Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The Bees Are Back!

Design - "Bumble Bee"
Designer - Sisters and Best Friends
Fabric - 25 count Vintage Country Mocha Lugana
Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads
Started - 19 June 2014
Completed - 20 June 2014 

The good news is that I took a walk yesterday and the blackberries thickets were humming with the sound of bees.  Honeybees and bumble bees.  Good to hear and see them hard at work.

We gardener well know just how important bees are!  I'm going to link this post to The Tuesday Garden Party and  you can stroll over there to see what other have to share. 
  
The twins, Parvati and Padma were going to lead our garden tour.  But as you can see they are hard at work catching a catnap, so I'll act as the guide.


I think the prettiest vignette in the garden right now is this: my sister's sweet peas.  They are lush and healthy and blooming up a storm - and oh, the scent that wafts on the breeze - divine!

We have half a dozen or so echinaceas.  They are just now coming into bloom.

This is one of my favorite penstemons.  It is rightly named "Electric Blue" and it is one of the first penstemons to bloom.  You can see the bumblebee working away.

The hummingbirds like this salvia...

...and this agastache.

Salvia guaranitica "Black and Blue" surprised me and survived our hard winter.  While the plant is a bit smaller than it has been in past years, it is still a nice size and will produce blooms until the first frost. 

I'm growing this fuchsia "Autumnale" solely for its lovely foliage.

This year I planted Cerinthe "Pride of Gibraltar" atop the clay strawberry pot.  I think it has already tripled in size and the hummingbirds adore it.  

A few of the dianthus have come into bloom.
This is "Firewitch".

"Arctic Fire"

And here's "Frostfire".

While I should not be buying any more plants, I could not resist this pure white Lewisia! 

Doesn't this exemplify Summer?
This sumptuous tangle of rose and vetch adorns the fence near the garden gate of my sister's Dahlia Garden.  You might mosey  over and take a look at her garden as detailed on her blog: Four Hills of Squash

One year ago today Mom and I visited the Tower of London.

12 comments:

Melissa said...

Nice bee finish! You are gathering quite a collection!

The garden is looking lovely. I admired the cerinthe. I had one many years ago. You know how plants come in and out of fashion and I couldn't find it for years.

Lewisias are wonderful. I have quite a few but not white yet! Nice to see the dianthus coming to bloom.

Thanks for pointing the way to your sister's blog. I told her it was nice now to see the "other" side of the garden!

Catherine said...

Cute bee finish!! Loved your garden tour!

cucki said...

Aww cute bee finish..
Hugs x

Vickie said...

Oh so pretty! My sweet peas have never bloomed once in this sad, weird spring that we had.

Margaret said...

Love the finish! Thank the twins for the tour -- beautiful flowers!

Maggee said...

I like the white Lewisia too! But all the plants are quite lovely! Worth the work it takes to get there! I just became a follower of your sister's blog, so I can see the dahlias as they progress this year. Plus everything else she posts of course! Cute bee finish! Hugs!

Carol said...

What a cute bee finish, Beth--the colors in this one are so soft and pretty. Lovely flowers--I simply MUST remember to plant sweet peas next year!

Barb said...

So many beautiful flowers. I am going to look for the Electric Blue penstemon.

Brigitte said...

Oh so sweet, your new bee finish. And those colour combos in your garden are fabulous, particularly the pink/blue combination. Wonderful.

Andrea said...

A wonderful bee finish. Loved the tour of the garden.

Chris said...

Your containers look great, so does all the stitching that you are doing!

Melanie said...

Oooo, this is a spectacular finish!