Purple Zinnia – Jacki Kellum Watercolor Painting June 13, 2025 The summer of 2025 is my summer of painting zinnias. I love zinnias, and they are relatively easy to draw. I decided painting zinnias would be the least painful way for me to teach myself to paint again. Therefore, I am trying to paint zinnias…
Category: #Cottage Garden Living
Goldfinches in My Garden – They Love Eating the Sunflower Seeds from the Live Plants
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)gun I have begun my third year of gardening in my current Mississippi garden, and I am thrilled the American Goldfinches have finally found me. What a difference two years of gardening have made. The first year I was here, I saw very few birds. But for years before that time, my…
What Is a Cottage Garden? What Is a Chaos Garden? Reasons to Garden Chaotically
Jacki Kellum Garden “The cottage-style garden is all about whimsy, soft lines, and classic blooms—like pansies, daisies, snapdragons, peonies, foxgloves, and delphinium—that might have been found in grandma’s garden.” Better Homes and Gardens Is a cottage garden the same as an English garden? “While both English and cottage gardens are known to include architectural elements…
God Is Light: He Feeds & Waters the World – from Psalm 104
Psalm 104 1 Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent 3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He…
What Is A Morning Chair? My Morning Chair Is Where I Can Be Still and Hear Myself Think
Over 30 years ago, the bank and I owned a perfect piece of land that I called my Mississippi Farm. It only had 25 acres, but in my rose-tinted glasses, the place looked perfect. One of the reasons I loved that little space was that it had a huge gully that rendered most of the…
What Is A Perennial? What Is An Annual? Often, The Lines Blur in Areas that Have Milder Climates
What Is A Perennial? A Perennial is a Plant that Reliably Returns Year after Year. Coneflowers Are Perennials Black-Eyed Susans Are Perennials What Is An Annual? Annuals Only Live One Year. Generally Speaking, They Must be Replanted Each Year. Bachelor Buttons Are Annuals Zinnias Are Annuals Almost all Vegetables Are Annuals In most cases, all…
Black Oil Sunflowers – How to Grow – What You Need to Know
Black Oil Sunflower Jacki Kellum Garden May 19, 2025 Although it is early, my first sunflowers bloomed today. I am delighted to say that I have sunflowers in my garden much earlier than I did last year. Because I kept my bird feeders stocked all winter, I am blessed with early sunflowers. I buy 3…
Understanding the Color Changes in Embroidery and in Painting — To Suggest the Lights and Darks
The Sutesloly Floral Embroidery Project is semi-realistic, and it achieves that degree of realism by its use of layered colors to suggest a degree of shading — to suggest the lights and darks in nature. Notice the Darker Ring Around the Center of the Following Zinnia. Also notice the lightest area at the very center…
Eden Rose –
Eden Rose Climber Blossom Jacki Kellum Garden May 6, 2025 Eden Rose Climber Blossom Jacki Kellum Garden May 9, 2025 “TOP SELLER! Eden Climber® features large, old-fashioned, fully double, 4 1/2″, cupped blooms with 100+ petals. Her blooms are a delightful blend of pastel pinks, creams, and yellows. Eden Climber® is a vigorously growing, disease-resistant…
Desdemona – A Fragrant David Austin Rose
On April 28, the buds on my Desdemona Rose began showing some pale, peachy-pink color–I would call the Desdemona’s hint of color a buff pink. Desdemona Rose Image Credit: David Austin David Austin labels Desdemona as a White Rose, but with a hint of buff pink. Desdemona Rose Image Credit: David Austin Fragrance: Strong…