degree weather had become a little draining.  

So, the tulips are done for the year. We wanted to add some color to the beds amongst the bare tulip plants and decided on snapdragons. They'll add some color for the rest of the summer. 

Here follows a series of photos of my favorite plant in the garden, our Himalayan Blue Poppy. 

Greg liked this photo as it shows the near translucent nature of the petals. 

Old scruffy-ness himself, bob the dog. 

A summer view of the house with the deck baskets and green forests surrounding the house. 

The perennial garden bed is growing like weeds. Hee. The delphiniums will bloom soon. The columbine and oriental poppy are always the first to bloom. What a jungle!

I asked Greg to hold one of the poppy blooms to give you a perspective on the size. His gloved hand is right behind the bloom. I didn't measure it, but I'd say it's at least 6 inches across. Wow!

Another view of the massive, gorgeous bloom! As more flowers have yet to bloom this summer I will be posting more pics. I have delphiniums, lilies, and my peony still to come. Can't wait. 

Deck Plants and Baby Moose

Not the best photo of me... but, this has become an annual tradition to show the deck planting. Oh well. And I noticed in last year's picture that I was wearing a layer, fleece, this year I was perfectly comfortable. Greg tells me it's 80℉ outside right now-unusually warm. 

This is where it gets exciting! Greg noticed a cow moose emerge from the woods with a set of twins. 

So gangly-legged. 

Yard and Garden Photos

A view of the yard at the height of summer...

a new flower bed to brighten up the newspaper box...

my peony plant that has taken three years to bloom...

Iris Bloom

Greg is particularly proud of this plant as he chose it and planted it last fall.

Bloomin' Poppies & Columbine

We've had some rainy days and now recently we're back on the long hot days full of sun. Good for plants that appreciate full sun and warmth.

Columbine...

oriental poppy...

the scrappy flower bed... the delphiniums have buds on them as does the lily plant. And I'm waiting with baited breath but I'm pretty sure my peony has a little bud on it too. If so, then it's true that it takes three years for them to bloom.

Gardens & Dinner

Today was one of those days that I'm glad that I live in Alaska. We're coming up on the longest day of the year, summer solstice... lonnnggg days and short nights. We fall prey to the misleading light. It's very easy to ease into an evening and the next thing you know it's 11 p.m. and still light outside. The long sunny days are doing wonders for the garden beds. 

The columbine are getting ready to bloom already.

Today our good friend Becky came over for an early dinner too. We had a great time catching up, eating good food, and being together. 

Bloomin' Tulips

The tulips put in the ground last fall have come up and are in full bloom. The last blog post of tulips has them blooming one week later than this year. Our weather has been much warmer with more sun early on to spur on the plant growth, but the rain this past weekend gave the flowers and grass a needed boost. 

This is what they looked like when we got home yesterday.....

and this is what they looked like this afternoon.....

Beginning of Garden Season

Memorial Day weekend is traditionally a big gardening time for Alaskans. It is said to be the first days and nights that are potentially frost free. We plant in our deck baskets on this weekend every year. This year we got to watch a moose browse past while we were planting. Bob the dog was soundly scolded by a squirrel and both Greg and I were investigated by curious chickadees. The video is a fun moment we shared with Bob. 

Perennial Flower Bed - Fall Update

So, let's see, it's been a month or so since I updated the blog with pictures from the much ballyhooed perennial flower bed that had the amazing abundance of delphinium and other flowers this summer. I thought I would show you what it looks like now that we are well into fall. Greg has chopped off the delphinium stalks, not to the ground yet, but they were past their prime. 

Yes, More D*@mn Flowers... Aren't They Pretty?

Positive proof, above, of the extreme height of the delphinium stalks!

I missed the blooming of this plant entirely last year, some how, not this year by hokies!!

Just another view of the delphiniums...