It seems like I just posted a blooming post. How fast the last 7 days went by. I guess when you cram them full, they do that.

I know I always post the pretty pictures here, but I am not a perfect gardener and I have issues with things dying or not looking good.  Here are a couple examples: Brush pile.

Lovely isn’t it? It’s near the water feature, too LOL! We are slowly working our way through this burning it in our fire pit, except I keep adding to it!

Then my cleome are having trouble this year. Not all of them, but a bunch on one side look like this:

No leaves and no petals. They are the only ones that look like that so maybe it is just a bug that only eats cleome?  It certainly is a pickle. These are going to have to get pulled out.

So,  I still have tons to do and to learn about gardening, but it’s really trial and error anyway.

Now on to the fun stuff!  This morning when I went out for a ride, I looked at my lily plant and thought it was really close to blooming. I went out to take pictures this evening and lo and behold – it started!

These are so pretty.

I would love more, but I have limited full sun spots available and these really need sun.

The blue balloon flowers are just about finished, but the pink ones have a while to go:

This was after a rain storm and the flowers are a little dirty from splash back.

The cardinal flowers out front have 2 different colors to them on the same plant!

I wasn’t expecting that, but it’s fun.

Another unexpected surprise this year is a pumpkin vine. John tossed our fall pumpkins behind the big bushes that used to be here. Apparently we tilled some seeds into the soil.

This vine starts on the other side of the rhododendron (which seems to have survived the whack down I gave it) and it wraps around. It’s creeping to the front walk way!  It has blossoms on it and it would be neat to get pumpkins out of it.

These are daylilies blooming on the side of the house. These plants really have overrun the area. They have spread to both our side and the neighbor’s and we don’t really know who planted them first, but after many years – they spread!

Remember when I did that spilled pot? It has filled out really nicely.

This is one of those times when you hit a sweet spot with the right plant in the right spot. These impatiens really are happy. It started as 2 little 6-packs.

I also have what I think might be cucumbers?  Again, compost. I just let it grow and it’s overtaking my ash tree!

I have a couple tiny delphinium plants going:

I hope these live. I haven’t had much luck with them surviving.

One of my favorites is in bloom now. The globe thistle.

Some people think of the thistle as a weed, but I love having it in the garden, especially paired with cone flowers, which are not as tall as these right now. These guys are probably 3-1/2 to 4 feet tall.

Not to mention that the pollinators love this plant:

Go Mr. Bee – make that honey!