Category Archives: garden

container gardening, deer, flowers, garden

Torenia aka Wishbone Flower

July 24, 2011 Lillian Davis 1 Comment

When I first met this little flower, I was introduced to it as the “wishbone” Flower.
I wasn’t very impressed. They were featured in hanging baskets in the normal Peat mixture, which if you didn’t water it daily, dried out quickly resulting in burned and crispy plants.
I did my best to keep them watered and presentable but like me, most of the customers passed them by.
Last year, I was looking for an annual to
put in my deck rail basket that would tolerate shade most of the day.
I looked at my options but didn’t really want to do Impatiens again.
I remembered that the Torenia liked shade and decided to give it a try.

I put three little white flowered plants in the basket along with my special mix of potting soil and kept it well watered all summer. Once it got established, it grew like crazy.
Well, I was very happy with it.

This year I bought eight plants of the purple and planted the basket right away.
It filled in quickly and the heat hasn’t fazed it one bit.
It’s defiantly my new favorite!

and it blooms nonstop until frost.

Here’s some features~

Light:Part Sun,Shade
Soil: Average to Moist
Plant Type:Annual
Plant Height:8 to 12 inches tall, depending on type
Plant Width:6-9 inches wide, depending on type
Landscape Uses:Containers,Beds & Borders

Special Features:Flowers, ~ Deer Resistant! ~

container gardening, garden

Container Gardens

July 22, 2011 Lillian Davis 1 Comment

Trailing Vinca on the front porch ~ pre-potted for me but my favorite!

Every year, I like to experiment with plant combinations in pots and tubs.

It’s fun throwing colors and textures together and then waiting to see how they grow.

Some turn out some don’t, but I enjoy the experience non-the-less.

Annual Purple Feather grass & Potato vine and Impatiens & Torenia

Hens & Chicks and Blue Spruce Sedum

close up of chicks

and finally an update of the White & Fuzzy Tub….

The washtub is almost hidden from view & the snow in summer is starting to trail the ground and the Yarrow is now completely hidden…

Oh, no wait…. Here it is…. Maybe next year it will flower.

birds, container gardening, garden, Illinois

White roses, Green tomatoes & an Uncooperative Chickadee

July 20, 2011 Lillian Davis 1 Comment

Last month I ‘rescued” a miniature white rose from my IGA store. You know, the little roses you find sitting among assorted house plants and such in the grocery store’s floral section.

This little rose was sitting there all by it’s self, looking lonely, and loosing it’s blooms for lack of light~

so of course I had to take it home.

(Yes, this is an addiction…. and when they come out with the TV show, “Plant Hoarders Intervention”, I will probably be one of the featured guests!)

Anyway, I gave it a new home with lots of organic compost and plenty of sunshine.

It really loved this and was quickly covered in new growth and fat little buds!

Isn’t it pretty?

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And, I finally have green tomatoes! Yay!

I got my garden in late so I’m very happy to see these now.

There’s nothing better than a garden grown tomato! These are Rutgers.

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And last, my garden has been made home by a family of Chickadees this year!

I’ve been trying to get pictures forever of these quick little guys

but by the time I snap the picture, they’re off and flying again!

This is one of the babies and he’s not afraid of me at all.

He’ll sit on the feeders right next to me as I work in the garden!

He just didn’t want to hold still for the camera!

container gardening, garden, Illinois, organic, perennials

White & Fuzzy Progress

June 29, 2011 Lillian Davis 1 Comment


I’m really pleased with how this is turning out! The only thing I’m disappointed with is that the Yarrow in the back isn’t keeping up like I hoped.

flowers, garden, hostas, Illinois

"Gimmie More Flowers!"

June 22, 2011 Lillian Davis 1 Comment

Here’s the latest round of summer blooms

Tall Phlox ~ can’t remember the name right now… of course!

close up of Phlox flowers

Penstemon ‘Lilac Frost’ ~ Did you know there was an American Penstemon Society? I didn’t. Here’s a link to that too ~> http://www.apsdev.org/

close up of Annabell Hydrangea

lots of blooms this year~ they really love this rainy weather!

Yellow Sunset climbing rose is still going

The hosta I can’t remember the name of is now blooming

such clear white flowers on short stalks~ I wish I could remember how big it’s supposed to get!

As much as they are over done, you still can’t beat a sunny orange marigold!

My favorite Salvia- the annual ‘Victoria’

Okay, no blooms here and only a weed, but I’m still fond of this little guy~ though mistakenly called a clover by many, this is actually a yellow woodsorrel ( Oxalis stricta ). It’s completely eatable~ One of my neighbors (now passed) told me he used to eat them as a kid to settle a sick stomach. I just loved the exploding seedpods when I was a kid! Here’s a link ~> http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/yl_sorrel.htm

Vinca Major close up

I have these in a window basket on my deck railing

flowers, garden, Illinois

Summer Flowers, Grapes & Labrador Proofing

June 20, 2011 Lillian Davis 1 Comment

The first day of summer is almost upon us

and the flowers continue to bloom in my garden…

……as I spend all my time in the Garden Center! (sigh…)

I don’t care what anybody says about spirea! I love my little spirea! It blooms with abandon in almost dense shade and does very well in the dry sandy soil against my house…

A closeup

and a little sunlight

Another itsy bitsy spider… Very hard to get the auto focus on the camera to fix on this. I think it took about ten minutes to get this shot!

Dappled light on the Pachysandra

A perennial Geranium called “Splish Splash”

Also a mail order plant of several years ago….

More Blooms on my dark pink clematis

The House Bunn’s veggie barrel ~ celery, Kale, oakleaf lettuce & seedlings, Cos lettuce, tiny thumbelina carrot sprouts on the left (very tiny right now) and red and white Swiss Chard sprouts on the right (also very tiny). Our Bunns are very spoiled rabbits….

Butterfly weed or asclepias tuberosa ~ also started from seed a long time ago. It’s almost ready to bloom.

A Heliopsis or False Sunflower I planted from seed several years ago,,, from this one planting in my front yard, is has reseeded itself all over my backyard…. But I love it and so do the yellow finches!

A metal butterfly I painted and attached to my arbor….

And in the vegetable garden….

GRAPES! I have grapes! Yay! This is one of two grape vines on my back fence. This one here is a seedless Red Reliance

And this one is a green seedless~ I will have to go out and look at the tag on it because I can’t remember the variety at this moment… Both of these came from Dan & Jerry’s Green house five years ago… Last year was the first year it had grapes and I’m glad to see them producing again.

….and finally, the Labrador proofing!


I got my garden in ‘very’ late this year (I’m so embarrassed!) because every day off I had, it was pouring down rain! So last week it was finally nice enough to get out and till, compost and plant! The chicken wire is to keep my black Lab, Annie out because she ate the entire garden last year! Yes, everything! Even the strawberry plants! This dog’s number one hobby is eating!

Sure… She’s all sweet and innocent now~ but as soon as your back is turned….

flowers, garden, Illinois

Tigers & Lilacs

June 11, 2011 Lillian Davis 1 Comment

A rare visitor came to my Lilac tree this afternoon.

I don’t usually see these butterflies in my garden.

Tiger Swallowtail butterfly sipping Nectar from my Japanese Lilac Tree

Bleeding heart, flowers, garden

Violets, Bishops & Iced Tea

June 9, 2011 Lillian Davis Leave a comment

Temps still in the 90’s today

So here’s a few shady pictures for ya….

Violets and bishops weed in the shade of a white birch

Another clematis I forgot the name of that’s growing on the trellis on the shady side of my house. I really need to write down the name of the plants in a note book or something!

here’s another shot of my beard’s tongue

A self sown seedling of my white bleeding heart


My K-Mart climbing rose is still hanging on. It’s 15 years old now. I call it this because this is another one I don’t remember the name of……

Okay, I had to throw a few sunny ones in here too!

This is flowers from a Red Japanese Mustard I planted in the garden four years ago. I still to this day find stray seedlings in the strangest places. This one is in my hosta bed, 15 feet away from the garden!

Tick Seed Coreopsis with a tiny wasp

Okay, I’m sorry, but here’s another shot of my beard’s tongue in the sun. It’s really blooming now and I just love this plant!

Japanese Tree Lilac read to pop!

Really huge panicals on this one.

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Today was my first day off since spring began that it wasn’t raining, storming or just too cold~

so dispite the heat, I spent the day getting dirty and filling my planters with veggies, strawberries, herbs & flowers….

Of course by the time I finished it was time to start dinner so I didn’t get any pictures of the finished projects!

I will post them by the weekend…..

So to hold ya’ll til then,

here’s a glass of cold tea on a shady porch…..

there’s my strawberries I planted today in the back. The green tray is lettuce I started early that got out of control because I couldn’t get out to plant it, so we are just going to feed it to the house bunns. And my poor Aloe hates coming outside for the summer at first. It always turns brown until it gets used to the bright sunlight. Little pots are new starts of Swedish Ivy and plain ivy.