Pink and orange

It's 41 degrees, up from a low of 37. Still no frost, but a very heavy dew. The high today should reach the mid 60s. Rain Wednesday and Thursday. At the crack of daybreak, I scattered seeds of rudbeckia, bee balm, and agastache in the meadow garden.

My Orange Hybrid Tea Rose

I noticed the bud yesterday from the edge of the driveway. It opened this morning. Finally, another orange bloom.



All of these blooms are on the same rootstock.



Still no sign of the yellow bloom like this one taken in June right after I planted it.



The echinacea seeds I sowed a few weeks ago are up. I couldn't get a decent photo. Two cups of coffee and the antibiotics have me shaky.



When it rains, it pours. I've had this desk chair for over 2 years. It was given to me by Laura's friend, Diana. She had an extra and thought I would like it when I moved into this house. A couple weeks ago, I was leaning way back as I sometimes do. I heard a snap. One of the front connections snapped. A couple days later, not really thinking, the second one snapped. Yesterday, with my feet up on the desk, the back fell clean off. *sigh*. Glad my nephew brought one up from the basement last weekend. It's been useful to get around the house this past week. Hardwood floors are great.



Finally, the leg is much better this morning already. I don't know what they gave me, but the swelling is way down. It itches like crazy, but that could be all the mosquito bites from my very brief walk through the back yard. Heading back to the doctor at 10am to see if the stitches can be removed. Still leaking a little. Also have to pick up my prescription from Wal-Mart. I hate that place. I bet they won't have it ready.

It's cloudy and 70 degrees. Rain in the forecast for the next 3 days. Heavy storms at times. Next week, temperatures will fall into the upper 70s during the day with 50s at night. Fall is on the way. It's early this year. I read this morning that frost is expected in New England.

I should note that the McDonald's sweet potato vine already has roots showing. That was quick.

I'm beat.

I don't say it often, but this leg thing has me whipped. This morning, I went outside to attempt some watering. After wrestling with the hoses and crutches for 10 minutes, I gave up. Let it die. I did manage to collect a few seeds yesterday evening. There's a ton of castor beans out there. The salvia subrotunda is covered with seed pods. There are babies already this year under the current plant.

So instead of watering, I focused on things that I like. Here's the shrub island. The pineapple sage in the foreground was blooming in May. It should bloom again real soon.



My new Rose of Sharon. There's no tag, but it's a double pink. I think it will look good with the crape myrtles in the back yard next year. Maybe underplanted with some echinacea.



Finally, the mind has decided to shut down....Perilla. I love this plant.



Went back to the doctor. Infection. More antibiotics, something to relieve the swelling, more antibiotics, and some cultures to test for additional infection. They also took x-rays since no one at the emergency room did. It's bad, but should be much better by Monday. I could even be up and moving if the soreness in the bone isn't an issue.

Drizzling

It's been raining. Fine and misty, the roads are barely wet. This was supposed to be our big day. In a couple hours, the sun will come out. By 5pm, we've got thunderstorm watches until early Sunday morning. We really need some rain here. My mustard and collards aren't going to germinate without a little rain.

There's a couple things I want to photograph, but I'm nervous about walking on wet grass with crutches. Wonder if I can fit a spike to the ends of these blasted things? My first time ever on crutches and I hate them. They'll make a nice trellis next spring.

I'm still trying to take it easy. The swelling was worse yesterday than ever before. My leg felt as if it were going to pop. I spent all evening laying on the bed with an ice pack on my shin. This morning, the swelling was nearly gone. I could even move my ankle and point my toes. I've been putting a little weight on it when I stand today just to get used to it again. It hurts. I doubt I'll be going to work on Monday unless they are willing to make special considerations for me. I figure at least another week before I can actually take a step without the crutches. I might be too generous. This is going to take some time to heal. And the kitchen cabinets are being delivered Monday.

It's 77 degrees and cloudy with a light drizzle. Humidity stands at 95%. 50%+ chance of showers later today.

11:28am - If you guessed that I got right up and went outside, you win the prize.

The orange rose is blooming again. I know, it's not orange. It's a hybrid tea that has three different roses grafted to it. One is a salmon color, the other is yellow with orange edges, and the most prevalent is this pink. It's a very hot pink.



Turn of the Century hibiscus has three blooms. This is the small one that I divided from the original plant's rootball. It was a test to see if I could do it. This fall, I'll divide the mother plant a few more times. I've also taken 5 new cuttings this past week and stuck them in the cloner. They root in about 2 weeks.



The lack of rain hasn't deterred the brugs. The Ecuador Whites are still blooming. Each plant has one bloom on it, and there's lots of buds. I thought they would come in flushes, but I think I prefer this better.



Going to elevate my leg now. The parents are coming up this evening to make sure I'm not dead. I would normally spend this time cleaning house, but the mopping will have to wait.

Blue, Purple, and Pink

I had planned to post this on Friday, but I'm bored. I've decided to take the day off again from any real work on the house or garden. A man needs to rest sometimes.

Persian Shield


Pink KnockOut Roses


Mystic Spires salvia


Petunias and convolvulus tricolor


Forget Me Nots


Echinacea


Datura Metel. The first to bloom, the least impressive. Host plant.


Provence lavender


Russian Sage


Alternanthera


Cosmos


Castor Bean


Perilla


More Petunias


Zinnias and Guara


Guara blooms


Anise Hyssop - Golden Jubilee, again


Morning Glory from Trevor's fence.


___________

Note to Self:

These past 5 days were the colors in your garden. Use these tags to arrange your plants this winter as you know everything will be moved and rearranged. It's in your nature, no use fighting it. Continue to tag using color names whenever an interesting idea comes into your head. You'll appreciate it later.

-Self.