Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Another Red Flower.......


I picked this party bucket of two or three flowers for a buck.  I liked the red flowers but really don't know what they are.  I placed them in a planter to give them some growing room.  Verbena may be the name but I am not certain.

Monday, July 29, 2013

My Brother's Buckets......


When I closed down the house where my parents and my brother lived there were so many things that I just had to toss. Both my parents things and my brothers work stuff.  The buckets were my brothers.  I am not sure why he had them.  They could  have been purchased at the farm and home for construction work, but he would never had used them around the house.  I think of him when I use them and appreciate that they are sturdy and will last a long time.

I use them to water the tomatoes which seem to not grow.  The plants are large but they need hot weather to  make the tomatoes to grow large.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Got it made in the shade........


The blackeyed Susan blooms seem glad to show off in the shade while it is sunny right next to them.  It makes it difficult to shoot flowers with the sun is so direct and the trees and buildings shade the flowers so differently. I sometimes stand in as the object to cause the shade on the bloom so I can get a truer color in the photo.  I have to lighten the shot on photoshop but the picture is better if it isn't too brightly exposed.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Phlox...........


The phlox have survived our weather.  It is a little weathered in appearance but it is doing ok.  I had spent years trying to grow pholox but now it is spread all over my garden.  I won't have any lush shots of the backyard again this year.  It will be better next year. 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Thursday's Bloom......


I brought home from my parents' place this small day lily.  I know that I had bought it for them and now I have it doing well in my garden. The edges of the flower show the heat damage we had before our rain.


Here is a second shot of the plant now that we had a one inch rain. The buds start to open up after the rain.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Tom Tom on the Taurus..........


He is such a nice guy.  He loves our cheap cat food and likes to be petted most of all.  I can find him on top of most anything. He is at our house a lot unless he is in the house next door and they don't let him out.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

One inch of rain......


It did rain and it might have saved us.  I am not certain on that as we are really behind on our moisture. My tomatoes love hot dry weather and I do water them off and on.   Roma's are starting to turn red.  Dead flowers don't come back but some of the buds did go ahead and open up with the blessing of moisture.

Monday, July 22, 2013

A New Plant.....


The Home Depot is dumping their seed geraniums now for less than a dollar.  I didn't have this color and now I do.  I will need to get it into a bigger pot and give some encouragement.  It is my first pink hardy geranium as the other one is more coral colored than this light pink.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Creepy......


It continues to bloom through the heat and drought.  It doesn't mind hot summers.  It is still creeping as the patch is larger than last year.   Creeping bluebell is the name of this old fashioned plant.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Asiatic Lily.........


They did not last very long but the few that I had were beautiful.   I was able to only get one photo of this flower this year as they dried up in the hot weather pretty quickly.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Blooming Hosta.......


This hosta sits directly below the planter that is filled with geraniums.   Because of its location it receives the overflow of water from the planter.  As you can see the fading blooms also fall onto the hosta.

Monday, July 15, 2013

One of my favorites...........


The flood like weather and now almost drought conditions has caused this plant to only put out two stems of flowers.  I  had to water it on Saturday as the dry ground and air is causing them all to open quickly and to shrivel up quickly too.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Stargazer Lily........


I took these shots a few days ago as the blooms were just beginning. I  had to go water them this morning as the ground is so dry that they are struggling.  The fragrance that comes off of these flowers is so great.  If you buy any lily, this kind is one you must try.  I picked up the three bulbs for four bucks and they will continue to bloom for me  year after year.

Friday, July 12, 2013

On the patio table..........hardy geranium.


We were so wet and now we are dry.  I have been keeping the geraniums and the tomatoes watered using the rain barrel water.  My rain barrel now is almost dry.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Ditch Lilies............


The field lilies continue to give me great subjects to photograph.  I notice the other day the the ditch lilies that were growing at my wife's home place have been scattered a quarter of a mile north in the ditch.  I assume that when the highway was widened that the dirt movers carried them up the ditch to a new area in which they now grow.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Hollyhocks on Display.........



I whined a few years back because I didn't have any red hollyhocks.  While walking down our alley and seeing a neighbor up the way had oh so many hollyhocks that were red. I noticed some had seeded.  It took a few years and I now have red hollyhocks.  The plants were actually on an abandoned property that they are just now trying to get the roof repaired on that property and trees have been removed from the front yard.  I think the guy who lives in a camper is planning to move into the house. It is a neat but rundown Victorian house on main street.  I really like my red flowers.

Monday, July 8, 2013

AJ's Big Day............


We went to Chicago on Sunday to attend the baptism of our grandson Andrew James.  He has sure grown since we last saw him.  He is such a sweet little guy.  Grandma is holding him here as closely as she can.  He is a neat little bundle to hold.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

White Hardy Geranium........


This one has decided to bloom after a long winter of not blooming.  Focus seems to be on the leaves this time and the camera must like green better than plain old white.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Coneflower..............


My first coneflower of the year is out and showing great color.  I wish I had different colors of these but it has not happened yet.   Maybe there will be some sales on for the leftovers by the end of the month.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Wednesday's Red............and Gold.


The day lilies are forming their buds and this particular one is out and open.  I trimmed all the trees out of this bed Tuesday night so that set of tree leaves is not t here anymore.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Blooms and Button........


I have weeding to do in this area but I do have all the tall grass out of this area.  Button seems to hang around where I am shooting and sometimes he fits into the picture.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Bigger Than Life......


This orange colored hardy geranium is doing well putting out some great blooms.  I just thought that I should fertilize this old timer as it is in original soil for its third year now.

Blurry Blue Cup Day.....

 It is Monday and I am a little blurry eyed today. It is fitting then my blue cup is blurred a little because it is in low light. I was too ...