A little of this; A little of that!

I'll be gone, again, for a few days.

I'm leaving to visit my parents in north central Iowa (Clear Lake) from Monday through Thursday.
I won't begin tutoring again until September 2, so this is a good time to leave!

Hate to leave my garden, but I've been working pretty hard lately.

Here's "what's happening" around here, right now.

On Tuesday morning, a couple of my neighbor friends came over to make birdbaths... yes, I'm at it again! :-) Anyway, a total of five birdbaths and six stepping stones were created. This morning (Friday) was the unveiling!

This little fellow's "companion" was given away before a photo was taken. He's pretty cute... a nice smaller size.

This is a little "before" and "after."

Two of my neighbor friends created their first birdbaths.
The one on the left is "traditional," while the second one had no plastic wrap between the leaf and the sand, so the concrete that went outside the leaf had sand stuck to it. Actually, it really turned out neat! ;-)

I know IVG has found something he likes a lot better than impatiens, but how can you beat the colorful display out front??? I planted a few impatien plants, but most of these came up from seed (they reseeded, I didn't plant them!). They're getting a lot more sunlight, now that we're missing the front tree, but they're still doing well. There's Sweet Flag variegated iris to the extreme left, a sedum that I don't know, Corydalis flexuosa "Blackberry Wine" that is a new planting this year, and Stonecrop Sedum "Diamond Edge."

"Diamond Edge"

This is Tricyrtis, Toad Lily, "Blue Wonder."
Again, one of the new plantings that is blooming before the established plants.
But that's A-OK in my book! ;-)

Again, we have Monarch caterpillars taking over the Ascelpias tuberosa, "Butterfly Milkweed."
Those little orange fellows on the stems are aphids. Click to see what happened last year. (See if this link takes you to both posts.)

This is the smallest of the three. This makes me smile!

You might remember Stonecrop Sedum "Purple Emperor" from an earlier post as well. He made quite an impression on several people... here's the post where you'll catch a couple of glimpses of him. He's in full bloom right now. He makes quite the commanding statement. :-)

This is the crowned prince of the stonecrop sedum collection, I think. He's called "Pink Chablis," with variegated foliage... some even begins growing pure white. Anyway, these two flowerheads are from the same plant. Scroll down to photo three.




















Of course, I really, really like Stonecrop Sedum "Matrona," also. She's the matriarch in this bed. She gets pretty tall with an strong presence. She doesn't show off quite as much as Purple Emperor (you can see him back there), but I have a feeling she runs the show! ;-)












Stonecrop Sedum "Autumn Joy" is also back there... right next to "Purple Emperor." She's not blooming quite yet. She takes her time...

These are non-hardy tuberoses that my mom gave me last Fall. They're in a good-sized pot. They are multiplying, so I hope to share a few next Spring. They're also very fragrant. :-)













Here's my platycondon "Balloon Flower" (double white) in its new home. She now resides in a raised bed. I know she'll be much happier here. :-) She still lists to the left (hopefully this will be remedied next year). You might remember when she used to call to me... check this post, about halfway down.

My new hosta, "Alligator Shoes" has taken the balloon flower's place next to the compost pile.

Last, but not least, Check It Out!! I believe we'll have our first ripe tomato tomorrow!
(We haven't had produce since we moved here!!! Except for wimpy rhubarb, parsley and chives.) I picked (probably our only) a green pepper yesterday! Fresh Salsa!!! :-)

This is definitely not shady,
but I am! ;-)