Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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Garden Gander

My garden is going too fast again this year. It seems as if we went from 60s to high 90s overnight, and then last week we had our first triple digits of the year. Whew! I think I'm melting!






The day lilies are finishing up early, but having any at all is a miracle this year because a July 4 hailstorm shredded almost my entire garden. The day lilies were particularly hard hit because they are such a huge target. Some of the unopened blooms were six inches long. The hail sheered many of them right off.




Also falling prey to the hail were my delphiniums and lupine. Most were almost done, but one lone delphinium was just getting started. (It doesn't get as much sun.) It's finally beginning to grow back now. Oh, and I planted an entire package of colorful Russell lupine in the bare spots last weekend. I'd planted an entire package of dwarf lupine a month ago, and some of those infant plants survived because nearby taller plants sheltered them.






This is the third time we've had hail at my house this year. This is the first time in ten years it has done damage. We have three new dents in my car. I'll have more photos of hail damage in an upcoming Snowflake Monday post...


These are not my roses, but I enjoy them as if they were. Most domesticated roses in Colorado should be blooming in August. The wild roses are a July plant, and most of them were done in June as soon as the temperature began to rise.






Many of my sunflowers are already blooming. They are supposed to be August flowers. Fortunately, most of the ones blooming now are from seeds deposited by last year's flowers or by birds (meaning they got an early and risky start, with the May 15 snowstorm).  Thankfully, I planted more sunflowers in June and in July to try to keep the garden from going bare before the first frost. (I planted an entire package of red sunflowers over the weekend!!!)


I couldn't resist a little sunflower Thunder Moonrise reflection on our 14th anniversary.


I've been telling everyone we are Colorado's newest 14er. Tee hee hee!




I cheated and planted a dahlia indoors in March. I moved it (permanently) out onto the porch near the end of May. It began forming a bud about four weeks later, and I was so excited! But then the temperature got so hot, most of the leaves and the bud fell off.

My backyard garden dahlia is the first one on the scene this year. I planted it in May, and the bunny tunneled under it but didn't eat it. It's blooming pretty early, especially considering the abuse it has taken, but it's taking my breath away! I clipped the first bloom and put it inside in a vase because that supposedly helps the plant make more blooms. A second bloom is opening now, and a third one is forming!


Funny story behind the dahlia and its closest neighbor... Because the bunny tunneled beneath the dahlia AND the chicory (and completely devoured my first-ever peony), the giant chicory fell/leaned over and sheltered the dahlia from the devastating Independence Day hail. Some people consider chicory a weed. Not only am I helplessly in love with the gorgeous one-day color of my leaning tower of chicory blooms, that plant is my garden hero this year!


The daisies are almost done. They aren't as early as they've been the last few years, but they are supposed to be an August flower here.


I think the bee balm is about on time. I think.




The mini morning glories and bluebells are a bit late because I intentionally planted them a bit late.






My spiderwort has thrilled me almost all summer long for three years now. I hope the tradition continues, and I hope another white one blooms eventually!


This is one of my white spiderwort from 2017. I spread seeds throughout the garden because they were my favorite of the four colors I have planted. New plants don't bloom the first year. This is the second year since I scattered seeds. Four plants have boomed so far this year, and I have six more plants that have yet to bloom. Fingers crossed at least one will be white!

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Along came a spider(wort) and sat down beside her...

I feel like the spiderwort queen this year!

I can't believe how beautiful these blossoms are and how long the plants have been blooming. The first one began producing flowers the week before we left for Ride the Rockies in June, and I'm still getting many flowers on each plant every day.








I've heard spiderwort can be invasive.

I DON'T CARE!!! Let this thing grow and grow and grow! I absolutely love my spiderwort!






I caught a bee cross-pollinating the white and pink flowers last week. I can't wait to see what the seeds will produce, and it will take a couple of years to find out.


In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the heck out of my newest garden favorite. I didn't think my blue delphiniums could ever be knocked down to second place!

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Spiderwort Monday

While stopping to breathe on Hardscrabble Pass during this year's Ride the Rockies, I noticed a tri-petaled blue flower I was determined to crochet once I got home. But first I had to figure out what kind of flower I had seen.

I perused the blue and purple specimens on Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, a wonderful and informative free website managed by Al Schneider of the San Juan/Four Corners Native Plant Society and hosted by mydurango.net. What a marvelous service Al and mydurango.net provide! Al's been doing this for 14 years and still updates the site almost daily.

I love exploring the blue and purple flower photographs on Al's site because, as you probably know, blue is my favorite color, and I grow many of the drought-tolerant blue wildflower in my own garden. When I find a new (to me) blue wildflower such as the spiderwort, I order seeds from wherever I can find them, if I can find them, and try my green thumb at growing them.

So, I've planted both the purple and blue versions of the spiderwort, but no flowers yet. (Just looking up Al's photos again as I write this post, I see the grasslike blades growing both indoors in a pot and outdoors may indeed be spiderwort! I won't pull them up as weeds!) So no flower pictures of my own yet, darn it! (What do you bet my newest blue flowers become a Wordless Wednesday in the next month or two?) Mrs. Micawber has a simply gorgeous spiderwort photo here, and Google helped me find the seeds as well as more photos.

This flower works up lovely for greeting cards and gift tags! I might include one on my next gift of homemade soap, too, just because!

After I finished writing this pattern, Dave's Garden's weekly email featured prairie spiderwort!

You may do whatever you'd like with flowers and/or snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Other flower flakes in this series include:

Mother's Day Snowflake Motif
Sunflake III
Daisyflake
Picotee Snowflake
Chamomile Snowflake
Lobelia Snowflake
Hoyaflake
Daffodil Snowflake
Windflower Snowflake
Blue Flax Snowflake


Finished Size: flower, 1.5 inches across; snowflake, 5 inches across from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread in 2 or 3 colors, size 7 crochet hook, 3 to 6 optional yellow seed beads, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, water soluble school glue or desired stiffener, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

NOTE: Optional bead stamens may be crocheted into petals on Round 1, sewed in place after the flower is complete, or glued on during stiffening. The spiderworts I saw on Hardscrabble Pass displayed random stamens, so I have not included specific placement instructions. You may choose to place them differently. I also think the crocheted flower looks fine without the beads, so beads are required only if you want stamens.

Spiderwort Instructions

With blue or petal color, make magic ring.

Round 1: * 1 sc in ring, ch 2, 3 dc in ring; repeat from * around 2 times for a total of 3 petals; 1 sc in ring. Do not pull magic ring too tight yet; leave opening big enough to crochet Round 2 sc stitches into it.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 2: * Ch 3, 1 sc in next dc, 1 hdc in same dc, 2 dc in next (middle) dc, ch 2, sl st in top of dc just worked (picot made), 2 dc in same middle dc, 1 hdc in next dc, 1 sc in next dc, 1 sc in ring over next sc; repeat from * around 2 times, omitting last sc of final repeat; sl st in next sc; bind off. Weave in ends. Pull magic ring tight.


Spiderwort Snowflake Instructions

Work Rounds 1 and 2 as above.

Round 3: With white, or green if making leaves, * 1 dc in any magic ring sc (or next magic ring sc, skipping over petal, in repeats), ch 5; repeat from * around 2 times, omitting last 3 ch of final repeat; 1 tr in starting dc to form 3rd ch 5 sp of Round.

Round 4: Ch 5 (counts as 1 dc and ch 3), 1 dc over post of tr directly below, ch 3, [1 dc in next ch 5 sp, ch 3, 1 dc in same sp, ch 3] 2 times; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 5.

Round 5: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of tr directly below, 2 hdc in same sp, 1 sc in same sp, * 1 sc in next ch 5 sp, 2 hdc in same sp, 2 dc in same sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, 2 hdc in same sp; 1 sc in same sp; repeat from * around 4 times; 1 sc in next ch 5 sp, 2 hdc in same sp, 2 dc in same sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 sp of Round. (If making leaves, bind off green here and work remainder of Rounds in white.)
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 6: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of dc directly below, * ch 3, 1 dc in gap between next 2 sc, ch 3, 2 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 3, 2 dc in same tip; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 3, 1 dc in gap between next 2 sc, ch 3, 2 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.

Round 7: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of dc directly below, * ch 3, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 5, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 3, 3 dc in same tip; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 3, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 5, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.

Round 8: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 3 dc over post of dc directly below, * ch 3, [1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 5] 2 times, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 4 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 3, 4 dc in same tip; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 3, [1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 5] 2 times, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 4 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.

Round 9: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 4 dc over post of dc directly below, * ch 3, [1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 5] 3 times, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 5 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook (picot made), 5 dc in same tip; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 3, [1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 5] 3 times, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 3, 5 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook (picot made), sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap.

If using glue, mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture or desired stiffener. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or plastic wrap. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch the snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

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