We had a lovely rain last night, just when we needed it. I had planned to work in the garden this morning, but it is damp and windy so I will wait a few hours. A good time to post the pictures I took yesterday.

The first iris is named "Sky Hooks" and the second is "Fire Beard." The Red one just barely showing is named "Lady Friend." I don't have a good picture of it yet. The wind is blowing so hard at the moment, I doubt that I could get one now, so I'll wait for a proper picture of it.

The purple-blue flower above (Tradescantia) is commonly called spiderwort, new to my garden this year. It has a smaller cousin that is considered a weed, and this one might be by some gardeners, but I like them a lot and I'm glad I finally have some. I also have one, given to me by a friend, that is more purplish. The yellow iris after it is "Heartbeat Away." These bearded irises with the extensions at the end of their beards are classified as "Spaceage" irises.

I don't know where the orange poppy came from. I've only had red and pink in the past. It must have come from seed from last years flowers. Who would have imagined an orange coming from Pink and Red?  The two yellows are Dutch Iris.
 

The pink primrose above are also considered weeds by some, and I have mixed feelings about them. They are lovely this time of year but they do spread way too easily and I am constantly pulling them out of places where they threaten to crowd out their neighbors. The last shot is another of my "Nearly Wild" Rose. I moved it this year because I had it growing in my frond side yard where my neighbors new sprinkling system would surely keep the foliage wet since they water every morning. Roses do not like their foliage wet and will develop white powdery mildew on the leaves, which can threaten their health. I didn't really have a place for this and another nameless rose bush I moved from the same side yard. They are in pots on my patio now. Not a good long term solution, I suppose, but we will see how they do. Right now they are happy.

 The first bearded iris is named Presby's Crown, the second is a beautiful one, but I don't know the name. I have an idea what it might be, but until I know for sure, it will be nameless.
 
I've posted Halloween Moon before, but here it is again below. A blue Dutch iris is the next picture.

Shasta daisies below and then Love in a Mist. It is just now beginning to bloom and only the whites so far.

And of course, Rosie Joy is below. She gets into everything, and she can reach into and stretch up to more places than you would think. It's like having a toddler -- a toddler that eats dirt and everything else she can get in her mouth -- a toddler that should still wear diapers... but doesn't. But she is still full of love and joy and will eventually grow up and learn all the things she needs to learn. 

I've posted a picture of the million bells on my patio table recently, but there is just something about them that make a good picture, so I'm doing it again.

Renown is the name of the bearded iris below, and of course, a shot of Rosie Joy. She is on the kitchen floor here, watching me as I get her lunch ready. She has more than a passing interest in the refrigerator. She loves to play with  ice cubes, and anytime you open the frig she is hopeful.

We had quite a storm come through the city last night. Just when I thought it was all over and we had missed it, around midnight we awoke to thunder and lightening and hail beating against the window. I can't remember when we had such a noisy storm. It sounded so fierce I thought the window would break. But this morning, all is well. I don't have to water the garden because we got almost a half inch of rain with it, and really there wasn't much hail damage to the flowers. The flowers were already looking tattered with the strong winds the last few days, so a torn leaf or petal here and there is nothing. 

I took these pictures before the storm. They are pink primrose, honeysuckle, and shasta daisies. I'm going out now to get a little done outside before lunch time. Have a great day.

 

The garden is getting a little more color every day. The first picture is lemon drop primrose. Scabiosa is the next purple one, and the irises are as follows: Honey Scoop, Fortune Teller, and Halloween Moon.

Here is a sampling of what is blooming in the garden right now. It has
been a very busy week, and I'm out the door in fifteen minutes again,
but I wanted to show you how the garden is progressing.

The
first picture is a patio clematis, the second is a bearded iris named
Jessie's Song, next another bearded iris named Raspberry Frost.
Honeysuckle is next and the next is a single rose I bought last year
named Sally Holmes. Rosie Joy is in the last picture.

That's all for today... I have to run. 

Buckwheat is the name of the yellow iris -- the first to bloom this year. The blue/purple flowers are larkspur.

The flowers below are on the Hawthorn shrub that I planted last fall in the front bed I redug

Some images from our trip today to the arts festival downtown. Gill and Chris and I went together and had a great time. I didn't take any shots of the art, but we looked at it all. There was some wonderful work at the show. We even got to see a demonstration of glass blowing. Very interesting. The Myriad gardens are just a block away, so we also went there for a few minutes before we went home. Many of the images were taken there. You can see any of them larger by clicking on them.

I was trying out a new technique and filter on the garden pictures below. This pansy is the only one I have this year. It evidently came from seed of last years pansies. I didn't put any out this year as I'm trying to get perennials established everywhere I can to cut down on the expense and work of replacing annuals every year. Eventually I hope to have a truly low maintenance garden. As I age and my arthritis worsens, that will be all I can keep up with.  

     
The second picture is a fan flower I planted in one of the patio pots, Scaevola aemula.  It
is native to Australia where it is a sprawling evergreen perennial. 
Here in Oklahoma it is treated as an annual.. I like it because it
thrives in hot weather and produces a nonstop
bloom of dark blue fan-shaped flowers throughout summer.

Rosie Joy has been eating things she is not supposed to. It is impossible to watch every move she makes to safeguard her completely, though we have tried and have retrieved a myriad of unedible things from her mouth -- mulch, bugs, dirt, etc. She has swallowed some things before we could get to her, however, and has thrown up a couple times. It is a big concern that she will eat something that poisons her (some plants) or something undigestible that will not make it through. We don't let her wander about unattended, but puppies are quick and this is going to continue to be a problem until she quits chewing. Suggestions are welcome.

I used to think that a rose was a rose and verbena was verbena. That was a long time ago -- before I fully understood what a difference the variety of a flower can make. This is homestead verbena, so much tougher and able to take the brutal summer heat we have in Oklahoma than any verbena I've ever grown. The same can be said for the Knockout Rose which I also pictured. It blooms right through the hottest summers. Both are blooming now, and will be virtually the whole season. I'm glad I discovered them both.

 
No pictures of Rosie Joy today. I couldn't keep that up forever, you know. She's doing fine, and is feeling more secure as part of our family. Rosie is my little shadow, however. She wants to be with me, wherever I am.