Oh boy, was I fooled! Sometime last year I bought a plant at a garage sale for a few pennies, probably 25 cents, and it was labelled Jacob's Ladder. I really didn't know much about this plant but the seller said it had pretty flowers and spread quite quickly. Boy, was I fooled! Well I was actually misled.
Yes, it grow quickly and it had adorable little pink and white flowers. I could train it to twine up a small wooden ladder. But later that year I bought another Jacob's Ladder plant from a garden center and it didn't turn out to look anything like this one. Then of course Fall and Winter arrived and I forgot about the plants.
In spring the garage sale plant began to grow and grow and grow and it still didn't look like the other one. I wasn't going to be fooled anymore and decided it was time to do some research. I discovered that Jacob's Ladder wasn't a vine. Some more research and help from some GardenBuddies and I discovered that this was Crown Vetch. Yikes, I was the fool that bought what many consider to be a weed wildflower. So immediately I went out to the garden and trimmed it right back and pulled out those shoots that were popping up everywhere. It is a weed wildflower and hopefully if I keep it under control it will look nice in that corner of the garden. I do have other weeds wildflowers in the garden and manage to keep them under control. But time will tell and I just might have to pull it out totally. But for now I will enjoy the lovely little blooms. I'll try and get out and snip them all off before they turn to seed.
So beware of plants bearing labels at garage sales ... and don't be fooled like me, they may not turn out to be what they say they are.
I'm joining Clay and Limestone for Wildflower Wednesday on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Why don't you join and share some of the native/wildflowers that bloom in your area.
We are most likely having the hottest day this summer. With humidex factors reaching about 48 Celsius, it is hot, hot, hot and sticky on top of that. It's a day to stay inside, stay cool and hydrated and play with some photos on the computer. That's about 119 F. if you don't think in Celsius.
The heliopsis are very hardy and seem to survive just about anything from lack of rain to extreme heat.
I love taking macro photos of the various stages of the blooms opening. Heliopsis or false sunflower grows in tall clumps of long blooming flowers.
I"m blog hopping with Cottage Floral Thursday and Fertilizer Friday. Won't you join in?
I'm hoping that if you are in this extreme heat you can find a place to stay cool.
Another Friday has rolled around and it's time to flaunt some Friday Flowers for the middle of July, just in time for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. 
The wet spring we had has been replaced by a dry, hot and humid summer. The grass has all dried up and looks rather yellow, but the bonus to that is we don't have to cut it. The gardens are thriving and going from top left down to the bottom right are bee balm, black eyed Susan, celosia, another variety of black eyed Susan, hosta, zinnias, heliopsis, purple coneflower, shasta daisy, drumstick allium, orange ditch lily, mallow and astillbe.
It's time again to join in with Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time.
Take time to enjoy the garden today.
Have you ever stopped and wondered why you maintain your blog? It's something that I was thinking about while exercising and recovering from knee surgery. I'm sure we all blog for our own personal reasons.
I've had this blog since sometime in 2006 and it has undergone a lot of changes, some minor, some major, some that didn't work and some that did. I found it hard to maintain two blogs as sometimes my crafting ventures overlapped with my gardening ventures and instead of posting in two places I amalgamated the blogs together.
One of my main reasons to blog is for a personal journal of my gardens and my crafts. We had such a lousy spring I was able to look back through my posts and see how this year compares to previous years. I also love to share my photos with blogland. I can even check back and see how my photography skills have improved.
Another reason to blog is to connect with other bloggers around the world, especially those with similar interests as your own. I've met so many wonderful blog friends that love gardening and crafting. I guess that we all like to know that what we publish on a blog is read by others. Blogger has a Followers button. I'm not sure I see the 'whole picture' as far as having followers. Yes, many will click to say they follow but do they all check back. There is always that core of visitors that will return and leave comments. But is that because they are followers or because I visit their blogs and we have built up a friendly relationship over time. Comments are words of inspiration and encouragement.
I'm sure there are many other reasons to blog. Many do so because they love to see their words or thoughts on the web. Many love to share their interests, tell about their personal life, vent on a certain topic, escape from reality, or perhaps they are paid to blog by advertisers. I know I'm always getting emails from individuals or companies that want me to promote their business or product. I can't really see a blog like mine advertising for weight loss, expensive gadgets, or companies that don't even ship to Canada.
I very often think I've covered everything about my gardens to blog about, but I still continue to find new things or new ways to post about old things. How much longer will I blog? It's really hard to say. While I enjoy it I will continue but when it becomes a chore to decide what to blog about then it will probably be time to stop.
I'd love to hear your reasons for blogging. While you are here visiting perhaps you will leave a comment and let me know.
Enjoy the day.
edit to change a photo
Here is my take of a double double. If you are addicted to Tim's coffee, this isn't what you think it is.
The coreopsis are in bloom and while out snipping off the spent blooms over the weekend I came across not one, but two double flowers.
Just perfect for 2sDay. 2 stems each with 2 blooms. And they were both on the same clump of flowers.
Nature never fails to amaze me.
If you are a non-Canadian visitor and wondering what Tim's is, I'll explain. Tim's aka Tim Horton's is a donut/coffee shop found on almost every other street corner around town. A double double is a coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars. I know this, not because I'm one of those addicted to their coffee, but because others tell me. In fact I must be one of the few Canadians that don't drink coffee ... not just Tim's but any coffee.
The more you look, the more you see. Take time to enjoy the garden today.
It is now official. As of July 1, 2011 I am retired.
And this teapot, a gift from my very, very good friend, says it all.
A little more laughter
a little less worry
a little more kindness
and a little less hurry
I'll certainly have more time to enjoy the leisurely things in life now ... not regulated by the alarm clock or the school bell. But I still have a feeling I'll have some very busy days ahead of me.
I love the blue and brown paisley pattern on the cup and teapot. Of course I had to create a mosaic for the first time I sat in the gazebo and enjoyed tea in it ... perfect for Mosaic Monday. And of course it's time for a cuppa with Rose Chintz Cottage.
I hope you can take time to enjoy tea in the garden today.
One hot, sunny afternoon I noticed some interesting shadows on the deck.
As well as the shadow of the bench you can just see the shadow of the spout of the watering can.
I love the shadow my teapot totem cast on the deck. It was awaiting placement in a new location. Did you capture some shadows through your lens. Pop over to visit Shadow Shot Sunday and perhaps you will be tempted to join in.
I hope you are having a good weekend.
It's July 1st and the day that Canada celebrates its birthday. This year, 2011, Canada is 144 years old. Celebrations are held across the country, some grandiose and some small.
One particular memory that stands out in my mind is from 2008 when we were taking the Via train across Canada to visit family in British Columbia. We just happened to be on the train for Canada Day. Celebrations on the train included a huge cake decorated like a flag of course. We were travelling through northern Ontario and passed some small communities that backed onto the train tracks. One house was all decked out in red and white and the whole family was standing in their back yard waving the Canadian flag as the train went by. What a lovely thing for them to do.
Two years ago I created a Canada flag from some flat stones I found in the garden. This rock flag has been outside those 2 years and the paint was faded away.
The center rock had lost just about all of the white paint and red maple leaf. I scratched off the remaining paint, got out the paints and re-did it. I traced the maple leaf from a paper flag and then transferred it to the rock.
Here it is drying on a much larger rock. If you've got kids and/or grandkids at your celebrations this is a fun craft to do, from hunting down the rocks, to painting and then displaying the flag. Your flag size is only limited by the size of the stones you use. How about using three patio stones? or a lot of little stones. I use the image of the first rock flag I created on the side of my blog to let other Canadian bloggers know about the list of Canadian blogs I maintain. This list originally started out as just garden blogs, but as I amalgamated my Crafty Side blog into this one I added my list of crafty blogs too. Now I've also added photography, nature and just every day life blogs. As long as it is a family friendly blog I will add it. Check it out and you too can tour Canada from coast to coast to coast via a list of proud Canadian bloggers.
This year the holiday actually falls on a Friday so it will be a long weekend for many, many Canadians. Stay safe, arrive alive.Happy Canada Day! PS - It's wonderful to have many new Canadian bloggers stop by for a visit today. My Canada blog hop is growing, and growing.
