(Note: This picture may be enlarged by clicking on it using Control-click or right-click.)
A relatively new rose for us is Bride. And while she’s not as pretty as My Beautiful Bride, I still thinks she looks pretty good. We’re always happy to see her in bloom.
(Note: This picture may be enlarged by clicking on it using Control-click or right-click.)
The iris in our yard have finished their blooming cycle several weeks ago, but I still remember how wonderful some of them looked. Daughter of Star iris was new this year, but I think she was beautiful.
(Note: This picture may be enlarged by clicking on it using Control-click or right-click.)
I happen to think that roses are beautiful, but there is something about water droplets on the blossoms that makes them even more appealing. This is Elle in a picture taken after a shower last year.
(Note: This picture may be enlarged by clicking on it using Control-click or right-click.)
I’m guessing that the dark colors are responsible for the name of this iris — Hellfire. But in spite of the name, I think this is a beautiful iris, especially when the sun hits it just right. We’ve had this in our yard for several years now, and we always look forward to seeing it bloom.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
I was working on our container roses along the driveway last year (2019) when I suddenly noticed I was not alone — I had a ‘helper’. We usually don’t like deer to be among our flowers, but this little fellow was so cute that I didn’t mind his presence.
He (or she) was obviously very young; somewhat unsteady on his feet, but he did manage to get around without too much trouble.
My young visitor went into the grass near our bench and checked up on an even smaller young one. It was a younger brother or sister.
By this time I had gotten Betsy out into the yard with me. There is a vacant lot next to our lot, and we thought perhaps Momma Deer was in there, but we couldn’t see her. While I was looking for Momma, the littlest deer seemed to be asking Betsy if she was his Mommy.
We decided that the only way Momma Deer was going to come and reclaim her little ones would be if we weren’t around, so we went into the house. Later we checked and there were no little ones around.
Throughout the rest of Spring and early Summer we would occasionally see a female deer with two fawns on the golf course behind our house. We like the think that those were ‘our’ little ones just checking up on us.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
My mother had sempervivum in her flower garden when I was growing up. Of course, back then I didn’t know they were sempervivum — she always called them ‘Hens and Chickens’ since the mature plant was surrounded by smaller, younger plants.
My Beautiful Bride and I discovered sempervivum when we moved to the Glade and had many rocky spots where nothing but weeds seemed to thrive. Sempervivum thrived there as well, and so we planted some around your yard.
Sempervivum get their name — ‘always alive’ — because they survive all seasons. Even when everything else in our yard has turned brown in winter, the sempervivum are still colorful.
We’ve been surprised at the wide variety of shapes and colors in the sempervivum. That makes it hard to pick a favorite.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Betsy and I love flowers and we enjoy having them in our yard. But what type of flower works best for us? Betsy loves tulips, but so do the chipmunks that live around us. Roses are beautiful, but they take a lot of work. We both like lilies, but so do chipmunks and deer. As you can see, finding the perfect flower to grow here in the is not easy.
We have had success with iris however, and this year they have been putting on quite a show. The iris above is Eugenia King.
Bountiful Harvest is one of Betsy’s favorite irises. She really likes the colors of this one.
Cantina is one of my favorites. I love the purple color with the steaks of blue in the falls.
Eggnog has a vibrant color, but I almost always get thirsty when I see this iris.
I really think Goodnight Kiss is a beautiful iris, but I really like the goodnight kisses of my Beautiful Bride much better.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
Betsy and I are fortunate to be able to enjoy iris at various locations in our yard. I like iris not only because they are beautiful but also because they require relatively little care (unlike our roses!).
When Betsy and I started getting serious about our yard, we discovered that there were such things as reblooming iris. Most of the iris we have are rebloomers, so we can enjoy the blossoms twice a year. It’s rather like doubling our pleasure.
The iris in the header is Cantina. This beauty has been in our yard for several years, and I always marvel at the color.
Clarence is another iris that we’ve enjoyed over the years. It is in the flower bed near the road, so we share it with people passing by.
One of our newer iris is Lemon Duet. This is actually the first time it has bloomed for us in October, but we’re very glad it did.
My Friend Jonathan has been a good friend and has put on a spring and autumn show ever since he joined our yard.
Double Your Fun is a newer iris for us as well. The drought kept it from developing normally, but the colors are still gorgeous, so I could leave it out.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our autumn iris blossoms as much as we do.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
They say confession is good for the soul. I hope ‘they’ are right, because I feel I really should confess about some of the ladies in my life. If you go beyond this paragraph, however, you have to promise not to tell Betsy about my confession.
One of the first ladies I see each summer is Janice Brown. She’s very pretty and perky, as you can tell by the photo above.
I must admit to being partial to blondes, and the bright yellow of Carolyn Criswell is always a delight to see.
Judith is somewhat shy, but she is always a joy to have around.
I have a great deal of Irish in me, so I suppose it’s natural that I’ve been drawn to Dublin Elaine. In my mind there aren’t many like her in this world.
Of course it’s hard to think of the Irish without picturing fiery redheads. Lady Lucille definitely fits that description.
Last, but not least, is Lady Elizabeth. I suppose I shouldn’t feel too guilty about seeing her; after all Betsy’s first name is Elizabeth.
There — you have my confession. I wonder when I’ll start to feel better?
Part of the rose garden at Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme. This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies. To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.
I’m beginning to think that visiting the Rose Garden at Biltmore House and Gardens is dangerous to the health of our wallet. Each time Betsy and I visit the rose garden, one or both of us will find a rose that we think would look good in our yard. When we visited last year we found the Milestone rose, which we added to our garden this year.
We went back to Biltmore in early August as part of our getaway for Betsy’s birthday. And sure enough, we both found some roses that we thought it would be nice to have.
Francis Meilland rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.
The first one we found was Francis Meilland. This is a new rose that I’ve had my eye on for several months.
Winter Sun rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.
Winter Sun is another new rose that both of us found to be very beautiful.
Sweet Afton rose, Biltmore House & Garden, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.
Sweet Afton was introduced in 1964. I’m not sure it is still available, but both Betsy and I liked its beautiful pastel colors.
Queen Elizabeth rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.
Queen Elizabeth is an even older rose (1955), but it is still a beauty. I have seen it offered by several sources.
Do you have any suggestions for us? We’re running out of places to put roses in our yard, although I’m sure the deer would be delighted to have a few more rose bushes to munch on.
Senior Moments 