Nature is such a mystery, isn't it? Half the time you just have to guess at what's going on.
Olga seems to feel better. She eagerly ate her food last night and I persuaded her to take a treat, though it did take some persuading. So she's still not 100 percent. She went with her dog-walker yesterday, and this morning she was up with the sun, thumping her tail on the mattress and licking our hands and faces to make us get up too. (At roughly 5 a.m. -- we're at that time of year when she gets us up ridiculously early.)
Like nature, Olga's digestive system is a mystery.
These are flowers from the masterworts, or Astrantia, in our garden. They seem especially nice this year. I don't know if they're bigger or more colorful or what, but Dave and I both noticed and commented on them. Maybe all the rain we got early in the season gave them a boost.
Also blooming are some field poppies (top photo) that came up in one of our pots entirely on their own.
And here's one of our Asiatic lilies, right after I watered yesterday. I got it from the discount table at Homebase a year or two ago -- as I recall it didn't even have a pot. It was just a clump of dirt and bulbs with a somewhat mangled plant attached. I think the store gave it to me free. Anyway, as you can see, it has bounced back.
We only got a couple of iris flowers, at least that I could see. The irises are in a very bushy area so it's possible I missed some of them.
And it looks like we won't get any lupines. In May last year we had huge flowers, but this year two of the plants -- the Beefeater and the Gallery Red -- failed to come up at all. The other two -- the Persian Slipper and the Rachel de Thame -- produced meager leaves but no flowers. Apparently lupines only live a few years so my guess is they're all done. And although I love the blossoms, their tendency to attract aphids grosses me out, so I'm tempted not to grow any more.
Also dead is my pink dahlia, which I left outside for winter. It survived the previous winter in its pot outdoors, but last winter was colder and I guess that did it in. When it didn't sprout I dug into the soil and found that the tubers were entirely rotted away. The other dahlias survived because I put them all in the shed. Lesson learned -- dahlias really do need protection!
Beautiful flowers but I'm glad I can't smell that asiatic lily, the pollen heads just about kill my sinuses, then the migraine settles in.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo of the Astrantia. Mine seem to be doing particularly well this year too !
ReplyDeleteOh what a cruel father you were to the poor pink dahlia! What had she done that was so wrong for you to leave her shivering in the cold winter as you smirked out from your french windows with a glass of martini in your hand?
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful flowers. When I moved into a house in Calgary, many years ago, our cat came with us. He was an outdoor cat and spent all night outside. Every morning he would come home at 4am and the crows, who had a nest in the backyard, would start up screaming at him. We had moved in May and the crows already had a nest and babies that year, so this went on until they babies were grown. They never nested in our yard again after that first year:)
ReplyDeleteLovely flower pictures. You're such an ambitious gardener and very successful.
ReplyDeleteLot's of nice flower photos today.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers photos are beautiful. Glad to hear that Olga is feeling better!
ReplyDeleteOh, those Astrantia! I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like them. Steve, you really do have a very beautiful garden.
ReplyDeleteGood to read that Olga has recovered. If only we humans could recover so easily.
ReplyDeleteI love your flowers and the poppy is exceptional.
So beautiful. If there were a way to bring flowers back from the dead, you'd be doing it. (You've already mastered near death.)
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are looking so beautiful. I love this time of the year with all the blooming colors.
ReplyDeleteReally good to know that Olga is feeling better. Yay!
Such As Life - Be Well Brother
ReplyDeleteCheers
All these beautiful blooms made me smile. I was hoping to see some irises at the Japanese Friendship Garden when I went but there weren't any this year. I love that you saved that poor lily and now it's thriving.
ReplyDeleteOne of our dogs is slow to eat his food some days. We blame it on the heat. Glad Olga is feeling better.
ReplyDeleteAll your flower photos are stunning today! Purple Irises take me back to my childhood.
Re the lily that was "just a clump of dirt and bulbs with a somewhat mangled plant attached" - two things: first, I should HOPE they'd give it to you free!! and second, you really saved its life; it looks so healthy now.
ReplyDeleteI hope Olga bounces back all the way. I have one cat with recurring digestive issues and always feel so bad for her when she's not eating because I know what's coming (hint: . . . you don't need a hint, really).
That poppy takes my breath away. I'm so glad to hear Olga is doing better. I'm reading backwards so I'll learn more about it shortly, but I know with any older animal it's always a concern when something is amiss. The blooms look absolutely spectacular.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, some varieties of lupine are not perennial. Perhaps you got the annual by mistake? https://www.almanac.com/plant/lupines
ReplyDeleteI don't know that either one of my lilies will bloom. The greenery is up but there aren't any blooms on the orange lily and the Stargazer (for whom my blog is named) isn't very robust looking. We'll see. Glad Olga has improved!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I am even slow to eat on some days.
ReplyDeleteI think I've said this before but your flowers are absolutely beautiful. And I'm glad Olga is apparently feeling better. Face it, we all have down days.
ReplyDeleteGood news about Olga ... though the 5AM Olga Alarm might make one crazy./
ReplyDeleteThe irises are gorgeous; we have several irises in the the yard and I love when they bloom.
Your successes outnumber your failures. I am very proud of myself for being able to save two geraniums over the winter! First time!
ReplyDeleteYou learn something every year by trying something different. I'm surprised by how many things you leave out over winter and they survive.
ReplyDeletethe astrantia is unusual. I've never seen it before, slightly reminiscent of the love-in-a-mist. I would have thought the lupines would have reseeded.
ReplyDeleteRiver: Oh no! Fortunately allergies aren't something I struggle with too much.
ReplyDeleteFrances: It's interesting, isn't it? Normally they're pretty underwhelming flowers.
YP: I really thought she'd survive! It was an experiment that went awry. I wish I'd experimented on one of the Bishop's Children dahlias instead -- I have five or six of those.
Pixie: It's got to be such a struggle to be a bird.
Boud: I'm really not THAT ambitious. Nothing we grow requires a great deal of specialized care.
Andrew: It's that time of year!
Michael: Yeah, she's doing OK, thank goodness!
Ms Moon: Yeah, I don't remember ever seeing Astrantia in Florida. Too hot, I guess.
Sabine: She does bounce back pretty readily, fortunately!
Mitchell: Depends a lot on the flower, though. Some species are far less resilient than others!
Robin: It is so nice to have so much color out there.
Padre: Thanks and you too!
Sharon: I think ours are struggling a bit in the shade.
Kelly: I'm sure when it's super-hot, that is hard on a dog. I don't like to eat when it's hot either!
Jenny-O: Olga has always had stomach issues. I think it's because she eats such bizarre stuff, despite all my best efforts to stop her!
Jeanie: Exactly. I was worried mainly because of her age.
Colette: Well, they lasted more than one year. But I think even the perennials only last 3-4 years.
Margaret: One of our stargazers is HUGE! But we have another couple of lilies that are in the same boat as yours. We may or may not get flowers.
Ed: True for all of us, I guess!
Catalyst: It's true. It's just that food is the absolute LAST thing to go for Olga.
Bob: She got me up at 5 a.m. this morning, too. Such is the way in the summer. :(
Debby: Excellent! Did you keep them in their pots, bring them inside, or what? I saved several of ours but to be honest I'm not sure it was worth it.
Red: Winters don't get very cold here. It seldom gets below 25º F.
Ellen: I usually cut the lupine flowers before they fully set seed, trying to conserve the plant's energy. I did send some seeds to Gwynneth (Ook!) years ago and she has some sprouts growing now.