Dogwoods, Azaleas and a Few More Fairies...♥

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Hi, everyone!



I apologize for not getting this posted sooner...



The Dogwood Azalea Festival in Charleston, Missouri was a great success...



Beautiful weekend, lots of sweet little faces....



It wore me flat out!



I am still recovering...;^)



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The dogwoods were beautiful...



I saw this written on The Old Moss Woman's Secret Garden page on Facebook,



and thought it was delightful!



♥

"If a white Dogwood tree
could talk I think it would have a quiet voice, almost a whisper.

 

A pink one
would whisper, too, but like Marilyn Monroe.

 

 Cherry blossoms just giggle like
loons - who wouldn't, dressed in mini pink petticoats?"

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It was still a little early for most of the azalea varieties...



All in all a lovely weekend, though!



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I was also surprised and happy to see that Daddy's narcissuses had bloomed



 at my son Mark's house this week...(I will bring some here this fall).



Daddy loved bringing them in by the huge armloads,



and continued bringing them to me here in Sikeston as long as he was able...



♥



Right before the farm in Bloomfield sold,



I spent a long day digging and digging these ancient



well, okay ~ at least "heirloom" ~ bulbs from one of his fields, at the top of a



rolling hill where a farmhouse once stood...



So very, very long ago that Daddy didn't even remember



a house being there when he was a child in the 1920s...



It was there in the 1800s, most likely.



But every spring, huge drifts of these little paperwhite narcissi appear,



more and more every year. Even if the field was mowed later in the spring/



early summer, the leaves always had time to gather nutrients



 and die back first, so the flowers were unaffected and just kept multiplying!



I always think about a farm wife of that time whenever I see daffodils or other spring bulbs



blooming where no homestead is still standing...maybe newly married,



planting "pass-along" flowers and bulbs...



Perhaps given to her by her mother or a friend...(a "Flower Friend"...



someone you don't know really well who shares her flowers with you, anyway!)...



Almost certainly not spending money on such things...



Isn't it great how bulbs like this can continue indefinitely?



I know these aren't the original bulbs from a hundred or more years ago ~



(I wonder how long a single bulb lives and flowers, though?)



~ but they are the "daughters"; a direct connection ~ which I think is amazing!



(Some even went to live with my dear friend Elaine in New York...



isn't that fun? I wonder what the original "planter" would think?)



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Since I wasn't being very productive "art-wise" this week



I went around the yard and took a few photos...;^)



I so love Solomon's Seal! It's another perennial that just keeps multiplying.



So graceful!



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Here again is Grandma Launius's "mystery" shrub that she called Spice Bush...



I finally found out last spring that it is actually Clove Currant,



but it does have a wonderful spicy fragrance!




♥

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Lots and lots of blooms on the strawberries...and even a few tiny berries!



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Oh, here is something cool!



Did you know Lemon Balm self-seeds?...
I didn't!



Very prolifically, too! The ground between the raised herb beds is covered



with tiny Lemon Balm babies...if you were close, I would share with all of you!



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I couldn't wait any longer...



I had to take a couple of the Fairy Houses out to the herb bed that I plan



to make into a "village" (long enough for pictures, anyway)
....



and place them around, seeing where I still need to "landscape"...;^)



Still a lot to do (like make some more houses!) ~ but it will be fun...



Stay tuned!



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That leafy mound in the second raised bed is my original Lemon Balm...



the area between the beds is where all the little ones are...



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Catmint!



Leo, Cyrus and Tallulah love this stuff fresh...I just crush the leaves a little



and they have a good ol' time rolling it into the rug...



Not sure if my regular Catnip is going to come up this year or not...



I think the Chocolate Mint may have choked it out last year...:^(



(You have to watch out for that mint, chocolate or not!)



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Mr. B got me this cute little mini rose for the Fairy Garden...



"Denver's Dream"....


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My poor little tortoise!



I always leave the statuary out as winter here doesn't usually affect it adversely,



but now this poor little turtle has a boo-boo.



I told myself I wasn't going to paint any more concrete as I like the way it ages



naturally and gets mossy, but I'll have to make an exception...



I have an idea for this fellow, anyway!



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Yesterday on my way to school to pick up grandson Nick,



I stopped by our old neighborhood....



There is a huge vacant lot at the end of the street where a little house used to be...



kind of the "town version" of the area where the narcissi grow at the farm...



Later it will be mowed, but for now, it has reverted to a little nature preserve...



It is evident where Mrs. Howell, the lady who lived there for many years,



had planted her bulbs and perennials...



The first thing I saw were the violets everywhere...



The regular rich purple ones as well as the blue and white "Confederate" ones...



How I used to love picking those for Grandma Collier,



bringing her big bunches..."bouquets"...as many as I could fit in my hands!



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In several places over the lot, there were beds of hyacinths...



the "old-fashioned" kind ~ with looser, more "weeping" bell-shaped flowers...



The purple color of these was almost irridescent!




Lots of bees, too, which I was glad to see...



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Drifts of Sweet Williams...



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I SO wanted to climb on this swing!



I thought better of it, though, since Nick was expecting me.



Oh, I almost forgot!!



Jonathan once more indulged me and drew a name for the little Fairy Shoes...



and it is Denise!



Her delightful blog is "Shortybear's Place" and you can find it here ~ :^)



Thank you all for ALL your sweet comments...I love, love, love them...♥



They keep me going. :^)



Have a wonderful weekend!!



Love,

 

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There Are Fairies at the Bottom of My Garden...

THERE ARE FAIRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF OUR GARDEN

(Rose Fyleman / Bea Lillie - 1934)

 

I first came across this song in some of my aunt's sheet music from the 30s...

I love it!

 

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There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

It's not so very, very far away;

You pass the gardener's shed
and you just keep straight ahead
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I do so hope they've come to stay.

There's a little wood with moss in it and beetles,

And a little stream that quietly runs through;

You wouldn't think they'd dare

to come merrymaking there ~

Well, they do!

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

They often have a dance on summer nights;

The butterflies and bees

Make a lovely little breeze,

And the rabbits stand about and hold the lights.

Did you know that they could sit upon the moonbeams

And pick a little star to make a fan?

And dance away up there

In the middle of the air ~

Well, they can!

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

You cannot think how beautiful they are;

They all stand up and sing

When the fairy queen and king

Come gently floating down upon their car.

The king is very proud and handsome;

The queen, now can you guess who that would be?

She's a little girl all day

But at night she steals away.

Well, it's me!

♥

Hi, Everyone!

 

I hope Spring has finally "sprung" for most of you!

 

I've been busy making little houses...

 

I was planning on setting up a little village in one of my herb beds in a couple of weeks,

 

kind of like I did last year, "landscaping" using tiny-leaved herbs and those sweet

 

little flowers that look like mini-petunias...



Calibrachoa



(I always have to look up the name!)

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They are so pretty!



(And I am still going to do this ~)

 

However, all of a sudden our yard was covered in drifts of these

 

charming little wildflowers..."Bluettes"...tiny, fairy-sized flowers!

 

They won't last long....

 

So, my picture-taking plans were hurried up a bit...

 

I know there are lots of photos...

 

(Believe me, there are lots more....;^)...)

 

I couldn't stop snapping pictures...the little flowers, the late afternoon sun ~

 

I had such fun...

 

I hope the neighbors weren't watching!

 

(My knees were stiff the next day from crawling around in the grass...

 

I am just an old child...)

 

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Oh, my...after I started snapping pictures,



all these sparkly little orbs appeared!



A flock of house-hunting Fae, maybe? ;^)



Maybe??



♥

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A row of "Painted Ladies"...like in Charleston, South Carolina...kind of?



For Fairy Folk....;^)



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This one was a lot of fun...



it is on its way to a Fairy in Saint Charles, Missouri.



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Mr. B did an excellent job roofing this one!



He said the tall roof was a challenge, but I think it looks extra-whimsical...♥



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Every single one is as unique as the gourds themselves...



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This one started out all blue, then I decided to add some sunny-yellow roses...



it is going to New Mexico...



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Don't you just LOVE the little Bluettes?



I could just squeal!! :^)



I wish they would last all summer, but they are fleeting...



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Thank you for bearing with me, scrolling through the photos



from all different angles...



These little cottages have been such a joy for me; making them..."playing" with them...



We have to make a trip back to Pumpkin Hollow



for more gourds next week...



Dogwood Azalea Festival is coming up this weekend in Charleston, Missouri,



and I will be doing fanciful faces there...



lots of Fairies, I think...



My sister-in-law Marcena is bringing one of her little Grand-Girls



over tomorrow night to be a model for some new designs for me...



Fairies-on-the-Brain, I have ~



My daughter Mandy told me she thought I was a Fairy in a previous incarnation.



;^)



Maybe that explains things....





Oh, I almost forgot!



Leave me a comment and I will send one of you the two little pairs of "rainbow"



Fairy Shoes in the photo above!



Have a wonderful Wednesday!



Love,

 

 

P.S. ~ I think I have managed to label all...or most ~ (I am bad about having a mix

 

of things in a post!) of the posts about the Fairy Houses...just put "Fairy" or "Fairy House"

 

in the "Search This Blog" box in the right side-bar...:)

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Yes, I Believe it Truly is Spring!....:^)

Finally!




I truly believe it is Spring! :^)



65° and sunny, and I am thoroughly enjoying it!



I sat in the grass "playing" with photographing my Fairy Houses ~



In the midst of drifts of little Bluettes...



Love these sweet little baby-blue flowers!



They are so tiny that you would really never



notice them unless you were looking for them...



 I took the photos in the neighboring lot....recently planted with a multitude of trees,



so we probably don't have to worry about any actual



 building going on in the foreseeable future...




Happy that I have never been allergic to anything (except poison ivy)!

 

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Here is the newest, (slightly smaller than the first ones) ~



 Fairy House ~  (shingled by Mr. B.) ~



 I so wish these charming



little Bluettes could last the season long ~ they are fleeting, though



so I'll have to get as many photos as I can, while they last.



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Maybe the Fae will move right in...;^)

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The most distinguished Fae, of course, leave their footwear at the door...;^)



I have to tell you about the first pair of little green Fairy Shoes that I made...



you may notice them on the steps of one of the Fairy House photos...



Well, I just picked up that house (to move it to a better location for the Bluettes)



without a second thought to the shoes...



They probably fell right down to the ground, past the reach



of mowers and such...



I hope they stay there for years and years...to be found some day by



some little folk, sure the Fae had been there!



♥

 

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This is my prototype for the first "Mini" Fairy House...



made on a glass ornament, the details on this one are tiny!



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Awww.....Max....my remaining boy-bunny, in his side of the Bunny-Duplex...



Sadly, his mate, Ruby, passed on to that great Bunny-Hutch in Heaven last summer...



We don't know why; she was spayed



(unspayed female bunnies can have so many health problems),



and was cared for in the best bunny-way possible...



Sweet Max remains, and has since learned how to go down



 to the lower level (where he can pick his own greens, if he likes...



(The bunny duplex has 3 levels; the main one, then an upper level



where it's warmer for winter, and the bottom level that goes down to



the ground where they can eat grass if they want; Max is the only



one that has learned to go down there!) ~ ♥





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A tiny little visitor to the Bunny Hutch...



would have made me squeal and jump away in the past...



now I just try to get a picture...
♥

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Winter Savory!



Last year the savory was this size by the first of March....

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Also, last year our winter was SO mild that the petunias...



and most of the annuals...didn't freeze ~



 It was strange,  just continuing 2011's flowers into Summer 2012!



Although we didn't have a "bad" 2012 winter, considering...



maybe a few nights into the 'teens.



I'm actually glad that we can begin with a clean slate



 this year and start with all new annuals....



with no guilt...:^)



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...Cat Mint...


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Pretty "Henbit"
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Okay, I don't recommend the "draw" feature on  many of



the "photo-shop-type" software things available....they are pretty crude ~



But they can convey the message ~



I will always
think that pretty purple Henbit looks like little Llamas...



♥



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While I was sitting at one of the patio tables photographing the little



Fairy Shoes, I kept hearing cooing and rustling behind me...



on top of the arbor, in the dried Cypress Vines from last year,



Mourning Doves had again made a nest...



(Honestly, I don't see how these little creatures exist,



such shabby nest-makers they are...



The hymn should be
"His Eye is on the Dove" instead of the sparrow!)



They are still hanging in there, despite all the wind we have had today!



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Whilst I was trying to make my finicky camera focus on the little Mama dove's eye,



and not all the dried vines, her mate came to check me out...



♥



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Have a wonderful Spring Sunday, All!



Love,


 

 

Linking to Beverly's Pink Saturday!

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