Awesome plants! I planted it look like the same Foxglove a few weeks ago! My Monarda is coming alone, daylilies starting to bloom, butterfly bushes getting taller, Liatris getting close to blooming. Will take pictures soon.

Lovely gardens. Thanks for sharing. You are so far ahead of us.

Beautiful garden. Thanks for sharing the pictures. I envy you can grow gardenias in groud. I love its fragrant scent.

I've always wanted to grow gardenias. I had one in a pot back in NY, but it was too cold in the house in the winter time and it died! Now I start them from cuttings in a bucket, and plant them in the ground!

Kathy, Everything is beautiful. I love the Gardinias and the pomegranite. I hope you are feeling better.
Bill

Thanks everyone! Bill, thanks for your concern- it's taking so long to feel even a little better. But I'm hoping to get there!

Oh how glorious! Everything looks so healthy too. I bow to the master LOL!

Haha- I literally salivated when I saw the gardenia bloom- I miss them so much!

I've just cut back my favorite HUGE gardenia- the flowers are the size of my hand, and each leaf is 5 inches long! I throw the cuttings in a bucketof water, and they root so easily for me. In another year or so, my house and front porch will be surrounded by them!

What a beautiful sight, Kathy! Everything looks spectacular. I've only grown the smaller gardenia. Bet the garden smells wonderfully sweet!

Eloise- my garden does smell so sweet! Between the roses, gardenias, butterfly bush, petunias and alyssum, my nose is having a great time!

Beautiful!

Great job Kathy.

Kathy,all of your pics are fantastic,BUT.....that first one makes me drool,I find myself going back to look at it every day !!! WELL DONE !!!!!
Dan

Hello..Are those yellow and pink flowers in the first picture..Nicotiana? Love them..all of your pictures are wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

HI gc-
No- those are 4 O' clocks. They form a huge tough tuberous root and are perennials here. I love them for their instant color, and they spread and fill in everywhere. Unfortunately, the Japanese beetles love them too! Thanks for looking!

Beautiful, I'm jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could hate you for having such beautiful 4 o'clocks, I love them but being 2 zones colder than you, I have to start them new from seeds every spring and they never get as tall, full and beautiful as yours.

What you call Blue Chaste Tree, I call vitex. It's not suppose to grow in my area, but no one ever told mine. But again, since it dies back to the ground every winter, it never gets as big as yours.

Thanks for sharing the pics, I really enjoyed them.

Blue Chaste Tree is vitex- they're one and the same. I started mine from cuttings, and they rooted and grew so fast. Nothing like a mature stand of them and the bees and butterflies love them!

Kathy
where is it that you live as in what state Must be a fair bit south to have that Russian Sage in bloom already
I have quite a lot of it but not blooming yet
That is a great colour in the garden
Interesting about the Gardenia rooting so easily for you as well
I am going to try rooting the Gardenia as you say in my garden in Florida when I am back down there
I love the Four oclocks as well especially so in Florida gardens and have never had any trouble so far with the red lilly bug and four oclocks
That was interesting to read about But YUK that is one of the worst ever bugs one can come across
I hardly have any lilies any longer as they just are so much work to take care of with this red lily bug.

I have not learned to put mygarden photos onto the web yet silly me for sure as is so nice to see other gardens.

Bill
I was hoping to see a Brugmansia update from you. How are the dears that you take such good care of, doing at this time.
Brugmansia I mean.

Kathy - I'm sitting here in awe at how beautiful your flowers are! It's obvious you've been blessed with a green thumb ;). Thank you for sharing your garden candy with everyone here! God bless you!

I will try to post some pics of my flowers to share too.

Hey, why don't all of us here try to post some photos of stuff in our yards to help brighten each other's day?

P.S. Hope you feel better. Will keep you in prayer. :)

Hi MMM-
Glad you are enjoying my gardens! They're still in bloom, and now my angels are budding up. I've loved growing flowers since I was a little girl.
We had 106* today- but I watered last night so they only drooped a little.
Thanks for your kind words and prayers, I am slowly getting better! I can get around for the most part without my cane now, and I planted 12 petunias the other day! PTL! :)

Very pretty.

Kathy...once you told me those flowers in the lst picture were 4 o'clocks..I remembered I had planted both those and nicotiana last year..the 4 o'clock flower looks a little similiar but the leaves are different. I had some of the yellow and pink ones like in your picture and loved them..I have some returning this year but no flowers as yet..hope mine look half as good as yours.

Good morning Kathy! Sorry for the late reply. So happy to hear you're slowly feeling better! God is good! \0/

Glad to hear your angels are budding up! Should be a spectacular show soon! Mine has 4 buds on it now & it looks like the baby brug growing next to it in its pot is starting to put out a bud. Been giving mine liquid MG every wk along with a seaweed & fish emulsion every 2 wks. The stench of that stuff is enough to gag a maggot but it's an oldie but goodie in my arsenal lol. I also added some Tomato Tone to the soil & they really seem to enjoy it. Both plants are growing like weeds & have nice dark green foliage. I noticed something's been eating some of the leaves & since I never see any bugs on it in the daytime (my mockingbird keeps the brug bug free in the daytime LOL), I suspect it only comes out at night to do its damage. I put sticky tape around the base of each branch in the hopes of catching the pest but have only caught a leafhopper & some beetles; the leaf muncher is still at large. I usually use organic methods of pest control but this yr, because of the weather we've had, none of it has been very effective & at this point time has become crucial in trying to get a handle on things before I start losing plants outright so unfortunately I must resort to breaking out the big guns. Was thinking of using Bayer 2-n-1 rose systemic (in the big blue jug) or Sevin powder to combat the little bugger(s) eating my brug but I'm not sure if I can use such on it now since it's forming buds (?). Have you ever used either of these products on your angels?

You sound like me ("I've loved growing flowers since I was a little girl"). There's something very tranquil about looking out a window or sitting on a porch & viewing the beauty of nature.

Yikes! 106 degrees! How did y'all fair with those nasty storms that rolled through last wk? Hope you're o.k. We've had temps in the 90's-100's off & on but thank the good Lord we get a sea breeze coming in every day around 2pm which helps cool things down a bit. I feel horrible for those poor souls that are still w/o power! Prayers go out for them. My veggie garden isn't doing too well this yr but I'll make the most of it. After I rip it out in the fall, I'm going to try turning it into a compost pit so it can overwinter & then come spring Lord willing my soil should be ready for happy days again!

Here's what I've got going on over yonder:
Purple iris
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Peruvian daffodil
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My beloved black dahlia
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Took this 2 yrs ago. First toad I'd seen in over 30 yrs
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Peek-a-boo
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My lil Lamb
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View from flybridge of harbor sunset PTL!
{{gwi:500316}}

Have a great day! ((hugs))

MMP-
So nice to hear from you! I really enjoyed your post and comments. Seems like we are "kindred spirits"! I am in North Carolina. It's been 10 degrees or more above normal here. My angels are doing great though. I planted them last year as cuttings and mulched them with 6 inches of composted horse manure. They were cut back last fall, and most came up this spring. Well, there's so much mulch on them, that I haven't had to water them by hand. Just by God's hand! When everyone else had those nasty storms, all we had was heat. My sons in VA lost power for a bit, but are ok. I too feel so bad for all those suffering at this time. We are now below our average for rainfall, so I'm praying for rain. It's amazing that everything hasn't died yet! Our veggie garden is doing great too! I can't help there yet. When I hoe the weeds a little, it puts me down on the couch for a day or two afterwards. This is the longest I've ever been down, it's so hard. I'm so used to having so many projects going on at once! Now I have to learn to "enter into rest". I'm learning, little by little. Thank you for the outstanding photos! I love everyone of them, especially your little angel and the Peruvian daffodil. Awesome! Would you care to trade it for a Crinum lily Ellen Bosanquet? (if you have an extra) Let me know. Why haven't the frogs been around? I love toads, frogs, snakes. (black and king) The mocking birds wait on the wire for me to throw a grub or two to them, then they dive down and gobble them up! I love waking up to them. Sometimes they sing all night, right outside my window in the camellia tree! I have a little sparrow sitting on a nest in a pot of ginger inside my greenhouse. It's got to be 110* in there, but she is so faithful. She's going to have her hands full when the little ones hatch! Sadly, her mate met his end in the doorway by the neighbor's cat. Makes me so mad!
As to your secret pest- I really think it's green caterpillars. Do you have white cabbage moths flying around your plants in the daytime? They are laying eggs that hatch and do a lot of damage. Other little butterflies lay eggs too. I think the best powder is BT- Bacillus Thurengensis. It's an organic powder that the "cats" eat and it kills them. But it takes a few days though. You can use Seven, even if your angels are budding, but wait til dusk, when the bees go to bed. I've used Bayer systemic, but that takes a while too, and it seems to stay in the soil, killing other good things. I've heard that a bit of soapy water and a tbl of oil to make it stick will work too. I use a tbl of ammonia to a quart of water with a little soap to kill spider mites. The ammonia also greens up your plants too, But be careful- only use a very little bit. Should work on caterpillars too, or you can hand pick them. No worries, the leaves fall off and grow new ones. I don't like affecting the bees and other beneficials. I'm looking into using a cover crop on my veggie garden this summer and fall. If you get a chance read up on it. It does wonders for the soil. Well, til next time!

Beautiful garden Kathy! Sorry to read that you are not feeling well. Do you mind if I ask what's wrong? I will
be praying for you that you mend quickly!

Rena'

Beautiful garden! Everything is so lush. Don't you love the vitex? I have that same dark blue one and it has been loaded with blooms. They grow so easily from cuttings, too.

Garednofeden- (I love your user name, by the way!)
In Feb, I kept getting off my garden tractor by swinging my whole legs over the top of the steering wheel- similar to a football player kicking. I've been limping ever since! (guess no more football for me!!:)
My chiropractor thinks by the symptoms that I sprained my hip sockets. I don't have ins, but am finally going for a MRI soon. Hope I get better soon, the weeds are taking over!:) Thanks for your prayers, I appreciate your concern!

Oh my goodness Kathy! I wished I lived close I would come help you weed your garden! And here I was thinking of getting you to be the quarterback of our gardening club football team!

Seriously though I am very sorry to hear that you hurt your hips. The curve balls that life throws sometimes are just no fun. And yes it seems you have one more trial soon to be added to your one more miracle pile. Be encouraged "this too shall pass." Believe me I know how frustrating it is when you can't do what you want to & need to do. Sometimes I ask the Lord don't I have enough patience yet? lol But we are never forsaken nor forgotten even though sometimes it may seem that way. That's why we need one another to help carry each others burdens to tell one another that "hey you are going to make it!" And #1 to pray for one another.
United we stand divided we fall! That is why the enemy works overtime trying to divide us.

I lost my sight for colors for a long time so the colors of flowers and even the greenness of grass I find breathtakingly beautiful! People that don't know me well look at me cross eyed when I go on and on about the beauty even in grass. lol Looking for the praise report on your hips Kathy!

Rena'

Well thank you so much Gardenofeden! If you can believe it, I actually used to be the quarter back when playing football with my brother and his friends!(I was 15!) I could out run them all! :)
I know this is a trial of sorts, but I still keep on praising Him! I used to be a worship leader at our church back in NY, and I figured that the enemy is trying to steal the praise from my lips! God is worthy of praise, not because of what He does for us, but because of who He is! :)
I am at the point of - "I have quieted myself as a weaned child upon it's mothers' breast".... whatever God wants to do - He is Lord!

By the way- soon I will ride around on my garden tractor and have my 4 gal sprayer of Round up- that will kill those weeds! Thanks for the offer though, I really appreciate it!:) Feel free to visit my Facebook page- Gardens by Kasha- it's open to the public. Thanks!

Fondest greetings dear Kathy! I'm humbly grateful for your kind words & compliments. Bless your heart! If you ever need a prayer partner or another kindred spirit to talk with, feel free to email me anytime. Always happy to make a new friend & fellowship :-). How are you feeling since last? I've been encouraged by what you & gardenofeden said concerning our trials & our Lord's faithfulness throughout. Believe me, I can wholeheartedly sympathize with such. If it's one thing I've learned, it's that He ALWAYS provides, in His timing & His way. I know what it's like to be laid up longer than one would like/expect & at the same time still having tons of things that need to get done. God's had to literally knock me to my knees on a few occasions because I was knocking myself out, & not in a good way (if that makes any sense).

Congrats on your veggie garden going strong! Have you had any harvest yet? I got a few cukes, peppers, & tomatoes. I've had my heart set on some zucchini parm but don't know if I'm going to get any yield yet. Got flowers but no fruit yet. Been keeping a watchful eye for vine borers & so far so good. There's a nice fat eggplant hanging out but it needs to get bigger before I can pick it. Just hope the raccoons, possum, or squirrels don't get to it before I do! Can't wait to see pictures of your angel's when they bloom! That's awesome that they grew so vigorously after being cuttings from last year. I'm definitely going to put mine in the ground next yr. The pot I put mine in has become WAY too heavy now for me to move so I've been wheeling it onto my patio on a hand cart whenever nasty weather's expected.

I would love to give you a peruvian daffodil but so far I've only got the one plant this yr. I know it should multiply next yr so come then I should have a plant to share :-). Will def keep you posted. In the meantime if I come across some bulbs I'll pick them up for you. We usually get them at Costco. Everything we've ever bought from there has bloomed better than the stuff from our high end nurseries.

I honestly have no idea why the toads disappeared from my area. Sad though. I can remember catching a whole horse trough full of them, some of them were as big as my hand. My sister & I tried to keep them as pets but Dad told us they'd be happier being free so we'd always let them loose in the garden. Never had a pest problem back then. Now that my area has changed & the neighbors have become pesticide happy, I guess the toads either died or moved on to safer pastures. My yard is the only one that's organic. I only use something harsh as a VERY last resort (& even then I get the heebie jeebies about it). I keep my yard neat & clean but also as natural & woodland-like as possible, so it was a real treat seeing that little toad. Your mockingbirds sound like a fun pair! Mine just had 2 chicks. We raised our male ("Baby") after he was almost hit by a landscaping truck. I had to run out to scoop him up out of the street. Ever since then, he always comes back every yr with his mate "Pretty Girl" for peanut butter. They both come when called & even bring their chicks around as if they're showing them off to us. Speaking of which, how's that little sparrow doing? Have her chicks hatched? That is very sad about her mate!

Thank God your sons are o.k. after those nasty storms! My friend's son & family had no power for over a wk in W.VA. I heard there's still folks w/o power.

Thank you kindly for your advice Re:my brug! Truly appreciate it! I do have those white cabbage moths flying around. I'm going to take your advice & get some of that BT as a safe guard. Saw a brand called Safer caterpillar killer w/BT in it - would that be o.k.? Thank you also for the info about the homemade pest remedy too! Exactly how much ammonia should I use? It's in the 80's today on L.I. w/high humidity. My brug is hanging out in its spot & 3 of its buds are starting to unfurl. A garden spider has taken up residence amongst its branches & I couldn't be happier since its presence has been keeping away (for now) whatever was eating my brug's leaves.

Have a happy day my friend! God bless & keep you (((hugs)))

Kathy,
Your gardens are beautiful,and i've never see such a nice clump of russian sage.I have some,but mine never looked that good.What do you do to it to get it to bloom so profusely??

Love everything in your garden.TFS
Kathi

Thanks Kathi! I don't know- I pile composted horse manure on it every spring. Half way through the summer it gets thin, so I just trim it back and it regrows!