Orange Zinnia

More show from the zinnia patch.

Beans and Tomatoes

Some of the pickings over the weekend....which also became the eatings.

Another Stop in the Zinnia Patch

Isn't this one just fabulous?

Orange Explosion in the Zinnia Patch

This one makes me happy!

Hops as Pests

Some sneaky hops spilling over the fence from next door. Any takers for the flowers? Otherwise, I'll clip these soon so they don't re-seed in the yard.

Plant with Dreadlocks

Love Lies Bleeding is the name of this amaranthus. These hanging flowers provide bird food during the winter, and generous re-seeding for next year.

Goldfinches Fledging

The goldfinches are among the latest nesters around here. This is a male goldfinch feeding a fledgling at the sunflower chip feeder.

Busy Bee

The black-eyed Susans are buzzing with all kinds of insects while they're in full bloom this week.

From the Rose Garden

David Austin barely pink English roses from the garden. Super sweet-smelling.

Spiderweb

Found near a climbing rose bush...I couldn't see the homeowner, though.

Harvesting

The garden beds are serving up yummies for our dinner table. Bush beans, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.

Garden Flowers

Pretty glads and a zinnia from the flower beds.

Praying Mantis: Friend or Foe?

Well, I've heard that it's good to have them in the garden because they eat pesty bugs...but that they also eat "good" bugs. And while at the annual hummingbird banding, I learned they can catch and eat a hummingbird!

Spaghetti Squash

I have counted up four of these in the garden bed so far.

Princess Diana Rose

Highly fragrant and fancy.

Idaho Potatoes

I was doing some weeding in the garden bed with potato plants and saw quite a few poking up out of the ground. I wonder how many more are below?

They're Awake!

As many of you know, these are my favorites in the front yard: black-eyed Susans. I appreciate not only their explosion of color, but how useful they are through the winter as birds snack on the seed heads.

A Geum Surprise

This gem of a plant is a geum and this is the first year it's bloomed twice. I moved it from the south side of the house to the north side, and it really likes its new home.

Red Zinnia

Zinnias make me feel like a successful gardener because they always show off impressive colors.

White Zinnia

The zinnia patch is seriously blooming. I'll share the bounty of colors over the next couple of days.

Green Tomatoes

These look like they'll be yummy, but they're certainly a surprise. I grew cherry tomato plants from seed and wound up with at least two obviously-not cherry tomato plants.

Cucumbers on the Way

Soon...very soon there will be cucumbers to snack on.

Pretty Pink Corn Hair

The topper as an ear of corn emerges.

The Corn Finally Grew Up

We might actually get a few ears of corn...if I can keep the earwigs at bay.

Mint in Bloom

Some of the "escapee" mint in bloom. I believe this is peppermint.

Hummingbird Favorite

This low-growing perennial is a hummingbird favorite.

Bean Blossom

This little slipper of a bloom is on a pole bean vine.

Butterfly Bush

Blooming and waiting for butterfly customers.

Hot Pink Zinnia

The garden bed zinnias are waking up.

Sand Dollar Mushrooms

Some biggies popped up on the north side of the house last week.

Young Red-Winged Blackbird

"Almost" a grown-up. This red-winged blackbird was part of a family of five that stopped by this week for snacks under a bird feeder.