Bouquets for my dear friends and gardeners

I'm on flower duty this weekend at church. A group of us take turns supplying flowers throughout the summer. I try to use flowers from my garden as much as possible.

Not all flowers are good cut flowers, and I wasn't sure I'd have enough workable ones for three floral arrangements this weekend. (Soon I'll have so many, I'll call people up to please take some!) The garden's in a bit of a transition now, between late spring to summer blooms.

Still, after checking the garden this morning, I found plenty to add to the mix of blooms I used last week.

Here are the flowers and fillers I found (all should last several days in a vase):

An unknown Lily hybrid (Lilium spp.). Not perfect, and in my haste to clip off the pollen-laden anthers, I accidentally clipped the stamen, too. Oh well, it will still add color to the bouquet.

Bearded Iris foliage that I needed to clip anyway. It's a great foundation element.

Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), just starting to bloom.

Hosta flower buds. Yes, the stems with buds, and later the flowers work well in arrangements.

Ditch Lilies (Hemerocallis fulva). I know, I know, a lot of people don't like this one. But it works well in arrangements, even though each bloom only lasts for one to two days.

A Bugbane (Cimicifuga racemosa) stem that got pummeled so much by the wind that it curled and contorted. Hmmmm ... could be interesting in the floral arrangement.

One of my favorite annuals, Cosmos (C. bipinnatus), also just starting to bloom in my garden. They'll be prolific until the first hard frost in October.

Feathery flowers and seed heads from Snow-on-the-Mountain (Aegopodium podagraria). This ground cover is a little too prolific, but we're mostly keeping it under control. In the meantime, the flowers work well as filler in floral arrangements.

Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum), which I didn't end up using, but thought it might come in handy. I have way too many of these, and need to give some plants away next spring.

Not all of the blooms are perfect, but little tucks here and there make for pleasant combinations with the flowers from last week.



The two side arrangements are made from mostly store-bought flowers.



The bigger arrangement incorporates mostly blooms and foliage from my garden.

Throughout the rest of the summer, I'll have plenty each week to fill bigger bouquets.

For more ideas on how to grow (and use) your own vegetables and flowers at home, visit this "dear friend and gardener" link.

Oh, and for all you mycologists out there, check out all these nifty fungi I found in the garden while gathering flowers. We've had a lot of rain lately, and I managed to snap some photos before the fishman mowed the lawn.











That last one seems to be popular with the resident squirrels. I've seen them eating this mushroom. I don't feel confident to eat any mushrooms beyond morels, but I wonder if this one is edible for humans, too?

Happy Independence Day to my American friends! And to everyone else: Enjoy the World Cup!

Plant of the month: Rubus parviflorus

Are you familiar with this plant?

I have to admit I was not ... until discovering it recently along a trail at Newport State Park in Door County, Wis. The park is near the tip of the Door County peninsula that forms the "thumb" of Wisconsin's mitten shape.

The fishman and I did a lot of hiking last week. And one of the most plentiful plants along our Newport State Park trail was Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus). At first, we simply noticed it, took a few photos, and planned to look it up later for identification.



But as we continued our hike, the plant began to dominate the forest understory. I would have called it a forb, although later research revealed it's actually a shrub.

I also learned that Thimbleberry is rare, even in my state. It's found only in far northern Michigan and its Upper Peninsula, west through northern Wisconsin, and into the Pacific Northwest, according to the UW-Green Bay Herbarium. Thimbleberry needs cool summer temperatures to thrive.



I guess I had heard of Thimbleberry before, but I don't remember seeing it. Most of the plants were in full bloom last week. The flowers are large, white, and showy, and the pollinators do a jig around the circular pollen pattern like they do with St. John's Wort and Mountain Mint.



The leaves look like Maples, about 4 inches long and wide. Thimbleberries ripen in late summer in Door County. The berries are larger and flatter than their cousins the Raspberries (Rubus spp. and hybrids), and they're fragile--making transport of fresh Thimbleberries nearly impossible, most sources agree. You can visit this UW-Green Bay link to see a photo of the berry.

But they taste great in Thimbleberry jam, which to me tastes very much like Raspberry or Strawberry jam. We bought some in Door County, although there are many online sources for buying Thimbleberry jam. I had a harder time finding a reliable online source for Thimbleberry wine, also recommended by some folks.



It's a beautiful plant, and it must be great fun to pick the plentiful berries later in the summer. You can see the fruit starting to form at the center as the petals drop.

I'm linking in with Gail's Wildflower Wednesday over at Clay and Limestone. Head on over to her blog to learn about wildflowers blooming around the world.

Garden lessons beyond the solstice

It's two days past the solstice and I'm just now posting the Garden Lessons Learned wrap-up! I apologize and thank you for your patience!



One week ago today, we dropped off our daughter at O'Hare Airport for a summer job in Maine. And then the fishman and I spent a lovely week in Door County, Wis., to celebrate a landmark wedding anniversary. More botanical highlights from that trip to follow.



To avoid belaboring the point ... on to your lessons. Every quarter, gardeners around the world are invited to share garden lessons they've learned during the past season. Here are your highlights:

Donna at Gardens Eye View, in New York state, U.S., learned it's vital to take time for the important things in her life and her garden. Seeds sown now, with people and plants, often grow and blossom into lasting relationships.



Rose at Prairie Rose's Garden, in Illinois, U.S., shared four wise lessons with special applications to the transitions between winter and spring, and then spring to summer. Her final lesson, about enjoying each day and each season for what it is, rings true.



Diana of Elephant's Eye, at Western Cape, South Africa, shared lessons learned time as she celebrates her five-year blogoversary. Lots of great tips and best practices for bloggers and gardeners. She photographed a beautiful wild orchid discovered while tending the lawn and potted for display.

Others with lessons added in their comments, included:

Helene at Graphicality-UK, learned that her garden has much better drainage than she thought, and that on rare frost-free London winters (like the past one), Fuchsias can survive year-round. Karin at Southern Meadows learned (as I did) that Butterfly Weed can take a while to establish, but takes off with vigor once it does.



Aaron at Garden of Aaron discovered that heavy pruning can be beneficial for some plants, including his Russian Sage and Caryopteris, while Crape Myrtles in their colder zones prefer a lighter pruning. Tammy at Casa Mariposa used grow lights more extensively this winter and found it to be a great substitute for outdoor gardening, and that Roses can withstand very heavy prunings.



Lynne at Irish Garden House learned that sometimes, when the winter is especially difficult and you wait all spring for plants to appear, at some point you might have to move on and add new plants in their place. Grace at Gardening With Grace released her ADGD (attention deficit gardening disorder), and her "watched plants" suddently emerged and grew fast. Jen at Muddy Boot Dreams noticed that many of her perennials were slow to emerge this spring because of the severe winter.

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That's the wrap-up! Thanks to all who shared lessons and wisdom. If I forgot anyone with lessons to share, or you'd like to participate, please let me know and I'll add your lessons here. Happy summer to those in the north, and I hope those in the Southern Hemisphere will have a peaceful, rewarding winter season!

A season-long staycation

Southern Wisconsin would be perfect except for the winters. On Friday, I had one of those "Ah, that's why I live here" kind of days:

• People were out walking, biking, and skating;
• Many obviously had the day off from work;
• The weather was perfect; and
• Not a cloud was in the sky.

Everywhere I looked was natural beauty.



At the UW–Madison Arboretum, where the native bumblebees were active, and Spiderwort and Baptisia were blooming in the Curtis Prairie...





Looking out from downtown Madison at Lake Monona, where I saw a 1951 Grumman Albatross water-landing prop plane come in for a "landing," and the view was so peaceful you'd never know a moderate-sized city was a couple of blocks behind me...





At Olbrich Botanical Gardens, where the Kentucky Wisteria (W. macrostachya) was blooming, and the Thai Pavilion was as welcoming and regal as ever...



A few blocks from my house looking out at Lake Waubesa, where people were picnicking, chatting, and soaking in the sunshine...



And at home, where there was no need for air-conditioning, or a jacket, or even socks. Just a cold glass of ice-water, shorts and a T-shirt, open windows, and two cats. Pretty close to perfect. It sort of makes up for the brutal winter, but that's out of my mind right now.

Yes, I think I'll retire here (God-willing). Living here in the summer (and spring and fall) is like having a season-long staycation. And winter is the perfect time to travel south.

I'm linking in with Donna's Seasonal Celebrations with this post. Head on over to her blog to join in the fun!

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Note: The Garden Lessons Learned wrap-up will be a bit delayed this time because of some personal situations (nothing bad, and I'll explain soon). Please share a post or your thoughts about lessons you've learned during the past few months. To join in, click here to leave a comment with a link to your post. Thanks, and enjoy the solstice!