Blooming Friday 8/6/09

This is a dahlia I planted a little past the date on the package, as I had lost it for awhile. This, the first bloom, just opened yesterday. I am quite pleased with it. (Remember, you can make whatever blog you are reading, including yours, larger, by clicking the command key with the "+" sign. Each time you click on the plus sign, it will get even larger, and you can see more details in the photos.)

I got this iris last summer on the 75% off table at a local garden center. I think it was a German iris. I need to learn more about them. I don't know if this is blooming when it's supposed to, long after the other irises are finished, or if it was delayed for some reason. It sure is pretty! It just opened this morning, and I dashed right out to take photos.

This zebrina mallow is from the seeds self planted from the one plant I got from a friend last year. It's blooming shorter than last year.

The butterfly bush is huge this year! It was teasing with closed buds for awhile, but they are now opening.

This is the compost pile in my garden across the street. I don't know how this blue morning glory got started here, but I've seen a few of the light blue ones here and there, too.

The bush cucumbers are full of blooms.

This is eenie allegro, one of the daylilies I purchased yesterday for half off. I plan to put them in the expanded area by the curb that we will have after the curb work is finished. I got some other plants for the area, also.

I've shown one of these that I think came from the tie die morning glories. I thought these were pretty enough for another look.

The other morning glories are up to the top of the light Larry's dad installed when he lived here.

The hibiscuses behind the garage are loaded, as usual.

I'm tickled the larkspur is still growing with the four o' clocks at the entrance to the veggie garden.

These are the blooms our daughter, who is a floral designer, made and had sent to us yesterday for our 37th wedding anniversary.

Check out Katarina's ad free blog, Roses and Stuff, to see more blooms or find out how to join in Blooming Friday. (My SkyWatch Friday post is on my other blog, Keeping My Branch Connected to the Vine.)

Wordless Wednesday 8/5/09

More Harvest and Some Critter Damage

After posting yesterday, I got to looking at my orange oxheart tomatoes, and realized they were probably ripe. As I was looking, a wren on the fence next to the plant briefly chirped at me, then flew off. As I reached down, I noticed that these had been eaten too. I don't know if that's from birds, but whatever it was, I cut the damage off and sliced the rest to put on a bread crust pizza. I don't mind sharing with critters, but when they eat all the first to ripen tomatoes, it is irritating.

In the photo are 3 pretty tomatoes my next door neighbor gave me from her garden when I went out to check on the orange ones, and the non-blemished cucumber I was pleased to pick.

This morning, I went ahead and picked one of these tomatoes, but wanted to give the other 2 a little more time. Maybe I'll pick them this evening. In the background, the orange blooming Mexican sunflowers are getting quite tall.

(I went out after supper to pick the other 2 tomatoes, and they both had bites out of them. Grr! I guess I'm going to have to pick the rest before they are ripe. I picked a nice handful of the grape, and other small tomatoes from my 4 volunteer plants. You'd think the birds would eat some of those, where there wouldn't be so much waste.)

It rained last night, and this summer squash grew a few inches from the size it was yesterday.

The winter squash is doing well, and I enjoyed seeing 2 bees in the blossom.

Well, my lunch break is over, and I'm going back upstairs determined to get a room uncluttered so it's usable.