A Special Rose

Rose

Yes, my roses in my yard have all bloomed, however this is the sweetest Rose of all.  Bridget, my first  Grandchild named her Kennedy, her maiden name, daddy Trinity named her Amara I wanted her to be named Rose. So the little one has a big name.  Kennedy Amara Rose Edwards.  When she came, she informed me what her name was.  I said Okay I will call you Rose. Everyone  calls her Kennedy except me, I call her Rose.

  The flower Rose is holding is my Clematis.  When I planted it, it was very small with one big bloom.  I planted this Clematis on one side of the arbor and a climbing red rose on the other side.  After a few years of no blooms on the rose except on the top, I have decided to cut the rose back to a bush rose and let the vine take over.  Almost there.
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This stone was for my garden when I move out on my own in 2002.  I moved it with me in 2006 to my new home.  Carrel wanted something larger than a stepping stone for the entrance of our path.  I wanted Bridget to be able to take the stone with her like the others.  So he bought two foil baking pans cut them in half  put them together and poured the cement around them.  When I go to meet my Lord Bridget can take this stone  with her like the others.


Bridget choose to let Conner, her second son to share my birthday.  It was quite an honer just so happened I move into my own home the same year.  I was 70 when he was born. I will be 78 he will be 8 this year.  Hope to spend this birthday with with him.

This is the stone Trinity, Bridget's husband made me in 2011 when Rose was born.  He placed her little hand in it and drew it holding  a rose. With this he gave permission to call her Rose.

.Standing on Chase's stone this is what you see. His stone leads you to the first part of my garden.

Standing on Rose's stone looking to the left and just keep to looking to you right and you will see her stone leads to the roses.

As you can see I have a lot of color in my garden.  When the day lilies bloom it will really be even more colorful.  After the hard winter I love the green.

If you need a rest come and sit on my bench.

The Clematis has past the half way point.











I hope you have enjoyed reading this page of my blog.  Thank for watching my flowers grow and bloom. Happy gardening to you from Carrel and I, Juanita.

The Frist Rose of 2014

The first rose of  our garden to bloom in 2014.  This rose is a very old rose, it was in  Mrs. Murphy's yard when I was just a little girl.  Mrs Murphy is my children's  Grandmother, the very best and sweetest lady I have ever know.  My daughter, Charlotte and my son Frank went to the old home place and dug it up.  Frank gave me a start.  Carrel really does not like it but  I  do.  This rose has no name as far as I know. 

The reason Carrel does not like is the rose only blooms once a year.   Mrs. Murphy had two this one and a pink one, we let the pink one climb the fence.  We cut this  one down and do not let it climb.                                                                                                                                                                         

Charlotte, my daughter and her hobby.  A big city 
 girl, who likes to raise her own food.  We raised our children in the country so she knows how good fresh vegetables taste   She has  goats for milk, butter, ice cream and cheese.  She went to Texas to learn cheese making.  I milked a cow and she helped make butter when she was home.  So the old saying "You can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl", is true.

Frank and Charlotte together.  Frank likes to work with wood.  He can build just about any thing he wants to.  He is in the process of building a cabin on a mountain in north Arkansas.  He goes down fast running streams in a type of boat that holds one person and dodges boulders in the river.  Brave soul.  Loves to fish and hunt.  Before I married Carrel he helped with my yard, built some of my flower beds.  He was happy to see me marry Carrel.

 
 



 This blog page is late and I am about four behind and I plan to right them anyway.  My computer had a lot    of pop-ups and acting just crazy.  I took it to a repair shop but it was no better until today maybe it will work now.   They put Mel-wear, spy-wear and anti virus on it.  I turned each one on yesterday and ran all three took all day.  Much better now.
 Hope you enjoyed reading this page of my blog.  Thank you for watching my garden grow and bloom and hope you are growing one of your own.  Happy gardening to you from Carrel and I,  Juanita.

Blooms of October

Witching time

I know I am late with this blog but I have  flowers that need to be shown.  I  had a lot of trouble with medicine back then.   I wanted to show October blooms this year even though I was not happy with some of my roses.  This witch was painted on a gourd.  Too pretty to scare any one.   Betsy  is about three foot tall. In my arrangement I have Vavoom, Ebtide,  Moon Dance, and Three Gerber Daisies. My friend and hair dresser Evon Jones makes these and all the flower pot stands that I have.
  Pretty face.  She made this round face look like she really has a fat face.

Betsy is guarding the white mums.  Theses really really put on a show this year.













 

                                                                       
        

                                                                
Vavoom was a good bloomer in October, it has not failed me yet.

The Gold Metal did fair all summer, being a grandaflora.
It grew tall and only had clusters once in a while.   Grandafloras are a combination of Tea and Florabundas.  the tea rose is stronger in some.









                                                                           

Moon dance was the best bloomer in October but not all summer.  The blooms are a lot smaller in the hot summer.

Both of mine and Carrel Eurekas looked like they were died.  I cut both of mine down to the main canes.  Carrel said that was too much to cut them in July, but when mine started putting back out he cut his back.   All four of ours did well in October.

       My Gerber Daises did well all summer.  They bloom off and on all winter unless we get snow.  They are in a good place.  I can not over water.   This is one flower that does not want a lot of TLD.  Mostly it likes to be left alone.  I planted these in two eight foot beds joined  under three pine trees.  The beds are four timbers high, good drainage, which is what they like.  They get a lot of morning an afternoon sun.  The only shade is when the sun is straight over head.  I planted pink and yellow in one bed and yellow and red  in the other one.  They did very well in October.  Bees like Gerber Daisies almost as much as I do.



                                                                                                                

This is Sasanka starts to bloom in October and is still blooming.  I hope to plant more of these.  I have been trying to write this blog for three or four months.  I was beginning to believe I would have to take my computer in for repair however today I get to finish.


















Thank you for reading this blog page and watching my garden grow and bloom.  Happy gardening to you from Carrel and I, Juanita.
 

Days Of September

The picture above is VaVoom .  It is 4:40 AM can not sleep, not unusual.  I read this wonderful blog "notestomyself"  she tells what to do to sleep.  I am trying, so far not so good.  Just talking to myself here.  My legs hurt when I go to bed, she says to walk.  Carrel and I are walking on the treadmill.  We started on Monday.  He is 74 and I am 77 have had a broken hip.  I went to sleep early 8:00, slept  just a little while and now wide awake.  Just talking to my self.  They had a birthday party for my favorite Rose this weekend and Paxton came brought the baby boy, he is so pretty and sweet. I see the pictures on Face book and he looks like a Darling. I have only gotten to hold him one time and he just smiled.

I took this just before dark.  I could see the rose but the back  ground was dark.  I think this is the best time to take pictures. You can see the true color of the roses like this.  Vavoom is a beautiful rose.
Many days have past since I started this.  Charlotte called but I was down with the stomach flu.  Charlotte said she and Don  had driven to Monroe and was coming here, but she couldn't get me on the phone.  They ate at PG's an old favorite of ours, a new one on Sterlington road. They had a Poor Boy.    Charlotte takes care of Rose while Mama works 4 days a week.  I sure did not want that little one  to get sick from me.

Debbie brought her bright smile to see me and I had a wonderful surprise Tafta and Orin,  this is not his name however it should have been.  Tafta has an older daughter name Audrey Jane.  One morning in day care Audrey told one of the ladies she had a little brother in heaven and his name was Orin. We tink she dream this. However in spite of this Momma and Daddy decided to name this baby boy Samuel something.  Well Audrey  told her Mother it was alright but everyone was going to make fun of him being called Samuel.  She didn't say the name like she liked it much.  They still may have a little baby boy in heaven named Orin.  If I was Tafta the next boy would be named Orin.  I would be afraid I would be given a yard full of boys if I didn't.  Debbie is a very careful shopper, she saw this shirt early in the summer.  Debbie never pays full price for anything.  She went back not too many days before she came here and found it very cheap and bought it. Debbie always looks good in whatever she wears because she buys the right style and size.  This was a very pretty green and white striped shirt.

Tafta was smiling here however Orin was not probably because someone called him Samuel.  Grandma ( She calls herself something else I really don't know what is wrong with Grandma.  I have answered to it since 1976, I think) will make Orin smile in another picture.

 
I think Debbie is tickling his feet and I bet she called him Orin.  Just wait how he smiles when Great grandma holds him.      

Doesn't he look content in my arms.  I just don't get to see him much.  I will be glad when I can go to Shreveport more.  We plan to buy a 2014 Impala Chevrolet The Consumer's Report says it is the safest and the most reliable on the road today , for the first time.  I have always like the car.  I drove a Chevrolet  Lumana for 13 years.  Never had any thing bad to go wrong.  I love the way these cars drive. The doctor told Tafta Orin should triple his birth weight by the time he is one.  Here he is three months and weighs seventeen pounds.  His birth weight was nine, if all goes right he should make.









I always hate to say goodbye to Debbie, and Tafta.  Here they go in Debbie's little red car.  I always feel a little sad to see them go.  I really enjoy them coming.










We had a beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day.









I hope you have enjoyed this time we have spent with Debbie.  Thank you for watching my garden and my family grow and bloom.   Hope you will grow one of you own, Garden and  family.  I love my large family it just keeps growing, God has best me well.  Happy gardening from Carrel and I, Juanita.

Black Eyed Susan

Rudbeckia  Gold Strum

If you drove into my drive today you would be greeted by this colorful flower.   No yard should be without them, especially if you have a large yard. There are  three colors all yards need one of, orange, red, or yellow.  These are colors to move the eye from one bed to the other.  You should not plant a bed of any of these colors.  However I have broken that rule by having an all orange bed, of VaVoom roses.  When planting one of these colors in each bed the eye moves from one bed to the other.  I choose yellow.  Most of the Rubeckia family are only biennials, however Gold Strum is a perennial.  It is the most hardy flower I have ever planted.  The English was believed to have brought them over to America.  We know now they were native here, from the East coast to Texas. The Vine was named after the Black Eye Susan, a great market ploy.  The name came from this poem of an English poet. In honor of a Susan with dark brown eyes. 
                                

  This is a portrait painted of Susan and a poem written by John Gay.                   

  All in the downs, the fleet moored
  Banners waving in the wind
  When Black Eyed Susan came 
  aboard, and eyed the burly men,
  "Tell me ye sailors. tell me true
   Does my Sweet William sail with you?" 
   
    "Though battle calls me from thy arms
                              Let not my pretty Susan morn,
                              Though cannons roar, yet safe from harm,
                              William shall to his Dear return
                              Love turns aside the balls that round me fly
                              Lest precious tears should drop from Susan's eye"
    
There where many more more stanzas telling Susan, William was high on the rigging and she waited for him to come down.  On this page they said the Sweet Williams in England bloomed at the same time as the Black Eyed Susan..
The Black eye Susan is the state flower of Massachusetts . In Baltimore they have the run for "The Black eyed Susan."  The winning horse gets a horse shoe wreath made of Black Eyed Susans around his neck.

There are many perennials using the Backed Susan as the base.  Gold Strum is the longest living one.  The weed Black Eyed Susan is not the stock of the Gold Strum.

 
This picture shows where I have the four beds of the  Rudbeckia Gold Strum around my yard.  The weeds along the road side drop seed so it comes back year after year.  The Gold Strum may drop seeds I do not know, I do know it sends out roots.  You really have to control it.  I think this flower would take over all my beds if I let it.

Rudbeckia Gold Strum and a Potato vine

There is a season for everything, these bloom the last week in June, all of July and part of August.  I miss my Lilies, some will continue to bloom.

   
These are some of the plants from Gold Strum stock.  They are planted one year and bloom the next.  They only live two years.

Gold Strum and Lavender Mums blooming now

 
I hope you have enjoyed this page about the Black Eyed Susan, I enjoyed reading about them.  Thank you for watching my garden grow and bloom.  Hope you have one of your own.  Happy gardening from Carrel and I, Juanita.

Crafty Garden Gal: Crafty Garden Gal

Crafty Garden Gal: Crafty Garden Gal

                                        

We had a beautiful morning to start our trip.  Liz and the two girls drove down from North Ar.  on Wednesday and spent the night with us.  We left here at 8:00 Thursday morning June 13, 2013.     I made sandwiches so we did not have to stop at restaurants to eat.  I like to eat in roadside parks any way, we found some real nice ones.  I like picnics.


This is  Baileigh my Granddaughter, sweet as she looks.  I am sure like most teens, she stayed on her note book, or what ever, texing her friends back home.

This was Clarissa.  Very quiet.  She like Baileigh had her phone texing friends, maybe a boy friend, back home.  These two girl are fourteen all they think about is boys at that, hey I am sure we all did.  









When my children were young we would all sing, or play the word came.  Some one would think of a word maybe a state.  We would have to find the letters on signs or on big trucks.  We also saw how many cars from different states we saw.  This to me was a family trip.  These girls said very little as we road along, unless they were spoken to.  Witch I think was sad.  I don't see Baileigh much, even after this trip I do not know too much more about her.

This is a look at our new bridge over the Mississippi.  Some time ago the Mississippi  State entrance  was in the middle of the bridge.  However the river has change courses.  Now the state entrance is on the other side of the bridge.  I would think this bridge was paid equally  by Mississippi, Arkansas and the US government. This is  US highway 82 and goes through several states.

 We went around Greenville Mississippi. This is where Carrel and I do most of our shopping because Arkansas put such taxes on Carrel's tobacco.  The traffic was not heavy at all and we made good time.

 I thought the scenery was quite pretty.

This was a long, long road.  We are coming into Mobil.  Mobile was the largest city we went trough.  In fact we only saw small towns in Mississippi, we stayed on Interstate highways. 

Traffic is worse here than any  we  encountered.  Mobile is a pretty city.  I went there with Charlotte many years ago.  With her being on the School Board for Caddo Parish she has to travel.  Charlotte hates to travel alone, so I go with her most of the time. I pay my own way.  

We went through this tunnel out side Mobile.  When I saw this picture  it looks like fire at the end of this tunnel, of course it is only head lights.

Leaving Mobil behind.  We only stopped for gas and personal matters.  I had made sandwiches that morning before we left had plenty bottled water in the ice chest.  I bought the girls chips and dips, we all shared.  Liz did get rally tired.  It is a ten hour drive.  I though after seven hours we should have stopped.  Liz wanted to keep going.

This,
oh I mean who we went to see.  Worth the many miles?  Well of course.  Next the beach.

 I hope you enjoyed our trip down to Fl. Thank you for reading  my blog.  Hope you have a garden and it grows as well or better than mine.  Happy gardening to you from Carrel and I, Juanita.

These are some of the flowers  blooming in my garden before I left.