Jack(?) & the Bean(?)stalk~

So I'm in the yard this morning, coffee in hand, waiting for our school bus w/ my daughter. I'm pulling a weed here & there, admiring what surely is the last day lily of the summer. One must know first, it's most unusual to have a day lily bloom (of this variety) past mid July. But here she is - "Brocaded Gown" in all her yellow, ruffled beauty.

And if that's not enough to pique my surprise, I find another curious delight...See, if it's unusual to have a bloom this time of year, it's almost unheard-of for new scapes w/ buds to show up! Imagine the surprise at my good fortune! This one will be "Jedi Dot Pearce," 'long about mid-September!


And yet, I've observed a mysterious vegetation growing like Jack's Magic Beans over the past week, & have had fun puzzling over its identity. (Look closely @ the first picture above, & you'll see its leaves poking into the background, top right.)

It's a robust thing that has begun taking over the bed. I'm of half a mind to whisper, "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum," & start looking for itty-bitty boys amongst its tindrels. Just as I'm humming along with the rest of the rhyme: "Be it alive or be it dead...

...I'll have watermelon(?) with my bread."

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*Oh boy*

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Love, love, love summer!

Though we've endured the hottest, most humid June ON RECORD...

I have some friends who love, love, love summer & all it has to offer. Allow me to share:

"Mary's Gold" & "Tuscawilla Tigress"

"Wynnson"

"Wynnson" & "Priscilla's Rainbow"

Pink Glads!

"White Perfection"

"Priscilla's Rainbow"

"El Despero"

Oh, & these are raspberries. It's my first year w/ them.

The big surprise is that they're already producing!

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Happy Independence Day, everyone!!

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Picture this!

It's my favorite time in the garden again!

Allow me to introduce my newest darling, a Mother's Day gift from last year:

...tinkering w/ the soil pH; these may get bluer before all is said/done.

And then there's this one, blooming for the first time ever!

Amazing what cutting away crowding branches

& adding a little sunshine will do for a soul...



...and the first day lily bloom of the season: Oh yeah, I love this time of year!

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Tiptoe through the tulips...

Hmmm friends...looks like Spring outside!

Think I'll go out & look...

azalea, scilla, & hosta peeping through...

and a closer look...

Wow! Hollyhocks.

are these even real?

one of my favorites - Old Fashioned garden phlox.

...a beautiful purple variety from my Grandmother's garden.

Stunning in real life, friends!

And everybody's favorite - peonies!

Take a few minutes friends, & go tiptoe through your own "tulips."

If you don't have any, your Lowe's or Home Depot is probably just around the corner...

I couldn't live without mine!

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Favorite time in the Garden!

Day lilies: my favorite! All of these, except the last one, were given to me by my Grandmother(see #5 in I Was Tagged). I have several others - not pictured - that came from my Aunt's garden, but had originally been worked by my Grandmother's hands also. Very special plants, indeed.

"Siloam Double Classic"

"Brocaded Gown"

"Priscilla's Rainbow"

"Mabel Sharpe" created & named for my Grandmother, by one of her flower Judge friends.

"Big Apple"

"Forbidden Fantasy"

I wait for this all year! And the bloom season has just begun!

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