Some of my favorites

It's that time of year. I love stargazers. The colors and the fragrance are everything I enjoy about flowers. A bouquet will be brought inside tomorrow to scent the house.



Luna Red is really putting on a show.



From either side, the huge blooms are spectacular this year.



Zinnias. Finally something other than pink.



Last night, Carla stopped by and we talked. We went to pay a visit to a guy that has admired my yard. I asked her to see if he would share a few blue agave pups from his huge specimen in the front yard. I dug two and potted them just before dark. I plan to move the snowball bush near the succulent bed and install one of these in its place. His survived the winter just fine, even as temperatures dipped to 11 degrees and stayed below freezing for 2 weeks.



Oh, what I wouldn't give for just a little of that cold now. It's 82 degrees. The high today will again reach the mid to upper 90s. A 30% chance of storms this evening repeats for the next 4 days.

Big Flowers.

In my garden, there are a few plants that produce huge blooms all summer long. I like to mix them with the smaller blooms like coneflowers, rudbeckia, and daisies. Near the street this morning, two such cases caught my eye.

Luna Hibiscus.



Datura inoxia.



Brugmansia is another large flowering plant, but hardly a bud is to be found yet. Maybe if we get some rain this weekend, they will form.

It's 72 degrees. The air feels different today, less sticky, less humid. The sun is just starting to peek over the trees out back. We'll reach the mid 90s again. No rain.

Coming Home

It's always nice to return after a couple days away to find new surprises in the garden.

Cherry Brandy rudbeckia


Turn of the Century hibiscus


Love those Luna Reds


More stargazers


More sunflowers


Brugmansia buds are growing large


pink bee balm


More tomatoes


Either squash or cucumbers have germinated


It's 86 and sunny. No rain at all this weekend. Looks like it'll be another late night of moving the sprinkler after work. No rain in the forecast til Sunday.

Two of my favorites

Stargazer Lily.



Luna Red.



10:23am - For the third time this year, I've had to water the potager. Between yesterday afternoon and this morning, everything has gotten a good drink of water. PM thunderstorms are in the forecast for Friday and Monday. I hope they're right. It's very dry here with no rain since June 14. This winter, I need to install a micro-irrigation system around the yard. I'm wasting a lot of water using the hose and sprinklers.

Anticipation

Luna Red.