The last two summers have finally convinced me that my garden is simply too big for one nearly 70 woman to care for, so I have been in the process of decreasing the size of my garden by half. I have given away tons of daylilies and other perennials to friends, and will be spreading mulch or laying sod in much of the area that has been in flowers. It should be lots easier to maintain next year, but there is still a lot of work to get there from here. Here is a picture of some passion flowers that are blooming now

June is history now and so are most all the daylilies. I still have a few but most of the color in the garden now is coming from crepe myrtle, lantana, cosmos, phlox, and annuals in the patio pots.

 We've had timely rains this year -- so far. I am really hoping that our summer is not going to be a repeat of last year's record hot and dry spell.

I lost quite a few daylilies to the brutal heat last year, but the ones that lived are doing well. I suppose it is just as well to learn now what varieties cannot take the heat. Gardening in Oklahoma is a challenge, and only plants that can withstand extremes are likely to make a home here.

It's an exciting time in the garden... the daylilies are doing their thing. We are just about finished with the earliest bloomers and moving in to the mid season bloomers.

Today is the 4th anniversary of Mom's death. I had a good time looking at photos of her this morning. She loved to play scrabble. If she was still alive, I'm sure she would be playing on an ipad like Chris and I.

Here is one of my favorite old photos of Mom and me... because it is so typical. Mom was a great cook, and I learned to cook watching her. The last photo is of my mom and dad when they were young. Daddy died almost 20 years before Mom did. 

I lost all of my columbine last year to the brutally hot summer -- except this one that came back from seed. I am glad it was this one. I love the color

Back in March, my husband and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. We spent a few days in Galveston.

more pictures here

I'm thinking seriously about making Xanga my primary blog again. You can post any length article you want to Xanga,  and you can easily link to facebook, too.