It's the middle of summer and my hollyhocks are almost 8 feet tall:

Someone said bees?

Peachy Keen, in memory of an old dog.

It may be hot out but the ligularia doesn't droop in the Bubble!

Snowbrook lilies beginning to bloom:

Darius' Little Duckling lilies are blooming too:

More lilies! Sugar Jewel:

I'm warm all over now! :)

Uh oh - insanity strikes! I used the same pictures last night as i had a month ago! LOL That's what all that time in the Bubble does to a person - makes them forget! LOL

Marcia that's hilarious! You luckily didn't use ALL the same pictures.

I was looking through last night as I sat on Pudge's bench and thought to myself.......Have I seen some of these before?

Nobody said we had to think hard or have our thoughts straight in the bubble =:)

Okay you guys, the sun is shining and it's gorgeous day, let's get off the bench and go for a nature walk. Grab your sunhats and lemonade and into the forest we go.

The moss is so pretty!

North53 those sundews are amazing! I got off Pudge's bench as you requested =:)

I've never even heard of sundews before, let alone seen them.

Where was the picture taken?

Beautiful shots, Marie, thanks so much for leading us on the nature walk - I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's been soooo long since I had a nice walk (sob).

Marcia, those flowers are so beautiful they deserve a second look!

I will soon need to start some petunia seeds for 3 of these nice big containers. Since Shauna is MIA, I think I will have Hamish give me a hand with that, hehe

But for now I think I'll just sit by the pond and feed some ducks :)

I love the bubble!

Naf, the sundews are sweet aren't they? Usually we see these on our bog visits, but this picture was taken along the trail when we went to find the orchids. I'm developing an appreciation for tiny, but intricate little treasures like some of the wildflowers are. Like the object of our excursion was the stemless orchid, but there were so many other treats along the way.

Ah Pudge, really nice pot of petunias. I just received my seeds today, so will start soon also. Thanks for the encouraging reminder. You're probably responsible for my gazania seed order also!

Marcia, I am living in the bubble, and looking at the pictures over and over, and wouldn't have noticed you posted the same ones, lol.

March 1st is only hours away and -30 windchills are still being predicted tonight and tomorrow night, not to mention the few cms of snow. :( Definitely bubble time. I'm staying here!

Windchill of -39 here tonight. I think I should bring my dog into the bubble too. She would have loved going on our nature walk.

I'll bring my son's dog. He doesn't care about the weather but he'd love to have a friend. :) And i think he'd like to swim out to see those ducks.... Heck, i'd like to go for a swim!

Don, that is really cool, but I have no idea what it is?

Cobra lily (Darlingtonia californica), a type of pitcher plant that only grows in a small area of the western U.S. These ones are growing in southern Oregon, taken last summer. They are actually about a metre tall, though they don't look that big in the photos... I thought it would be bad etiquette to wade into the patch for scale :-)

Don those are awesome.

I'm glad you didn't keep us in suspense for long.

Ver cool looking plants in the bubble, for sure. They look kind of alien, like they're glowing from the inside. Nice!

North53 - In your second picture you have what I think is a perennial geranium.

Which one is it? Since it'll survive your zone, it would be a good candidate for me.

I think we've all had enough lunches, so now that the sun is setting and the horizon is beautiful, how about dinner? I'm going to arrange for us to be served caesar and greek salad, stuffed pork tenderloin, freshly caught salmon, freshly dug baby potatoes, asparagus, stirred fried vegetables and tofu for those of you who may not eat meat, freshly picked peas and beans. Any suggestions for dessert?

Only one catch. You'll need to gather your chairs around Pudge's bench, as I'm not moving, LOL !

Naf, I bought it at a local plant sale and was told it was Johnson's Blue. Whatever it is though, it is definitely hardy. I've had it for years. It's nothing spectacular, but blooms in the spring with those really nice blue flowers. After that I cut it back. It's growing in that sea of Canada violet. I like the combination.

Pudge, that was my thought exactly..alien plant form! I have seen the pitcher plants that grow here and they are pretty weird, but never anything like that. I really enjoyed seeing those.

Everytime I think it's safe to step outside the bubble....we have a winter storm warning. I think we need to add this fella to our walk in the forest.

Mind if I step inside for a little while? I'm so cold I could cry, but I'm afraid the frozen tears would give me frostbite.
I promise to try to post some pics as soon as my fingers thaw enough to browse my frozen archives.

I went to Seedy Saturday yesterday. All those wonderful little packets of hope! It was so hard not to go overboard, but I managed to leave with only two unplanned purchases, which I think are OK, because they're wildflower seeds, and those can be so difficult to catch in those few short days between unripe and already gone with the breeze.

Vikki

Welcome, Vikki. :) I'm staying in the Bubble too. It's forecast to get milder but that's still not very mild. This winter has been at least six months long, it feels like. :-/

Most unfortunately I have to step outside of the bubble this morning and deal with -32C. Crazy unending cold. Grrrr.

I finally decided to join the bubble. I still have not figured out how to download pictures here even after looking at the information "Pudge" sent me back in Aug of 05. I have been overwintering about 15 Geraniums and 8 Begonias and they are all doing well. Last spring I tried to germinate Daturas and had almost no luck so in the fall, I took about 12 Geranium cuttings and used the same soil that I used to try and germinate the Daturas to sprout the Geranium cuttings and lo and behold, up came about 8 Datura seedlings. Weird. However what ever it takes. So on the weekend, I was at Walmart and bought 2 pkgs of LA Hybrid lilies, 15 to a pack at 9.97 a pkg. Most of them have already sprouted, about an inch or two and probably will have to plant them in pots. I have a greenhouse which gets very warm during the day but is cold at night, whatever the temp is outside which is still below zero. I have a furnace in the greenhouse but it would be to expensive to turn in on right now. Shouldn't have bought the lilies I guess

hope these pictures turn out

Here is a link that might be useful:

trying to post one more time

Here is a link that might be useful:

still trying to post a picture

Here is a link that might be useful:

hopefully I can print a couple more

Here is a link that might be useful:

That's great, Stanly! Now you can post more!

Here's my daylily called Darius:

Silent Sentry with some lilies:

More of those lilies with Silent Sentry:

An Orienpet lily, name forgotten:

Another lily, called Robina:

A lily called Giraffe:

Temperatures are milding up here and it actually rained today. There are bare spots along the edge of the house, only a couple of inches wide, but it's a start!

Thank you Stanly for persisting! So far I can see two pictures. Don't give up, you've got it now! I can feel my blood pressure just dropping by looking at that calming picture of the hosta. That's lovely.
We have a raging storm outside right now, and I'm staying in this bubble.

Tks everyone. It was minus 7C this morning and now they are saying a storm is on the way for Monday. Seems like we'll never see the grass. I heading to visit Mom in Wpg next Saturday and I hope the highways will be o.k. I seems like this winter will never end. Stan

Welcome to the bubble, Stan, and I am in complete agreement with Marcia and Marie - those are beautiful plants and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your garden.

Life in the bubble continues to be comfortable while the cold white world is still cold. And white. Very, very white :(

But in my mind's eye I see my first first ever crop of pole beans are climbing high and producing plenty. Tomatoes....oh yum, fresh tomatoes on a bed of some crisp lettuce and sprinkled with some green onion. The lilies are all blooming with plenty of big fat buds yet to open. The phlox has never smelled so delightful. Indian Summer rudbeckia has blooms at least 8" across. The Evening Scented Stock is intoxicating. The Golden Willow has grown another 5' since it leafed, and we're stealing some new potatoes for supper tonight - with dill and cream sauce!

Marcia, I think your lily may be Northern Carillon?

I thought that's what it was, Pudge. I've had it for a long time but wasn't entirely sure, so i didn't post the name. Thanks for confirming it!

It's pretty white out here too. :-/ And more keeps coming. We did have some decent temps earlier this week, and i even ventured outside the bubble to hang some laundry last Sunday. Not this week, though. Back to the bubble!

Marcia - In your first set of pictures, the 6th one, the yellow lily....

There seems to be a leaf of a vine on the bottom righthand side. Do you know, or does any one else know, what that is? It looks like something I've been pulling out here and there, but maybe it's a good vine that I want? Or, is it an invasive annoying vine I want to get rid of?

It's snowing a bit here again this morning. Thank goodness for the pictures on this forum =:)

I see the leaf you mean, but can't place it. I don't exactly remember where that particular lily is planted. Don't assume it's something you want, though - my gardens are rife with undesirables!

Snowing here too. :( I can see it through the bubble's walls. I don't like it.

Quick! Somebody! Add another layer of protection to this bubble.......no view of the outside world through the walls is acceptable......Marcia can see it, but I can't yet so the wall must be weakening from the East......

We need to be able to survive =:)

LOL, how about another sunflower to save the day and strengthen that weak area

I'll join Pudge and toss in another bright daylily to divert your eyes from that grey looking stuff out there. Focus!

Back in the bubble I go! We might get another foot of that white stuff. YUCK! So I'm running for the bubble right now before the storm front hits!

I just love all the pictures everyone is posting. I bought lily & iris bulbs this year. So I'm having fun looking at the pictures imagining what mine will look like. In my mind I can here the birds chirping, the bees just starting to wake up, the dew not quite burned off the grass yet, the smell of some freshly brewed coffee in my mug, in hand, as I walk out to the garden.

I want nice mild nights in the bubble with the scent of matthiola and moonflowers drifting on the air. I would like a nice chaise to stretch out on with a light blanket (to protect me from the dew!) and to be able to sleep all night. Sigh... what a dream. :)

The white stuff is missing us, but the cold temps aren't. :( There are even wind chills this morning. How about i don't go to work and just stay in the bubble and bask in the warmth of the summer sun?

"the scent of matthiola" ... I love the stuff! ... I ALWAYS grow a patch near the front entrance!

Tonight, the weather forecast given on Global Edmonton News was finally calling for some decent temperatures to come, we'll see if that holds up or not ... probably not! There's so much snow here that it'll take many weeks before any bare ground shows itself.

Don't ask me the name of this one, but it's a real stunner :)

I love reading and being in the 'bubble'! The pics of lilies are gorgeous. We have break-up finally! yeah! Looking forward to seeing those first wild flowers and then the ones we plant. Right now I will enjoy the AV's I have blooming indoors.

I plant matthiola under the bedroom window so that we can smell it in the evenings when the windows are open.

That daylily is gorgeous, Terry!

I've been keeping busy within the protection of the bubble, setting up lights and planting tomato seeds. Planted a dishpan full of salad greens too, there should be enough for a baby side salad tonight. I'm thinking it'll go well with a nice wine spritzer while I pretend I'm eating inside to escape the heat out there.
My little friend in the picture introduced himself while we were camping a couple of years ago. Now that he's in the bubble he's got to stay until it thaws in the real world. With that moist skin the poor lil guy would freeze to the doorknob!

Yowza , these are lovely pics . Just the right recipe for the never ending winter doldrums. Wish I knew how to post a picture here ......I have a few that I would love to share .

Signet

Signet, upload your pics to Photobucket or Tinypics (you'll need to create an account first), copy the code and paste in in here. There are different codes for different places and that's the one to use here. Give it a shot!

Thanks everybody for the bubble pictures. I may have to fall asleep tonight with a garden magazine clutched to my chest again since I can't take the computer! Love the little frog picture.

The latest issue of Manitoba Gardening came in yesterday. The peonies! Mmmmmmmmmmm! :)

Just poking my nose into the bubble before going to the green house. Great pictures everyone, I wont step in to the bubble with my dirty wet gum boots on. I am wishing spring for everyone..Jean

Do you have spring, Jean?

I have spring marcia. Muddy sloppy melting spring.My snow rant has turned into a mud rant but like all things this will pass too....Jean