Email Address

Do you leave comments when you must put your email address in before it will take the comment? I have done so, but I don't like to. So often lately I get a comment all typed and hit send and that annoying screen pops up that wants my email. Lately I have just been X-ing out without leaving the comment. I think the spam bots can pick up that email address and I get enough V ia gr a and get-rich-quick scheme emails now! I feel bad because I know we bloggers just live for comments! Does it bother anyone else or am I just being too cautious?

Double-Duty Planter

This is my calla lily planter. As you can see the callas are all finished sans the lone survivor in the front. When I planted it, I stuck in some coleus so that I would have something to take over when they finished. Yesterday I cut down the spent callas and many of the huge leaves to expose the coleus. I left just enough calla leaves to store energy for next year. Now I have a "new look" for the remainder of the gardening year. The leggy things overhanging the planter are light-deprived poppies. I had a free packet of seeds from some magazine that I also threw in.

I brought another bench and two chairs on to the deck today (they used to be in the woodland area). After a little rearranging, I brought out a big stack of magazines and just sat and read for a good part of the afternoon. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. We need to enjoy days like this while we still can.

From This ...

To This

Just look at how this grill has filled out . I had to remove the orange Gerbera a long time ago because the petunias were smothering the poor thing. I thought I had planted purple petunias, but they turned out to be mixed colors. Scarecrows seem to be my current "theme". I have them stuck in many plants (some of them are below).

Ugly

This guy is so ugly he even makes me jump when I unexpectedly look down and see him.
Do I get a prize for the ugliest garden ornament?

The main gardens are beginning to get their last burst of color for the year. I will have a good six to eight weeks of nice bloom before my gardening year ends.

Here Comes the Bud

I found two buds about to burst on my canna. I am eagerly awaiting the flower (I do hope I get more than two flowers).

Look Closley....

Do you see anything incredibly exciting? Study each flower.......

I FINALLY got a hummer!!!

Food For Thought

If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener.

J. C. Raulston

The Queen of the Border

I have mentioned before how I adore this plant. I have over a hundred Sedum Autumn Joy plants and in a few weeks you will tire of seeing pictures of them. Right now its flower heads are light green. My sister-in-law calls it the "broccoli plant" because it reminds of her of broccoli. She does not like the plant (audible GASP from me!).
I think it is beautiful from the moment is comes up in the spring, and, without a doubt, the easiest plant I have to care for. It never needs water. Last year I cut a bunch of them back and just threw the pieces in a heap in the woodland area and guess what? They all came up this year!

Liquid Gold

and a lot of it. Do you see it? Look closely--RAIN on the deck!! It started raining about 6 a.m. and continued for a good three hours. I did not have to water anything today--it was wonderful. The rain also caused the temperature to go down. As it turned out, the 77 degrees at 5:00 a.m. was the high for the day. It is now in the low 70's and quite comfortable. I LOVE rain.

Outdoor Light is Finished

My light is finished! (here is what it looked like when I started) I am pretty happy with how this project turned out.

New Garden Blog

I wanted to share a new blog that you may not have seen.
http://taracotta.blogspot.com/
Tarracotta just started her blog in July and --Wow! -- she is one talented painter! You must go for a visit and look at her milk can that she just finished for a friend.
I paint milk cans, too--well, let me rephrase that--I take a can of spray paint to my milk cans-- when Tarracotta paints hers, she REALLY paints them. She is a true artist. She has also painted some pretty nice-looking rocks and built her own trellised planter box. I think you will enjoy visiting her.

It's a Cruel World

77 heavy humid degrees at 5:30 a.m. and I have to squeeze these thighs into pantyhose--God help me, it's going to be a long day!

Going, Going, Gone

Can you believe the first week of August is nearly over? In roughly 7 weeks I will be dumping all of these containers into the compost pile. It is a sad thought. I am still waiting for my morning glory teepee to bloom. That is why I do not plant many seeds. Here it is almost the end of the season and I still have no blooms. I just can't be waiting 3 months for a bloom--my growing season is too short.

Anchovies, Anyone?

As I am posting these pictures I am watching Alton Brown on Food TV. I just learned something from him--did you know that worscheshire sauce has anchovies in it? Yes, that is what Alton says. Who would have known?


After I finished spending half an hour watering all the deck plants in near 100 degree heat, I decided a frosty glass of white zinfandel was in order. I put it in the freezer until little ice crystals formed. It had a frosty white color, but as soon as I walked out onto the deck, it melted. Darn! The frosty glass would have made a nice picture. Isn't it a beautiful color? I thought it went quite well with the pink zinnia.