Rose Mallow - Her First Bloom

goings on in the garden

Hollyhock Honey

Bachelor Button Blue Bopper

Sweet Caroline prepares to strut her stuff.

It would be difficult for humans to beat this spider's camouflage.I must have sprayed her with the hose when I watered the flowers this evening because she (assuming she is a girl) scurried up the tree to avoid the cool water.

Steamy

STEAM HEAT

This must be one of the hottest and most humid summers on record in Iowa. When I took my camera out to photograph Lord Baltimore's handsome presence today, the lens immediately fogged over. Rather than trying to remove the moisture from the lens, I just took the shot so I could remember the 77 percent humidity of the morning steaming up around me.

Weather Today: partly sunny, partly cloudy/A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible according to The Weather Channel. It's 84 degrees Fahrenheit/29 Celsius, but feels like 95/35, at 11:20 a.m. on August 1, 2011.

Word: Rose Mallow was checking out the Lord this morning! Garden romance? We are all waiting expectantly for our Sweet Caroline to open pink sweetness to the world. I hope this event doesn't cause a love triangle in the foliage.

Balloon Buddies

A white balloon flower is a new addition to my 2011 garden. Side note: I went to the horticulture show last night at our local county fair. What a treat!

HI-biscus

Rose Mallow: I would love to be a luna cultivar.

Lord Baltimore and his bright red blossoms will be Rose's constant companion in the garden.

Take Your Best Guess

Leftovers from the clematis flower go around and around!

Lilly blossom is ready to blow.

Firefly Twilight

The Balloon Flower's Transformation

See photo number three.

It was necessary to thickly coat myself in a DEET-based product tonight or risk the hunger of mama mosquitoes buzzing around my ears. Before I visited the garden of swarming blood suckers, I performed minor surgery on the fleshy part of my hand below my right thumb to remove a thorn that had lodged itself there. Surprisingly, I found a Band-Aid just the right size for the mini-wound.

It's summer in Iowa, and my red clover are bringing me the luck of the lottery winner.

Aptly named the balloon flower, wouldn't you say?

Garden Delights May 12, 2011

I am embarrassed these two shameless lovers were smooching in my garden plotting to spread their seed on the next twist of the breeze. The common dandelion is quite invasive and prolific if left unchecked. I cupped my hand around these two furry globes before they could spread their future offspring far and wide.

Sweet woodruff, sweethearts, sweet chocolate, and sweet days to come!

Money, money, money plants promise a windfall of joy and dreams fulfilled!

The first phlox sighting in my garden.

Blooms on May 12, 2011 - The lilac's scent is once again on the breeze.