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.

This and That

This is my new friend here. I've been using the bike now for a week (well since It came to my house to visit). It's hard when first starting but I am quickly working up on my time.

Ya'll the change in blogger is going to take some getting used to for this gal who is not so proficient. The photos load different. I can't get my text to align on the left. O well. Some of the changes are better but...

Above - I believe this is a purple cone flower. I planted these seedlings back around the beginning or middle of May and they haven't grown much. I am still hoping for some blooms maybe late summer.

This my Rose of Sharon and a Purple Balloon flower. Yes they are very close together. The Rose of Sharon probably isn't going to grow much this year and the other flowers here will be relocated. The balloon flower was planted at the same time as the coneflower early May.

The purple jasmine (forgot the proper name) is doing well with some new blooms. I can't get close enough to get my nose down that low to the ground so I have no idea how much smell it has. I don't smell it when I

walk by.

I absolutely have no idea what I'm doing here the crap isn't doing what I want. I can't get my curser between these photos. I am gonna scream because I'm already not having a good day. Above is morning glory and evening glory.

I am a terrible gardener. My name is Rebecca and I have neglected my babies. They need me and have been calling but I didn't respond. The flowers have been asking if I could get rid of some of the ugly weeds blocking their beauty and oh please give us some food.  OK babies I'm coming with gloves and fertilize to take care of those unsightly weeds so the flowers can smile and I can see their smile as they put on another show.

Well look here - where my cursor landed this time.

Look what I got in the mail. Good to get mail besides bills. Yea! Lona from A Hocking Hills Garden shared her seeds. Thank you Lona. Ya'll if you haven't already go check out her blog. She has the prettiest gardens.








Under the pear tree the animals are enjoying the fruit. The ground is covered in half eaten fruit. I don't think that the honey bear has been here or there probably wouldn't be any sign of a pear. Besides the last time the honey bear came up he shook all of the fruit from the tree. Smart one isn't he.





The Gulf Oil Spill. Everyday there is new news on the oil spill. Hurricane Alex is giving us a wake up call - not that we needed one but everyone here has wondered and expected exactly what is happening. The storm though it is far from us the effects are felt all the way up to our beaches as the oil is pushed up even more. Local tv crews went out yesterday and dug what looked like 10 or so inches and there were several layers of oil beneath the surface. Only the cosmetic oil is being removed. Children building sand castles are getting what feels and looks like oil sheen mixed as they dig and the hole fills with water and oil. It doesn't sound safe. Wondering what will be the long term effects on humans who let kids play there and sun bathers.
The oil is in our estuaries and will effect marine for a long time. Animals are dying every day here. The recent suicide of one of our local fisherman-actually he had a charter boat business really hit home. The crisis is so personal here. Prayers for the family who lost this loved one. A local blogger knew this family and she has posted today on her blog. Check it out here http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/.

I have been enormously busy the past 10 days and haven't been able to get around to visit as I normally do. I WILL be around to visit as I can. It will get better.

Bloomin' Tuesday

It's Tuesday Morning and ya'll know what that means. It's Bloomin' Tuesday - time to join our host Jean at http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/ . Head on over and see who else something blooming.


I've set my goals high today so I'll be busy today so I'm gonna keep this short.

I got out early this morning and there wasn't so much humidity today so I got a good shot. This afternoon it will be gone. Isn't it beautiful. Okra Hibuscus Yellow with Red Eye. Grown from seed.

Blueberries are ripening now. In a week the bushes will be loaded with ripe berries. Wish I could eat them but blueberries have seeds.

The bush is loaded and leaning with the weight.

I planted the jasmine this weekend in a tire. I think it is going to like it here. It will receive 6-7 hours of sun. Gotta get a trellis too.

I painted the tire yellow and plan to put a garden around the tire.

The Althea Rose of Sharon was planted this weekend.

Wild lantana. It is beautiful with it's yellow centers. I hate lantana growing in my flower beds. They can be very invasive when they begin to spread.

Most of these photos are blurry. Oh well some just turn out that way for me sometime.

Dahlias need deadheading.

Lovely smelling gardenia's. I filled a vase with flowers this weekend.

My first cosmos this season.

That's it for today. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Prayers for the families of the Arkansas flood and bad weather in other areas today. Hope you all stay safe. Becca

Bloomin' Tuesday

Good Tuesday morning blogging buddies. It's time to join Jean at http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/ to share our what's bloomin in our gardens. Ya'll go check it out and see who else is joining in the fun.

The following couple of photos were taken with a lot of humidity. We have been up in the 90% range of humidity. The camera fogged. It makes for interesting pics anyhow.

I have some blue forget-me-nots bloomin now. Thanks Darla.

Begonias my favorite easy plant.

Vincas another favorite. They put on a show all summer long and are not affected by the heat.

Verbena

Faithful zinnias.

A canna blooming. Yea!

These are some plants I purchased this past weekend at the once a year sale open to the public from Cottage Farms. I was a little disappointed that the plants weren't labeled very well and that there were not many in bloom to see the flower colors.

This one is a Butterfly Weed with blooms.

Jasmine.

Althea Rose of Sharon Hibuscus and Iris Cloud Ballet Iris (purple and white)

That's all I have to share today. Hope you all have a good day and don't get too hot in the gardens. Summer has arrived on the Gulf Coast with temps of 95 today with humidity of 75-80% which makes the temp feel more like 105 degrees.