Cottage Flora Thursday - Fertilizer Friday

Hope all of you buddies out there in blogland are having a good day.

I'll be joining Tracie at Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Flora Thursday and Tootsie at Tootsie Time for Fertilizer. Ya'll go check out these blogs and see their pretties and check out the other partiers.

You can find them here http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/2011/05/cottage-flora-thursdays-20.html

http://www.tootsietime.com/

I have a few things to share today.

I was dancing the happy dance this morning when I found this Rose of Sharon blooming. I've been watching these buds form but I really didn't expect this. The plant is still a baby and is only about 15" tall but let me tell ya this plant is loaded with buds. Last year when I planted this tiny thing it was only about 3" tall. I didn't hold out much hope but boy was I wrong.

And also this morning I found this one spreading its wings. I'm so glad to see that it opened up more than the last little thing that bloomed. I would love to start a garden with just bulbs and have a lot of iris in it. That is a dream right now though.

Love that the shasta are really yielding me lovely blooms. They last a long time and the plants are loaded with buds and every day I see more buds forming. I'm pleased with the Shasta Daisy but I didn't realize how big these plants would be.

The pentas are awesome after shooting them with MG Bloom Burst.

I need to know why my Sarah Bernhardt peony still has no buds. This is the third year for it. I feel like ripping it right out of the garden. But I won't. Maybe it isn't happy where it is. It receives more than 8 hours of sun. The soil is good. I enhance the soil every year with fresh MG Garden Soil and I fertilize regularly. Any ideas?

Last weekend I worked my hiney off weeding this big garden. As you can see I have a lot of vacant spaces. The plants that occupied this space last year are no shows this year. I have given them ample time and now I'm needing to fill this space in. This garden is part shade. The front side gets more sun than the back. I live in Zone 8. Do yo have any ideas on what would look good in the back? It was a beautiful space with the dahlias and milkweed and okra hibuscus and a few others last year. I suppose these probably weren't the right plants for this space either since I didn't realize the amount of sun this part of the garden receives.

Inside I'm a furniture mover. I'm thinking I need to do the same thing in the gardens sometimes. I don't usually move plants around but I'm thinking maybe I need to move things around. Do ya'll do that? I'm afraid I will lose plants.

I'm wishing for rain. Rain come... I'm watering the gardens regularly now. Our grounds are so dry. Way too dry for one of the rainest cities in the US. I'll take thunderstorms - anything.

Prayers for the flood victims. And for the economy. Fuel prices.....trickle down effect... everything cost more.

Have a good weekend whatever you find yourself doing.

Happy Friday Ya'll

I'm hooking up with Tootsie at Tootsie Time for Fertilizer Friday. Here ya go http://www.tootsietime.com/2011/04/fertilizer-friday-flaunt-your-flowers.html - head on over and check out the others flaunting a bloom today.

Guess what if you set your camera properly you get photos that aren't blurry. Amazing.

I am falling in love with this new snapdragon. It is so different than any snapdragon I've grown before. It is a very slow grower. This flower has been opening up now for almost a week. It is tall - 15" and only has the one bloom. Most snapdragons spread but not this one. Snapdragon Giant Tetra from Hometown Seeds.

The fourth bloom on the Full Tide Iris.





Hope you all have a great weekend.

A Few Blooms

Today I'm linking up to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie's and Cottage Flora Thursday's over at Fishtail Cottage. Ya'll go check out these parties and see who else some pretties to share. http://www.tootsietime.com/ and http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/2011/03/cottage-flora-thursdays-10.html

I love the fruit trees this time of year. They add so much interest and color to the yard as things begin to green up. This pear tree is putting on a nice show.

Love these daffodils. They look like sunny side up fried eggs. This one is a double bloom.

I never tire of looking at and smelling the beautiful hyancinth. I think the nemesia looks nice next to it.

Gotta love these daisy's too.

The color on the geranium is so hard to photograph. I love its dark colors though.

Dianthus is waking up from winter. These babies bloom all summer long and into the fall. They are always welcome in my gardens.

We had some rough weather yesterday. Several tornados touched down in the area causing damage. It is beautiful today though.

The days are getting longer and next week they will seem even longer when we change the clocks. We spring forward on Saturday night and lose an hour of sleep. That's the best hour too - you know it. I hate when the clocks change this time of year but I like the longer evenings so I guess I've gotta trade one for the other.

Hope you are having a great day.

Today I'm thankful for sunshine and my plants are too.