The underside of a fern at hollypond. It reminded me of a Christmas tree!

Why do the bad politicians always have bad hair?

A Renaissance lady

Chinese lion

Clematis 'Tie Dye'! One of my favorites.

Water lotus, refections of sky, clouds and trees at hollypond. Lotus flowers seem to last only a few days, so I took one more photo for the archives.

Water lotus at hollypond. There have been 3 so far. Which boggles the mind because we don't know what we're doing....

Water lily and lotus flower at hollypond. Our pond needs some fixing..a 4.6 earthquake last year weakened one side. We seem to have a fault line under our 1880's house! Big renovation/repair in the fall. ☹️

Queen Anne's Lace. I'm trying to work on a pollinators' garden, so that means relocating the native plants. So far, so good with this one. Any helpful tips welcome. Thanks blueskyers!

What did I get for my birthday? An elephant ear! With a branch of deutzia!

The first lotus flower is now open for business at hollypond. Hope to catch a dragonfly visit if I'm lucky. Thanks to bksy friends for helping me with pictures, hopefully they are getting better.

3 gardens down....2 to go!

This is the first lotus at hollypond this year. Water and trees/sky reflections. No fish wanting a cameo (yet!)

Nothing fancy about Hakone grass until it blows gently in the wind. Then it becomes a flowing 'green stream' moving across the garden. The lighter color is from sunshine on the foliage.

It will be sizzling this week in NJ. I came across this picture of what I think is a bluebird family drinking from one of our snow covered ponds this past winter. A snowy blast from the recent past!

Redveined Enkiathus, a great companion for rhododendrons and azaleas. Thousands of bell shaped flower on a mature plant.

Kirengishoma palmatum (Yellow Wax Bells) a good plant for a woodland garden.

This is my new puppy. He is a Havanese named 'OZZY' PRINCE OF BARKNESS!

Peony suffruticosa Kamata Nishiki

I'm not up for this 4th of July Independence? My plumbing blew up this morning 💩 The repair guy won t be here until tomorrow🥴 SO. Here is a good quote that I try to remember: "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.' Father James Keller Be safe and be the candle!

I know, I know, it's just another clematis flower (Clem. texensis 'Gravetye Beauty') But this is the first bloom in it's 7 year residence at hollypond. I feel like I just had a baby! (NOT !)

The bottle tree in my garden....I looked at it yesterday and thought that the bottles of my favorite IPA beer might work as well as the colored glass bottles. Many of us are being pushed to our limit right now. But we have our 'tribe' and we know what needs to be done. Stay safe as you protest.

Paeonia 'Julia Rose'... a tree paeonia new to the garden. Tree paeonia flowers are usually very big. My largest is 9" across. They are surprisingly tough and long lived plants. Hiding out in the hollypond garden today. Too much sadness in my heart for those who will suffer in the future.

A bee in flight over spiderweb purple blossoms. Holy Moly! A moving object makes it hard to get a good photo! Duh! Kudos to all on Bsy who take beautiful pics of things that can move out of your picture, fly away or stand behind a tree like Bigfoot! I salute you!

This 'head in my hands' garden gargoyle wishes all protesters protection and solidarity. Be safe friends.

This is a clematis from the Kivistic family of Ukraine. Its name is 'MiniSkirt'. I can't help but worry over the fate of the Kivistik family in a country under attack by Putin. I hope they are safe.

It was just one ant…

I found 2 antique wrought iron driveway gates on a trash pile. 16' total fit my front holly hedge perfectly. Mr. Lion is about to be obscured by a bunch of clematis blooms (Ville de Lyon.....of course). He's not happy...

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' just starting to bloom. Another tough Victorian clematis.

This is my kat! Her name is Karma... and she is a b#$%h!

Ohara Kosan Japanese woodblock prints of 2 bunnies. Fur is incited with lines.

Rosa rubrifoia

Rosa 'Alba Semi-plena' a rose going back to the 15th century. Symbol of the English House of York during the War of the Roses. Very free flowering and fragrant. A rainy day rose!

Hosta 'Great Expections' grows sooooo slowly but the colors on opening make it worth the wait.

Clematis Dorothy Bateman (again)...I do not deserve this plant!

Clematis 'Multi Blue'...the new flowers look like tulips until fully open.

Peony Kamata-Nishi

Clematis 'Dorothy Bateman' spring 2025

Illicium floridanum 'halley's comet'

Clematis 'Belle of Woking', Hard to grow but well worth the effort. An old Victorian variety grown by the Jackmans of Woking, England.

Very rare fall foliage of Acer palmatum 'Green Cascade'

Under side of Clematis flowers

Yellow berry holly at hollypond

Clematis 'Josephine'

Paeonia suffruticosa Kamata-Nishiki