Lilies and Gnome

My sister sent me some money for my April birthday and I treated myself to two garden things.

Above is the photo of the 3 Electric Blue Spider Lily bulbs I bought with birthday money from my sister. I planted them in a very large pot and we will wait and see the results. As of 30 days after planting, the results are disappointing. Just one lily leaf 4 inches tall. I wait in hope.

 My friend and I like gnomes. I bought her this gnome taking a nap for her birthday and I liked it so much cause it makes me smile that I bought myself one too. I spent the birthday money from my sis on the blue lily bulbs and the gnome. 

Here are 4 mixed pink tiger lily bulbs I planted a month ago in a large pot. They all bloomed and are the red color. 

I have so much fun and do quite a bit of work in the garden.  These days at my age I do mainly watering and planting. Zinnias are a favorite seed to plant as they grow readily. If you read my blog a lot you know my favorite is Purple Prince Zinnia. Gardening is good for the soul. You fellow gardeners know what I mean.

 

 

Up from the ashes, Hope will arise

 

Above are the Asiatic lilies on my kitchen table. Do flowers give you as much joy as they give me? 

Amidst all the poor and sometimes hazardous air quality in California, Oregon and Washington, and the dark or weirdly yellow skies, I found hope attending church this Sunday. Here are some of the lyrics to a song we sang:

"Up from the ashes, Hope will arise

Death is defeated, the King is alive.

Hallelujah. 

I will watch the darkness flee."

Whenever I hit the "enter" key to create another line in blogger, it insists on a double space line. I only want a single space. Do you know how to fix that? 

Marcia asked if we all wear masks when attending church and YES we all do. We have indoor, outdoor, and online streaming of our services. I attend outdoors, we are in chairs six feet apart and are all wearing masks. Indoors they do something to clean the air before each service, we have two services each Sunday. I also went to an outdoor memorial service during the week at our church, with the same precautions. I love being outdoors. I still am cautious about being indoors for shopping or for any reason. I shopped for food Saturday at 7:45 a.m., almost no other shoppers, I wore mask and gloves! What about you all?

Cat napping, bureau I painted and star gazer lily, all on patio

Here is my cat Fluffy napping on my patio near a large zucchini from my garden, a star gazer lily growing in a pot, and the bureau I painted. Just things from my days on the patio.

The above photo shows the old bureau which looks fine as knotty pine but heirloom white fits with the bed frame and nightstand so I did a painting project and changed the color to white.

Note in the second photo above the can of Rustoleum Heirloom White satin spray paint for the top coat (I used two cans) and the Zinsser 123 Bulls Eye water based Primer (I used half a quart, with brush and roller and several coats). Both of these dried quickly and the spray paint gave a nice smooth coat. Before I began I used tack cloth which I had not used before and it seems a great thing to use before painting as it picks up tiny things which would mar the paint.

Above is the completed bureau which was knotty pine before.

I have had these lilies several years growing in a pot on my patio, I think they are star gazer lilies.

Flowers always get me to smile, what about you? I hope you like these lilies.
P.S. For you who noticed my previous post about my root canal, the follow up visit was gentle and no pain afterward. With the first root canal appointment when the roots/nerves were removed I was in pain afterward and stayed home for three days. The pain pills were to take every eight hours and they only worked for three hours, ouch. I also could take one or two Tylenol, and in addition took antibiotics for 7 days to prevent infection. The good news is I feel great now! 

Patio pix of watchdog on duty, flowers

Above are two scenes showing my watchdog at work on the patio while he sits / naps on the chaise longue. He is a cutie. Do you think he is extremely fierce? LOL, well no. He is a love dog.

The first Star Gazer Lily blooms from my new bulbs in July 2017. In the first photo you see to the left of Bounce the leaves of the lily before blooms.

Another photo of my Star Gazer Oriental Lily blooms. You can see they grow well in pots; you can grow them on a small balcony or in a small yard. My yard is large but the lilies enjoy the well drained soil in their pots which also keep them safe from nibbles by gophers.

Above is a closeup of my Cantua flowers which grow on a shrub and are two inches long. My friend from Chile told me about these beauties and we ordered some together. They are the national flower of Chile and can grow up to a second story, where she told me they grew outside her bedroom window there. I later bought a more rare yellow Cantua which never did bloom for me.
My patio is a place that gives me moments of peace in this time of grief for the loss of my husband. I enjoy sitting out there facing the garden, reading a book and drinking ice tea with ice cubes and no sugar in it. My dog and cat nap nearby and birds flit around, bathing in the bird bath and eating seeds I put out for them, up high where they are safe from cats. I think everyone benefits from a personal place of sanctuary and I hope you have one too.

Happiness Secret, Oriental Lilies

Star Gazer Lily Close Up
Originally uploaded by photoartist3
What is your secret to finding happiness for a few moments?
Please share it here.
One of mine is to visit a local plant store, and buy a few seeds or bulbs. Seeds and bulbs are so full of HOPE for the near future. They promise a lot.
Today I bought a pack of 3 Star Gazer Lily bulbs and planted them in a big blue ceramic pot.
In zones 8-10 Oriental hybrid lilies like Star Gazer lilies can be planted January to March. Star Gazers are 40 inches tall, thrive in part to full sun, have huge sensational bright rose flowers, and are scented.
Is this not a package that has everything?
Let me know your secret tip for finding some moments of joy in this month of January which is rather dark in the Northern Hemisphere.
Cheers to my friends in India and Australia too!