Lousy Chicago spring but yet the garden grows

[syndywindy]

It has been just an awful spring in the Chicago area, cold and alot of rain, but the garden is loving it. Too bad I don't! Here are some pics of whats blooming in my garden.
Pic1- Dianthus, Asiatic pixie lilies Yellow Baby and Buff Beauty, Balloon Flower
Pic2- Spiderwort and Salvia
Pic3-4th of July Rose
Pic4-Part of shade garden, Hosta, Astilbe, and Bleeding Hearts
Pic5 Front yard Tulips
Pic6-Yellow Iris
Pic7-More tulips, backround Rhododendrum
Pic8-Betty Boop Rose

[lmartiny]

Wow. What a beautiful yard. So much color. I love it.

[grandmapenguin]

Really pretty. You have a lot of my favorites.

[Buttercup]

I love these. You're obviously a great outside gardener too! Thanks for sharing.

[Sharyn]

Awful isn't the word! Hard to imagine flowering plants blooming in the yard with the furnace still running in mid June. Your flowers and perennials look great. I hope it warms up soon, otherwise I'm going to have to get a bunch of "cool temperature" orchids or move!

Thanks for posting your pics - brings a little sunshine.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by Sharyn

Awful isn't the word! Hard to imagine flowering plants blooming in the yard with the furnace still running in mid June.

.

Sharyn- I feel like it's going to be fall before we get some decent weather here. But if nothing else, it keeps everything green. I'm leaving for Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Spokane Wa. this weekend for a couple weeks. I can't wait to feel some sun on my face!

[Azzadazza]

what great plants, i love spring time everything growing. thanks for sharing

[grandmapenguin]

syndywindy you mentioned you are going away on vacation.

What do you do with your Orchids
and beautiful garden
Terry

[patticake]

Beautiful gardens! The plants love the rain! We're having the same type of spring here. We're saving on the air conditioning bill!! The gardens don't need to be watered, either! (Hey, I'm trying to look on the bright side, here...) Anyways, thanks for posting the beautiful pictures of your yard. It's so pretty!

[NancyG]

Gorgeous garden. Love all the colors. Hope it warms up for you.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by grandmapenguin

syndywindy you mentioned you are going away on vacation.

What do you do with your Orchids
and beautiful garden
Terry

I am hoping my daughter Kris will maintain things while we are gone. I've already started writing things for her to do. If I know my daughter, she will ignore all until the day before we return, but she has done well in the past. Alot more orchids this time around tho.he he

[syndywindy]

Here's a couple other pics
1- our dauchsund Ozzie gaurding the garden
2- Columbine
3-part of a semi- shade garden, has everything from a flowering almond, phlox, coral bells, lillies, coreopsis, salvia, pincushion flowers and a ton of impatiens.

[mehitabel]

Synday, your garden is beautiful. Campanulas and columbine are among my most favorites. Thanks for sharing.

[Stelios]

Wow! Great garden and beautiful plants. Great growing and attention to maintain it looking so great. I need you to tell me what you said to Ozzie and he guards the place. Ny dogs kill a plant every couple of weeks and dig holes all the time.

[syndywindy]

Ozzie is so busy hunting squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits, he has never dug in our yard. He does however run over some plants as they emerge in the spring. This maddens me, but thankfully he isn't real big, so damage is minimal. the only other thing he does is water my plants for me, if you know what I mean!

[mehitabel]

Syndy, your post about hunting squirrels and rabbits made me smile and reminded me of the old days, when I grew the wild blue phlox in my garden at another house. Just a beautiful spring wildflower, a soft blue, it was fragrant and I loved it. One gorgeous spring it was all over under the trees, breathtaking.

Then my dog died, and we didn't rush to replace her. And the blue phlox started to recede, less and less, til there wasn't any any more in just a couple of years, no matter what I did. The rabbits ate it down to the roots. !!! I had never given a thought to how much the early spring beauty was a gift from our dog.

Without a dog our yard was rabbit heaven. Crocuses, impatients, all eaten down to the earth. Just can't grow them any more. The only plants we can grow outdoors now with no dog are poisonous ones like daffs and petunias. The rabbits do have to sense to leave them alone.

So bless your squirrel hunting dog.

[syndywindy]

He is a very good hunter. He's brought a couple birds into the house and then won't let us get near it to dispose of it. We also had a rabbits nest IN our backyard with six bunnies. Once Ozzie discovered the nest, we had to go out with him all the time as he always made a beeline to it. One afternoon without thinking, my husband let him out and all I heard was him screaming "Synda, we have a problem". Ozzie got to the nest, managed to kill 3 bunnies, and 2 others were out of the nest.We put the 2 (one looked alittle iffy) back into the nest. I was devestated and watched all night as the mother rabbit came. Usually she would stay maybe 10 minutes to feed, This time she was there about an hour, she would race around looking for her babies. WE watched over these 3 like expectant parents, checking a few times a day to make sure they were ok. They were doing great, getting big and then one evening we went out to check and they were gone. We have seen the babies out and about so I know they are ok. Here is a couple pictures of the 3 in the nest the day before they hopped away.