Bloom Day, July 2011

We're awash in July sunshine here in Western Massachusetts. Abundant sun and the occasional spectacular summer thunderstorm have finally replaced a spring that sought to overstay its welcome, much as this past winter had. The flowering greens are more than happy to soak up all the rays, and we have contributions from several members of the Storey family to share with everyone. As always, feel free to share your own Bloom Day thoughts, photos, and links in the comment section below. Happy Bloom Day everyone!

First up is an appropriately patriotic red, white and blue trio of flowers from Storey Publishing Art Director, Carolyn Eckert:

Montana Blue

Bee Balm

Hydrangea

Next up is Storey Publishing Art Director, Cindy McFarland:



Take a look at Acquiring Editor, Gwen Steege's Bloom Day photos:

Artemisia

Heliopsis

Helenium

Filipendula

Eryngium and Sedum

Astranstia

Echinachea

Hydrangea

Hydrangea

Clematis

Poppy

Cimicifuga

Shasta Daisies

Here we have an assortment of blossoms, veggie and otherwise from
Editor, Lisa Hiley:

Potato Blossom

Tomato Blossom

Squash Blossom

Onion Blossom

Lily

Lilies and Bullrushes

Balloon Flower

Next we have a multicolored suite of Daylilies shared
by International Sales Director, Maribeth Casey:




From half way around the globe, MaryAnn Nøbben of Norway, sister to Storey's Director of Production, Caroline Burch,  shares her blooms:

 Finally a sunny day after weeks of rain and
the delphinium is miraculously still standing!

When a new addition to our school was built the backhoe just dug up all the soil at the wall base and dumped it in a pile. I carefully went through the pile and saved as many of these lilies as possible. They now adorn my garden and multiply each year – time to share.

I planted this dwarf cranes bill geranium because it presses
so beautifully for card making.

This lovely viola odorata was bought as a potted flower last summer,
but I decided to try planting it in the ground to see if it would survive the
Norwegian winter. I was thrilled to see that it did!
 

This is the Norwegian cloudberry which grows in a boggy area in the woods at the foot of our hill beside the lake. It’s relatively rare and if people have a patch it’s a well kept secret!!  If you’re lucky enough to gather some, they’re frozen until Christmas and then you make Cloudberry cream – a dessert made with whipped cream, vanilla sugar and thawed cloudberries and served with Krumkake, a thin rolled wafer cone. Delicious!

Lastly, we have the blossoms shared by Marketing Manager, Kristy Rustay:

Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Daylily

 Gladiolus

 Leek Blossom

And that wraps up our July 2011 Bloom day. Happy Weekend everyone!

— Doug Riggs, Social Media Administrator