Gifts from the Garden......

There is nothing better than fresh tomatoes from the garden. Tonight I sliced some Lemon Boys and Romas and added fresh sweet basil. Then I mixed up some balsamic vinegarette dressing and drenched them. Can I just say, Yum, Yum!!!!!

Our 4th of July Celebration!!!!!

Our 4th of July celebration included a picnic, music, people, and fireworks at a city park. It was a perfect night. Rain was threatening but held off. It was breezy and not so humid and hot. Chick filet was there handing out free lemonade(the best ever) and free watermelon was available. The Earth Angels were entertaining. They sang 60's music which was fun. But we enjoyed the patriotic music and fireworks the best.

Early morning yard work........

Crocosmia
Butterfly Weed

Throw-away bed

Since I was off for the 4th I decided I needed to do a little yard work. It actually ended up being a lot of yard work. A gardeners work is never done. I put down two bales of pine straw in my front beds, planted several throw-away plants (from work), watered, weeded and put one additional pine straw bale down on this back bed. I was soaking wet when I finished.

My throw-away flower bed is looking a little bit better. Of course, who knows how many plants will live since July isn't typically the ideal planting time. Luckily, it came a good little rain right after I finished. Thank the good Lord above who must of heard my prayers. (I must say, not every plant in my throw-away bed is a throw-away plant. Just most of them).

The blooms of my hibiscus is so pretty I just had to snap a picture of it. I take this plant in every winter and set it back out every spring. Is that crazy or what?

I've Been Tagged........

I've been tagged by the Perennial Garden Lover and here are the rules.

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Here are my six random things.

1. Even though I enjoy gardening I hate getting dirt under my fingernails.
2. I love cooking almost as much as I do gardening.
3. I've got the best husband in the world.
4. My best friend when I was growing up was a boy.
5. I'm from a small town in northeast Arkansas.
6.I am the middle of three children.

Here are the people I am tagging:
1. Bec at Looking thru the eyes of love
2. Casey at What's for Dinner?
3. Cortney at Life with My Guys
4. Lana at Lana Moore
5. Mary Ann at Urban Garden Journal
6.Kara at Luscious Biscuits

My favorite shopping area

This is our newest shopping area and I just love it!!! It has the most beautiful, manicured beds and containers as well as my favorite store, The Fresh Market!! I love that place! It's a little pricey but worth it. It's new to town and new stores are opening up all the time. We love to go here and just walk around.

The containers above have Gaura planted in them. I never would think of putting Gaura in a hanging basket but it looked like a little waterfall flowing out of the basket.

Backyard bed redo........

After
Before
Back of lot bed

This afternoon we did a little yard work. "Gloria" now has some new digs. I bought these three shrubs at work to try to liven up her little corner of the yard. You'll notice in the before picture she almost gets lost in the fence. Now with a little help from the shrubs she stands out much better.

This last picture is at the back of our house. I hadn't really planned on making it much of a flower bed but with all the "throw-away" plants from work, well they have to go somewhere!!

It Finally Rained!!

After several days of dry, hot, humid weather the Heavens finally opened up and gave us some much needed rain. It rained for a wonderful couple of hours.

I stepped out on my front porch to capture the in-between. It was actually storming all around except this one little area.

You just wait.....

Coral Vine

I know it doesn't look like much right now but you just wait. When I started working for the nursery last year we got in two flats of this vine. I had never seen it before and trust me, it didn't look like much. Then one day we had a customer come in who said her grandmother loved it and she bought several. Well we ended up planting some out by our white picket fence at work. Can I just tell you how beautiful it was when it finally bloomed!!! It has the most beautiful pinky, rose blooms. Everyone that drove by the nursery wanted to know what it was.

So, when we got it in this year, I bought me one. So far, it hasn't done much but later on this summer it should be gorgeous. At least, I hope so!!