Garden Phlox

The garden phlox are still pretty. I love the sweet fragrance of these flowers. My wish list includes a white and a red one ... maybe next year.

Rose

I am enjoying the last flush of the roses for the summer. This rose bush was purchased from the local Old City Cemetery (http://www.gravegarden.org/) on Rose Festival. This cemetery has preserved hundreds of very old roses and sell cuttings once a year. I don't know the name of this rose.

My Entry for Gardening Gone Wild’s August Photo Contest

The challenge presented by David Perry for this month's Gardening Gone Wild photo contest is to take a photo from knee high or lower. Here's my photo submission of a butterfly inside a hosta bloom.

Garden Arrangement

Yes, it's the "dog days of summer" but the flowers don't know that. These are some of the flowers that are still blooming.

Moonflower

The moonflower is finally blooming. This morning it had 10 blooms, but there are lots of buds. The blooms only last one day but new ones open daily. They open about dusk and close mid-morning. The fragrance permeates the morning air.

"Good Morning" view

This is the view from my kitchen window. What a welcome when I am getting my coffee and heading to the deck to enjoy the fresh air, birds, flowers, etc. The crepe myrtle is fading away, but the angel's trumpet is putting on a show. This morning it had 18 blooms. The vase attached to the window is great for small arrangements. The hydrangia and false sunflowers have been in it for 2 weeks and have dried. In the winter I put pansies in it. Thank you God for a beautiful creation!

Pond Cleaning

What in the world happened to the pond!!! What an algae bloom ... and why this time of the year. One of the reason is too many fish. I have about 75 ... way too many for this size pond. So, I called the "pond doctor" and he showed up this morning at 7:00 a.m. After 5 hours of work and removing all except two large koi and 9 goldfish, I have a clean pond. MUCH BETTER! Before and after ....

Take time to smell the flowers ...

This squirrel was getting sunflower seeds that fell into the cardinal climber from the feeder but it looks like he is smelling the flowers.

Hosta

This is my favorite hosta and the only one that I don't remove the blooms. The blooms have a fragrance similar to honeysuckle. I think it is a "Royal Standard".

Hummingbirds

These photos were taken at my daughter's home. Her hummingbirds are larger than the ones at my feeder and their "hum" is louder. I believe my birds are young ones.

Flowers Blooming Aug. 15, 2009

Flowers Blooming on August 15, 2009 Alliums, Angels Trumpet, Annual Asters, Black Eyed Susans, Blanket Flowers, Bunnytail Grass, Butterbly Bush (white and purple), Cardinal Climber, Celosia, Diamont Frost, Purple Coneflowers, Cosmos, Crepe Myrtle (pink and purple), Forget-me-nots, Four O'Clocks, Gaura (pink and white), Geranium, Gooseneck Loosestrife, Hens and Chicks, Honeysuckle "Goldflame", Hostas, Lantana, Marigolds, Moonflower, Mums, Obedient Plant, Petunias, Phlox, Pink Oxalis, Perennial Plumbago, Ponytail Grass, Portulaca, Purple Foundain Grass, Rose "Flower Carpet", Rose "Knockout", Rudbeckia (False Sunflowers), Sage “Blue Hill”, Salvia "Maraschino", Salvia "Victoria Blue", Salvia (purple), Strawflowers, Sunflowers, Sweetshrub, Verbena, Zinnias

Saving the hummingbird

While browsing through the local Lowes Garden Center today, I noticed the sales clerk was watching this little hummingbird on the floor. The bird could only fly about 5'. I don't know if she was hurt or had just fledged and hadn't mastered flying. We kept putting her in a safe place but she kept flying into harms way. Eventually we got her to stay in a safe place, but not before asking another customer to take her picture in my hands. What an experience seeing a hummingbird up close for the second time this summer.