in this moment...

Yes, Exactly!

2010-10-11T20:59:00.000-06:00

I am so glad you felt that way because that is exactly what I was hopeing it would do for both of us and I certainly felt that way. That is why I think we should continue the photo-a-day concept on the other blogs. We could post a photo-a-day each on either intwogardens or on our own blogs. So, we each post a photo-a-day on our own blogs and on the days we post a photo on intwogardens that was taken that day, we get a 'by' on our personal blog if we want to take it. It would mean we are checking two places but we are in and out of them all the time and we have been checking three. I think during gardening season, it would go a long way to keeping content going on intwogardens and our own garden journals. For the winter season, it will force me to be creative in coming up with garden themed photographs once in awhile although, it will not always be garden themed on my blog... winters are long here ;)

What do you think?

I Wasn't Counting...

2010-10-11T16:20:00.003-06:00

Danielle, after reading your post and catching up on my photos today, I realize what I really appreciated about this blog - it forced me to find something interesting everyday through my camera lens. A different perspective. Even on the days I missed posting, I had taken pictures. Sharing them with you was motivation and incentive. Another big side benefit was getting a more in-depth look at my garden and your garden - and appreciating them more.

158 Days to The End

2010-10-08T19:15:00.002-06:00

158 days is how long I was able to keep posting a photo-a-day. Although missing a day is really no big deal, the point of this blog, for me, was to keep up with the committment of a photo-a-day. Yesterday, I missed a post and thus ends this blog for me. For anyone following along, you can still follow our gardens and see our photographs at http://www.intwogardens.com/

It's been fun but it will also be nice to turn our energy to making In Two Gardens an informative and interesting place to stop when browsing the web. We hope to see you at http://www.intwogardens.com/

Bees cuddling up

2010-10-07T18:21:00.000-06:00

Space is at a premium!

Bulbs are in

2010-10-06T19:06:00.000-06:00

They have arrived even though it's too early to plant. Got a bonus bag of daffodils, of all things. I'll plant them anyway and give them another shot.

Do you know what this is?

2010-10-06T18:07:00.000-06:00

Perennial from Lorna in Judy's sideyard. Another shot here.

Another Late Bloomer

2010-10-05T18:55:00.000-06:00

My Catmint decided to start another round of blooms.

New Bud

2010-10-04T20:02:00.000-06:00

Glenbank Twinkle... I like the colour!

I spoke too soon.

2010-10-04T11:27:00.000-06:00

Not everything out there is dead. This Lupin is getting more and more confused.

Geranium In

2010-10-03T21:11:00.000-06:00

I brought Geraniums in today.

Something Different

2010-10-03T16:47:00.000-06:00

Tired of dahlia pictures? This is Winky Pinky hydrangea.

Seriously....

2010-10-02T18:52:00.000-06:00

it's 3 lbs!!

This one's for you

2010-10-02T15:47:00.001-06:00

Two stalks of Brookside Snowball blooming, with lots more buds. Notice Longwood Dainty in the background. I lost more glads today to the wind and rain. Good thing I planted lots.
(Bonesta and Yellow Star and something else are budding up.)

Judy's Glad

2010-10-01T20:16:00.000-06:00

So pretty!

Lily buds in October

2010-10-01T20:11:00.000-06:00

I have 3 stalks like this and might see blooms. These were planted in July - asiatic 'America'.

Black Container at Wolfe's

2010-09-30T23:20:00.000-06:00

This is the only thing I took a photo of today. I actually made a special trip to take it.

Tiny Little Scottie

2010-09-30T13:32:00.000-06:00

I'm really impressed with the colour of this so far... a real lemony yellow.

Windy Day

2010-09-29T21:26:00.000-06:00

The leaves are all coming down. I found Hannah sleeping on the deck and covered with leaves. Of course, when I got the camera she sat up and they all fell onto the chair. Both decks and all the gardens look like this today.

Romeo

2010-09-29T19:37:00.001-06:00

Looking for treats!
I'm zonked and off to bed... will call you later tomorrow.

Yet Another...

2010-09-28T19:36:00.000-06:00

...beautiful fall gardening day.

You might recognize this one...

2010-09-28T18:15:00.004-06:00

Let me tell you a story about this obedient plant. It all started when you were here on May 7th of 2005. You and I went shopping and planted the first 4 plants for our new garden: bugleweed, columbine, sedum, and this obedient plant. After a couple of years, it wasn't doing well over by the fence and I moved it into the back garden. Well, it just went nuts in the garden so I moved it to a little cleared spot in the woods till I figured out what I would do with it. This past spring, when Kelly was creating the woods garden under the trees, he tilled it under and buried it. A couple of months ago I noticed something growing that looked suspiciously like the white physostegia growing a couple of feet away, but a darker green. When I moved the white stuff to the 'henge, I dug up this other sprig and moved it too. Turns out it is the pink obedient plant reincarnated. It's really hard to get rid of these! In the 'henge they have a little dug out spot surrounded by rock, so they can't go nuts, but I should have white and pink blooming together next year. The End.

Fall Fieldwork

2010-09-27T19:17:00.000-06:00

Fall has arrived in the Valley. It was another beautiful day and everyone was out in the fields.

Construction Update

2010-09-27T19:08:00.000-06:00

New garden on the right was completely filled in before the day was over. All the stores seem to be out of bagged mulch so we went to a local garden centre and bagged up some of our own. It's going to take more mulch than we've got to fill that big area though. Once the leaves start falling we'll start shredding and that will make the mulch go further.

Penny

2010-09-26T21:10:00.000-06:00

Trying to ignore me. She was ignoring Samantha 2 minutes before which is why her ear is full of Samantha hair. Samantha rubs even if you ignore her.

Mixed Up Primrose

2010-09-26T10:46:00.000-06:00

The last time I saw this trying to bloom was in January.

Monkshood Starting to Bloom

2010-09-25T19:48:00.001-06:00

Finally!

2010-09-25T19:10:00.000-06:00

A beautiful day :)

Cat Face

2010-09-24T22:59:00.000-06:00

Better than a bug face?

Cornel made it, almost

2010-09-24T16:29:00.000-06:00

At least it should make it because we're supposed to have a nice weekend. This is quite a dark red. On another note, two of your delphinium up front have buds!

Another Face

2010-09-23T23:00:00.001-06:00

The broken mushroom face.

A Few Blooms Left

2010-09-23T21:07:00.000-06:00

I still have a few glads blooming out front. It was a gorgeous day here.

My New Planter

2010-09-22T22:21:00.003-06:00

Made by Bill.

Lots of Layers

2010-09-22T20:25:00.000-06:00

This is Brookside Snowball and I've been waiting for this for a long time. It definitely has more layers than any of my other dahlia blooms. Tomorrow will be sunny so hopefully I'll see more of it.
Giggles has buds but it might be too late :(

One Opened Inside

2010-09-21T17:31:00.002-06:00

This was a slightly open bud when I brought it in the day before the frost hit. It managed to open inside but is starting to look a tad wilted so I thought I'd better get it posted. It is a completely different colour in sunlight.

Delphinium Patch

2010-09-21T15:11:00.000-06:00

These are all the darker shades of delphinium that you sent last year. Obviously I'll have to spread them around in the spring and I'll have lots. Notice your red dianthus blooming in the upper left. It's really doing great!

This is what I did today...

2010-09-20T23:45:00.002-06:00

Computer work. In fact, I worked on the computer so long, I almost forgot to take a photograph! Think I made it in time though and I am done the list... will email it to you :)

Getting Ready to Bloom Next Year

2010-09-20T19:56:00.000-06:00

My yucca looks wonderful at this time of year. And you wouldn't know it's growing in a pot buried in the garden! This is the time of year that I start appreciating my rock garden again.

Bowl of Blooms

2010-09-19T17:20:00.000-06:00

If you can believe it, all three of these are 'Gerrie Hoek'. I think the cold started to make them open before they had time to colour up because none of the earlier blooms on the plant were white in the centre like two of these are. I kind of like the white with pink edge but it really doesn't look like that in the garden!

Pleasant Surprise

2010-09-19T14:24:00.000-06:00

I hope you aren't sick of looking at Kasasagi! This bloom is so much more yellow than the others, yet growing on the same stalk. It'll be interesting to see how it ages.

Unsafe Sex

2010-09-18T14:41:00.000-06:00

These two bees probably didn't anticipate their lovemaking to be posted on the web!

...and so it ends

2010-09-18T12:10:00.000-06:00

Frost hit last night.

Still Under Construction

2010-09-17T18:04:00.000-06:00

I was standing at the top of the Flipflop Steps looking down, which you can see in the bottom right. So you would go down the steps and turn left to enter the henge. The area all along the top of the picture, roughly edged with rocks, will be all for planting. You can see the patch of Ally's daylilies in the upper left. Also notice that creeping Jenny is doing fine in the rock (upper left).

Coyote Crossing

2010-09-17T13:26:00.000-06:00

Apparently, this little guy that MoeMoe was chasing last week uses the top of our yard to cross every day.

'Yvonne'

2010-09-16T20:21:00.001-06:00

In Judy's garden today.

Dahlia Orchid Beauty

2010-09-16T13:47:00.001-06:00

OK so I got the names mixed up, but I knew it was something white.

Nigella 'University Mix'

2010-09-15T20:48:00.000-06:00

The seed pods are as interesting as the flowers in both purple and blue. The blue age white and the plants are covered in blooms still. I love this plant, the foliage that looks like netting is totally unique to anything else I have in the garden. I am repeating this next year in more than one place.

Dahlia 'Preference'

2010-09-15T18:29:00.000-06:00

It's a little ragged but I wanted you to see the colour. There's another bud that should open by the weekend so hopefully that won't be so chewed up.

Egads!

2010-09-14T16:14:00.001-06:00

Wet, cold and rainy today. This is what I found when I wandered through the Front House Garden with my camera. Every single direction I turned, there they were, on the 'Baron Katie'. I left them alone because most of these blooms are waterlogged from all the rain and almost done. I was thinking it might keep them off the more perfect blooms in that garden.

Blooming on the Ground

2010-09-14T10:58:00.001-06:00

Other than the fact that they're about 5 feet lower than they should be, they've been blooming like crazy since Earl knocked them down.

Bad Time of Year...

2010-09-13T19:49:00.000-06:00

for this to be taking its' time to open like this. No frost yet but it is really cold today. More rain as well. I had to run into the city and it took most of the day. Feeling a bit grey myself today, feeling like I didn't get anything done and the fall list of garden chores is growing. Going to crash earlier and hope for sun tomorrow... both outside and in my brain ;)

Star of the Garden

2010-09-13T17:48:00.000-06:00

Hard to beat this hibiscus for making an impression out front.

Guess the Hydrangea

2010-09-12T18:11:00.000-06:00

This is actually 'Blue Bird'. All the flowers flip upsidedown and turn pink as it ages. By far the longest blooming hydrangea I have.

Deadheading Error

2010-09-12T17:03:00.001-06:00

She gets to live in a vase now. Oops! Isn't she pretty?

Possibly Last

2010-09-11T20:11:00.000-06:00

Possibly the last of the 'Raeann's Torch' to open. We had sun today and a little wind so it is drying up nicely but it is getting cold out there now. Noticed I have been spelling this wrong all along... there is no end e. Going to fix the posts on flickr and the blogs.

Mystery Glad

2010-09-11T18:19:00.000-06:00

Now I'm puzzled. I remembered this as purple with white markings. Instead it's fushia or even dark pink with no markings. It's been chewed on from lying on the ground and really should be in the ring garden next year. I have 5 like this but the rest are buried under Snow Fairy. I'm going to have to go back through old photos and such and solve this mystery over the winter.

Rain, Rain, Rain... and now Wind

2010-09-10T15:03:00.001-06:00

Three days of weather has wreaked havoc on the 'Gerrie Hoek'. The unstaked 'Hot Lips' and 'Raeann's Torch' are doing fine. The tallest bud up front and centre is 'Sandia Showboat' which will open this year if we can keep the frost at bay.

Dahlia Update

2010-09-10T11:21:00.000-06:00

Kasasagi looks really striking from further back but I can't seem to capture it with my camera. The yellow is becoming more pronounced as it continues to open.
Here's what else is in bud now:
Little Scottie
Cornel
Orchid Beauty
Brookside Snowball
Preference

Mass of Purple

2010-09-09T16:17:00.000-06:00

My aster may not be as compact and uniform as it would be if I'd pinched it, but I kind of like it like this - a big bush with beautiful flowers that move around in the wind. Earl mussed her up a bit but she's still blooming like crazy.

Undamaged Flowers!

2010-09-09T13:51:00.000-06:00

My first Gladiolus flowers that are not destroyed. This one is Passos. I have a patch of them that are damaged and this patch that seems to have escaped.

Dahlia 'Glow'

2010-09-08T14:51:00.000-06:00

As you can tell this one still has layers and layers of petals to open. A nice bright red!

Really Big Bee

2010-09-08T14:04:00.001-06:00

His friend is regular size.

Alpen Cherub Finally Makes an Appearance

2010-09-07T11:30:00.000-06:00

I'm beginning to realize that the bigger the flower, the longer the bud takes to open. I haven't measured this yet but it must be at least 3 inches. Nice bright white with faint yellow around the centre. Had to climb in among the glads to get this because it's facing the road. Now I have my own collarette ;)

Another One Beat the Frost

2010-09-07T09:48:00.001-06:00

'Ferncliff Fuego' opened. As did 'Wine & Roses' but the first flower on that is missing petals and there are 3 more buds so I am going to try and wait for the next to open before posting. Of course, since they take forever to open, I might not make that goal ;)

My Moment Today

2010-09-06T22:25:00.001-06:00

I got a laptop and notice I already have a flower wallpaper... priorities.

Kasasagi

2010-09-06T08:05:00.000-06:00

One thing I think we've both been experiencing about dahlia this summer - the waiting game for the blooms to open. This is really tiny - perhaps 1.5 inches across. There are 2 small blooms today and lots more buds. I'll take a better picture when it opens more. Alpen Cherub and Cornel are both partially open; Glow and Orchid Beauty aren't far behind.

A Survivor

2010-09-05T21:56:00.000-06:00

It survived the storm and opened this morning - name is Home Coming. I'm impressed... haven't had any mostly white glads before.

Grasshopper Problem

2010-09-05T15:09:00.002-06:00

In the Front House Garden. I just keep going through and knocking them off which seems to be working. Along with Didi and Maggie attacking them as they fall when I do knock them off.

For Kelly

2010-09-04T19:51:00.000-06:00

Just now getting to clearing out the bushline in the front. Turns out the groundcover underneath is some kind of juniper. The branches are long and run under the mulch but not rooted into the soil. Everything here is growing on top of landscape fabric. Yuck! Anyway, there are quite a few of them, whatever they are because that is it running all the way back at the top of the photo and the rock you can barely see to the left is a big boulder and there is more of it on the other side of it towards the lawn.

Hurricane Earl in the Backyard

2010-09-04T16:17:00.001-06:00

The worst seems to be over now and we were only without power for 3-4 hours. There didn't seem to be too much major damage till Kelly came home and told me about the tree down next door. All the glads out front were broken or snapped off, whether they were staked or not. The dahlia that we staked faired better but it's a darn good thing we staked them. Many of the plants were blown around so much that the earth looks scooped out around the bottom of the stalks. I'm hopeful that most will recover. My hibiscus had 8 big blooms on it this morning and they are all shredded. The new glad in the back that is about to bloom survived. Most of the papyrus was snapped off down low on the stalks. All of my bamboo trellises holding up clematis were totally trashed and snapped off but all the plants seem to be still in the ground.

Dark Pink

2010-09-03T20:14:00.001-06:00

The darker colours of hollyhock are opening. Seems like the lighter were earlier. Dark Red is also opening but it is low, in back and I couldn't get a decent shot.

Morning Glory Volunteer

2010-09-03T07:09:00.000-06:00

Well I don't get many volunteers because I'm yanking things up before they get a chance to grow. When I saw the distinctive first leaves of this morning glory growing in the front garden, I was smart enough to leave it alone. The little seed must have survived 4 years in the compost pile. Great that it bloomed before the storm. Kasasagi dahlia bud is starting to colour up and will open this weekend if it survives.

Bright Spot

2010-09-02T20:30:00.000-06:00

On the corner of the deck.

Annabelle in Green

2010-09-02T08:12:00.000-06:00

I can't stop thinking how pleased I am with this girl now that she's found a new home in our front garden. In previous years, all of these blooms would have been dragging on the ground (and eventually cut off) long before this point.
The day is another scorcher and it's just been way too hot to be outside for more than a few minutes all week.

Freesia

2010-09-01T15:16:00.000-06:00

This is the first but I think there is one other that will bloom. They were a mix so I am not sure what the other will look like. You are right, the smell is super!

The Big 10 Inch

2010-09-01T11:27:00.001-06:00

I caught this wide open this morning and it is fully 10" across - I measured. The blooms only last a day but they sure are showy.

Christmas in August

2010-08-31T17:31:00.000-06:00

This was definitely a moment today... when I walked around the front and found this hibiscus bud pointing at me.

Look what I found!

2010-08-31T17:29:00.002-06:00

Dahlia 'Taratahi Ruby' in the Front House Garden.

Becky on a Good Day

2010-08-30T14:32:00.000-06:00

She's almost lost among the fescue and coral bells in Kelly's garden. Hot here today! Sprinkler this evening.

Dahlia Bud

2010-08-30T12:04:00.000-06:00

'Kari Fruit Salad' today. Slow to colour up and open.

from the window

2010-08-29T19:46:00.000-06:00

Rain today so I was contemplating my view. If I am looking for the positives in the thrip infestation, this would be it. The infected glads that were cut down blocked my view of the Zinnia in this garden so I now know for next year that I need to plant something shorter than glads there.

Have a Bright Day!

2010-08-29T14:43:00.000-06:00

I love the way their petals are all curled up.

So Sad...

2010-08-28T12:34:00.000-06:00

...my 'Hunting Song' were not saved despite how good the buds looked. But aren't they going to look great next year!

Tree Sedum

2010-08-28T07:26:00.000-06:00

In the early morning sunlight.

My Hero for Today

2010-08-27T21:09:00.002-06:00

Sean came by today and went to the store to get a huge list of essential items we were out of. As a result, I was able to spend the whole day in my garden.

Longwood Dainty

2010-08-27T18:12:00.000-06:00

Small and cute... and obviously a favourite food for something in the garden.

Old Bloom

2010-08-26T22:55:00.001-06:00

Quite a colour change for 'Raeann's Torch' from when it first opened. The yellow edge expanded and the red really washed out. The collarette, as a result, really stands out as bright yellow. I like this one.

Late Dinner

2010-08-26T21:34:00.000-06:00

Thought I'd have dessert first.

I'm Home

2010-08-25T23:53:00.001-06:00

Had a wonderful visit but it was nice to drive into the Valley this evening.

The Flip Flop Path is now...

2010-08-25T16:27:00.000-06:00

The Flip Flop Steps

Kelly: "Bam!"

Linda: "The trip down is less hazardous now."

Starting to feel vaguely like The Flintstones.

Frogger

2010-08-24T22:38:00.000-06:00

Frog in the pool room.

Trees Down

2010-08-24T13:11:00.000-06:00

You can see a large stump in the middle right of this picture. This one tree down should add a couple of hours of sunlight a day back in the henge. 3 or 4 other small trees came down on the north side (right in the pic). In the forefront is the terrace from a different angle. (I was standing beside the fern patch at the foot of the flipflop path - back of garage is to the left.)

Hawk Nest

2010-08-23T22:14:00.001-06:00

Mom, Dad and Baby nesting in my cousins yard. Closer view here.

Blue Calamint

2010-08-23T19:14:00.000-06:00

I've been days trying to focus on these tiny flowers! I have always thought this was a type of catmint until I just now dug out the tag. It's calamintha nepeta and the word 'nepeta' had me thinking catmint.
Anyway it forms a mound about 2 feet around with all these tiny purple/white flowers... sort of fairy-like.

Whirling Butterflies

2010-08-22T16:30:00.000-06:00

Finally they are whirling! They are sort of jammed between the mallow and the blue lobelia but the pink/white/blue combo looks kind of cool.

Front House Garden

2010-08-22T08:07:00.001-06:00

Thought I would get this up before I take off. I am so glad I put this in this Spring. It is hard to keep still because it was weeds for years so it seems like I am pulling constantly and still not keeping up. The delphinium are new transplants this year so they are way done and you can't even see them anymore but they are there. This is as far as it is finished though. In the Fall, I plan to get it planted to the end of the house with a lot of room for dahlia left open. The dahlia here are doing really well so it seems like a good spot for them.

Flowering Potatoe

2010-08-21T21:37:00.000-06:00

Pretty sure I wasn't supposed to let them do that. Oh well, I guess I am a flower gardener.

Little Stonehenge Terrace

2010-08-21T14:34:00.001-06:00

The entryway steps are on the left and the 'terrace' in the middle is for planting. The flip-flop path is at the top - a name that has stuck. You'll notice that I've already got tri-colour sedum started n the very bottom level. Pink Pewter lamium is going in the top level.
Notice the five pillars - if you laid a board across them, the tops are level with each other and also the earth's gravitational field ;) You can see them better from above.

Rose Hips

2010-08-20T21:28:00.000-06:00

Rose hips are starting to develop on the wild rose. I hate to say it but this and the Virginia Creeper out back turning red are both sure signs of Fall. How sad.

Pretty Nora Leigh

2010-08-20T18:54:00.000-06:00

This is the tall variegated phlox that compliments my Snow Fairy so nicely. I was getting itchy to take a picture of it. The colour of the buds is deceiving. One more phlox left to make an appearance.

Prairie Coneflower

2010-08-19T20:17:00.000-06:00

The only thing on my garden list today was to get the Prairie Coneflower transplanted. I now have it in two spots. Next to the closest 'John Cabot' rose along the drive edge and also along the lawn edge from the 'Therese Bugnet' roses on the slide side. It looks a little shocked in both places but I am sure it will bounce back quick.