Wednesday, July 29, 2009

All Together Now…

Let’s tip toe through the

July 26 09 015 zinnias,

July 26 09 016 through the zinnias

July 26 09 018 with me…through the

July 26 09 011 black-eyed Susans

July 26 09 014and the petunias,

July 26 09 012 bushy coreopsis,

July 26 09 013 and a hidden petunia

and, yes, I made the stepping stone.

 bee workBee at work

LantanaA beautiful little lantana…

hens and chicks Hens and chicks.

hibiscus And my favorite hibiscus.  All white except for a hint of yellow on it’s pestles.  I’ve got more hibiscus that I’ll do a post on when I get photos of them all.  We don’t have anyplace to overwinter the tropicals yet so all I grow are the natives.

I hope to turn the goat shed into a greenhouse this fall and winter, but it’s too dang hot and I’ve got too much to do without biting off another chunk right now.

So I hope you enjoy the stroll.  Hetty, I don’t do near as good as you with the proper names.  Some of the plants were gifted so I’ll never know them except for their common name.  The hibiscus… I’ve got it’s name somewhere. The zinnias and the petunias being annuals are just zinnias and petunias.  But it’s all fun and like a merry-go-round of color to greet me in the morning.

What could be better?

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now I need to get out and get a decent camera to keep up with you photo-bloggers~!! How delightful that you got such a bloomin' yard!!
Always like the great outdoors when coming to your place....

Sharon Rose said...

Helen,
that was the most beautiful walk I've had today! Thank you for sharing those flowers!

Staci said...

Whatever you call 'em, they are pretty! You've got that green thumb thing going on....

Tatersmama said...

All my favorites! I'll come tip-toe through your garden anytime!
I just love me some Black Eyed Susans, and Hibiscus and I've always been a nut about petunias...*sigh*

Sara said...

Your flowers are gorgeous! They have survived the heat nicely, haven't they. I have one bright pink tropical hibiscus on my deck this summer, and am not sure what I'll do with it for the winter either. My cat would eat it in the house. :-)

darsden said...

Helen your flowers are beautiful, I enjoyed the walk very much, however it was a lil warm out there OKay a lot HOT out there..wheres my ice tea woman ;-))

Reddirt Woman said...

Dar- Do you want it sweet or unsweet?

Sara, that is one of the reasons I don't have a cat. Maybe if you planted up a flower pot of grass for your cat it wouldn't eat your hibiscus. My roommate's son had a cat that he brought back on one of several moves home... when the cat started on the houseplants we found a new home for the cat. And she went to a cat lover's home so that worked out both ways.

Katie - This is the first year for the blackeyed Susans, so next year there will probably be triple what there is now. It does go to town on coming back here in Oklahoma. Yummmm on the hibiscus for me, too, they come back, but the petunias are annuals.

Staci, I love having the color around me. I hope to plant an OU bed next year of red and white petunias, but that will take a little planning.

PS- I'm glad you enjoyed the stroll around the flower beds. In a post or two I'll show you all the flowers in front of the house.

MargaretHall- my camera is a point and shoot digital. Kodak EasyShare. My dream is to have a fancy one that you can put a macro lens on for real close-ups or a telephoto that is bigger than what is built into my camera. Oh, yes, and I'd love to have a remote trigger that I could use to capture better pics of the birds.

Glad you all enjoyed the walk. Makes it double worth all the sweating I've done this summer.

darsden said...

unsweet honey I am sweet enough ;-)

Twisted Fencepost said...

And beautiful they are! I hope you have somewhere to sit in the morning that is within sight of these beauties.

Reddirt Woman said...

Dar I have to sweeten mine... I have no delusions... I know I need to be sweeter. But I imagine you are right. You are so sweet already.

Becky, I can sit on my front steps and see all of it or if I'm inside I can look out the front window and see part of it. But usually if I'm outside I'm walking around looking at everything, dead-heading some, pulling up a weed or pulling up grass.

Reddirt Woman said...

Oooops... A bit of a Freudian slip there Dar... I meant illusions. I have delusions just to entertain myself. LOL at my own self...

Laura ~Peach~ said...

if i could figure out how to get it i would love some chicks :)
love your flowers they are lovly!

joanne said...

well aren't those all sweet and merry? I just love them, how nice to wake up to their happy faces. I'm afraid we've lost all our annuals during this heat wave. I'll just have to come here and get my flower fix..;p

Medora said...

These are really beautiful - my grandma always had zinnias in so many colors, and I just loved the variety. It was like a rainbow in the backyard.

hetty said...

Oh, Helen! How beautiful! I am intrigued with your coreopsis. The leaves are so feathery and look like sweet cicely. I have never heard of hibiscus that are native - maybe not to my zone. But I was so impressed with your stepping stone! I love it. I have made several of them. Mine are in the shed because they crack during the winter and I have not put them out for the past two years. They really add to the garden, don't they?
Oh, yeah. And thanks for the link. I hope folks will come over and see my garden too.

Lonicera said...

Love 'em - do you think we sometimes choose flowers to put in our gardens which remind us of childhood? With me it's therefore sweet peas, geraniums, nasturtiums, miniature roses and a mimosa (wattle) tree - which I'm amazed I got away with, what with it being too cold for it in the English winter. It's survived 10 years so far though, and is 7 metres high. The perfume of the brilliant golden flowers it produces in mid winter really gladden the soul.
Caroline

Debbie said...

Pretty, really pretty Helen. Thanks for sharing your walk!!!

God Bless~
Debbie Jean

Terry said...

Howdy Helen
Thank you for dropping by and for the welcome back.
Extended family matters had to be tended too.
A death in the family and then three people who all went into the hospital on the same day .
Still in ICU .So it was a busy family time for me.
I live in Killeen,Tx. and most of my extended family is in Oklahoma from southeastern to OKC.
So it is a bit of a drive to take care of family matters.
Anyhoo blessings to you sweetie .
Loved all the flower photos .
They were truly awesome !!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing .
Big Hugs
Happy Trails

Reddirt Woman said...

Laura, let me see what I can come up with and I'll send you a couple of kinds. They are pretty tough so if I pack them right it shouldn't be a problem.

JoJo I'm praying for you all to get some relief from the heat. They said on the weather last night that front should be starting to come our way so maybe it is heading out.

Medora I'm going to cut off the head when they start going to seed, dry them and keep them for the garden next year. We have a friend that has a beautiful zinnia garden and she told me that's what she does, plus add some new seed.

Hetty those were from a packet of seeds. They went nuts. I love the soft airiness of the leaves. I can't grow the tropicals with the colors that Dar and her mom have... I need a greenhouse for that, but I'll do a hibiscus post with what colors we have one of these days. You are welcome for the link. Your garden is a beauty.

Caroline, I know we plant from our childhood memories, consciously or not. And I hope to get a mimosa tree planted this fall. My friend Hetty, who I linked to in the post, I tell her she plants like she quilts. you love flowers, check her out.

Terry, I'm so sorry for your loss and family in the hospital. When you head up to the Oklahoma way, hopefully for happier reasons, I live south and east of Norman... Holler. Maybe I can get away to say hi and have a glass of tea.

Debbie I always love to share with you. Glad you enjoyed it.

DocSly said...

Helen, your flowers are so beautiful and the garden is pristine. Lots of effort on your part. My trumpet vine tooted itself away. I will have to try to find another one. Oh well, take care.

Roslyn said...

I love your flower garden-except for lantana, can't stand the stuff, it brings whiteflies that attack my herb garden, can't have that!And the leaves get hung up in the dog's hair too.have you any double hibiscus?