The Corner Succulent and Cacti Garden

When planning my garden spaces I've tried to keep it somewhat native. I've designed wildflower gardens, butterfly gardens, humming bird gardens, perennial gardens, shade gardens, and even a water garden for the pond. But the garden that I wasn't so sure about was my Cacti and succulent garden. I thought about putting container gardens in the area where I wanted this garden, but I also wanted to keep that area rather rustic looking. So I decided to plant a corner garden with a Yucca plant Vera Jameson Sedum and a couple of cactus.

The pink blooms of the Yucca plant and the pink blooms of the ground cover that the Sedum provide make for quite a bright surprise in the fall.

Til next time,

Happy Gardening!

Changing Seasons in the Garden

The days of summer have come and gone and autumn is now upon us. This is the second year that I have been able to plan and design my own gardens, and I have had the most wonderful experiences. The many flowers and trees that I planted over the past two years seem to have been the perfect choices for my gardens. I have enjoyed with great pride and awe how my gardens have flourished without a whole lot of stress.


I'm not saying that the process has been easy and without failures. Because it was hard work and there were a few casualties. But all in all I've decided that what grows and what does not grow are both examples of lessons that are taught to us by Mother Nature. Lesson that must be appreciated.


My first big project this summer was the planting of my Earth Kind Rose Garden. I planted nine rose bushes and developed a garden around the bushes.

The second project was to landscape my two tier pond that I installed last year. I kind of went away from the usual water plants and designed a butterfly hummingbird garden around the pond which has a peach tree for a backdrop.

(I've never eaten any of the peaches, the squirrels always get to them first.)

That idea proved to be an excellent one! The butterflies showed up daily to drink the sweet nectar of the flowers and flaunt their beauty. The hummingbirds made their appearance in late summer.

The sound of the waterfall in the pond - the fragrance from the zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers,salvia, and blanket flowers - the constant visits from the butterflies - not to mention the array of songbirds that stopped by for a drink, made for a very tranquil and beautiful space in my gardens.

Summer may be gone, but autumn is no slouch. Most of my gardens are still in bloom and now the mums and asters have made their debut. They are bursting out all over.

I know the fall will be just as beautiful as the summer was.
I used to think that spring was my favorite season. But now I can't decide. I guess my favorite season of the year is the one I'm experiencing right now.
I hope you have enjoy my look back over my summer of 2009. The holidays are fat approaching and this yer will soon be over. I've discovered that life goes by much too quickly so we must always stop to smell the roses or whatever flower that we are blessed to be near.

Until next time,

Happy Gardening!

Mellow Yellow Monday - Yellow Mushrooms in the Garden

I know they may be a little creepy to some, but I think these little yellow mushrooms are cute. I found them in my garden this morning and thought they would be perfect for Mellow Yellow Monday.

Happy MYM to all!

Ruby Tuesday - Roses Are Red

Finding candidates worthy to post for Ruby Tuesday has become one of my favorite things to do. This week I'm going to the garden again. Here goes.

Red Knock Out Rose Bud

Red Knock Out Rose

The Knock Out Rose is a member of the Earth Kind Roses Family. They are easy to grow, disease and insect resistant and above all beautiful.

These Knock Out Roses led me to plant a rose garden comprised of 5 different varieties of Earth Kind Roses. I highlighted the process in an earlier blog My Earth Kind Rose Garden .

I hope my Ruby Tuesday selections bring you joy.

Til next time,

Happy Gardening!

Mellow Yellow Monday - Friends in the Garden

Well it's Mellow Yellow Monday again! Hope everybody had a great weekend! I spent mine watching the rain come down. I'm not complaining it was great weather to stay inside and watch football.

Here are my entries for MYM! I hope they bring you joy.

Turks Cap is one of the favorite plants of the Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly!

These two Fiery Skipper Butterflies found more than just nectar when they visited this beautiful Zinnia in my garden!

This little bee found more than enough pollen in this bright yellow Cosmos that I planted near the pond in the garden!

Happy Mellow Yellow Monday!

Water Smarts in the Garden

It's Saturday afternoon here in Arlington, Texas and its been raining for the past 2 days. Being a gardener, I must say that I am very appreciative of the rain. But it got me to thinking about all of the dry hot days we experience here in Texas.

While most of my gardens are comprised of native plants, lets face it, they all need lots of water. I try to conserve as much as possible, so I'm always looking for new ideas to help me learn better ways to help me do that and help environment at the same time.

I ran across an article in the September/October 2009 issue of "Gardening How-To Magazine" entitled: Get Smarter About Water. It had some great ideas and I thought that I would share one of the tips that I really liked and thought that I would be able to do.

BRING INSIDE WATER OUT:

Garden water isn't limited to rainwater or the outdoor hose--use kitchen water too. If you've just boiled eggs, pasta, or vegetables, pour the leftover hot water on weeds and they'll soon wilt and die (great for weeds in driveway crevices and along walls). Let the water cool and you can use it on any of your plants--they'll especially love the cooking water's trace minerals. And don't dump water out when you rinse your almost-empty coffee pot. Instead, pour it on acid-loving plants like impatiens, begonias, irises, hydrangeas, aloes, and azaleas.

Look at the ways water goes to waste in your house and put it to good use. Place a pitcher on the kitchen counter for "recycled" water; whenever someone doesn't finish a glass of water, pour it into the pitcher. When it's full, use the water on houseplants or patio container plants. If your bathtub faucet leaks during your shower, put a bucket under the faucet, then use the water on an herb pot or window box.

I hope you find this article helpful. Like I said there are many other good tips on the website if you would like to visit www.gardeningclub.com.

Until next time.
Happy Gardening.

Ruby Tuesday - Red Hat

As you can tell by my blog title, I love gardening and spend a lot of time in my gardens. While that is my passion, I must say that there is another thing that I am quite passionate about.That is spending time with my Red Hat Society sisters.
For those that don't know, the Red Hat Society was started about ten years ago by a woman who was determined to enjoy life past the age of fifty. She wanted to celebrate life with her girlfriends around the same age. Donning Red Hats and Purple outfits the tea parties, vacations, and other fun outings began.

From one woman's determination not to let life

pass her by, an international phenomenal has swept up women around the world.
I'm proud to say that I am one of them.
So for this Ruby Tuesday post I thought that I would share a few of my favorite red hat things.

Mellow Yellow Monday- Pandora's Box Day Lily

Pandoras's Box Day Lily

Happy Labor Day!

Hope you enjoy my Mellow Yellow Monday Selection.

This day lily is reblooming from early spring.

It was quite a surprise when saw it a couple of days ago.

TODAY'S FLOWERS - NASTURTIUM

NASTURTIUM

I discovered this delicate white bloom in my Butterfly & Hummingbird Wildflower Garden. It only started blooming just a few days ago. What a lovely surprise. I hope you enjoy it as my Today's Flower entry.

Until next time,

Happy Gardening!

SkyWatch Friday - Happy Labor Day

I'm a proud American and this flag graces my home each and every day. With the upcoming Labor Day Weekend approaching I thought that this shot captured by my daughter early one July evening would be perfect for SkyWatch Friday. I hope you agree.

Until next time,

Happy Gardening!

Ruby Tuesday- Red Rules

Good Tuesday morning and welcome to my first Ruby Tuesday post.
I hope you enjoy my selections.

This red bloom is Turks Cap. It thrives
easily in my garden and the humming-
birds and butterflies love it. So do I!

This little Red Barn is a replica
of the many signs that you
will see while traveling through
the cities near Lookout Mountain,
Georgia. I found this bell at the gift
shop in Chattanooga, TN's airport.

A bright red Zinnia was just the spot
for this Swallowtail Butterfly visiting
my garden.

Mellow Yellow Monday- Flowers From Chesapeake Gardens

Moss Rose

Marigold

Sunflower

Hi Mellow Yellow Monday Submitters! I found this site visiting SkyWatch Friday blog submissions. I love the color yellow and decided to see what the Mellow Yellow Monday family was all about. I must say I have seen some very interesting, funny, and most of all, beautiful photos devoted to the color yellow. Here is my first entry. These photos are from my gardens. I hope you enjoy and Happy Gardening!

SkyWatch Friday - Blessed In Texas

On August 1, 2009 I stepped outside my front door and witnessed this beautiful summer sunset. You know it is said that everything is big in Texas, I just say I'm blessed in Texas. I hope you enjoy my SkyWatch Friday entry.

Until next time,

Happy Gardening!

The Roses of Chesapeake Gardens

It's summertime in Chesapeake Gardens and the flowers are beautiful. Especially the roses. I have enjoyed every step it took to get to this place in the gardens. If you've followed my blog you know that I planted my Earth Kind Rose garden this spring and have been logging the success up until now. I've made two slide shows so I can share the beauty of my Earth Kind Roses and also my less talked about Moss Rose Collection. Take a few moments enjoy what I see everyday. Until next time:

HAPPY GARDENING.

Butterflies in the Garden

While I took a break from blogging, my gardens have continued to grow and flourish. While I choose not to bore you with the reasons that led to my absence, I will say that through it all my garden was the one place I could always go to find comfort and peace.
In my garden I am never alone. I have lots of friends. The birds, the squirrels, bees and dragonflies and damselflies. But I think my most special friends are the butterflies. There are so many different kinds. So many beautiful colors. I never know who will show up on any given day. Whether its early morning, high noon, or late evening, they are my constant companions in the garden. I can always count on their presence to cheer me up. I hope you enjoy the images of my friends that I captured while strolling through my gardens.

Female Black Swallowtail


Fiery Skipper


American Snout


Gulf Fritillary


Gulf Fritillary


Giant Swallowtail



Cabbage White


Monarch

Visualization and the MRI

Monday, May 18, 2009.

I had a wonderful experience today, and I want to share it with my gardening friends and with all who follow this blog.

Normally you don't hear the words "wonderful experience" associated with the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan procedure.

But let me tell you my story. I practice visualization to attract positive results in my life. I visualize a positive result before I undertake most any task.

Well today I had to have an MRI because I am experiencing sever pain in my left leg. I may have a pinched nerve in my back.

I've had MRI's before and I was not real excited about having this one. If you've never had the experience it goes something like this; You are laid down on a narrow cot and placed in a huge tube that is about an inch away from your face and asked to stay perfectly still. If that's not frightening enough the machine starts making these loud banging noises as it takes images of your body. This goes on (in my case) for about 40 minutes.

Anyway. That's an MRI. So today before I got to the clinic I made myself relax, Even though I overslept this morning, I drove the speed limit and listened to some of my favorite music on the drive there.

Once I was placed in the MRI machine, I closed my eyes and started visualizing walking through my gardens.

I talked and walked through the gardens stopping to train the climbing roses on the arbor.

Smelling the sweet scents of the petunias and Mexican plum tree. I stopped to pull stray grass shoots from the flower beds. I could feel my feet on each stepping stone.


It was amazing! I knew that the noise was there, but at times I could not hear it. I never felt enclosed. I only felt like I was walking outside in my gardens. I seriously almost fell asleep I was so peaceful.


When it was all over, I felt refreshed and relaxed. I've never experienced anything like it.


As soon as I got home, I went straight to my gardens to say thank you to the universe that I live in. Thank you for my peaceful place. I am blessed knowing that no matter where I am or what the circumstances, I have a safe place.


Thank You God.

MY EARTH KIND ROSE GARDEN

My new rose garden started with an idea and a sketch. I had the idea and my daughter did the sketch.

I wanted a rose garden planted with only Earth Kind roses. I found Chamblee Rose Nursery in Tyler, Texas to order my roses from. After many hours of researching all of the Earth Kind roses, I chose six that I thought would be suitable for my garden... I decided on Climbing Pinkie, Caldwell Pink, Spice, Ducher, Sea Foam and Marie Daly.

I placed my order in January and in February I began to to prepare the site that would be the home for my new babies.

First came the arbor.

Once it was in place I prepared the rose garden bed. I filled the garden bed with a mix of garden soil and compost. I tried to keep the outline of the bed as close to the original plan as possible.

When my rose bushes arrived in mid March, I was literally jumping up and down with excitement. I couldn't wait to inspect them to be sure that all was well with the shipment. To my relief, they were in perfect condition.

After a few days I started planting them. It took me 2 days to get them all planted, but it was very gratifying when I was done. Here are some of the early photos of my new rose garden.

My Earth Kind rose garden is in its infancy stage and I look forward to watching it grow. I have planted perennial seeds to fill in the spaces and I await the summer months to see how they grow up as well. I can' t tell you how pleased I am already with the progress of my new Earth Kind rose garden. I hope you will continue to follow their growth with me.

Until next time,

Keep Gardening!

Stormy Skies Over Texas

On Tuesday the 24th of March, My daughter and I thought we were going to get in a few sets of tennis when we went to the park. Instead we were greeted by threatening skies and wind gust so strong that we had a hard time just opening our car doors.
So instead of playing tennis we took these great pictures of the clouds that were rolling by overhead. Needless to say the storms were not far behind.

Springtime In Pam's Chesapeake Gardens

With Spring fast approaching,
I felt the need to share with you what has
been happening in my gardens.

After beginning the winter clean up I began seeing a few signs of Spring.

The first sign was the return of my Pandora's Box Daylilies. I have 3 of them in my Grass Garden.

My Carolina Jessamine began blooming shortly after that.














And then the Snap Dragons burst onto the scene. They began blooming around the 26th of February and I must say it looks like they are here to stay. They are vibrant and beautiful. I took lots of pictures and I hope they make you as happy as they do me.

These beauties are not the only early arrivals in my gardens.
Take a look at 3 of my Rose Bushes. Here is the Climbing Blaze's new growth.












And the Blue Girl Rose Bush is right in step. The two Knock Out Rose Bushes in the garden looked a little tired a few days ago, but look at what I found when I went out to my gardens this morning! This little blossom is really trying to get it on the act .


And now take a look at my Dusty Miller...
















They share a garden bed with Lantana and purple Salvia.
I know they can't wait for their beautiful companions to join them this spring. I know I can't!

There is much work to do to make my garden space the enchanted garden that I so lovingly refer to it from time to time.

My garden is a labor of love and the place where I find my peace always.

I hope that you will find joy and peace also as you visit Pam's Garden Space in the coming days.

Until next time,

HAPPY GARDENING !!!

MY TRIBUTE TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Born into slavery in Missouri, Carver later earned degrees from Iowa Agricultural College. The director of agricultural research at the Tuskegee Institute from 1896 until his death, Carver developed hundreds of applications for farm products important to the economy of the South, including the peanut, sweet potato, soybean, and pecan.