First Glad

An early bird. I don't even see stalks on any of the other plants yet.

House Finch Teen

This young 'un spent a lot of time at the platform feeder last night.

Potato Blossom

The potatoes are blooming. Soon, we'll be able to harvest a few "new potatoes" from the base of each plant. The big spuds won't be ready until the plants die back.

The Lonely Plum

The baby plum tree planted last fall has produced one plum. More next year?

Pink Sedum

Sedum blooming in a hanging basket.

Web Decor

A small spider web on top of the clematis vines.

Crazy Daisies

These frilly Shastas really are called "crazy daisies." An easy-growing perennial. These were started from seed a few years ago and are still going strong.

Potatoes: Check

A check on one of the potato plants...looking good. Mini zinnias in the foreground, and the other "greens" are amaranthus.

Bee Balm

These crazy-headed flowers are a perennial favorite for bees and hummingbirds. The leaves are lemon-scented.

Hopeful

Normally, we'd already be eating tomatoes from the garden. Can't be done yet this year, unless we opt for green tomato recipes.

"Volunteer" Sunflower

Aviana standing next to one of the sunflowers I didn't plant. (I think a bird was responsible for this "planting.")

Bronzed Black-eyed Susan

A new type of black-eyed Susan I'm trying out this year. I thought they were going to be a deep purple, but this bronzy-orange is a welcome surprise.

Basil

It was a slow year for the basil to get going because of the cool spring. Normally, I would transplant to a garden bed, but I'm keeping it potted this year. We used quite a bit last week for caprese salads.

Johnny Jump-Ups

Love this kind of surprise in the landscaping. Johnny jump-ups are common volunteers in my neighborhood.

Delicious Pansy

This pansy looks good enough to eat...and something IS eating it. This is one of the plants from last fall. It must have been dormant for a few months. Does this mean fall is already on the way?

Clematis Blooms

Hard to believe the vines were cut to the ground this spring. The clematis gives its best purple flower show now, but will re-bloom later with fewer flowers. The green stalks are mallow plants.

Peach Daylily

Daylillies are landscape staples around here. They don't mind clay soils and don't need much water.

Orange Zinnias

If you've been following along, you know I'm on strike against petunias and geraniums this year, due to a bud worm invasion last year. My baskets and pots are stuffed with zinnias. I like these little orange ones.

Gardening Bench Surprise

Noticed this foil bag of coffee grounds on my gardening bench last weekend. These are used coffee grounds from Starbucks. I'll work them into the gardening soil. Hubby picked these up for me.

Could it Be...Summer Squash?

I think I see a baby summer squash. Fingers crossed!

False Mallow

The flowers are similar to those on "real" mallow plants, but the plant structure and leaves are different. The "real" mallow in the yard blooms a few weeks later.

Honeysuckle

A summer scent treat. Be sure to give this vine a good trim every two years or so, or it can turn aggressive.

Purple Bell Flower

"Bell flower" isn't the official name...I just can't remember what the proper name is right now. This perennial didn't make a showing last year. I thought it had been destroyed during a deck project.

Delphinium: No Stakes Needed Variety

Lesson learned. I've had these for several years, and although they were sold as delphiniums that wouldn't need to be staked, guess what?

Mmmm

Yay! We're picking raspberries this week.

The New Tomato Cages

The new "crop" of tomato cages built by my husband. I'll paint them this fall. You can see a blue one at the end of the line that received a color treatment last year.

Spirea

The flower cluster on a popular landscape shrub. The colors range from purple to pink.

Munstead Lavender

This is munstead lavender. Compare to yesterday's post and you'll see the flowers are fuller. The fragrance is more mild and has lilac overtones.

Hidcote Lavender

Two kinds of lavender are blooming in the yard. This one is hidcote. The flowers are dark purple and the fragrance is sharp, almost medicinal. Tomorrow, I'll show you a different type of lavender.

Flower Power

The zinnias are really starting to rise to the occasion.

Baby Mourning Dove

Several fledglings were bouncing around the yard this week.