Whats happening in the gardens.

These little guys look strange. Jack in the pulpits.

I should be ashamed, I have not put bird seed in this in two years. The good news however, the birds seem fine.
Are you over the Stargazer photos? lol Each day there is another bloom. I need to go around the yard and pull the stalks left by the day lilies.

The double impatiens have been going strong. Thanks Reggie.

I need more Japanese painted fern. These are so delicate to me. A couple more would be a big impact.
Do you see the two Hydrangea's?

Here is the second one. It is hard to see but it is there. My sister ran over it with the mower two weeks ago, but it wasn't much bigger. Clearly I need to move them, they are not happy.

I am not over the moon with these Amaranthus plants. I thought they would be a little more brilliant in color. If I grow these again, I will give them a little more nutrients and plant them closer together.

I love how the cosmos look to be floating on air.

These Zinnias are from the Biltmore seed mix. They seem to be miniatures compared to the other Zinnias.

The Celosia's are having a better showing than they did last year. Last year I did not have any germinate.

Veggie update

I should have spent today in many ways, not walking around taking pictures. I could not get any energy gathered today, so it was picture day. I thought I would let you see some of the veggie garden up close. Let's start with the corn. I had originally planned to plant 4 rows of corn every week. That did not happen, as you can see. The first batch was such a disappointment and time was an issue, so I will be buying corn this year. lol

The tomato plants are doing well, but I have yet to get a ripe one. These are grape tomatoes below.

The Italian San Marzano.

I have never grown these. Steak Sandwich Tomatoes.


Roma

I planted quite a few different green beans, this however is Kentucky Wonder.


Celeriac. I could not be happier.

This cucumber is either Straight Eight or a canning cucumber. I do not enjoy cucumbers but love pickles. Lets see if I am able to can some pickles.
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Yellow squash. This guy was not there four days ago. I see stir fry in the near future. I also have a squash pasta recipe I want to try.

I have never grown onion successfully and I don't think that this is a good sign. I am thinking about putting a little more soil around this onion. Anyone think this is a good idea?

The birth of a new garden

More Stargazers are starting to bloom, so of course, snap snap.

I got a small truckload of rocks from my cousin. I still have more to get but it really helps to define the bed. What do you think?

I had some cone flowers in the Sun garden and where blocking the view of the Knockout roses. The photo below is one taken about a month ago.

This is what transplant shock looks like. lol

Last year I had a huge Wild Black Cherry Tree in this spot. The remnants of hurricane Ike uprooted it. I tried leveling out the spot and planting grass seed. It hasn't looked right since. What better place to put these cone flowers that needed to be moved anyway. lol
With plenty more water, some leaf mulch and of course more plants this is the birth of a new bed. All that is left is to come up with a name.

This is what the Sun garden looks like without the cone flowers. Part of the Herb garden is shown in the photo as well.

Flowers will help us get through the day.

As I had my coffee today I noticed that this Stargazer had bloomed. My dad gave me these lilies earlier this spring. Thanks dad its fabulous.

I wanted to dedicate this posting to my aunt. Remember you have a really big family and we will be there for you. I hope you enjoy a few of the photos I took in your garden today.

I loved these two little lilies. They don't show it in the pictures, but they are miniatures.

Some of these Hydrangea blooms were as large as my head. Stunning.

I love the ruffled edges on this day lily.

I took this photo from inside the screened in porch.

July 4th weekend

I can remember plenty of July 4th's that it rained, but what we just went through was ridiculous. It never stopped raining and was cold cold cold. As horrible as the weather was, we managed to have a fabulous weekend.

Once the rain let up, on the 5th. I decided to walk around and see what all the rain brought the gardens.

The Rose of Sharon are looking very tropical. You can't kill them no matter how hard you try. Once you get them started, they pop up everywhere.

I had to take a photo of these two planters that always seem to be a conversation piece. lol

This is my only white Coneflower in the entire yard. I don't even have it in a good location. I need to move it from The West Lawn over the the Heirloom garden.

This is a yellow water lily but the photo does not reflect it.

More lilies to be identified. hint hint lol

This is in my sister's garden.

This lily is in my dad's gardens.

After all the photos, I summoned enough energy to attempt a project. I needed to weed and mulch the Heirloom garden.

Now if I can gather some more stones to finish it off, I will be quite pleased.

I have no idea what this plant is called. I remember my grandmother had a ton of these beside her porch. I have heard that it is hard to get a flower that is a true blue. I think this doesn't get any closer. It is very very small, but its blue. lol

My aunt gave me a start of this Hardy Begonia last fall. I surprised that it came back. It was very late in the fall when I planted it. But that it came back with a vengeance. I have 6 new Hardy Begonias now. They say never thank someone for a plant start. But I so appreciate this plant.

I think the red veins bring such uniqueness to the plant.

Giant Alocasia

This guy took forever to get started this year. What gives?
I am starting to think I planted this upside down. lol