Patio living

Our porch plants have done well this summer.  This geranium has been great, the color is so intense

I bought this Tibouchina earlier this summer and liked it so much, I bought another one when they went on sale!!!!!  I'm hoping I can nurse them through the winter

We finally bought some new patio furniture!!!  If only it was cool enough to sit outside.....

This sunflower was a volunteer.  Either the birds or squirrels must have redistributed it from the bird feeder!!!!

I have had this crown of thorns for quite a few years, but this is the first time I have put it outside and the first time it has flowered

Garden in May

The garden always looks its best in the Spring-plenty of rain and (hopefully) more moderate temperatures.  I bought these violets to put in the bird bath, but can hopefully find my usual water hyacinths to add later

This hellebore that I got for free has been so good this year.  It's a pity that the one I paid for has never really done anything at all!!!

I found this Tibouchina at Garden Heights.  We had one 2 or 3 years ago and it flowered all summer.  I'm going to try to see if I can get this one to overwinter if possible

My lilac is slowly growing and you could smell it all over the garden this year

My shade garden is starting to do really well.  It's going to be a constant struggle because it's on a slope and subject to the water pouring under the fence from our neighbours.  Then there's the mulberry tree that is hanging over from the neglected garden behind us-I'm pulling up hundreds of seedlings every time I go back there

I got this from work, trying to get it to spread in the rain garden if possible

My clematis is doing really well, it's the first one I have managed to keep alive

My copper iris are lovely.

Spiderwort are one of my favourites, they do well every year

Good times in the herb garden

I keep buying more of these Missouri primrose, I'm a big fan!!!

Garden in July

We don't have a lot of flowers right now, but the bees love these cone flowers and they smell beautiful

I bought this miniature hollyhock, hope it survives the winter

These Stokes asters are beautiful and the bees love them

I have a lot of these black eyed susans in the rain garden

Garden at the end of June

The pots that I planted earlier are doing so well.  they might be the best ones I have done

I almost killed this geranium early this Spring, apparently it thrives on abuse!!!!

My water hyacinths just started blooming, but there isn't much else blooming in the garden at the moment.  I definitely need to plant more annuals next year

Garden in May

 My lilac bush has been lovely this year.  It's a pity we don't get to see it much at all as it's in the back corner

My "shade" garden is doing very well this spring.  Pity it's not in that much shade right now!!!!  I had to cut my bee balm down already this spring, I have definitely planted them in the wrong place!!!!

Ben and I bought a bunch of annuals to plant for color.  They are all around the greenhouse right now as the patio is still covered in contractor tools

I bought a papyrus, it was very expensive and will likely die, but I just had to try it!!!!

One thing I can be sure of is that we won't run out of thyme!!!

The chives are lovely when they are flowering

the rain garden is a bit of a jungle, but I love it

One of the few flowering plants in the perennial garden at the moment

Garden in October

The garden always starts to look sad at this time of year, maybe even more so than in the Winter.  I cut a whole bunch of stuff down in the beds and the rain garden and Chris came back and finished it all off!!!

I do have a few flowers left inside.  This little crown of thorns has grown so much since I got it and it now has its first flowers

I took my streptocarpus plants into my office and they flowered like crazy-first time this year.  Sadly, one of them then died completely and I brought the other one back home and put in the storage room at the back of the house, hoping it will make it through the winter.....

This one aster is still flowering in the rain garden

A few turtleheads left

Calamint is almost over

There are always plenty of leaves at this time of year, Sam enlisted some help before the rain

Garden in September

The garden always starts to look a little sad in September, it doesn't matter how good the weather is.  We still have quite a few flowering plants that are making the wildlife happy.  The asters at the bottom of the rain garden are always covered in flowers and the bees love them

I got this from my Webster plant swap group this year and the hummingbirds love these flowers.  Apparently it should self seed and come back every year, chances are it'll be gone for ever or I'll be cursing as they come up everywhere!!!!!!

Lots of swallowtail caterpillars on the parsley this year, I saw at least 10-12 in one day

My toad lilies are always beautiful at this time of the year.  I brought them from our old house and they were the first thing to flower in this garden

I decided this needs to go.  The plant is huge, but the flowers are not that great.  I tried to dig it out, but the roots must be massive and I couldn't shift it at all.  It may get a last change and I'll try cutting it back as it grows next year and see if I can keep it shorter

My streptocarpella on the front grew really well but had NO FLOWERS.  I took them to work as it's been very cold some nights, now they are flowering like crazy.  I hope I can keep them through the winter

Garden in August

After being skeptical about this foot planter, I've become quite the fan, mostly because this plant has done so well.  I originally planted three plants.  One got immediately crowded out, so I moved it to the back planter where it did well for a few weeks until someone ATE THE WHOLE THING!!!  The purple petunia is fighting to survive, but I could have easily just put one plant in here and it would have been fine

The garden has been battling the usual heat and dry ground, but there's still enough for the wildlife.  We have started to see monarch caterpillars (not very many though)

The turtleheads are starting to bloom now, we have two patches on them in the rain garden

I got this from someone on the Webster plant swap Facebook group, it has done really well and should self-seed.  It's the only thing flowering in my shade garden

My hibiscus is still doing really well

I replaced the fern in this bark holder, I think I wasn't watering the other one enough and it was pretty much giving up

Wildlife smorgasbord!!!  Cardinal flowers, milkweed and black eyes susans in the rain garden

The bees love this calamint and it's still going strong

I came across this creature when I was cutting back some of the rain garden, gave me quite a fright.  I have never seen one before, apparently it's a Missouri garden spider and this one must be female by the size!!!!!