Orchids

www.carolingrammoore.com ~ www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

My grandmother was the inspiration for gardening. She seemed to be able to grow just about anything she planted. The last few years, I have been fascinated with orchids. At first, we danced around and weren't quite sure this relationship was a good thing. I pursued and several years later, I found a method that works for me and the orchids. They like what they like including sunlight, fertilizer,  and attention.  Here are some of my orchids.

                                      All of these orchids are repeat bloomers except one.

                                        This orchid has been blooming since March 2019 when
                                 I purchased it a Milmount Nursery in Stuarts Draft, Virginia.

Iris Blooming

 It's Iris blooming time in our mountains of Southwest Virginia.  Most of the iris were given to me by a friend. I started an iris bed and then I simply put them in various places throughout the gardens.

     Most of the iris are bearded iris which are very tall and have many gorgeous blooms.

 This is a patch of smaller iris, I think Siberian iris, which I transplanted many years ago. These have really spread in this location. Surprisingly, deer and other critters do not like iris!

There were a few more : a very pale violet and a solid white. There were also early purple bearded iris which have already bloomed. The rain added quite a bit of joy to the iris.

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Creating in the Studio

www.carolingrammoore.com ~  www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

Having recently had an accident, I haven't been in the studio. Then, last week, I began to create new class jewelry. The kiln has been cooking every day for awhile. Sharing some of the new work....

                                             The pendants are made with new dichroic glass.

                         This one is my favorite and has bits of blue intermingled with the green.

                     The lighting in the studio created the shadow across the face of the bird.

                                      I am just playing around with scraps of dichroic glass.

                                             
                                              I made several plates from a small mold.

      New Christmas tree ornaments are in the kiln and then lots of earrings with the new glass.

There is Nothing More Beautiful Than Spring Green

www.carolingrammoore.com ~ www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

 There is nothing more beautiful than spring green in the mountains. Folks are saying this year that it has been winter since January. Up to 72 and down to 40 and then a sarvus winter.

 The lily of the valley are scattered around the yard. Once you walk near a patch, you smell the sweet fragrance of these tiny little flowers. If they like where they are planted, they spread.

 Two photos of the blueberry bushes in bloom . With all the flowers, we will have lots of berries this year. To have berries, we have to cover all the bushes with netting.

                                                    A fresh picked juicy blueberry is a real treat.

 A patch of very old fashioned  iris stands in front of the greenhouse. They are the first iris to bloom and have about five blossoms per stem. They have a strong sweet fragrance which attracts lots of  pollinators.

 There are two varieties of primroses in the gardens. These came from the Southwest Virginia Museum plant sale several years ago. They spread very slowly.

                 A surprise when I came around this garden to see the little pinks blooming.

              The false indigo make a very dramatic statement standing stately in this garden.

 Painted ferns and geraniums are in front of the studio. The columbines are almost ready to bloom. They will be the blue/purple flowers.

                           When you procrastinate planting daffodils, they come up anyway.

               These plantain flowers cover the yard. This is the year of having a no mow yard.

                       Forget me nots are a nice blue spring flower nestled near the woods.

If you look closely, you can see the flower of the may apple between the two leaves. I noticed a deer had eaten on a leaf and spit it out. We have a large patch of these in the woods.

There is nothing like spring green in the mountains......

Fall Colors in the Yard

www.carolingrammoore.com ~  www.facebook.com/CarolIngramMoore

 Sometimes the colors are the brightest and best in your own back yard. Yesterday we traveled along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Afton Mountain near Waynesboro. The sun was shining and the colors were about the same a here...a little bit more yellow.

  A very small flower has continued to bloom through snow and freezing weather.

 The red leaf maple has been in the yard for about nine years. This year it is the most vibrant red it has ever been.

 Trees in the back yard next to the woods at the spot where the deer come out to enjoy our gardens.

                           The little maple tree in our mountain yard. It has a natural slope to it.

 So many leaves have dropped from the tulip poplars that you can see the colors of the mountains.

 Next to the studio, petals falling as the wind blows. A small insect inside the only blooming Japanese anemone.

               A milkweed plant grown from seed that took its own time in coming to flower.

                                    A few asters are still purple and shielded by the butterfly bush.

                                                                Into the woods...