Saturday, July 26, 2014

Johnnies in July...

I discovered something this week that I just have to share with you!  But first - when I went out this morning to photograph my find, I saw a black swallowtail butterfly!  He - or she - sure was hard to get a picture of, but I did manage to get this one of the butterfly on one of my Morning Glory blossoms.



Now, back to my wonderful discovery!



A Johnnie has reseeded itself in one of my pots and is blooming!  In July!



The pot that the charming little Johnnie is in holds a Bat-Faced Cuphea.



I love Bat-Faced Cupheas!




As you have probably noticed from photographs on my blog, I'm not really into red flowers.  But I started growing Bat-Faced Cupheas several years ago because the hummingbirds like them.




Now I seek them out because they are so unusual and I like them!  (Can you see the bat face?)


Have a beautiful day!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Earthstar...

Don't you just love Google?  I did a little research and found out what my amazing fungus is.  It is an Earthstar.  What a romantic name!  And very appropriate, I think!  If you want to see more pictures of Earthstars, you can follow this link: Earthstar.


Have a beautiful day!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Catching up...

Well, it's been a few weeks since I've posted so I'm kinda playing catch-up.  This first photo is from a week ago.  Last Sunday, I spent several hours cleaning up and transplanting in my hummingbird garden.  The next morning when I came out to look at my work, I found this fungus growing - blooming? - underneath a clump of Salvia "Black and Blue."  It only lasted that day and was gone by the time I came home from work in the evening.  I have no idea what it is but it is amazing!  (You can click on the picture for a larger view.)



My Balloon Flowers have finished blooming, but when they were blooming, they sure were beautiful.



You can see why they are called "Balloon Flowers" - their buds look like little balloons!




Oh, so lovely!




Along my path to my back door, I have planted Mealy Cup Sage and "Coral Nymph" Salvia.  Both these Salvias are treated as annuals here, but sometimes the Mealy Cup Sage (the blue one) will over-winter.  The "Coral Nymph" Salvia is very good about reseeding.



The yellow flower is Threadleaf Coreopsis.  I love the color combinations!



Even though I have several Hydrangeas, I only have one blooming this year.  I think it got too cold this past winter for the other ones, so although they survived, they aren't going to bloom this summer.



This Hydrangea is called Mini-Penny.  It is a smaller bush and very charming!



Have a beautiful day!