STILL LIFE

Dried summer flowers in a Nicholas Tudor mug next to my favorite stuffed bear

ROSE OF SHARON

I'm loving the colors produced on this bush as the flowers wilt.

Inside of fading away the color gets more vivid.

Great for Eco-Dyeing!!

REMEMBERING MY MOTHER

 

Rose Patricia Foote

She would have been 99 years young this year.

My first roses of the year for you mommy.

HEAT WAVE

My summer garden up at the cabin is in full bloom right now.

We had have unusually hot weather this and last month,

and I've had to keep things watered which has been challenging 

since we are in a drought.

I've dug deep troughs around every plant to help the water go deeper.

My son and I planted this nectarine tree last summer 

and it bore fruit that I picked this last weekend.

They were a bit on the small side but tasty.

I had to put a net around the tree

 because the blue jays love peeking the heck out of the fruit.

We also planted an elderberry and it blossomed but so far no berries to be seen.

The star gazer lily that I transplanted to a larger pot really went to town this year.

The complimentary colors were so amazing 

that I had to take a photo before the flowers even opened. 

And here it is in all it's glory.

Seven large flowers!!

This is the hill in front of our cabin, 

and if you look to the right you will see the new arbor

Jim just finished building for me.

It has a bit of a Native American feel to it which I love.

He is currently working on creating a wood sign that will be hung from the arbor saying

"Artisun Studios".

This arbor now leads you down the steep path we built to my picturesque little studio.

These are some glorious flowers that I picked up at Ace last weekend

and planed in front of our little wishing well in front of the cabin.

Sadly I forget their names.

And this lone sunflower came up from seeds that had dropped from last years plants.

I tried my hand at sweet peas for the first time.

There are wild ones that grow from spring thru the summer up here.

I planted 12 and lost half, 

but the ones that survived flowered so sweetly. 

My son and I also planted two Rose of Sharon bushes that came back strong.

I believe they are related to the Hibiscus. 

SUMMER GARDEN

My hydrangea came back this summer with guns blazing.

I was thrilled with all the variations of pink.

I think next year I will try to change up the color to blues

 by adding a bit of acid to the soil.

The hydrangea blossom is one of my favorite flowers,

and I've put several in this summer up at the cabin.

Can't wait to show those off next year.