
Apple Tree Blossom

These Hellebore were planted by my friend Joan. They bloom every year without a lot of attention from me.
The second bloom iris is at it again with a new bloom and there are at least three more to open if they don’t freeze some night soon.
Bee photography in my friend Joan’s garden has been an interesting experience. Joan keeps two hives of bees. When we walk through the garden she knows which bees are hers. When I left the first time she gave me a jar of honey
My return trip to Joan’s I took her a hat of apple butter. As we sat outside, I was determined to photograph a bee on the purple asters. The bees wouldn’t land for long and my hand wasn’t that steady, coming up with lots of blurry shots.
My mother loved asters. Joan said last year she inadvertently cut them down to the ground thinking it a weed. And look at the gorgeous flowers now.
These glorious geraniums on my friend’s porch are coming to the end of their blossoming season. But they’ll return next summer! We visited on her from porch this morning and captured these blooms, so amazing.
The very same plants. I’m not kidding.
How does she do it?
Here’s her method. Works for 5-7 seasons.
Get a large brown paper lawn bag, NOT plastic.
Take the geraniums out of the window boxes and knock off (gently) all the dirt that clings to the roots.
Place into the large paper leaf and lawn bag.
Carry to the basement. ( here in Pittsburgh we have basements, not sure what to advise other regions)
And my friend wrote the directions I omitted -! “To continue those directions: next year, on May 1st, take the geraniums out of the bag. they will look very dead, leaves and flowers dry and brown. Cut the stems way back to where it looks green. Replant and water with Miracle gro. It will take a good month or more and all the sudden, you will see tiny leaves appear. Then, they grow on from there. A sure sign of hope and new life”. TW
Joan’s garden has many colorful varieties -this is Scabiosa – pincushion flower
Joan’s garden has so many colorful blossoms. I was not familiar with this Mexican Sunflower
Tithonia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower tribe within the family Asteraceae. Tithonia has a center of distribution in Mexico but with one species extending into the Southwestern United States and several native to Central America. WikipediaHigher classification: Daisy familyScientific name: TithoniaOrder: Asterales