July Bloom Day

lily from Mom- don't remember name

'Pink Frost' Lenten Rose blooming again. In a pot and I plan on wintering it over in garage since not zone 4 hardy

Echinacea 'Pink Double Delight'

Hydrangea 'Quickfire' and 'Elodie' Lilies

close up

Morning Glory 'Happy Hour Rose'

Hosta 'Gold Drop'

Monarda 'Marshall's Delight'

Daylily that came with house 31 years ago

Monarda 'Coral Reef'

Hosta 'Mighty Mouse'

Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears'

old Daylily from Mom

east side of the house

some of the late blooms on 'William Baffin' Rose

beginning of a pumpkin

Hen and Chicks

Welcome walkway

mini hostas- piece of mulch is about two inches long to give idea of size

small dahlia that I winterover in basement in it's pot

'Invincibelle Spirit' Hydrangea

close up- love the heads of soft pink

Cassia- Popcorn plant that smells like popcorn when you touch it. Leaves fold up when dark.
Will try to winter inside this year.

Daylily 'Lullaby Baby'

Lone flowerhead on 'Twist 'n' Shout' Endless Summer Hydrangea. The only Endless Summer variety that has bloomed this year(out of five different plants)

Rose 'Lady Elsie May'

Daylily 'Lady Eleanor'

Daylily 'Siloam Jim Cooper'

Daylily 'Chicago Picotee Memories'

Daylily 'Longfield's Beauty'

Daylily 'Prarie Blue Eyes'

Daylily 'Hyperion'

'Karl Forrester' and 'Overdam' feather reed grasses next to pool

Impatiens 'Super Elfin Starburst' mix in pots in hosta garden in backyard

    The garden is everchanging on a daily basis. The daylilies are starting to put on their display of varied colors(not many old orange ones). Some roses are still blooming. The coneflowers are standing tall. I don't have a photo yet but since moving my water hyacinth to the sunny backyard it is beginning to bloom. Was excited to see that. The tomatoes are getting fruits. The green beans are forming too. Cucumbers are still behind but starting to bloom along with the squash and pumpkins.
    I haven't done a lot of work in the gardens this week. I hurt my foot on Sunday-maybe a broken or badly sprained toe. I did get some mowing in yesterday but felt it in my foot last night. We have also been redoing our small master bathroom so I was busy with that the past week or so. Another very warm(in the mid nineties) few days are coming our way so not ideal gardening weather.
    My biggest problem this year has been the voles/moles/gophers/whatever that are digging and tunneling in most of our yard. Been fighting with these for many years but at times haven't had as much of a problem. Usually they don't start digging until fall. My husband has trapped the pocket gophers over the years but populations seem larger this year. Even though I'm not a cat person I don't chase the neighborhood cats away from the yard this year. I don't want to use strong chemicals but would like to have something to drive these critters away. Not liking my gardens all dug up!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

'Quick Fire' Hydrangea

'Elodie' Lily

'Wedding Bells' Campanula

more color in eastside garden

white tuberous begonia

Pansies on front step still blooming after a slow start

Bell flower

Lily 'Cancun'

front garden

another view

deck planter

another deck planter

planter with petunias and double minifamous bells with society garlic behind(will bloom later)

Hibiscus bud

dish garden

sunny planter by back door

moved water plants to a sunnier location- front barrel water too shady

Rudbeckia 'Cherokee Sunset'

hillside with Queen of the Prairie blooming, Liatris 'Kobold' almost ready, coneflowers starting and  'Lady Elsie May' Rose in foreground

Sun Impatien

Lilypads on the pond

My 40 year old fountain (from my parents home)

views from deck

Lily 'Cappuccino'

front garden

flowerheads on 'Invincibelle Spirit' Hydrangea- not huge but lots of them,   one year old and about 4 feet tall this year

Even though it was getting dark, there was no wind a little earlier tonight so I went out and snapped some more new blooms (a few pics ended up being over 100).

Blooms This Week and a few Random Thoughts

Dianthus  'Spooky'

unnamed pink lily that my mom bought and gave me about 2 or 3 years ago

white Astilbe

one of the many daylilies that came from her gardens 30 years ago- first to bloom every  year

east side of house- oldest garden in yard

Lily 'Cappuccino'

bagged Honeycrisp apple

bagged apples

Veronica 'Red Fox'- new late last year

2 year old Hosta 'Dream Weaver'

Lily 'Lollypop'

Lily 'Denia' hiding

Hill starting to get some color

Poppy Mallow- Winecups

Rose 'Fushcia Meidiland'

Rose 'Fiesta'

tiny rose 'Pink Gnome'

one of many unnamed pink lilies I add to gardens every spring at Eastertime

Lily 'Pink Pixie'

Mr and Mrs Robin busy taking care of their two babies

I haven't made it outside for a few days to take pictures of new blooms. It's been either too wet, too windy or too hot. I finally bagged some of the apples and even with the storm we had last night most of the bags are still in place. I haven't done much weeding lately so will be heading out to the gardens this weekend to catch up. I have a few half price Linders garden mart closeouts to plant. Had an impromptu pool party yesterday with some of my son in law's relatives who were visiting from Ohio. It kept us cool in the upper nineties heat we had here for a couple of days.
The vegetable garden is doing okay other than needing weeding desperately. My separate squash and pumpkin patch is growing well. Tomatoes seem to be slow growing this year with the cool temps. Hopefully the warmer days will help them to do a little more. The first pepper is about ready to pick and enjoy and the second one growing too.
I like this time of year when I can enjoy the benefits of all the work done earlier with planting and weeding and such. The daylilies and other perennials are budding so we will soon have more blooms to enjoy. It's quite peaceful in our backyard during the daytime when neighbors are at work. I like to sit on the swing or on the deck chair and be still and just listen to the birds and the fountain.I love to take in the beauty of it all that the good Lord created for us.