I like this combination of rose campion and pink mallow.

On my nightly walk through the garden, these Asiatic lilies captured my eye.

A Few Minutes to Blog

I have not had much time for blogging the past two days. I have been very busy at work getting caught up and when I get home I have to water, water, and more water. It has been in the 90's here--hot, muggy, miserable weather. We still have not had any rain (so keep doing the rain dances!). My container wall planters have been filling out nicely. These planters insist on at least 2 good waterings a day. Yesterday I did not water them before I went to work and they were sulking when I got home. Today I went out at 5:30 a.m. to water them and then again about 4 pm when I got home. In two days my grass has gone from decent to dry, brown, and crunchy. I hate when that happens. It drags down all the gardens. We have a well and do not water the grass for fear of something happening to the well (DH has the fear - I would take the risk).

Purple petunias, fanflower, and sweet potato vine.

Petunias, fanflower and tradescantia pallida (Purple Heart).

Did you know that the sweet potato vine has a flower? Today I noticed my first bloom. It is very similar to the morning glory flower since it is from the same family (ipomea batatas).

I don't think I have shown you my second barrel. This one has red geraniums, black & blue annual salvia, fanflower and a couple of yellow callas in the middle (not yet in bloom). The hibiscus tree in the back has just started blooming.

Out of the FlipFlops & Into the High Heels

I must ditch my flipflops today and get back into pantyhose and heels (AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG). I only have time for a quick post while the curling iron is heating up. My poor plants will no longer get the loving attention they have been used to all week. They are now on their own--no more twice-daily waterings and constant deadheading. Speaking of water, WE NEED RAIN! Everybody please do a rain dance for me.

Wishing you all a good gardening day.

It's a Beautiful Michigan Morning

I have been sitting here enjoying this beautiful morning. Just me, my cup of coffee and the birds chirping.

Today I thought I would show you views of the entire deck.

Walking out the family room door. This is the area that can be seen from inside. I did a little rearranging of flowers yesterday, just to give me a little something different to look at.

Sitting on bench looking toward the back yard

This area is very hot and sunny during mid morning. We usually sit here later in the afternoon, when it becomes the shady side.

Sitting on the bench looking toward the main entrance.
See the canna lily on the far left? Lots of huge leaves, but so far no bloom.

Back Arbor Leading to Woodsy Area

The impatiens are filling in very nicely here. The 'grow bags' on the sides are almost totally filled in (these are the bags that the rabbits ate some of the plants while I had it lying on the ground). You can see the hole toward the bottom on the right side. It looks like I had the camera tilted when I took this pic because I don't think the arbor is really that crooked.

I love seating areas in gardens. This is one of the spots I go to when I need to get out of the hot sun. With the dense tree canopy it is a great spot to take a break and cool down. To the right there is an apple tree and you may be able to see the hundreds of tiny apples all over the ground. . . the price I pay for shade.

RePlanted Arbor Top

These are the new petunias I replanted two days ago. I took out the 'Wave' petunias and replaced them with 'Cascade' petunias which will hang down better. 'Wave' petunias are meant to spread outward, not hang down and seem to be best when planted in the ground.

View of the rockwall from the deck

Front Entrance Area to Deck

This is where I planted the 'wave' petunias that I removed from the arbor. They should cover the entire area in a few weeks. The side of the garage has a lot of pink mallow and rose campion blooming now.

Boy, do I have the pink mallow! Big drifts of it everywhere. The Shasta daisies in the foreground are much smaller than they usually are. Must be from lack of rain this year.

Lollypop Asiatic Lilies

More of that sedum that is so spectacular this time of the year.

Everyday now new plants come into bloom. This is a section of the rockwall border.