Wordless Wednesday

This Old House...

Before...


After...

Had to empty out the pie safe/liquor cabinet...

My beautiful dining room...

One cracked 73-year-old cast iron drain pipe = flooded basement!

Garden Party III

Welcome back! I can't believe it's already August. I've been traveling more than usual (a trip to San Diego and another to Virginia Beach) and it feels like summer is passing too quickly!

It's been hot and humid and the flower beds are beginning to look a little weary. These photos were taken a few weeks ago, but I hope to go out later this week and gets some current shots. Meanwhile, pour yourself a drink (my new favorite cocktail is a simplified version of Lynchburg Lemonade) and enjoy your stroll.

As always, click on picture for larger view. Click again for a close-up view.

Annie on patrol for rabbits.

Geranium and Lobelia.
One of my favorite flower combinations.

Moss Rose

Stella d'oro

Spirea

Keeping cool in the shade!

Oak Leaf Hydrangea

Other Garden Posts:

Saturday Farmer's Market

More SubHerban Gardening

Farm and Garden Weekly

Garden Tuesday

Garden Party II

Welcome back! I hope you enjoy your visit. I'm away this weekend, but feel free to wander around the backyard. :)

As always, click on picture for larger view. Click again for a close-up view.

View from driveway gate.

Um.
These are pretty much gone.
Rabbit food.

I decided to try planting some lantana in the ground.
So far, so good.

More lantana.
I love the colors!

View of garage from deck.
Ignore the nut grass in front of the bench.
It's gone now, too.
Wish the rabbits would eat it!

This is my favorite corner of the entire backyard!

Geranium sanguineum

Garage and shed covered with the most invasive vine ever.
It's probably all that's keeping the garage from falling down!

Annie's favorite corner of the backyard.
It's always cool and damp next to those hostas.
Not to mention all the bunnies that hide in that bed...

Garden phlox.
Nice to see the rabbits ignored it this year.

Garden Party

Rod and I just came in from sitting out on our deck, where we enjoyed the fading summer sunlight as we each savored a dish of Blue Bunny Double Strawberry and Bunny Tracks ice cream. A perfect ending to another busy weekend.

As we sat and chatted, I gazed about the yard, admiring our pretty potted plants and garden. Then I remembered I'd taken some pictures after getting all my planting done a few weeks ago. I wish you could all drop over for cocktails, ice cream and a garden tour. Since that's not possible, grab a cool drink and follow me!

I love hibiscus, but have never planted one in Nebraska since they're a tropical plant and won't survive our harsh winters. But this summer I decided, What the heck! and got one for one of our large pots. So far, so good! There are usually 3-4 blooms every day and the color is so cheerful. This is my most favorite addition to the deck this summer. Love it!!

Nothing says summer quite like geraniums. I love the fuschia color of this one. It looks so pretty in that pot, don't you think?

This is another favorite. Lobelia and impatiens. Not sure what the little white flower is. My mom gave me that pretty oriental pot a few years ago; I'm not sure, but it might have belonged to my grandmother.

More lobelia. I prefer the darker blue, but this still looks pretty and delicate.

Lantana and lobelia. The lantana never fails me! It loves the heat and attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and the occasional wasp. I wrote about it a few years ago here, here and here.

Patriotic plants. :)

My herb garden does very well in this large pot and the critters leave it alone. I have basil, rosemary, flat-leaf parsley and dill. The dill is the only one that seems to struggle. I wonder if I should dead-head those yellow blooms. Guess I could always read a book on growing herbs.

I hope you enjoyed our stroll. Please come back next Sunday and I'll show you what's blooming in my backyard. Maybe I'll even whip up a batch of these!

Cheers!

For another garden visit, stop over at Nan's. Her Farm & Garden Weekly is such a joy to read.

One Dog Night

Well, it could've been worse. I was expecting to wake-up to negative twenty or so. While negative five is cold, it's not too awful, especially since there's not much wind.

Having said that, I'm taking the day off! I just finished my breakfast, which I ate while perusing a beautiful cookbook (Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again). Except for the hum of the refrigerator, the house was perfectly quiet . I sat quietly, sipping my coffee, gazing out the French doors to our backyard, so beautiful with all the fresh white snow.

I could really get used to this.