Little surprises.

Every day, there's something new in the garden. If you were here, I'd spend an hour talking about the plants in the perennial bed. Another hour could be spent touring the backyard. The sweet tea would be cold and dark, just like Nell's. Mine probably has a little more sugar than hers.

The first tomatoes. These are Roma. Wintersown in early March.



A red blooming Four O'clock. I remember, years ago, when a power/light pole stood in the backyard just about where Mr. Lincoln lives now. I sowed these seeds and two tiny plants grew and struggled to bloom in the hard compacted clay beneath the pole. When the pole came out, the four o'clocks remained.



These yellow dayliles were offered in exchange for something I rooted or divided last summer. She didn't know for sure what they would be, but she was willing to part with them.



The same lady gave me this one.



Hilda brought me a clump of upright pointing elephant ears last year. They have curvy edges and can grow into huge clumps. At the Bojangle's restaurant here in town, they've got some in full sun that grow to more than 6' tall every summer. Mine were about half that last year.



The black stemmed elephant ear I planted in late winter has finally made an appearance. The black leafed ones rotted. They were soft when I planted them. I didn't expect to see them.



A brown/orange rudbeckia is blooming. These usually show up in the fall. Maybe this is one that overwintered. On a business trip in 2008, I stopped by a roadside plant stand in Delaware. I brought back a single plant called Autumn Colors. From those seeds, I've increased the varieties of blooms in the garden, with a little help from the bees.



Asters, purchased for 15 cents last fall, are blooming already. I spotted a white one this morning. This is the hot pink one. It's taller and less meatballish than the plants I purchased on clearance. I figured as much. I could cut these back I guess, but I won't. I have plenty that will be blooming in the fall.



Spirea, wintersown in 2008/9. I'll probably need to move this plant next spring. It should be in the shrub border. For some reason, I thought it was caryopteris. Obviously, it's a true spirea. It's nearly 3' tall.



Helenium is blooming too. I think this was labeled "Helen's Gold", but I could be misremembering.



Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia has made me rethink all the nasty comments I made about it to others last year. It was the color of dried blood. I wasn't impressed. Year two is much more Cherry. It can stay.



Second generation seeds were collected from Cherry Brandy last fall. They're blooming now. I think I'll keep them as well.





It's 72 degrees. I've finally decided to call a repairman for the HVAC system. It needs freon. I can't do that myself. I have a feeling, this is going to be expensive. When it's 94 degrees on Saturday, I'll be glad I spent the money. So will the cat.

The sun made a rare appearance today.

It seems that lately, as soon as I walk outside, the sun disappears behind thick clouds. I know it's just my imagination, but with all the rain and even more in the forecast, I miss my shadow's company in the yard. I got a short chance to see my shadow for a few minutes during my lunch break today. I snapped some images as I walked around the yard surveying the damage.



Wine & Roses wigela with the found canna lily. Surrounding it, the purple lantana is still blooming.



Nicotiana



A red knockout is still blooming. More to come.



Sedum and sedum passed.



Next spring's red clover with Bunny Larkspur donated by Janie, the Obsessive/Compulsive Plant Collector.



I spread the love of althea all over the back edge of the perennial bed.



Alstroemeria from the Gaudy Garden's Jim with grape hyacinths



The butterfly weed finally died down. I got no seeds from these plants, but Cameron at Defining Your Home Garden sent me a few and other varieties.



Kris from The Gardens at Melissa Majora will appreciate these perennial aster seeds. I'll collect them in the morning to add to her growing pile.



Nell, the Seedscatterer, had butterfly ginger that bloomed, but mine didn't. Next year, they'll be moved in the spring to a sunnier spot.



Catherine from A Gardener in Progress grows these too. Veronica speedwell. Still blooming. Slowly spreading.



The lantana formerly known as Miss Huff.





That's about it for what's still going in the yard. It's 34 degrees and clear according to AccuWeather. My thermometer reads 42 degrees. It's been saying that for nearly a week. So much for digital accuracy. Tomorrow, I have plans.

The circle bed.

It's part of the perennial bed along the driveway. I finished the path a month or more ago giving me a view from all sides.



It was my intention this morning to head out and completely revamp this bed. I've got some perennials that I want to divide and move, but once in the yard, it was impossible to decide what to keep and what to toss.

There are wintersown Columbine that haven't bloomed yet.



Self-sown Mountain Bluet and diathus that are blooming again after being wintersown in December.



Seedlings of larkspur are popping up all over. I scattered a lot of these back in October from a package sent to me by Janie, the obsessive/compulsive plant collector.



Tiny cleome are also popping up. Will they survive the winter? I'm not sure.



Wintersown sea hollies are putting out new basal growth too. One plant bloomed, but it wasn't in this bed.



Wintersown irises and daylilies probably wouldn't survive the move at this point either.



The July blooming foxglove seems happy where it is in partial shade.



A mum, bloody dock, red spider lilies, and Golden Jubilee seedlings. Could I really move these with winter coming soon? I can't take the chance.



There's also tons of spring bulbs in this bed. Daffodils, hyacinths, muscari, and irises would probably be destroyed in the process. I've got Stargazer lilies in there, too. I would be heartbroken to dig one of those up. Crimson clover has germinated and should create a sea of red blooms in the spring. And who can blame me for not redoing this bed today? It's starting to drizzle and the bees are still asleep.



Instead, I potted a couple of really cheap clearance plants into the coleus container from the front porch. I amended the soil, removed all the summer plants, and brought it inside.



It's not what I had planned to do this morning, but I'll survive. More importantly, so will my plants. I'm still going to head out and divide a clump of Full Moon Coreopsis and Dame's rocket for the circle bed. It's 55 degrees, dark, dreary, and trying to rain.

To the Extreme

Years ago, when I owned a condo near Uptown Charlotte, red was my signature color. I planted Salvia splendens, red cannas, red petunias, and cardinal climber. These days, it seems I am infatuated by purple. So the question must be asked, when is there too much purple?

It started long before I painted the front door. Truth be told, the paint color was supposed to be "Rare Wine", a dark burgundy/maroon color. It's purple. And it screams at everyone that passes by when the sun hits it. I'm nervous about this winter when the oak tree out front loses its leaves. So what did I do? I planted more purple plants. There's the coleus by the front walk, the Blackie sweet potato vine I ripped out this past week, purple queen that will someday spill over the stones at the top of the bed, and heucheras in the front bed. They were $0.25 each, so I can't be completely blamed for that travesty. All summer, I've been very disappointed with that bed. It was dark and gloomy. The triple yellow datura is a plant that should be experienced from a distance. It was pulled weeks ago. I collected a few seeds, many of which molded.

This winter, I hope things change a bit for that bed by the front door. This morning, I planted my clearance Dusty Miller and pansies. We'll see if they have time to grow before our first frost. I'm probably a couple weeks late on getting these in the ground.

Before.



After.



From the driveway, these two beds are starting to work for me. I'm not sure what the orange daylilies at the bottom of the wall are going to do next summer. I assume they'll clash terribly.



I've got lavender, knockouts, and blue salvias planted with the blue grasses and white artemesia in the lower section of this bed. That orange is really going to look terrible, isn't it?



At the end of the run, there's the garage door bed. Last week I cut back and moved four knockouts. One is yellow, the others are red. I planted Jim's Pinks in this bed along the edge and threw in 7 leftover pansies this morning. They're white, blue, and purple (which is actually a viola, shhhh). I mulched and used the stone I dug out of the next area I'm about to show. Yep, all this stone came from digging holes to plant things in the back yard.



On Thursday of last week, the dog's grave made me change my plans for certain grasses I had also gotten on clearance. I divided them into smaller clumps and planted them on the slope where periwinkle and crab grass had been all summer. The tomato patch is to the left in this image. That'll most likely become a patio in the near future as the stones will be available later this week. Nine of the 15 ten cent asters went into this bed. Robert was back last night to pick up a few things and drop off one of my Ryobi batteries he grabbed after finishing the kitchen. He took home the other 6. What was I thinking? I really didn't need 15 asters.



I also planted two dwarf Joe Pye Weeds I got for $1 each. I tell you, this job is going to bankrupt me. Thankfully, I don't care much for pansies and that's about all we're going to have soon.



In another week or two, I plan to move the White Profusion butterfly bush. This is the one I purchased and the tag said it would reach 8-10' easily. It's in the area formerly known as the white bed. I'll move it to the sloped area formally creating a bee and butterfly garden. Next spring, more butterfly loving plants will be set out here as the seeds are wintersown. It'll make a nice backdrop for the patio.



In the meadow garden, red clover is taking hold. There's also a stray cucumber seedling in there. Uh oh.



Just across from the meadow, the crape myrtle bed is filling in nicely. I've planted out a few hibiscus, scattered lots of echinacea seeds, and planted more clearance plants over the past few weeks. It's a bed I don't pay a lot of attention to, but I expect it to be nice enough next year.



The pink blooming camelia that I'm allowing to regrow at the edge of the rose garden has a lot of suckers. I pulled off two that had roots attached and potted them. They're in the shade with the rooting sedums and pineapple sage. Those cuttings came from one that got ripped apart by last week's winds. They lost all their leaves, but are putting out new growth. Let's not forget I stuck 7 cuttings in the cloner from that plant too. I like this plant, can't you tell?





In the perennial bed, the black and blue salvia I got for $1 each are doing great. I hope they return next year.



Finally, it's Sunday. FlowerLady writes on her blog today,

Let the negative stuff roll off, straighten your shoulders, hold your head high, smile, and be thankful. Get out and do something creative, relaxing, meditative or fun.

I did.



It's 61 degrees and overcast. We got a little rain last night, but the areas under the trees are still dry. The forecast calls for 77 and sunny today. I've got my doubts.

2:28pm - Still no sunlight and only 2 degrees warmer. I've spent the last couple of hours at work, but came home for lunch. The 12" gray pavers are ready. I'll have them loaded onto the back of the truck and unload them this evening. There's 115 of them. $10 for the whole lot. WOOT!