Mellow Yellow Monday #28

On Mellow Yellow Monday, Drowsey Monkey hosts this meme. I thought it would be quite a challenge, but I soon found that YELLOW is everywhere, and always lifts my spirits.


Living at the shore, as I do, there seems to be a popular theme going on. Mermaids! In West Cape May I found this sign posted along the road.



It is at the end of the driveway beside this gift shop.

Remember This?

Over the winter, I worried about the mandevilla I had brought inside to see if it would survive until this summer. My readers will probably groan at the thought of hearing still more about it. I named it the Dr. Seuss plant when it got way out of hand, a skinny, scrawny thing, growing up, up and up to the ceiling and stretching itself out in every direction.

Come spring, I moved it outside, hoping for the best. I cut it back severely. It never quite died, but didn't look very healthy for months. then when I decided it had about had it, I moved it UNDER the plant stand while I put a larger flowering plant on top. I intended to get around to throwing out Dr. Seuss. Never did. I kept forgetting it.

Today I actually looked under the stand because I kept seeing some strange leaves above the other plant, at the base of the hummingbird feeder post.

Dr. Seuss lives!

Shadow Shot Sunday #61

It is once again Shadow Shot Sunday, and Tracy will show us many wonderful shadows on her blog Hey Harriet. This has become a very popular meme as more and more of us join her to show one another how lovely the world of shadows can be.

My daughter Kathryn has become very much aware of shadows these days. I do wish she would send her pictures to Shadow Shots herself, but I guess she doesn't really have the time in her busy life. So I am grateful that she calls my attention to them and I can share them with you. These are pictures of her son, brushing their cat, Emily.

Sky Watch #53

Sky Watch Friday has arrived once again! Many thanks to the team that keeps us going: Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Louise, Fishing Guy, and Wren.


I found my way back to the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse last week. Their gardens are so beautiful! If you ever get to New Jersey, take Route 147 from either Route 9 or the Garden State Parkway, into North Wildwood. It would be well worth your time. The lighthouse itself is a great place to tour, but their gardens are absolutely fabulous every summer.


These flowers are near the front of the lighthouse.


The gazing ball reflects a little of the sky along with the lighthouse itself.


I took this one while sitting in the shade garden, looking up through the pines.


And this one, sitting on a bench under an arbor, near the herb garden.


If you go two posts below, you can see more of the gardens.

Think Green Thursday

Michele, at Rambling Woods, is hosting Think Green Thursday for us once again. Please visit and read some wonderful suggestions for helping to keep our planet green, and see some beautiful photos.


Years ago, while I was working in the Planning Department of our local municipality, the Planning Director received a publication called Estuary News. It had so many articles of interest to me that I ordered a subscription to this news letter for myself. I recently received the Summer 2009 issue, and would like to share some of it with you.

There is an article written by Laura Whalen concerning Landscaping for Cleaner Water. In it she states that rain water or storm water can be a valuable resource, but it is most often simply drained away. Besides the waste of this water, it is also allowed to become a real threat. Storm water from rooftops, driveways and streets rushes through the pipes into our streams, rivers and bays, eroding the soil, destroying wildlife habitat, causing flooding and polluting the waterways. Ms. Whalen's suggestion for prevention of such problems is creation of rain gardens.

I went as directed to the Low Impact Development Center site, where I found the following definition:

"What is a Rain Garden?

PDFs | Links

A rain garden is a garden which takes advantage of rainfall and stormwater runoff in its design and plant selection. Usually, it is a small garden which is designed to withstand the extremes of moisture and concentrations of nutrients, particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus, that are found in stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are sited ideally close to the source of the runoff and serve to slow the stormwater as it travels downhill, giving the stormwater more time to infiltrate and less opportunity to gain momentum and erosive power.

On the surface, a rain garden looks like an attractive garden. It may support habitat for birds and butterflies, it may be a formal landscape amenity or it may be incorporated into a larger garden as a border or as an entry feature. What makes it a rain garden is in how it gets its water and what happens to that water once it arrives in the garden. "

Ideally, a town would create many small rain gardens on public land, in or near parking lots and streets, wherever appropriate. But private citizens can also be a part of the attempt to conserve water and to preserve the land and prevent further pollution. Anyone can install a rain barrel, or attach a soaker hose to a downspout. A rain garden can be designed to drain within two to four hours of a one inch rain fall. It can be as attractive as any home garden, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. After digging, the planting media should be clean and weed-seed free. A liner may be used where needed. Native plants are ideal. The most desirable would be deep fibrous rooted perennials, trees and shrubs. It can cover as small or large an area as you like. The LID link above is full of plans and ideas.

Most of us enjoy flower gardens. This is something to consider.

Hereford Inlet

On Monday I was heading to the store, and on impulse I turned instead out Route 147 toward North Wildwood. I was feeling pretty good, and the morning was cool, so I decided to take a chance and make a visit to the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse gardens. It is not a large area, and there are plenty of benches where I could sit a while if I had difficulty. That proved to be a good thing. I really can't walk far or stand too long any more.

As always, the gardens were absolutely beautiful. They were also quite crowded. The small parking area was full, and many people seemed to be walking in or riding their bikes. Yellow seemed to be the main theme this year, at least on the street side. I also went a little toward the back, but did not attempt to go on up to the water this time.


There are many colors of hibiscus.









I was particularly impressed with the hydrangeas, both white and pink. They were huge balls of blossoms!

I think I will just show you pictures today.





































I really love red honeysuckle.


























The rose of sharon is a gorgeous shade of blue.






















Here are some of those pink hydrangeas.



I intended to show you more, but Blogger doesn't like all of these pictures. I'd better not attempt them.





There will be just a few on Sky Watch this week, but not those I'd meant for this post.




This is part of the shade garden.








This is under the white hydrangea.