Garden Paintings

I newly discovered painter Abbott Fuller Graves, an American expressionist, who painted mostly gardens and flowers. They are beautiful. I love the light and colors he used.  My favorites are the first and last ones I have here.

As you will see, the last painting is not of a garden but I felt it was so pretty that I had to include it. The colors he used for the water are so gorgeous!

In the Garden

In the Garden

Flower Garden

Morning in the Garden

Among the Hollyhocks

Woman with Flower Basket

On the Deck

Snow-in-Summer

Snow-in-Summer is another one of my favorite flowers.  These beauties put on a brilliant show in May and June. They also love the sun and enjoy being placed in a dry area.

Mine are in full bloom right now and look beautiful with their white blossoms. Once the flowers stop coming out the silvery grey foliage keeps a pretty backdrop to all my other plants. Here's a few photos from my front garden...

An April Day

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day,
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March.

                              Robert Frost (an except from Two Tramps in Mud Time)

A few Spring flowers...

Cherry Blossoms

Grape Hyacinth

Daffodils

Tulips

Forget-me-nots

(All photos found on the internet)

Sunflower Seeds

I've been wanting to grow sunflowers for awhile now and finally started some seeds indoors. This Russian variety called 'Peredovik' is suppose to get to 6 feet.

I haven't decided where I'm going to plant them yet, but I'm excited to watch them grow!

Here they are just beginning to sprout...

And a few weeks later...

If they survive, I'll post more photos in the summer. : )

Signs of Spring

My birdhouse, after 18 months of sitting empty, has finally had a prospective house hunter come by! I only got this one shot and it's a little blurry because I took it through the window, but I'm so excited! I hope she comes back!

And here's a few early spring photos of my potted pansies...

                                                                    HAPPY SPRING!