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Friday, May 1, 2015

The Silver Carpet May 2, 2015

Welcome to my blog, today I am linking with-

Orange You Glad it's Friday hosted by Maria

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

A couple of wonderful, slowly spreading sun ground covers give me that fuzzy silver fix, Antennaria dioca 'rubra', Pussytoes, with tiny flowers just opening-


Dwarf Lamb's Ears- Stachys 'Silver Fleece' avoids a lot of the downfalls of its larger relative, which can get really big messy inflorescences.

Here with a very silvery plant, Santolina, Lavender Cotton, which can get big and bushy.

Another cute ground cover, more of a lawn flower, is the Lawn Daisy, Bellis perennis, here I sought out pinker flowers among the white.  They are low enough to escape the mower except for the flowers.



More of those orange Geum shots, 'Queen of Orange'-


My Viking Aronia is blooming, it is a fantastic backyard fruit, the antioxidant content (ORAC) of Aronia is the highest in native American fruits.  There are also dwarf varieties and Nero that stay smaller.


The Columbines are beginning to bloom, they give my garden a feeling of being what has been described as a "Hobbit" garden.



And a silvery chick as well, another grandchick with feathered feet, a very large and energetic chick that likes to suddenly burst into runs and dodges, hard to photograph.  I think it is a cochin.



Silvery colors help to light up the darkness, just as orange brightens up life-

Hannah
or cameras are macro

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.  I enjoy reading your comments, and will visit your blog and comment, as long as google + isn't the only option, in which case I will comment here or email.

61 comments:

  1. Beautiful collection of flower images and a lovely chick. Have a lovley weekend.

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  2. Thanks, Margaret, I enjoyed your Scottish Highland cattle. Some of my ancestry is from Scotland and Ireland, so I feel a connection.

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  3. Hannah, I see from your reply you have family from Scotland. My Mum was born in Cambuslang, a little south of Glasgow, and she came to NZ with her sister,brother and her Mum when she was 6. Beautiful flowers, the columbines are so pretty. I have always called them " Granny Bonnets" down here.

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    1. Some people in my family have tried to do some family research, my ancestors mostly came over very early in the history of the USA, so I don't know towns they are from. I love the Columbines, I have grown them from seed many years ago and they spread.

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  4. Those are beautiful flowers, I love them Hannah.

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    1. Thanks, Bob, I love your beautiful bird photos.

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  5. Hello Hannah, your flowers are beautiful, I love the Lamb's Ears too. The grand chick is adorable. Great post. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Eileen, I prefer the dwarf lamb's ears, they are so dainty and spread well, but don't get such tall bloom spikes on them.

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  6. Beautiful!
    Have a great week-end!
    Lea

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    1. Thanks, Lea, I will be transplanting my tomato starts. I used to plant some out in April under tunnels but am behind this year.

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  7. Such beautiful flowers full of color for a Saturday morning...but kind of an ugly chick!

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    1. Thanks, Linda, I'm enjoying the flowers. The chick stands so upright and tall she (hopefully) towers over the others, and periodically runs around in a swirl. She seems to be the Alpha chick. She reminds me of a hawk.

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    1. Thanks, Theresa, I enjoyed seeing your horses grazing. My grass is growing fast from the rain and we have chickens and ducks grazing.

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  9. Those are beautiful flowers Hannah and such a cute little chick. Thanks for sharing and have a great day :)

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    1. Thanks, Denise, I like the varied patterns of feathers that are appearing in her plumage, she should be magnificent. Thanks for hosting!

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  10. Wonderful flowers and a cute chick. I love the columbines. My grandmother had them in her garden in many different colours. They always remind me of her.

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    1. Thanks, Gunilla, a few of our single columbines come from my husband's mother, they make a nice reminder.

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  11. Such beautiful flowers and a sweet looking chick!

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    1. Thanks, Marie, Columbine blooming time is a spring highlight for me, so magical. I hope the chick will be kind to her fellow chicks and doesn't turn out to be a rooster.

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  12. Cute little chick...love those flowers, too!
    ~

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    1. Thanks, I'm wondering what her final size will be.

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  13. The flowers are lovely.
    Columbines are in bloom in our garden, too.

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    1. Thanks, Romi, aren't they delightful, and take care of themselves so well except for removing the spent flowers.

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  14. Beautiful flower shots. Your garden must be absolutely lovely. I have aquilegias too, but the tend to be mainly white.

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    1. Thanks, Liz, I originally grew them from a mixed packet of seeds and they seem to hybridize themselves however they please. I did grow some all white ones recently too, that are not the hose-in-hose doubles.

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  15. Hannah, your garden always looks so interesting and full of variety and colour.
    The fairies won't have to look far for splendid new hats!

    Have a wonderful week,
    Ruby

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    1. Thanks, Ruby, the fairies are delighted to have ballerina costumes as well, Columbines are so versatile.

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  16. Very beautiful flowers, delicious photos with wonderful colors!

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    1. Thanks, Leovi, the flowers are very kind to me every spring.

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  17. So many flowers already… it takes longer here, our first daffodil bloomed this week.

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    1. Thanks, Laura, and they are even earlier than usual, I'm afraid it will mean a very hot summer.

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  18. Hannah I love the flowers especially the columbines...can't wait to see mine.

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    1. Thanks, Donna, they really make the garden enchanting. I hope yours bloom soon.

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  19. That antennaria is really pretty. I love the silvery leaves!

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    1. Thanks, Evan, I'm pleased with how well it is spreading out, and it is down on my front bank that rarely gets watered.

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  20. Stunning range of colourful flowers and the chick has a scruffy kind of beauty.

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    1. Thanks, Gemma, she is an amusing chick, so vigorous, I think once her feathers have grown in she won't look so scruffy. I'm enjoying the flowers.

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  21. Wonderful photos of the flowers, blooms and the chicken.
    Best regards, Synnöve

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    1. Thanks, Synnove, spring flowers are so photogenic.

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    1. Thanks, Christine, the succession of bloom just overwhelms me every year.

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  23. An amazing series! These are beautiful flowers!

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    1. Thanks, Mary, I enjoy photographing them. I like your macros of the tulips with the mandala centers.

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  24. Beautiful pictures. Love all the silver flowers. Zemer Levav has strong ties to the congregation where I used to live. In fact they still come around every year to have a concert there.

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    1. Thanks, Abrianna, I'm a sucker for silver and for variegated plants. I like Zemer Levav's sound, such talented musicians.

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  25. All are beautiful, but I was most captivated by the Lawn Daisy. So beautiful!

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    1. Thanks, Gail, they are one of those carefree plants that make me happy just to see them growing by themselves. I acquired them from a parking lot before it got paved over. Some parks here have a lot in the grass. Mine are slowly spreading.

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  26. Great and beautiful photo series!

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    1. Thanks, Birgitta, I enjoy your insect macros.

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  27. Beautiful impressions and pictures of all these wonderful blooming flowers Hannah!!!
    I very much like the dark pink blossoms and the silver-green leaves of the plant in your first pictures...the contrast is wonderful :)
    Enjoy a wonderful week and have a good time!
    Katrin

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    1. Thanks, Katrin, I''m enjoying the Pussytoes, I know the flowers look great in my photo but in real life size they are very tiny so not that noticeable.

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  28. Some of my internet friends have a wild sense of humor, Hannah.
    ~

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  29. Thanks EG, I split one little pot of them into little plants and they are spreading nicely into a row of groundcover, and get very little summer water as they are too far to drag a hose.

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  30. Dearest Hannah; Wow, wonderful collections of flowers, which some first for me :-) I especially loved to see the 'Viking Aronia' and I don't think I've seen the fruits, made me wondered about the tastes. I googled 'Hobbit'; haha 'Got it'. I wish I could visit your gorgeous garden♡♡♡
    Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my Dear friend in America, xoxo Miyako*

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    1. Thanks, dearest Miyako, my 2 acres is mostly trees and lawn, with some gardens thrown in here and there. But I've been planting them for 20 years so some of my plants are getting quite mature. Aronia is great sweetened and cooked, but an acquired taste raw, though my son and grandkids do eat it that way, it is not bad with yogurt or ice cream. Hugs from the PNW!

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  31. More great shots! I have eaten kangaroo, but not emu!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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    1. Thanks, Stewart, I see more unusual animal meats now in the ground meat section, no kangaroo or emu though.

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