Author: Flower Roberts

My Friends’ Farm and the Dogs

| Flower Roberts

My world is small and quiet. I need it like that right now.

But I must make myself leave my haven on occasion.

My outing this week was to the farm of my friends.

Years ago it was a dairy farm. Later it was a daylily farm.

Now it is just home to some of my favorite people and their dogs.

The highlight of my visit was watching Raney, Bailey, Wally, Murphy and Skid.

They provided a lot of action and entertainment.

Wally was the star of the show. He constantly flushed rabbits out of the flower beds.

We laughed as we watched the rabbits skitter hither and yon without Wally ever seeing them.

It was hard to take my eyes away from the action to photograph the beautiful plantings and artwork.

I made this Stoneshroom back when I was a concrete artist. It has seasoned perfectly.

If I ever have a farm, it will be full of flowers

and goats and a donkey and some rabbits and lots of chickens and maybe an alpaca or llama and an emu…

and of course dogs.

A girl can dream can’t she?

FLOWER

Purples of June

| Flower Roberts

June is a colorful month in my garden.

Stokes Aster ‘Peachie’s Pick’

There seems to be a recurring purple theme.

Agapanthus

I do love all purples.

Buddleia ‘Black Knight’

I guess I did this accidently on purpose.

Society Garlic

It seems the bees like purple as well.

My giant Cardoon has four babies. Need one?

Lightning bugs and ants love purple, too.

FLOW

Off Balance

| Flower Roberts

It has been difficult to do anything lately.

Both my mind and my body are off balance.

Mr Flower lost his father in April and his mother in May.

They lived close-by. I must remind myself that their house is empty.

We stop by to mow the grass, feed the fish and water the plants.

but the house is empty.

There is much to be done now that no one is home.

My arm is in a sling. It hurts to type, or drive, or sleep.

I watched this heron this morning.

It flew through the breeze to land on this dead tree.

It perched perfectly on the thin dead branches.

It walked along the branch with perfect balance despite the rolling waves below.

Focused and graceful. Safe in its own coordination.

Poised on a precarious perch.

It is centered, not scattered

by sadness and pain.

I envy such balance, while I sit in my sling thinking of an empty house.

FLOW

Changing Hydrangeas

| Flower Roberts

June is also the month the Hydrangeas bloom in North Carolina.

I have three types which have different bloom configurations.

Big-leaf/panicle Hydrangeas have pom-pom blooms.

My ‘Glory Blue’ has never been true blue no matter what I do.

My lacecap with variegated leaves is true blue,

unless it is purple…

or even pink!

Do not bother lecturing me on soil pH or hybridization.

The rules get broken here. I am puzzled by my hydrangeas.

Except for the Oakleaf Hydrangea, which I can always count on to be white…

until it turns pink.

Hi Ho Hydrangeas!

FLOW

Two Other Bright White Lilies

| Flower Roberts

The Easter lilies are not the only white lilies shining on this cloudy day.

I also have a Gentle Shepherd daylily given to me by my sister-in-law, Dana.

It is a slow grower, so I do not share this one often.

My Navona lily has dark pollen which makes its face striking.

This corner was supposed to be only Navona, but…

As luck would have it,

this tall gorgeous yellow arrived in the package with the Navonas by accident.

I am a fan of white flowers, especially at dusk.

FLOW

Easter Lilies Bloom in June

| Flower Roberts

There are white trumpets scattered throughout my garden.

These are the remnants of Easters past.

These Lilium longflora serve as the “rice between spice” during daylily season.

Even I get a bit overwhelmed with the colorful chaos of June.

The Easter lilies seem to glow on cloudy days.

Their pollen looks like gold dust and spreads like it.

These lilies are POISONOUS to pets, so keep them out of reach inside and away from the pet pen.

My family was gifted this one by a dear friend from our church.

It is exactly like the others, but this one, “Pat’s Lily,” is my favorite.

FLOW