Back At It!!

That's right, my back is doing much better so I'm back to playing with my leafy friends…

Bee Balm this morning… same bloom as before… she's going strong!!

I got out this morning, early to avoid the heat of the day, so I could get some weeding & dead-heading done…  First thing I did was plant this lovely lady - I had to cut an obnoxious bush out before planting her, and use a shovel as well, two things I didn't want to do with my back out… 

My new friend, planted today, a Royal Cape Plumbago.

Its a shame this new friend is only a temporary resident, she's awfully pretty… but she'll never survive a Minnesota winter… that's ok, she's simply filling a spot until I decide what I want put there on a more permanent basis.

Hosta bloom opening...

Another Hosta is starting to put out some blooms...

More of my Hostas are starting to send up bloom shoots… 

Russian Sage bloom cluster closeup...

My Russian Sage are starting to open up their bloom clusters!!


It was a good day to be out in the garden… Yes!!

Not getting to play...

Well, I knew the day would come… I pushed my body too hard & put out my back… so I haven't been able to play in my garden :(

Phlox bloom cluster is filling out...

Pretty bells on my Campanula

Bee Balm getting ready to pop...

I don't like not being able to get out & get my hands dirty, but for a couple days all I was able to do was take pictures & take it easy…

Geranium bloom

Tattered butterfly on Honeysuckle

Veronica bloom getting started...

Just today I was able to do a little again, but had to stop when I realized carrying a bag of garden soil was going to upset my back all over again…

My herbs are doing well… clipped some Basil - yum!

Kalanchoe still likes it outside… I'm hoping to get a clipping started
in a pot to bring inside over the next cold season...

Pelargonium also likes it outside, lots of blooms
on her… another one to get a clipping started...

Dreaming of days spent tending my children… soon I hope (the Day Lilies need to be dead-headed again)…

The mound is starting to look really full...

My Smoke Bush is showing off again this year

Crossing my fingers that I'll be able to do some tending & planting tomorrow...

Summer Starting...

Summer is here, the days are long, and things continue to grow & change in my garden… 


My slowest Honeysuckle is finally producing her blooms… this is a progression over the last several days:

First bloom cluster to start opening...

A couple days later...

More bloom clusters started forming...

A few days later they started opening as well...

As you can tell from the last picture I'm getting more of my brick edging put in… it will take all Summer…


My Red Current bush has been producing fruit, its still small enough this year that I'm not trying to harvest the fruit for any particular use…

This Phlox is starting to bloom despite being eaten vigorously by the local bunnies (all her bottom leaves are gone), hoping she fills back out again...

The plants on the deck, herbs & peppers, seem to like their location… its shady in these shots, but it was early in the morning… this is a relatively sunny location for these sun-loving ladies...

Love my Deck!!

Hope these girls (plants) love it too...

View of lower deck & woods from
upper deck (shaker porch)...

I guess I should have expected trouble… I had put a little cage around a new Aster that had been slightly nibbled… the other hadn't been bothered, and then… argh!!  She now also has a cage & I'm hoping she bounces back… frustrating… naughty bunnies!!

Slightly nibbled & caged Aster...

Nearly obliterated cousin… now also in a cage… grr!!!

Some local wildlife… on my plants but not doing enough damage for me to chase them off…

Pretty moth landed on a bush...

Dragonfly (big guy) eating a leaf on a Honeysuckle...

Finally, one of my Hostas is starting to bloom…

Until next time, keep growing strong!!

Some Like it Hot!!

We've been having hot & stormy weather lately… and things are growing & blooming like crazy!!

Annabelle

Annabelle's closeup

My Annabelle hydrangea is in rare form, she's bigger & bloomier (yes, I know that's not a real word) than she's even been before!!

These wildflowers came up volunteer...

Wildflower closeup - she's pretty!!

Some wildflowers came up that are pretty… in one of the un-groomed parts of the yard.

I've planted some pretty pots of Petunias & placed them near the Garage doors…

My Pelargonium, transplanted from a houseplant into the garden, is happy and blooming (she really likes the hot weather)…

My Day Lilies are exploding with blooms… they love this hot humid weather!!

The whole yard is feeling very Lush!!  And starting to look a bit overgrown again… can't believe I split all these plants down to about 1/3 their original size only a couple months ago…

My Hibiscus (always the last to the party) is really growing now… she'll be full & beautiful again soon!!

Honeysuckle #1 - this variety has some leaves that get a red tinge,
typical yellow bloom clusters, and is medium-full in bushiness.

Honeysuckle #2 - typical green leaves & yellow bloom clusters,
very full & bushy.

Honeysuckle #3 - this is a spindly plant, with branches that stretch
out away from the low-profile main bush, with pretty clusters of
elongated red blooms (these blooms are just getting ready to open).

All 3 of my Honeysuckles (different types) are growing & blooming…

Mint

Basil

Parsley, Sage, Thyme

Dill, Cilantro, Tarragon

The herb plants I picked up at the Farmer's Market have been planted & seem to love this freaky weather.

The Gregori Peppers have been planted and continue to thrive - these are a specific type of peppers brought over by a friend's family from Italy several generations ago…  This is my first year having them & I'm really looking forward to trying them…

I'd just about given up on my Delphinium this year, she'd poked her head up out of the ground & stalled… that is until I pulled up the California Poppies that had grown in all around her… suddenly she's growing again… hmmm… I think the Tomatoes will just have to be nice & share this space (I need to get them planted soon)…

Well, that's whats been happening in my garden over the last week… As of this evening Spring will officially be over, Summer is about to start so keep growing!!

New Friends...

I was in a "mood" yesterday and finally decided to deal with a couple problems in the garden…

Remember that Russian Sage that the bugs had attacked?  It was a garden favorite because it produced very large blooming stems that I loved putting in a large vase I set on the floor, but… it was a bit of a pain because it would grow too big for its location which was right next to the walkway to my front door… I had cut it way back, hoping it would live, and it did have new shoots - but they were coming up out of the ground away from the base of the main plant… that wasn't what I wanted…  I had gone back & forth about replacing or moving this plant over the years, just didn't want to part with her, but it was time to say goodbye - she'd become just a bit too much trouble…

This is my new friend who took her place, a little Aster that should have color that goes well in this garden area (she should have blue/purple flowers)… she's also lower to the ground & suits the spot in the garden better than her predecessor… I hope she likes it here!!

This is another Aster, this one should have pink blooms, this little girl seemed to fit a bare spot in the mound… so that's where she lives now… she should enjoy this relatively sunny spot.

In other garden news… the Ca Poppies didn't survive the transplant… so they've been yanked & replaced with some Petunias (I was going to take pictures this morning but its raining like crazy today)…  I'll just have to get some more Ca Poppy seeds, perhaps when I go to the MN State Fair later this summer (that's where I found them before)…  I loved my Poppies, they were bright & cheerful & were a sweet memory from childhood growing up in the San Diego area; but, they wanted to spread all over & I want to keep them contained.

Final news from the garden… my seedlings… well, they're dealing with more nasty weather today (threats of hail)… I figure I'm giving them until Friday evening to get their act together, if they don't I'll be picking up replacement plants on Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market… we shall see…

That's it for gardening news on this rainy day… now on to other blogging…