Monsoon Season

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Horsin' Around on Trailside Loop

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Last of the Coneflowers

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Two Chili Dog Night

A rainy day in the garden

 Back when I was in college ~ whenever I was having one of those bad, awful, couldn't get more horrid Mondays ~ I'd drag my sorry feet over to the University Student Union, where they served the most decadent chili dogs one could ever hope for.

Friends knew to stay outta my way, when I was hoisting a tray, carrying two of those goodies. Because that could only mean one thing: life has gone to hell and, nothing - save for a 2 chili dog night - could work it's magic and make me smile.

Age puts everything into perspective. Back then, those gigantic problems were downright tiny. (Example: I can't believe he didn't ask me out!  :)

These days, chili dogs are off the menu entirely. Ever since my metabolism went awol, just fantasizing about a chili dog, with all those glorious toppings, causes me to gain a pound, or two.

AND, today's pesky problems are considerably more gargantuan.

It is my Monday, in that it is Tuesday after a delicious Labor Day weekend and all was right with the world. Right up until 5 minutes after I climbed out of bed.

My business partner and I were laughing about that early this morning. You see, we had the bright idea to start our own business because why should we have to answer to the man?

Except now that 'man' is me. Or, her. And, today, when life felt like a sweater unraveling, we were thinking that maybe that's why 'the man' ~ aka the grumpy boss ~ is just that: grumpy. 'Cause he's the one making phone call, after phone call, apologizing for a problem completely out of our control.

Ah, well. In the words of Scarlet O'Hara, tomorrow IS another day.

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Lilies

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MIcro Minis

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Wordless Wednesdays: All the Small Things

A miniature wildflower bouquet from my garden. Note the penny in the picture. Pay no attention to the hose. :)

I may look big and bossy but my blooms are only an inch in diameter.

My flowers are the size of a dime.

Two guesses why they call us Thumbelina.

My pretty flowers are about the size of a quarter.

Stop laughing! I'm a tasty heirloom tomato and size does not matter!

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Hot Air

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Solidago

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Deep Blue Pearls

Campanula Deep Blue Pearl

"Time to swoop!"  Giggled a gardening friend who, like me, circles and waits for the screaming deals at the end of the planting season. She got wind of a fab sale and it took very little arm-twisting to race down the canyon, to Salt Lake City, and peruse the now marked down goodies.

I  pounced on a $3 table of Deep Blue Pearl Bellflowers. They, of course, are not the slightest bit blue. True Blue is a very hard color to come by in the gardening world. And, even if they look blue in the pot, chances are they will be perfectly purple by the end of year two.

It's called high alkaline, kind of weird, mountain soil. Blue does exceptionally well in that beautiful acid soil, so common in the east. Out here? Not so much.

But, who cares? I'm passionate for purple. The 'Deep Blue' name had me longing for another trip to the ocean. Plus! It gave me a pretty good excuse to spread my ever-growing sand dollar collection into the garden.

I'm truly, madly, deeply in love with any and all Bellflowers (Campanula). I'm also kinda nuts about the Oregon coast. There's lots of fun things to do at the ocean, but when I'm there I pretty much specialize in doing nothing at all. Other than comb the shore to collect sand dollars.

I have buckets and buckets of pretty little sand dollars just waiting for a sweet spot in the shade garden.


Deep Blue Pearls are dainty little perennials, hardy to -40 (F). They flower most of the summer, with deadheading. I planted these shade lovers under one of the few trees that seems to be flourishing in the backyard.

PS! The Campanula family of perennials is vast ~ and every one of them delightful to behold. Consider Canterbury Bells while you're at it. A show stopper in the garden, to say the very least.

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Wordless Wednesdays ~ Riotous Reds

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High in the Sky Visitors

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day ~ August, 2013

Bloom Day, yay! My favorite meme of the month!

I hardly know where to begin ~ plenty of joy in these gardens... Oodles of Heirloom, single-flowering Hollyhocks. If you'd like some seeds just send me an email.
 

Coreopsis, big and small. Jupiter's Beard. Stunning Bellflowers ~ in what little bit of shade we have available.

Kind of looks like it's snowing, doesn't it? That's Baby's Breath. It does so well in our alkaline soils. I just love how it softens the look of big perennials.

Exotic colors of Blanket Flowers, though I'm not too crazy about them. This hybridized version requires too much water. They don't know it yet, but they're going bye-bye this autumn.

Wild asters are making a very early showing. Perennial Snapdragons always make me smile. Big clumps of yellow perennial sunflowers with pink, moppy head Bee Balms, decorate the street garden.

This bright purple wall of colorful Clematis has encouraged hummingbirds to nest in the nearby trees.

And, I'm happy to say this is barely the tip of the iceberg with what's brightly blooming right now. But, the camera battery died, so here's one last photo of what's cooking in the garden on this hot August day... The sweet little kitty who supervises my weed pulling. If I could just teach him to pitch in on that weed pulling, the gardens would be in great shape!

Pay a visit to Carol at May Dreams Gardens to meet other gardeners participating in this monthly meme. Happy Bloom Day!

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