Hanging fuchsia...

I bought a hanging fuchsia at Lowe's this week.

Fuchsias don't do well with the summer heat here, but each year, I think I want one.  So this year, I bought one and I'll give it a try.

I hung it on the shepherd's crook under my big tree near my table and chairs.  It will like the shade.  And the hummingbirds will love it.

Have a beautiful day!

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!

Hummingbirds!!!

Last Saturday, my younger daughter and I were sitting out at my table and chairs under the tree and she whispered, look up.  I looked and there was a hummingbird sitting in the tree!!!  I've never seen a hummingbird this early!  I usually see them starting about the middle of May.  The next day, Sunday, my daughter and I were looking out on the deck and a different hummingbird was checking out my native honeysuckle vine.  The vine has buds on it but no blooms yet.  Apparently, the hummingbird was looking to see if there were any flowers for it to eat from.  

 

Since there were obviously hummingbirds here,  I pulled out my hummingbird feeder and filled it and put it out.  I took Monday off from work and at one point I was sitting at my table and a little hummingbird came to my feeder!  Another hummingbird came and sat in the tree and then chased the little one away.  But then the little one came back.  I haven't been home and outside this week to see hummingbirds anymore, but I sure did like to see them those three days!

 

Have a beautiful day!

Bloom Day June 2012...

Thank you for stopping by on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted by May Dreams Gardens.

This post is for the birds ~ hummingbirds, that is!  I love growing flowers for the hummingbirds.  I have one main hummingbird garden below my deck, but I've also planted hummingbird plants throughout my garden.

 One of my favorite hummingbird plants is Bog Sage. It is the tallest, pale blue in the picture above.

And then there's good 'ole  "Black and Blue"~ Salvia guaranitica.

"Grandpa Ott" morning glory reseeds itself and vines through the hummingbird plants.
 


Cleome also reseeds itself, as does Salvia coccinea (the red flowers).





This is a Penstemon.  I don't remember its name.  Since it likes well-drained soil, I planted it with lots of Perma-til so hopefully it will survive the South.

Another Salvia ~ this one is a greggii and part of the Heatwave series, but I don't remember which one.

 Salvia coccinea ~ it reseeds in red, white, pink, and variations of these three in my gardens.

In the hummingbird garden below my deck, I have a wire/metal globe on top of stone pedestal.  I put it there so hopefully one of the tiny birds would find it a pleasant place to rest.  And guess what!  One day, I saw a hummingbird sitting on it!

I have Salvia guaranitica "Argentina Skies" in my hummingbird garden, but this particular plant is in the front of my house. 

I have three different native honeysuckle vines growing up my deck.  This one is in the hummingbird garden.

We can see this one from the kitchen window.

And this vine is visible from the dining room sliding glass doors.

This Salvia greggii was sold as an annual, but it lived over the winter.  The stripped petunia is a "HeatWave" petunia.

An Agastache.  This one is in a pot on the deck so I can see it from the sliding glass doors.




Nasturtiums.



Torenia.



Also know as the wishbone flower.

I'm not really a "red" person, but I love this plant!

It's Bat-faced Cuphea.

These plants are across the path from the official hummingbird garden, but they include Salvia "Black and Blue" and a couple of Buddlieas that the hummers visit.

Buddliea "Miss Ruby" and Feverfew.

Have a beautiful day!

Mother's Day...

Here are the lovely gifts my lovely daughters gave me:

There are four small glasses that will be used for vases; they are from both the girls. The box of chocolates is actually from a house-guest we had this week-end, a friend of Kirstin's.  I love the Vera Bradly pens that Julie gave me!  Two of the colors, pink and green, are sparkly.  The black and blue pens are just pretty.

Kirstin gave me the Thomas Kinkade book,  "A Book of Joy."   Here is one of Kinkade's quotes:  "Decide that joy is the hue you want your heart to be.  Then start making the little and large choices that over time will paint your heart happy."

Julie did the picture of the hummer for me.  She is so talented!  This photo really does not do her picture justice.

This is the wallet size photo of the 8x10 that they gave me.  They are so beautiful.  And I love them so very, very, very much.

Kirstin found this teeny-tiny perfume bottle for me at a local antique mall.  I love the shape!  And, of course, the blueness of it!

Have a beautiful Mother's Day!

Hummers are back...

Last week, I heard a hummingbird.  I didn't see it, though.  I just heard it.



Yesterday, when I got home from work, Kirstin told me that she and Julie actually saw a hummingbird.  (Guess it's time to get out my hummingbird feeder.)   The tiny bird was going to the honeysuckle I had planted for it.  And they said it stayed around for quite awhile.  I planted this vine so we could see its blooms (and therefore the hummingbirds) from the window above the kitchen sink.  It currently sprawls across the deck, but I'm going to make a trellis sort of thing in the deck rails so it can climb up some more.



This is a native honeysuckle.   It's not the imported, invasive kind.  I bought it from Mail Order Natives a couple of years ago.  I've got another one on the other end of the deck, but life has been decidedly harder for it (including me almost pulling it completely out of the ground when I was weeding), so it's not doing as well as this one.  Anyhow, I'm thrilled that the hummingbird found the honeysuckle I planted for it.



Have a beautiful day!

Iris in the bed...

This morning,  I took a few pictures of the gorgeous blue and white iris in its garden bed.  I'm not sure how I like the quality of the pictures, but at least you have some idea of the colors in the bed.  The iris is next to Ballerina rose.  The iris and the rose are along the path to my back door and then behind them, stretching out to the pedestal is my hummingbird garden.  One of the salvias, the pink you see behind the iris, has begun blooming already.

I love how the pinks and blues look together.  Ballerina rose is covered with buds and will be stunning when they all open.  (You can click on the pictures for a larger view.)

Have a beautiful day!

African Blue Basil...

I went out this evening (to the immense delight of the mosquitoes) to find something to put on my blog, because I really didn't know what I was going to treat you to today. Isn't it amazing how the garden rejuvenates and revives and always provides something interesting to enjoy?




Have you ever grown African Blue Basil? I used to grow this one in California, where it is a perennial! Yes, a perennial Basil. Of course, it's not perennial here, but I grow it anyway because I love this plant.




What do I like about it? Well, for one thing, the Basil fragrance. And I think it is so cool that there is a perennial Basil when Basils are annuals. But the best thing is all the bees that it attracts. It's always alive with creatures. I didn't see any honey bees in it this evening, as I often do, but there was a cute little bumble bee.



There was also a funny orange bug. I have no idea what it is (do you?), but don't the orange of the bug and the purple of the plant look interesting together?



Growing next to my African Blue Basil, I have a Calamint plant (it's perennial) and look at the beautiful butterfly sipping its nectar. I love this type of butterfly. (You can click on any picture for a larger view.)



And I got another great photo this evening. Can you see what I captured on "film"? This is a very exciting first for me.



Ta-daa!


Have a beautiful day!