A Little August Color. .

It seems very difficult to believe that it is the middle of August. .

Not only because we have had over 7 inches of rain in the last month

(which to some of you sounds like no big deal. .

but to us in Western Kansas. .

In JULY/AUGUST. .

It is a HUGE deal!!)

But also because the temperatures for that same length of time have been in the 70-80’s and a few low to mid 90’s!!

This time of year is when we USUALLY have our multiple 100 degree days!!

Now don’t hear me complaining. .

I am NOT!! It just feels strange!!

The flowers are LOVING the weather. .

So I thought I would give you a quick tour!!

This is a little clump of purple salvia that I moved from my mom’s gardens after she moved. .

The bonus was. .

The pink sweet William in the front!

Across the sidewalk from that is my lil’ veggie garden.

The tomatoes have been a total bust!! Not sure why. .

According to all the messages in my In-box. .

Everyone else who bought these grow boxes have PHENOMENAL results!!

Grr!!

The basil and peppers have started to really look nice though. .

And the cucumber vines have grown well. .

The ones that survived the kittens did anyway!!

The three galvanized tubs that were salvaged for herbs are doing well. .

Dill compacto on the left is blooming!

I think I will let it make seed and hope that a few will come up in the straw area next spring! There is also some lemon thyme in with it. .

The chives are in the middle with a clump of regular thyme. .

And something LOVES oregano other than us. .

Cause it has nibbled the clump in the right pot down to the quick. .

It’s just now regenerating!

Grant and I are hoping to make some raised beds in the background to grow beets, garlic, and okra, and put the tomatoes back into the ground, using the grow tubs for peppers and smaller things. We also intend on moving the rhubarb and blackberry plant to the same area. .

Adding another blackberry bush and another raspberry bush as well as two grapevines.

The garden has sure been handier to monitor for this busy gardener when it is right under my nose as I leave every morning!

These little self watering tubs are working better on the flowers than they are on the veggies. .

They have just been slow to take off. .

Usually, we are eating watermelon by now. .

At least we have the promise of watermelon to come. .

Cantaloupe too!!

That will be wonderful!

The nice thing will be. .

That I will pick up the tomatoberry plants that are producing. .

As well as the established pepper and basil plants. .

And move them straight to the greenhouse in their grow boxes.

I am excited to see how that works out.

I also started some new tomatoes, some swiss chard, cilantro seeds, and Diva cucumbers. These will be my winter greenhouse crop.

The moonflowers have reseeded in several areas of the garden. .

They sure do shine in the moonlight and into early morning!
Tristan even picked one for me and brought it into the house the other morning. .
They don't last well in a vase. .
but he didn't know that!!

This was a volunteer Russian sage from my Russian garden. .

I transplanted it to the memory garden last spring. .

It is doing well here and the bees love it!

In contrast. .

Here is my Russian garden!!

Not only do the flowers love the rain. .

So do the weeds!!

This bed was cleaned out not long ago!! The Texas red yucca are just now big enough to have had one bloom on them. .

I think that in the next year or two, that color combo will be really stunning! This bed has had no additional water, even earlier in the summer when it was hotter and things seem to be holding their own.

Back to the memory garden. .

There is a HUGE patch of these cute little mini hollyhocks! Behind are all the dried blooms from the Monarda!

My favorite Grandpa Otts morning glory. .

They are rambling up the fences now!

Right down from those is this transplanted clump of Karley Rose grass. .

One of my very favorite grasses with purplish plumes and a medium height.

The patch of purple is a sedum from my mom. .

Possibly blackjack.

When we moved plants from her yard, she remembered how much I loved the black sedum and asked me to take that clump. It has established well. .

And I’m not sure that I had ever really been to her house this time of the year. .

Because the stem color has darkened dramatically. .
And I love it even more now!

Can’t wait to propagate that into some new clumps!

Last bloomer in the memory garden is this Guava ice coneflower that I got on clearance in mid June!! Loving that!

Grant’s zinnias are blooming. .

And look nice with Salvia shared by Gardener on Sherlock street. .

As well as near the goldenrod that has been blooming for about a month now!

One naked lady left. .

The clump was gorgeous. .

And there were several clumps that I found.

Those reestablish sooo slowly after moving them, that I still find new clumps each year!!

I tried to grow gladiolus this year. .

I’ve had mixed results. .

There were several that died. .

Though I’m not sure what made the difference.

I’ve had a handful that bloomed. .

Some that bloomed also had the bulb next to them die. .

Go figure!!

The pitcher pump has run water all summer!!

Seems the magical cure was to get it out of nearly all of the wind. .

I have absolutely loved it!!

My large galvanized tub. .

With purple fountain grass, lemongrass (which I STILL don’t know how to cook with) and sweet potato vine. .

There are still some purple petunias in there. .

But the other stuff is edging them out. I do like the contrasting colors and foliage!

The $2 clearance canna bulbs are starting to bloom in the pond. .
I'm hoping to salvage those in my garage this winter and use them again next year.

And this little blue pickerel water plant has also been throwing purple flowers out for about 2 months now!

The corkscrew rush has been naturalizing the pond since the pond’s inception. It looked really neat with the rain drops still on it’s stalks!

As did the backlit Mexican hats!

I love sooo much the colors of later summer and fall. .

Everything is fuller. .

The butterflies are visiting in full force. .

And the weather promises cooler temperatures (eventually)

I’m sure there will be a few more blooms to showcase before the end of the season!!

Can I Have Some Cheese With My WHINE??

So as I uploaded these pictures last night to put up a post, I was feeling completely sorry for myself.  We are in such desperate need of rain here that, despite waterings from me, everything is a lovely shade of burnt, and crunches when anything gets near it. .the grasshoppers are taking over. .it's too hot to get outside--even late at night. .my kids are in serious need of returning to school. . and if that weren't enough--some mice (maybe a million of them) took up residence in our home during the 4 short days that we were gone--and I have found their evidence in every place imaginable--all the evidence except a dead carcass that I am wishing to find!!

As I waited on the pictures to upload, I took my bible out to the deck, even though I had to gasp at the intensity of the heat as I opened the door.  I am currently reading through the book of Psalms.  As I opened the book, I prayed half heartedly for some infinite wisdom. .or something to make me feel better about my dying crops or being cooped up inside.  As usual, God provided me with just what I needed!!

Psalm 57:9-11

I will thank you Lord, in front of all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.

For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth

So instead of whining about all of the things that seem wrong to me in this very miniscule piece of time, I dwelled on being thankful instead!! I am thankful for the things in my yard that don't seem to mind the heat as much as I do.  The golden rod has been putting on a show for the last couple of weeks.  This particular variety is crown of rays.  The fireworks variety will bloom shortly I think.  The tomatos, okra, and peppers are coming on strongly-and we have several watermelon that are getting bigger.

The Joe pye weed has been especially brilliant (even though it is a little hard to notice buried in some very tall weedy things.)

I am thankful for my family.  Immediate and extended!! Though my children frequently drive me ABSOLUTELY nuts and cause my hair to change color at an alarming rate of speed, I am so glad to have them here--all of them--Life is NEVER dull. . .EVER!! With promises of not becoming dull for a very long time! And I know without a doubt that my other family is always there for me and mine if we were to need it--in a heartbeat--Not everyone is that fortunate.  Oh, even though my own mother forgot her oldest childs 16th wedding anniversary.  You gotta cut her some slack though, she has an awful lot of stuff to try and remember!! :-) And especially thankful for a good man to stand by my side; one that is quick to cook, clean, or help with the kids when needed--who lets me get my way often and only gripes a little when asked to do "just one little thing!"

This variety of zinnia seems to be flourishing right now too, even though my earlier ones look like they have been hit by a nuclear bomb!

I am thankful for good friends--I enjoyed a girls only shopping day last Friday with two of my favorite girl friends.  We enjoyed a day of leisure shopping and good deal hunting (and of course good food and an ice cream splurge on the way home:-) And we have a short camping trip planned this weekend with another set of good friends--we look forward to this laid back weekend every year (for the last 10 or 11 years now!!)

Hosta blooms.  They are sure enjoying their place in the shady yard--not scorching like everything else!

I am thankful for a job.  I realize that not everyone has been so fortunate in this down-spiraling economy.  I love mine, and feel blessed to have such good administration to be flexible for my ever-changing family needs--and a wonderful staff in all locations that are a joy to work with (usually :-) if they aren't busy giving me crap about something or another!! Right Bam??)

I'm thankful for a small but very dear and loving community--where everyone knows your name and what you are doing--sometimes before you do.  There is something very comforting about that to me--and I love being able to stop and talk to everyone like I've known them for forever.  In the same sense, I am very thankful for a good bible teaching church family to look after me and each other.  To have someone at the other end of a prayer chain or across the table in Sunday school to lift up your needs is an incredible feeling.

Finally, I am SOOO thankful for a beautiful home with such things like refrigeration and air conditioning.  I have NOO idea how people used to deal with inconvienences like weeks solid of temperatures over 100--but I think they MUST have been very grumpy people when that happened!! And, while I don't like it hot--the sedum above that Grant planted in my ginormous rock, loves it!! Rock on dude. .rock on!

Sometimes, a thankful party instead of a pity party is so refreshing!!  I hope you all find some time this week to "thank you Lord in front of all people." For His unfailing love is as high as the heavens and His faithfulness reaches to the clouds.  I think that sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of life, and in situations that get us down, we totally forget to thank God--for the big things AND the small things.  And we certainly don't think to thank Him in front of all people!!  Choose to have a thankful day!! You won't regret it!!

Corner Garden Re-visited

The new garden that went next to the retaining wall this past spring continues to grow and flourish.  The best part is that I spent very little money on the flowers that went in there, and they are exciting me every day now with their vibrant colors, bug attracting qualities, and fragrance (from the existing second season butterfly bushes). 

You might remember that at the end of May, it looked a little bit empty.

These were the small transplanted plants from the existing gardens and the two smallish, scraggly looking butterfly bushes.  What you can't see are the several cheap packets of seeds that are germinating among the mulched bed.

Last month things were a little greener.  The red-twigged dogwoods and the goldenrod plants are getting bigger and the butterfly bushes are green and growing too.

The first blooms here were the orange/red snapdragons.

You can see how well everything is filling in the garden.  All of the plants I transplanted survived, and gave me ideas about transplanting some more things next season in some other needy spots. 

The zinnias and sunflowers have grown, filled in lots of bare ground, and are blooming well.  I had planted zinnias in white, hot pink, and purple.  The blooms are holding very well in vases too--believe I will have to use them again next year.  I have always wanted to have a sunflower patch with a big variety of different sunflowers--and now I am encouraged to find a spot for them.  Until now, I have NEVER had luck with them--despite how easy they are supposed to be to grow. 

The fact that the golden rod is getting ready to bloom is a reminder to me that the summer is half over!!  It seems a little early to me--but apparently it thinks otherwise!!

We are seeing lots of little creatures like the one above.  Plenty of butterflies and bumble bees around.  I do not seem to be having the grasshopper problem that my neighbors are having.  I have some grasshoppers that have eaten the hollyhock leaves and some of the chard.  But that is really about it.  I am wondering if our current bird population is taking care of the rest.  I'm not complaining. . just curious.

The last two nights have been very blissful--cool with only the slightest breeze.  And since the rain earlier this week, the blooms are all the more vibrant.  Today found the kids and I lounging at the pool--it's the first time Cami has been to our pool this summer--and only the second for the boys! Pathetic, I know.  I also know that if I don't quit taste testing our fair entries. .that I will have to buy a new swimsuit!! 

Wishing everyone a lazy summer weekend!