Irises - Part 1

Irises are blooming right now!

A few years ago I felt as empty as an old jug.  I had lost my
daughter, my mother, and my grandmother.  The grief was all
consuming.  I made a list one day of things that made me
happy and irises were on that list.

I looked around for a gardening club and found the Carolina Iris
Club right in my town.  They are the most wonderful group of ladies
I have ever met.  It only cost $3 to join and my DH and I attended
the open gardens at the homes of some of these ladies.  We had the
most fun picking out irises to divide and plant in our garden.

The funny part is how much connection I feel to my mother when I see
these beautiful flowers.  I don't feel an ounce of grief, just love.

A lady in the Iris Club taught me all about labeling and the names of
these beauties.  I didn't think I cared what they were named, but
she asked me if I named my children?  Well, of course!  I got her
point.  And it is amazing how I love my irises as my children.

This one is named Total Recall.  What a cool name for a rebloomer!
I learned that rebloomers bloom again in the fall. Again, how cool!

Jesse's Song is the first iris to
bloom in my back yard.  Not
only is it beautiful but I feel it
leads the way for all the others.
It lasts the longest, too.

Every day is so exciting when
you have something like this
to look forward to each day!

"Look for beauty and you will
find it!" .....Sara Teasdale (poet)





I have others blooming in the back yard now, but my camera
needs new batteries, so there will be a Part 2.

Now, for the rest of the story.  After I found the iris club, joined,
attended the open gardens, formed relationships with other gardeners,
bought the rhizomes, and picked out a garden spot.....I was still
paralyzed with grief.  Literally, I couldn't bring myself to plant a
single one.

That's when my DH stepped in and took over.

He tilled the garden, planned the planting (he wanted the colors mixed
and I wanted them planted in alphabetical order), got on his knees
and planted them all, has pulled grass and weeds for over three years,
and invites me to walk with him in the iris beds in the evening when I
get home from work!  What a sweetie!  And the grief has changed.
As I spend time amongst the blooms, I smile thinking of the irises as
my children.  I don't exactly talk to them, but I do call their names :-)!

I also learned from the Caronlina Iris Club about Japanese Irises
that grow in or next to water. So, one day I will post Irises - Part 3
about our trip to Sumter,  South Carolina for the Japanese Iris Festival!

Have a wonderful week and enjoy every minute you can outside!
Love,
Lottie

Pink Saturday - The Yard is Blooming!

Happy Pink Saturday!

Today I'm walking in the yard again
and taking pictures of the flowers.
They are a beautiful sight, but my goodness
we are all about to choke on the pollen.
Hope you enjoy the flowers!

Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
for more PINK!

Love,
Lottie

April in Talladega - More Old Houses

Last weekend we went to another spring tour of homes. As always,

I got so caught up in the beautiful homes that I only took a few pictures.

The first house we toured is my favorite!  The owners were so open

and gracious showing us their home.   It was a Victorian gem!

The next two houses were not on the tour but were beautiful homes
of Talladega, Alabama.                                                                     

Now it is time for me to finishing working on my house.
Hope you enjoyed the tour!
Love,
Lottie

Pink Saturday - Pink House in GA

Happy Pink Saturday!  For over twenty years my
DH and I have driven past this house during Spring
Break on our way through GA to FL.  This week
we were able to tour the home as a part of the
Washington Wilks Spring Tour of Homes.  More
pictures are on my post about our Saturday in
Washington, GA.

Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
to see a list of other Pink Saturday posts.

Here are some pictures of the outside of the Pink House.

  

The square bay window looks out a bedroom.  

This is a wonderful side porch that looks out to a beautiful garden.

I want to thank the owners for opening up their home and sharing it

with the community and out of town visitors like us.

Hope you all enjoyed the walk around. This is a beautiful home!

Happy Pink Saturday!

Love,

Lottie

Purple Thoughts - Outdoor Wednesday

It is Outdoor Wednesday and I want to share with you some of my
favorite purple flowers.  The first is Wisteria.  This cove at the lake is
about a mile from our home. We visited the cove last night just to see
the Wisteria blooming.  Oh, it was so intoxicating to stand on the dock
and smell the sweet aroma of Wisteria blooming all around us. I'll
never forget last night!  I took this picture this morning for you.

 These are the first purple Iris in my yard to bloom. I can't tell you
how happy these first bloomers make me.  I've planted them by the
driveway so they are the first to greet friends and family on a visit.

I know it is spring when the Red Bud trees bloom their purple.

Whenever I see one I am
reminded of  cherry blossoms ...
which I don't have in my yard.
I always think of  the famous
scene in Excalibur where King
Authur and his knights ride their
horses through the cherry orchard. 

Here is that famous scene.






Please forgive me for thinking about knights when walking in the
garden.  The flowers and trees are beautiful and the Wisteria scent
intoxicating,  but every once in a while its nice to imagine knights
riding about. A girl can't just think about flowers ALL the time :-)
 

Have a great week!  Don't forget
to stop by A Southern
Daydreamer for more
on Outdoor Wednesday .
Have a great week!

Love,
Lottie

Spring Tour of Homes in GA

Georgia is a beautiful state and we try to drive down every year
around Easter for the Washington Wilks Spring Tour of Homes.
Here are a few pictures from our visit Saturday.  If you go next
year, be sure to eat a great lunch at the Washington First United
Methodist Church.  Lunch IS wonderful!

For over twenty years, we have traveled through Georgia to
Florida for spring break.  We drove by this house every year
and this year it was on the house tour!  More pictures of it are
on my April 10th Pink Saturday post.

This house is about a half mile down the road.  It is still a part of the
original 40 acres.

I took so many pictures of the inside of the houses that I forgot
to take the outside of the others.

Some houses were not on the tour but I just thought they were beautiful!

Yes, this house is for sale.  It was once a bed and breakfast with a
fantastic gourmet kitchen!

Well, that's enough houses for today.  I love to look at old houses but
when it comes to fixing them up, I might just go broke!  Time to get
back to working on my blue cottage today.  We will be working on
the homeplace in Alabama at the end of next week and going on
another spring tour of homes!  I love spring time and house tours,
but again, you have to "Love the House You're In!"

Love,
Lottie