Pink Saturday

I am so happy to find these pink snapdragons still blooming. Snapdragons are hardy and can handle a heavy frost. We have had several heavy frosts.

Snapdragons are a particular favorite of children who like to pinch the tiny individual blossoms and make the "dragon mouth" open and close. Yes, I love to do this too.

The vertical flower spikes open from the bottom to the top. A single snapdragon plant may produce seven or eight blossom spikes in the course of a summer.

We have had a lot of rain lately. These mums are still hanging in there. Please check out the other Pink Saturday posts. Thanks to Beverly.

Welcome to the Garden of Hope

I just found out about this garden and went there for the first time yesterday on my lunch hour. This garden is located at the Hope Presbyterian Church in Spicer, MN. It was past the "prime time" for fall color, but still worth the drive. To learn more about the garden you can check out on their website here. They have a PDF called Prayer Garden Booklet with photos creating this garden. From what I can tell, it is a new garden. This will be on my list of gardens to visit next year. Please check out the other Outdoor Wednesday's thanks to Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

Mosaic Monday

Minnesota's fall season is a beautiful season. I just can't get enough of all the gorgeous color. Please check out the other Mosaic Mondays. Thanks to Mary at Little Red House.

Mums

The mums and the sedum are the only plants that have made through the hard frost we continue to have. I am surprised that they still look this good. I just took these photos tonight.

This is what my sedum chair looks like today.

Just a few more mums. Thanks to Tootsie for hosting Fertilizer Friday. Please check out the others.

Wire Pumpkins

Yes it is the beginning of crafting season. I still have some work to do in my flower beds, but my crafting groups have started. This group is neighbors. We get together the 3rd Monday night to visit, eat and sometimes with even make a craft. We call our group Kitchen & Crafts.

I saw a wire pumpkin similar to this on another blog, but I can't find it today. Sorry. These pumpkins were very fun and easy to make. This group likes to make "Kindergarten" crafts. Easy projects so we have more time to visit and eat.

Pink Saturday

My husband, Pete, and I went shopping last night in St Cloud, MN. Stopped at Cash Wise Grocery store and saw this wonderful display of Pink.

Please check out the other Pink Saturdays. Thanks to Beverly.

Father Hennepin State Park

My girlfriends and I went to northern Minnesota to Father Hennepin State Park. You can check out there website here.

The colors were amazing and we were freezing. It had snowed the night before.

This park in located on the southeast shore of Mille Lacs Lake. It was named after Father Louis Hennepin, a priest who visited the area with a French expedition in 1680. The park was named after him because he was the first to write extensively about the Mille Lacs area. He called the area Louisiana, in honor of France's King Louis XIV. In 1683, the French published his writings in a book, Description of Louisiana.

Please check out the others at Outdoor Wednesday. Thanks to Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

SNOW!!!

Hard to believe what a difference a day can make. I never got a chance to see this beautiful flower garden before the snow fell. I can only imagine how gorgeous it most have been before the cold weather hit. Even with the snow covering the plants it still looked amazing. Please check out the others at Mosaic Monday. Thanks to Mary at Little Red House.

Celosia

Celosia

They are sometimes called cockscombs or woolflowers.

Celosia- The name is from the Greek and translates to "burning," describing the look of celosias. It has a resemblance to licks of flames erupting from the stems.

Cockscombs- With its fanlike flowers, looks like rooster's red combs, hence the popular common name of cockscomb.

Woolflowers- For their brightly colored, woolly flower heads.

I picked these last night, before we had our hard frost. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 37 degrees.

I love this plant for dried arrangements. I removed all the leaves from the stem and hang them upside down in my garden shed. After they are dried, they last for at least 6 months without losing any of there color.

Today is Pink Saturday. Please check out the others with our host Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Eagle Lake Steeple Garden

Today is Outdoor Wednesday, and I am sharing one of my favorite spots. This beautiful place is only 1/2 mile detour on my drive to work. I love to drive by it on my way home to see the changing colors. It is a secret garden hideaway, tucked under the trees surrounded by the church cemetery.

My friend, Kathy, helped with this garden a few years back. She told me about it and I am so glad she did.

This gorgeous shrub is a American Cranberrybush -Viburnum. It almost looks like it is on fire.

Ninebark - Physocarpus

This shrub gets its name from the belief that is has nine layers of bark. The bark of the Ninebark is peeling and cracking.

PeeGee hydrangea

Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora

The blooms of the PeeGee hydrangea are described as "panicles", meaning that they are more roughly cone shaped.

The blooms typically start out a pale green, ripen to a creamy white, then turn to these lovely rose pink and rust.

Please check the others at Outdoor Wednesday. Thanks to Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

Sedum

This wheelbarrow of sedums had been a success for me this summer, and is something I would like to do again next year.

It was placed in the front of my potting shed. The potting shed has an overhang so the wheelbarrow didn't receive any rain. In fact I only watered it a few times all summer. These plants do not require very much water. Perfect spot for them.

List of plants:

Variegatum-Sedum lineare (In the far back). New plant for me this year. I don't know if it will winter over. I'm in zone 4. Has anyone tired this plant?

Angelina-Sedum rupestre (Right side). I am planning on planting it in the ground this week.

Voodoo-Sedum spurium (Bottom right). Hope to plant this one in the ground, too.

Trailing Jade-Senecio jacobsenii (Left side). I plan on planting it in a pot to bring in the house.

This is a close up of the Trailing Jade I hope to bring inside. Also a close up of the Variegatum.

Can you see the little friends that are hiding on the jade plant? So far I haven't gotten any inside the house.

These are my garden flowers and some grains. The second arrangement is in my office at work.
Today is Fertilzer Fridays/Flaunt Your Flowers. Please join Toosie Time to see the other.