Hey – I’m back! It’s been busy around here in the evenings and I just haven’t had time to compile a post. I haven’t been in the garden as much as I would like, either.
I am making plans for these bare areas. 😀
I tried a different sweet potato vine this year. I really like the color, but it doesn’t seem to want to trail so much like others I have tried:
I have a new friend in the garden, too!
I uncovered this toad when I was moving mulch. I had to move him since I need to move the pile. Not sure if he stuck around or not, but I hope so.
I am so in love with the cleome.
It’s an interesting flower. It always has the bloom at the top. It sort of grows out and up from the middle of the bloom, so it keeps getting taller with a fresh flower all the time at the top. Kind of like a fountain in really slow motion.
White snaps are now blooming:
This is my sun sparkler sedum that I got as a free plant with an order from Great Garden Plants. It’s growing bigger.
This is starting to get buds on it, too. I don’t know anything about this plant, actually. I do like the free, though!
On to the back.
This is my trunk plant:
🙂 I wheeled it out on a cart to sit in the sun. I sprayed the inside with vinegar to get rid of the musty smell. Now it smells like vinegar! It’s a cool trunk, I have to say. I might paint the inside instead of doing fabric. The wood on the bottom is stained, so I don’t want to just leave it.
Anyway, back to the flowers. My razzmatazz coneflower is opening up. It took a beating over the winter, so it looks a little ragged.
More daylilies – and a rose that needs deadheading:
We have had a lot of rain lately and I love how the lupine leaves collect it in the center of the leaves like a little diamond:
The milkshake coneflower is opening. It starts out looking like White Swan and then the ruffle will open over time.
The butterfly bush opened up a huge bloom:
It’s so fragrant, too. It smells like honey. I have already seen a frittilary come visit it.
One last shot of a garden ornament that I stuck in with the hostas back in the spring:
It’s almost lost in a sea of leaves!
Hopefully this weekend I will spend some weeding quality time in the garden beds. One of the local nurseries is having a big clearance sale tomorrow and I might be salivating just a little bit 😀
I meant to comment before on the musty smell in the trunk. My Featherweight sewing machine case (early 1900’s) smells musty. I have tried all sorts of things, including a light bulb suspended over it, daylight, and I’m sure I tried vinegar. But the musty smell remains. If you find something that works, I will be very interested.
The cleome–did you grow them from seeds? What about the Cosmos? I ask, because I finally remembered to ask the nursery girl about them, and she said she thought they did well from seeds.
That butterfly bush is amazing. I haven’t seen one that color out here. The ones I see in the nursery are pretty dull. Love the toad. I found a little one who was hiding inside a watering can!
The smell is a lot better now. I am thinking of putting some kitty litter in there to get rid of the last bit. I also have read that fresh ground coffee work well as well – but I can’t seem to make myself use coffee for anything other than drinking! 😀
Thanks for all the work in the garden. Those trunks sure are an invasive species around here!
It’s only going to get worse.
I LOVE YOUR BLOOMS!!!! The trunk one is nice too! 😉 You are a master of many trades!!!!!
Aww, they are all gorgeous! My plants never bloom, doesn’t mind how much love I show them…
Your new garden is looking nice! Great job 🙂