Sunday gardening

We bought these two pots of Black-eyed Susans at Costco on Thursday. Got around to planting them on Sunday.

While Andy was digging, I was weeding the hostas. They do so well. Hopefully in the spring I can divide them again and bring more from outside the fence into the yard.

My clematis seem to be done blooming but now the side of the garage has coneflowers!

More flowers

I mistakenly pulled out a lot of our phlox a year or so ago, thinking they were weeds. Luckily, a few survived.

I planted marigold seeds and are surprised they're blooming. Seems early to me, but maybe not. I'm not a gardener so I don't know. The potted plant was nearly dead when I moved it from the basement this spring. It's recovered nicely.

We seem to have a lot of daylilies this year. At least more than usual.

I went outside to get a picture of a Monarch that was on the milkweed but it flew away before I was ready. I did get a picture of a busy bee though. No Monarch caterpillars yet.

Trellis troubles

A heavy rainstorm blew through yesterday afternoon and once it was over, Andy took some garbage and noticed our trellises by the garage got so heavy with rain they were falling over.

He used some butcher's twine to tie them up and secure them to the garage. It may not be a permanent solution but it might be.

I did notice our milkweed have lots of flowers this year. No Monarch sightings yet ...

but the bees are enjoying the coneflowers.

Summer in bloom

Our former neighbors planted daisies in their yard years ago and I've been trying to coax them into our yard ever since. They're spreading pretty well and they're blooming.

And the coneflowers have started to bloom.

Hard to miss this chicken and hen that's about to bloom. It looks ... very happy.

A taste of summer

I ate so much sweet corn growing up. Now, we eat it once, maybe twice, a year. Still delicious.

Lonely clematis

My clematis bloomed so well this spring. Now, there's just one bloom that refuses to believe fall is near.

Four sunflower blooms

This is the sunflower just outside our fence. It has exceeded my expectations.

Blown over

Quite a storm rolled through Saturday night/early Sunday morning with lots of thunder and lightning. I'm not sure how much rain we got or how windy it was (were we sleeping) but it did knock over the shepherd's hook in our back yard.

My sunflowers

Not sure how long my sunflowers will last before some asshole walks by and cuts them, so I'm taking pictures. These two are just outside our fence. Not tall, but pretty. The first one bloomed while we were in Key West and the other bloomed July 27.

My second sunflower bloomed July 31. It's small, but pretty.

Another small one I discovered Aug. 5. It's inside the yard by the garage.

This one first bloomed Aug. 12. It's so tall I thought the bloom would be bigger. Guess I need to plant a different variety of seeds if I want the big sunflower heads.

Determined and optimistic

I love to see determined petunias (and other flowers) pop up through the bricks on our patio and the concrete on our garage apron. It's a good reminder to be optimistic.

These two popped up among our Chicks and Hens.

Summer scenes

A Monarch came to visit our milkweed.

I thought we had one house finch who kept visiting, but we were sitting in the yard one day and saw several at the same time. Why was I convinced there was only one? Guess it's the same with the cardinal too. There could be more than one stopping by.

My first sunflower bloomed while we were in Key West. It's a small one. I have a couple ones that are growing taller but haven't bloomed yet.

And look at all of the Black-eyed Susan blooms!

The phlox I picked up from a neighbor's house in May and planted along our fence is blooming too.

Early July yard

We only have a few daylilies left that haven't been overrun by weeds. They're troopers though and keep blooming.

Our coneflowers are starting to bloom. They keep spreading every year which is nice.

We bought this Gazania at an end-of-the-season sale at Jewel. It looked so sad but now it's blooming! I've read conflicting articles on whether it's a perennial. We'll find out next year.

Not thrilled with where this Black-eyed Susan decided to pop up, close to where I found it last year, but I'm glad it's back and it seems bigger. Pretty proud of myself for recognizing it as a flower weeks ago so I could point it out to Andy. I didn't want him to mow it down. And now it's blooming!

Pretty surprise

I was watering the plants the other day and noticed this plant blooming. Surprise! My Google camera says it's a Variegated Baby Sun Rose. Apparently, it's a perennial and a good ground cover so I need to move it from the hanging pot to the ground so it can spread.

And take a look at this visitor, a house finch. I've had a finch visit before, but this one is prettier.

I thought Andy had mistakenly pulled all of the daisies that have wandered from the neighbor's yard into ours, but we have some and they're blooming!

Cherry cheese coffee cake

I walked over to Irving Monday morning to pick some cherries for my annual cherry cheese coffee cake.

I had lots of dishes to clean up!

I'm not sure the center is baked enough, but I'll take my chances.

June yard

Our flower boxes on the garage look nice. The hanging baskets on the garage have petunias in the matching purple color.

The "ditch lilies" are blooming.

The cana bulb I got at the museum is growing.

A female cardinal visited the feeder while we were sitting outside.

Andy thinks he found a pine tree growing in the yard. I'm not sure, but I'm willing to let it grow.

Blooming clematis

This kind of looks like a hot mess, but it's a blooming mess! My clematis are doing so well this year. The one on the right is the one I cut down this spring to replace the trellis.

From the buds I see it's going to continue blooming for quite awhile.

Pretty yard

Our yard looks good this summer. The hanging plants I bought last month are doing well.

The lilies I got from work are continuing to grow but no blooms yet. I might put a few Chicks and Hens into the little pink and green pots.

Coneflowers are blooming in the yard and behind the garage. They're good at attracting butterflies.

This is an area by the patio I rearranged this spring. Can't move the middle clay strawberry pot any more - it's cracked and starting to fall apart.