Welcome to the first Nature Friday post for August. Gosh, where has the time gone? July with its nasty heat came and finally went (thank dog!) and it’s dawned on me that autumn’s official arrival is just a mere 49 days. Forty-nine days, people!! Woo hoo…Elsa here joining Blogville pals Rosy and Sunny from Adventures of the LLB Gang. Remember to click on the link to see what others shared. Let’s get this party started, ok?
Elsa: Hey, Mom…why is there a butterfly on my nose-get it off. I know you’ve been fairly apologetic about not sharing any good smelling flowers recently but if you think a little photo editing is gonna going to make everything ok, guess again.
The Mom: Umm, well, erm, lighten up, Elsa. I was just trying to add a bit of creativeness. Why not tell folks the real truth now…that you’ve been badgering me ever since that post went live, bugging me to find you some nice smelling flowers.
Elsa: Meh…you say potato, I say ‘potahto.’ Let’s just tell readers that you no doubt, have felt lots of remorse and have been looking for fragrant flowers 24/7, to make it up to me?
The Mom. Umm, not 24/7 but I will say I have been looking for flowers with lovely scents but it’s been a challenge this time of year. First the two hail storms from last month pretty much wiped out all the roses, along with just about everything else…
Elsa: {interrupting} And this is my fault exactly how?
The Mom: Ahem, as I was about to say, I have been looking for some fragrant flowers on our walks. We’ve even been taking different routes to see if some garden out there have some fragrant flowers. I did find some marigolds but you made it perfectly clear you weren’t all that keen on them with lots of sneezing after checking them out closely.
Elsa: Doggone straight! “Eau de blech” is not my idea of a sweet smelling fragrance.
The Mom: Yes, but you have to admit they are cheerful and pretty and manage to keep bugs at bay around the tomato and strawberry plants.
Elsa: And there’s a good reason for that. They. Just. Smell. Disgusting! Don’t do that ever again.
The Mom: Umm, o-k-a-y. I can take a hint.
Elsa: {interrupting with raucous laughter} Bwahahaha, you slay me sometimes, Mom. Hint indeed-HA! I’ve been barking my head off about sweet smelling flowers for weeks and all you can come up with are marigolds? Good grief!
The Mom: Now hold on…hear me out. Marigolds are cheerful, super easy to grow, and come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They thrive in hot dry conditions and lord knows, we’ve had plenty of those lately. They will grow in just about any soil, even ours. With two separate kinds (French and African), they’re usually self-sowing and they make excellent companion plants that can repel certain harmful bugs around tomatoes, strawberries, onions and garlic.
Elsa: Oh great, onions and garlic-more disgusting smelly plants. Do you not understand the concept of nice/sweet smelling? Do I have to explain it to you by speaking more slowly and using small words so you’ll get it?
The Mom: Sheesh, I got it. Honestly, you have become such a pill lately.
Elsa: {eyes rolling} Listen, Mom, I don’t mean to harsh your mellow…I just ‘nose’ what I want and am a very focused dog about getting it. That’s all.
The Mom: Yes, I think ‘relentless’ does comes to mind about the things you demand want. Fine, I’ll get you some nicely scented flowers, okay. Are you happy now?
Elsa: HOLY COW…don’t get your knickers in a bind…ok what in the dog is the point of this pic?
The Mom: Remember we walked past it when we took another different route to find your fragrant flowers? I thought it was kind of cool. I see what you did there with that Holy Cow exclamation. Very clever, little one.
Elsa: I’m glad to see you’re finally comprehending just how clever I am. Only took you f-o-r-e-v-e-r. {moving along} What do you think those people were thinking when they ‘planted’ that thing in their front yard?
The Mom: Who knows…who cares? It’s fun and unusual. That’s the point.
Elsa: Umm, ok, if you say so. I thought it was weird.
The Mom: Weird? I thought you acted more like it was part monster.
Elsa: {clearly offended} I beg your pardon…I merely went into defensive mode. Didn’t want that thing to attack you. Us Ninjas are natural protectors, you know.
The Mom: Uh-huh. Right. Back to nice smelling plants now…
Elsa: Well it’s about doggone time. I was beginning to wonder if you had anything or not.
The Mom: What do you mean, you were with me when we walked past these Hemerocallis. Did you forget or were you perhaps still wigged out about the urban cow?
Elsa: I was most definitely not ‘wigged out.’ So where are all these so called wonderful smelling lilies?
The Mom: {chuckling} Well this one doesn’t exactly have much of a scent…but look how beautiful it is!
Elsa: Gah…enough with the non-nice smelling flowers! I knew it…you’ve tricked me again into thinking I was going to see some fragrant flowers and then you delivered the same ole ones that don’t smell nice at all. That’s bad form, Mom.
The Mom: I’m getting there, Elsa-please be patient. We need to work up to the scented ones.
Elsa: I’m through with being patient. I asked for flowers that smell good and you said you had some. And yet…here we are once again with the same ole, non-scented stuff. Why oh why, are you torturing me!?!
The Mom: Sorry…I was just having a little fun with you. Does this pic better fill your sense of smell with joy?
Elsa: How’s about I have a little fun biting your ankles? Huh…how’d you like THAT? {doing a double take} Oooh, okay…now I remember these oriental lilies from our walk. I could smell them half a block away. Ok, I take back all the mean thoughts I was thinking, Mom.
The Mom: Thought you might enjoy seeing them. While you were busy with breakfast, I left to run a quick errand and came across these beautiful Stargazer lilies that I thought you might also appreciate.
Elsa: You’re so right, Mom, those are divine and I know they are beautifully scented. Thanks for satisfying my desire to finally sniff fabulous flowers.
The Mom: My pleasure, sweetie. Other than a few roses in bloom and these lilies, I haven’t found much in the way of fragrant flowers. The lavender has finished blooming and it’s been hard finding things in bloom that smell nice. I think we’re in the transitional period of summer. I’ve noticed most of the Big Box garden centers seem to specialize in choices and fewer fragrant offerings. I think they’re leaning toward just ordinary offerings. I’m finding I have to go to a greenhouse if I want anything fragrant and beautiful. Even new roses aren’t nearly as fragrant as they used to be.
Elsa: Yeah, what’s up with that?
The Mom: I recently read that researchers are breeding more for durability and looks rather than for scent and they’ve removed the scent gene. Rather sad, if you ask me. Fragrant flowers are one of the things what makes summer special by impacting multiple senses. They may think that’s progress but I think it just short-changes our opportunity to enjoy the senses being tantalized in multiple ways.
Elsa: You got that right! So what’s on your agenda for this weekend? I think we’re just hanging out and catching up. Whatever you do, we hope you make time to enjoy the ‘ulta-mutt’ time in nature.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Mew mew mew Elsa you meowed….umm woofed THAT rite!! Marygoldss ARE Eau de Blech!!!
They due look nice tho’…..butt not their smell.
All THE Liliess are beeuteefull an wee happy they due have sum nice aroma….
(Better than what wee been smellin heer) 😉
An that iss one snazzy Cow…..at leest it doess not make Methane rite?
Sadly you nose how our weekend went. Wee just happy to bee abell to vissit you today!
~~~head rubss~~~BellaDharma~~~ an (((hugss))) BellaSita Mum
Sweet, sweet kitty and mum…thanks so much for your always gentle comments. We 💙 you and feel truly blessed you dropped by given the past week. Know we’re sending pawsitive thoughts your way. 😻
Oh Elsa you make me laugh! I think the butterfly 🦋 looked cute on your nose. Hopefully your mom gave you a treat after taking the pic. 😉
Sorry about the unscented flowers but they are really pretty! Especially the purple and yellow one. Love the beauty of flowers. Thanks for sharing. And how cool about the cow! 😉😊 Happy Weekend! Hope you both have enjoyed it!
We find something else to notice on that cow whenever we walk past it now. The painted flowers alone are simply amazing and quite the work of art. Funny thing about that butterfly pic-Mom photoshopped it on me {the nerve!}
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
Very cool about the cow.
Haha on the butterfly 🦋 . Gotta watch your Mom, she is sneaky!😄 I am sure its hard work keeping her in line. You deserve some extra belly rubs. 😊
You have no idea!
😂
Such beautiful flowers! It already feels like Autumn here in NH! Will it last? Who knows, right? I’m not sure Mother Nature even knows what she’s up to one day to the next. We’re still getting a lot of rain, which has made some flowers and veggies do quite well, and others haven’t liked it one bit. I know where I stand – for more sunshine! 🙂
Thanks. It’s cool today but the forecast says 90’s by mid-week. These dips are just mean teasing us into thinking milder weather is ahead. Mother Nature is having a real identity crisis. She’s doesn’t know what’s what anymore.
WOW…….we don’t have many flowers around here but one flower we DO have is the little purple flower on my (and I emphasize MY) catmint plant. I lie right on top of the whole plant and luxuriate (aka sleep) for hours in the front garden. Mom planted zinnias once back when we had a little veggie garden out back but I thought those flowers were stinky. We sure think you all have a lot of pretty flowers around you though – maybe if WE had more I’d learn to appreciate them with a sniff or two!
Hugs, Teddy
Thanks Teddy. Mom usually plants zinnias from seed because they provide nice color in the garden. No scent but they bloom from May to late October. The catmint and Russian Sage are in bloom here too. Did you know Russian Sage is part of the mint family?
Our few flowers have about given up, what with the drought conditions in May, June and July…and the extra hot temps…but um…we do have marigolds! Lots of them…poor Elsa!!
That cow is fun!! Near where we live is a white buffalo…MJF used to growl at it when we’d walk past it, BOL!
It seems those marigolds are upright favorites. I don’t get it but hey, you guys have the thumbs so I should learn to deal with it. Mom giggles whenever dogs react to statutes. But then again, she’s weird. Have a great weekend. Hope you don’t have to work.
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
With other things on my mind of late, the back garden is a disaster area and the front is not all that much better. I once bought a selection of different roses and had the intention of creating a rose garden. They all died. Sadly, I can’t help your need for nice smelling things – stones don’t smell all that great. Spring in 17 days and I might try the roses again. We’ll see.
Good luck with the roses. They tend to be a bit challenging in Mom’s mind. She only planted shrub roses-they’re easier. Mostly she sticks with xeriscape plants that are natives. Better success that way.
Hope Annabell is doing ok. We’re thinking of you both.
Your favorite ninja,
Elsa 🐾
I love those wonderful colors and that crazy colorful cow who is bringing the funk. But Elsa steals the show with her little butterfly buddy.
Aww aren’t you sweet. That cow was one of those lucky finds very early in the morning. Mom’s walked by there several times since and sees something new different painted on it every time. She’s a big fan of lawn art and the funkier, the more excited she gets. I can take ’em or leave them. Humans…so weird.
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
I love when that happens!
We have a deep appreciation for different, and when that different thing happens to be this funky kind of coolness? Yeah, that’s it right there.
Humans always will be LOL
MUAH! to you Elsa!
Can girl cows have horns? XOXOXOX Chia
Your lilies are beautiful. I wish I could smell them. XOX Xena
Mom needs plants that take care of themselves,BOL! XOX Lucy and Riley
As a matter of fact, both cows and bulls can have horns. Mom forgot to check…you know…if that statute had uh…anything else toward the back end that might indicate its gender.
Mom needs plants that can survive under brutal conditions. She won’t pamper them and they need to do well with little water. Or decent soil, come to think of it. 😉
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
Our Mom saw the cow’s udder, which she said means it’s a girl. So what does your Mom plant? We’ll tell our Mom to get that, BOL! *wags* Lucy
Good catch on checking under for the udder. 😆 Mom plants xeriscape type plants that don’t require a lot of water. Plus anytime you can plant things native to your area, you increase your chances of success.
Oh good, we’ll have her plant lots of weed!! They seem to grow great in our yard. XOX Xena
Bwahahaha! You know of course weeds are just perennials you don’t buy. 🤣
I’m glad you found the sweet smelling flowers, Monika. It was a nice stroll and I can imagine Elsa reacting to that cow. Have a super weekend.
We’re glad too. We were beginning to think flowers have become duds. Mom says raised hackles makes her feel secure. BOL
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
There is something comforting about all the fur standing up. Bared fangs carry the same feeling.
Doggone right, John! Not that I’d ever bare my fangs. I’m a Ninja afterall. We pounce first, then make warning noises. 😆
Elsa, I wish you treated your mum a bit nicer… How you get away with it is beyond me. Ya know, ‘you catch more flies with honey than vinegar,’ but you’d probably retort that the last thing you need is more flies, totally missing the point! 😀
Slugs destroy any marigold I try to grow, alas… you’re lucky your climate discourages those slimy marauders. Lilies are among the more heavenly-scented flowers– a pity beetles and rodents devour any I try to grow. However, next to me is a vase of sweet peas and that is a fine substitute. 🙂
I’m actually pretty loveable as far as Ninja’s go. But I’ll try to be less Miss Sassy Pants…now that I’ve gotten a good dose of fragrant flowers, I’ll be nicer. Persistence is my trademark move…one of the many reasons Mom loves me so much. 😍
I love a good smelling flower. As for marigolds? Yuk!
Yeah, marigolds are just gross. But they are cheerful and bloom all summer long. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to get rid of them. Mom hasn’t planted them for several years and yet they manage to bloom every summer. We’d prefer more snapdragons than marigolds, another self-seeder that blooms forever.
I love snaps. I only do a small border of petunias and vinca for annuals. The other annuals are in a pot. Trying to keep it easy.
At our age, ‘easy’ and ‘annuals’ go hand in hand.
You have to know we love that cow! Holy cow! The lilies in all their colors are also beautiful. Have a great weekend!
You have to love Elsa’s attitude LOL!
Beautiful flowers this week!
Thank you! Well funny thing, attitude is what gets me through the day. BOL
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
Java Bean: “Our Mama has a couple of rose bushes where the flowers smell nice, but you’re right, most of them don’t smell like anything anymore! Except for the purple ones, according to our Dada, anyway.”
Lulu: “Don’t listen to Dada. He hasn’t got a very good nose.”
Java Bean: “No human has a very good nose.”
Lulu: “Well, true.”
Java Bean: “Our Mama also has lots of plumeria and some of them smell pretty nice!”
Oh man, you guys are so lucky to have plumeria. That stuff is paradise with leaves. Have a terrific weekend. The only roses we have left that smell were bought years ago. The new ones are scentless for the most part. Sigh.
Never self-sowed? Whoa…I planted a couple a few years ago and they show up in some very unexpected places. Have you ever just spread the seeds when deadheading?
Let’s call the whole thing off.
Call off Summer? Sure-count us in-we’d much rather have autumn.
Beautiful pictures, as always, even if some of them don’t have lovely scents. They’re still eye-candy.
Thanks. Eye-candy…now that’s a good way to describe a lot of what’s blooming right now.
Elsa is one relentless girl……but she certainly achieves her aims! Those lilies were just lovely…pity we don’t have a sort of scent Zoom….
Breeding out scent for durability…just how lacking in soul is that! We always planted for scent as well as looks and even now, when the garden is more just a collection of plants we have scent from the orange blossom,the ylang ylang, the lilies, the brugmansia, the ackee bush and the swamp ginger….
Those Happiness folks with WordPress need to get on the stick and create scratch n’ feature for bloggers all over the world. Sure beats that stupid Block editor. We totally agree with you on the soullessness of those who would remove the sweet scent of plants. Call me cynical but suspect it’s likely tied to some sort of profit motivation. Sigh.
I would like to beat the inventor of block editing with his/her/its own blocks – weighted with lead.
Bwahahaha! You and me both. Such a stupid idea. the person who came up with it should be quartered and tarred.
Unscented roses??!?! That’s blasphemy!! Who’s the 💩head that came up with that idea?! My father-in-law must be turning over in his grave!
I miss our day lilies … the Z kids have pretty much trampled them running through the flower bed where Sam planted them years ago. Maybe they’ll regenerate next year. If not, I still have a few in the front yard under the window. What I need now are some lavender plants for the porch and carport to keep the mosquitos away.
Your Friday flower tour is lovely as usual, even if I can’t smell the scents through the phone’s screen.
Try to buy a bouquet of scented roses. They’ve all been de-fragranced. Apparently cut roses last longer when they don’t smell rosey. Given that most of them now come from Central America, producers had to factor in the shipping time. I hate it myself. I love a nice bouquet of roses as well as rose scented plants in the garden. And we want something besides 3 colors of petunias and geraniums while we’re at it! And variegated foliage would be nice too on the geraniums-we can only find those at a few greenhouses these days. Sigh.
Your friend,
Elsa 🐾
Oh, Elsa, you and your momma are too funny! And, Wow! Those are some amazing flowers! I do not have a green thumb and always admire gardens! Studies to remove the scent gene??? Oh, why? I so agree, the sweet fragrances are so part of summer. Can you imagine no flowers to smell?! That cow is pretty cool, too. Artists painted statues of horses with all different scenes and put them about town where I used to live. Love seeing such pretty and creative art. Hope you both have a lovely weekend!
Thanks. It’s a good thing Mom has me as her funny sidekick. She’s so straight and dull. Glad you enjoyed the garden tour. Mom’s green thumb is a bit brown but in her defense, she doesn’t have great sun exposure in her garden. And she’s more than a bit stingy with the H2O. If it can’t handle that, it’ll be a mere memory in Mom’s garden. Luckily the gardeners around our Ranch have more of both and a lot of our pics come from our walks. We hope you have a marvelous weekend!
What a lovely tour. I LOVE the painted bull! Such creativity.
I’m with you on not being pleased with the lack of scent in new varietals. What’s the point? Sure, it’s nice that they look good, but part of the pleasure is the scent! I feel ya Esla!
However, I have to agree with your mom on the marigolds. I personally do not love them but they are all over my garden to protect my veggies. They work very well and they do add a pop of colour all over the place 🙂
Thanks. Argh-another one of you uprights touting marigolds. Mom says they are the fool proof plant for the garden. They’ll grow just about anywhere but boy they sure stink up the place for being so fool-proof. What’s up with that? Have a great weekend!
Your fur-iend,
Elsa 🐾
They really are. Elsa! I know they stink but if they help keep the little beasties away, we have to give them a little bit of love – and they don’t need much.
Thank you!
Mom planted a variety of carnation scented marigolds a few years ago. Sadly they did not self sow but the scent was incredible and they were a bright gorgeous lemon yellow. So pretty. She hasn’t seen them at the big box stores and is most irritated about that.
Ooooh… I’ve never had my marigolds self sow. My favourite colour is orange so I have mostly those and some yellow and yellow/orange/red ones 🙂