SICK OF THESE YET?

I hear you nodding your head yes, but since I haven’t been out and about much lately you’re once again stuck with my own flowers.

First, the Illumination Begonias. The ones that I planted in the hanging baskets are pretty much done, and hanging limply in their containers. But not these. Planted in a large planter in the front, these are looking good as new. Better than new!!


And how about this Verbena. Not a spot of powdery mildew this year, and still looking terrific.



And when all other petunias have turned straggly and brown, how about this gorgeous Supertunia.




Oh, and by the way, I’m still blooming over here too. Maybe not as full and lush as I once was, maybe not actually blooming either, but hey, what do you expect at the end of September of 2009. But I’m still a little bit cute. Right?

Still Hanging In There

A few surprises hanging in here in the middle of August.

The first is this Verbena. Usually by this time of year all my Verbenas are in the trash heap. Loaded with powdery mildew and totally wilted. But... looking good

How about this Lantana. Still full and healthy...

How about these window boxes. Still going like gangbusters..

And last... how about the view from my favorite sitting place....

Oh, and one more thing

Yes, I'm still hanging in there too.:))

Thirsty?

How about a little Cola.
Better yet, how about a huge, oversized, colossal cola?


Last year this lily was 54” tall. This year it’s 6’ tall. Next year I plan on climbing it to grab the goose that lays the golden eggs and maybe the magic harp while I'm up there too.

Not thirsty…how about hungry?

Lollipop Lily. I love this little cutie.

Not hungry? How about just some eye candy then.
This delicate flower is on one heck of a strong climber. Mme. Julia Correvon Clematis.


This larger flower is on a weaker climber that requires a lot of tying, but worth it. And I don’t know the name of it because it was mis-labeled. It was supposed to be a double blue but I’m happy with the result (although I really did want a double blue).


This one I’m not so happy with. Bought last year, it didn’t bloom but instead spread out. Okay, I was a bit disappointed, but waited for this year to see it. Well, there are a ton of blooms this year, and I would be ecstatic except for one thing.

It was supposed to be CHERRY RED. %&&$$# What’s with these people and their labels??

I guess if you want to be sure you get the colors you want, you buy them already blooming. Thanks to Betty Boop and SisterNan, I have instant color in my back yard with this Supertunia "Bordeaux"

And this multi-colored Verbena


And last but certainly not least, this one is for Rose of Prairie Rose’s Garden. She mentioned in one of her posts that she couldn’t find an Illumination Begonia this year. Hey Rose, you’re certainly welcome to share one of mine.

Peanuts!! Camera!! Action!!

All it takes is a platform feeder and a handful of peanuts….

First to arrive every morning and the last to call it a day at night is this tired looking fella.

Maybe because of these two fluffed up offspring waiting patiently on the trellis.

Well, maybe not too patiently because they’re squawking up a storm, until one decides she’s waited long enough and helps herself. Smart girl.

Yes mom does feed them too, but not as much as he does because after all, she did the hard part at the beginning, right?
Next to show up…

Stuffing his mouth to take to this little tailless fellow hunkering down in a corner by the little birdbath. Hey, you need water with those peanuts.


Last I saw of this little guy he was jumping through the back fence to hide in all the shrubs back there. Probably a good idea till his flying improves.

Soon to arrive is this handsome fella announcing his arrival by a rat-a-tat-tat on the gutter first.

His little one (not really that little now) is hugging the large oak tree in the back waiting for his share.

And this little downy is usually next.

Her little offspring is following so close behind her that he actually thumped into the window a few times before he finally learned to land on the trellis instead. No he wasn’t hurt.

How about this plump mama.

Since there’s no babies in sight, I don’t let her stay. An eating machine if I ever saw one. And when she’s done eating she’ll still park her fat self on here and sit forever!!!! So off she goes.

This is one that I never allow.

Wicked grackle. Killer of babies. Off with you!!!

And of course there’s Mr. Nose. He can smell a peanut a mile away. So far he hasn’t been able to figure out that all he has to do is jump up 2 feet and he’d be in peanut heaven. But I’m sure he’ll catch on pretty quick.


Unlike his larger rodent cousin, this guy had no problem scrambling up the side of the house and helping himself.



I guess that means I’ll have to be moving that feeder to a different place. Pain in the butt rodents, spoil all the fun..sigh..

Hey, She Likes It !!

She first showed up last Tuesday and has been here every day since, which is unheard of in my backyard in June. If that's not a woohoo I don't know what is.

So...WOOHOO !!!!!!!

Weeds

Did I ever mention that I hate to pull weeds? No? Well I will now then. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I’d rather be poking myself in the eye with a sharp stick instead of weeding. But eventually I do get around to it. Forcing myself to work a 4 foot section of flower bed at a time on a daily basis until it is finally done.

Well I kinda got behind this time. Waaaaay behind.


You wouldn’t think I’d have the nerve to call this a “flower” bed now would you? Poor little impatiens don’t stand a chance in that mess. Being crowded out before they even have a chance to grow.

Well, relax.


And how did I manage that? Well, "I" didn’t. The only person I know who says she actually likes to weed did that. The one who has flowers, and ONLY flowers, in her beds (yes I checked). The one who has been known to sit all afternoon in her lawn and patiently pull out every bit of clover because it really doesn’t belong there. The one who stopped by my house a few days previously and was accidentally shown the front bed which caused an immediate

And the statement “I’m coming back on Tuesday!!
And who might that be? Why that would be Bonkers Betty Boop of course.


Not only did she show up with all her garden tools, (hey I have tools too, and mine are sparkling clean and look like new for some reason) but she also brought a crispy, brown, tasty chicken for my lunch!!!

So guess what I was doing while she was slaving away out in front.
Well, you’re wrong!!! I was NOT in the house scarfing up the chicken. I was outside the whole time keeping her company AND doing a little fertilizing and watering (I like doing that) AND I even pulled a few weeds (guilt).

After she finally had enough fun for one day, and went on her way, I did indeed make short work of the chicken for dinner though.

Hmmmm, I wonder what she’s doing next week as I'm sure with a little watering and fertilizing I can get those weeds back in no time.

A Little Icing On The Cake

While out and about with FD2 the other day, she said “Hey, let’s stop at Lowes because there’s a humming bird feeder there that you’re gonna love and have to have!!” Thinking, “I doubt it” but not wanting to put a damper on her enthusiasm, I agreed to go.

I also didn’t mention the box sitting in my closet, full of various old feeders. Feeders that I’ve used over the years trying to attract those little buggers to my back yard. Some feeders that were extremely hard to clean. Some that dripped constantly informing those nasty yellow jackets exactly where their food source was, (which can turn into a hairy situation when you decide to stand out there and try flicking them off with your fingernail) Feeders with ports so large that whenever it rained it would fill up and dilute the sugar water and you’d have to throw it out and start anew (hey 57cents worth of sugar is 57cents worth of sugar) Feeders with ports so small there’s no way you can stick a cotton swab in there to clean them out. And a few feeders that were just downright ugly. Yep, I’ve tried them all.


Hey, I hear you sighing out there about my saved stuff/junk/crap. This time it’s okay though, because I’m sighing a bit myself over this box.

But………..she was right of course. I loved it. Had to have it. It is now hanging from a hook, strategically placed by my back window so that I can see it from just about any chair in the downstairs. (One upside of a small condo, with a large back window. Come to think of it, the only upside)



Heavy, multi-colored glass, and my favorite…..A Hot Air Balloon!!!!

Have I seen a hummer since putting it up? Nope. Do I expect to see them zooming towards it in droves fighting each other as each one claims it as it’s own. Yeah, in my dreams. Do I enjoy looking at it even if they don’t show up? You betcha. And when one finally does shows up, and they will eventually, I’ll take it as just a little more icing on the cake.