Passed the 1300+ Post

I just wanted to say I finally passed the 1,300 post number, with the last one on "Odds and Ends" ... I have to make a big deal out of the dreaded "13"? issue also because it is coming down soon to the 100th day count, towards Halloween folks !!!! LOL

Odds, Ends and In Betweens ?

It has been a long day .. I have been up since 5:30 ... yet again in the garden in my questionable night attire snapping pictures like a kid at Christmas .. it just never gets "old" to me .. especially first thing in the morning when my brain cells are actually firing up pretty darn good after the first BIG cup of coffee.
I start this post with a frog .. and end it likewise ; )
OK .. a picture of the girls happen to fall on the computer .. from the camera .. totally out of my control folks .. called the cute factor .. so lets all move on now shall we ?

Day lily time of the season .. I won't even bother with a commentary .. you and I both know what they are and how great they are ... right ?

OOPS ... a rose also fell on the computer from the camera ..

Different Day lily .. keeping up with me ?

Amber Wheels Gaillardia is an odd looking creature until it fills out .. I think these two are a "couple" until the fly tires of her .. rotten two timing fly !

Ostrich Plume astilbe .. also an odd looking creature until it fills out .. it is beautiful .. I swear !

Black Lace sambucus with a cone flower for which I am sure I will remember what it is when it also "fills out" ?

Quick Fire hydrangea .. it ROCKS !! I am so glad I took Jodi , the Blooming Writer, up on her attention to this hydrangea .. it is amazing .. the one in the front garden is full of flower buds .. even the one in the back garden is trying so hard in the dark corner of the castle .. it is an amazing hydrangea !

Last ... and just as beautiful as any of my plants is this little frog I found in the dollar store .. OK , it was more than one dollar but it is so cool ... isn't it ? .. I can't seem to get any real frogs or toads in my garden .. probably too far from any natural attraction they would want to visit .. but I have to have frogs albeit plaster or other unnatural elements ? ; )

Moon, Spoon, June ? er ....... July !

This is a story of some vines that are connected to the earth and the moon .. and a few other bits and pieces thrown in ?
My Bittersweet vine is an older gal .. she is very reliable and steadfast .. a permanent feature in my garden if she can keep going .. like most of us ?
She just had a fairly aggressive 'hair cut" from yours truly while a bit of a wobble on the ladder , but mission accomplished .. nice and neat for a few days at least.
I stand under her in the heat of working in the garden and it is truly a "green rest" .. cooler and refreshing for those moments .. I appreciate her a great deal during those times !

This picture is for my friend Rose .. you were able to grow the Moon Flower vine last year Rose and I bottomed out and missed it all with my mistakes. This year I am truly patient and look at the growth girl ! ... I have basil planted with the vines to keep it company and I think it helps ?

Kathleen from Kasey's Korner, and I are growing what is called Maypop Passionflower .. to see if we can over winter them eventually .. I will be planting mine in the garden before Autumn to try and settle it in ... fingers crossed !

The vine to the left is my Maypop one .. the other is Gravetye Beauty clematis and the Moon Flower and Chocolate morning glories.

Our lovey dovey couple were just so cute I had to take their picture .. this is where the spoon and moon start to come in .. just scroll down and you will see what I saw last night from my deck : )

My neighbor's house .. I hope they don't think the worst of me for shooting in their direction a lot ? but how can you resist that MOON ?

Linda .. aka Crafty Gardener .. this is why the 26 x optical zoom is worth it : )

A little white in your life ?

I'm over loaded .. overloaded from a bit too much work in the garden and in the house .. over loaded with way too many pictures to make a logical sane choice as to what I want to post about .. I'm sure I heard the snap, crackle, pop with a side order of smoke to some brain cells that just up and left having had enough of the whole situation ?
Some times you just have to stop and look at the smaller pictures in life .. to actually enjoy them instead of trying to categorize them .. assess ? their value and importance in files that are groaning with way too many blurry, or really and truly NOT that good enough to keep .. yet I'm having such a hard time deleting them .... are you getting my drift here ?

So it is time to just look at and enjoy some of the smaller pictures ...

I planted a pretty white astilbe .. japonica "Deutschland" and it has amazed me with how much brighter this little spot in the garden has become already.

Such pretty 'buds" that feather out to make a beautiful flower head.

This is another darker part of the garden with another white astilbe .. but I would have to dive into my tag box to find out which one it is .. see ? not organized at all this year ; (

I have also become strongly attached to some white lavender I planted last year ? .. the funny thing is I don't even remember planting white lavender .. although I bet there is a tag in last years box .. I must look that up some time ?

White is such a pretty contrast to other plants in the garden .. I know there is the concept of a "Moonlight Garden" I would love to have enough room to dedicate it to white plants only .. but being out in the moonlight enjoying it .. well .. I would never make it out that late, plus ... I dread bumping into BUGS at night ?? Some gardener eh ? ; )

Orange .. purple ... green .. Garden Glory ?

I am dead tired ... so if this post makes even less sense than usual that is why ?
I dedicated this morning , from 7:30 to 1PM to working in the garden and every muscle is screaming from the marathon ... and it was another overcast day (which was actually better for me as a gardener but not a photographer) .. plant colours are wishy washy but I decided no matter what excuse I was going to do a garden post !
Orange Velvet climbing rose .. I thought I had lost it .. but here it is amid the cone flowers having a burst of ego with its beauty .. the cone flowers are so jealous since they haven't bloomed yet ?

Dill ... Butterfly Weed and Munstead ? I think is the lavender here .. such a vivid blue/purple : )

Flower structures absolute amaze me .. heck, all flowers amaze me no matter their structure !

This is one BIG baby working on its petals .. I think it is "Virgin" echinacea .. a big beautiful white coneflower : )

Filipendula rubra 'Venusta" .. a beautiful Meadowsweet that keeps the show going between flowers .. my poor lilies have been abused by that blanking lily beetle .. Casa Blanca is sharing space with Venusta .. I'm hoping for some gorgeous white flowers in spite of that BUG !

Tiny pick pearls explode into a froth for the bloom.

My different planting for the step ... I usually do Kong Coleus, but ventured further into a few different varieties this time ... it is scary not using the well trodden path ?

Finally an update of the shared space between my neighbor and I ... Sweet Autumn clematis is really filling in .. the ostrich ferns are happy .. the root Halycon hostas are trying their best .. a few other bits and pieces picking up some slack ... it should be pretty in another month or so.

I did do a garden BLOOPER .. while on a tidy up mission with dead foliage, I managed to cut one of the vines on the left .. either Henrii or Niobe is going to look very sad .. I hate it when you do something that stupid ??

The Girls Dinner Time