Aw, we don't mind the weeds, go ahead and show them! Beautiful flowers!

What are those yellow flowers that the butterflies are loving so much? Are the cone flowers? Great shots, by the way!

Very nice pics.
One person calls it a weed, another calls it flower/plant.
Who doesn't have some weeds.
I love my hosta.
Bonnie

Beautiful photos! I love summer - I just wish it wasn't so HOT. lol Is that tithonia in the second and third photo? I haven't seen any that are golden like that.
I have to stop and pull a few weeds sometimes when I take pictures. This year has been worse than ever before. Thank goodness for the zoom lens.
Here's some from my yard:

My butterfly bush is not the most beautiful thing I've ever planted but it sure draws the butterflies and even hummingbirds. The last one is clethra but I think that's the only butterfly that has landed on it so far.

The tithonia mexican sunflower is orange in real life. That plant reseeded from last year and is 8 feet tall. I had another that came up in a path. When I moved it, I cut out the middle to reduce the shock. It is branching and is lower, I think that is the way to go. If we get wind, tithonia limbs will break. Christie, I love your bed with the white and purple wildflowers in the background. A worker at Neosho Nurseries years ago told me Buddleia didn't sell until they started calling it butterfly bush. I like the smell. I have lots of black butterflies I think because my woods is full of spicebush. I like the smell of clethra; mine has been blooming a few weeks. The white hosta flowers are fragrant too. Thanks for the compliments; this picture thing is fun for me. I may be running people off I'm afraid.

helenh, I live vicariously through everyones photos.
Since my own flowers did so poorly this year.
Any way here is my 1/2 cent on your comment.
Speaking for my self, Their are times I am here most everyday, sometime several time a day. Then I have times when my life is just too busy or... that I don't show up for a bit. But either way even if I don't post I still LOVE reading about all the wonderful things that are going on in everyones life and gardens.
I have received a wealth of valuable information here.
It's a free world to each his/her own.
Bonnie
Yes I'll hush now.

Don't anyone ever apologize for posting pictures, please.

I love seeing them.

Helen, your flowers are beautiful. I didn't do tithonia this year, but must try them again. Is that bottom one the torenia.

Christie, what is the shorter purple plant just in front of the buddleia. That is a beautiful border.

Your gardens are sure looking better than mine right now. That tells me I need to pay attention to what you all are growing!

gldno1 I am envious of the big vegetable garden I saw in your earlier posts. I am also envious of Christie's bed with the field of wildflowers in the background. I like to make little gardens in pots because where I want to put flowers may have tree roots or bermuda grass or creek gravel soil. I don't think it matters how big or what kind of garden as long as you have the interest that keeps you from being bored and gives you some exercise. The torenia looks just like it did in early June. It roots easily and the rooted cuttings transplant easily.

Helenh and Christie your flowers are beautiful. I expecially like the pictures with the butterflies.

OK...that's it! I've just saved all those butterfly flower pictures into my screen savers...If ya'll keep posting them, I'm stealing them! Just too pretty!!

The field behind my first photo is the neighbor's hayfield just south of us. There's a LOT of Queen Anne's Lace in his field and we're getting more and more each year too. Hope the cows don't mind. You can see a little red clover mixed in there too. Makes a nice background I guess. : )

The purple flowers below the butterfly bush are my verbera bonariensis volunteers. I only had four plants last year and about a hundred this year. I think I'd better deadhead those.

The gray plant is supposed to be artemisia 'Valerie Finnis'. It was a little unhealthy looking sprig last year and when it emerged this spring, it was a HUGE patch with sprouts coming up like seedlings. I didn't even know what it was until it got bigger. You can't tell from the photo but it's about four feet tall and has flopped over. I'm a little worried about how big it's going to be next year.

Helen - Is the torenia in the bottom photo one that you started from a cutting this year or one that you bought? I love plants that are easy to root.

All of your pics are lovely. I have mostly container plants this year, but my surprise lilies are doing great, ( as long as the deer don't get to them.)

I have them in 6 differant locations in our yard !
Here is the largest bunch, under my Fringe tree:

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Here is today's pic of my deck, following a nuce shower:

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The Elephant's ear that I planted in a large tub, it is on the corner of the deck:
( You can see it at the far end of the deck pic.)( I took the pic from the dinningroom view, with the sliding glass door open.)

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And the Canna, also in a large tub, with a Banana to it's right, in the big old waste basket that the canna was in last year:

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You can see that, with perseverance , and determination, you can still grow things despite the deer, and advancing age. :-)

Marian

Marian I love your pots on the deck. I have gone nuts on pots myself. Inside I have little pots on the windowsills. I wish I had a nice deck like you do. The four pictures of small torenia plants are all cuttings. I start them under the drip from a window air conditioner in the shade. I need to miracle grow them and give them more sun, but not full sun. Christie your silver plant looked very attractive the way it contrasted with the other foliage. I have the purple flower, but mine is tall and sparce. I think you have good soil; did you cut it back to make it bushy.

everyone has such wonderful plants and flowers!
That deck is so great. You must enjoy the pretty view.
I agree the butterflies are so pretty. I have had only a hand full this year.
Bonnie

christie, I was wondering the same thing about the verbena bonariensis. Mine are 4 feet tall or more. Did you clip yours back?

Marian, I thought you all were getting rain. Glad you got it.
We have just had a trace the last two days.

I love all your potted plants. I don't do many because I am so bad about watering them.

missfourseasons, I just checked your member page and was surprised to see you live in Guam! My brother was in the U.S. Air Force, and based there, many years ago.
It that where you have always lived ?

Hello Marian ~ I was born in Guam and my family is from here. Have lived here most of my life except during the years when my Dad was in the Navy. During my "Navy baby" years spent most of it in California until we returned when my Dad retired. Met my husband here, who also came to Guam via the Air Force...Eventually, we moved to MO on 18 acres (my hubby went to school across the lake in Hermitage when he was a teenager)...Since I've lived there that is where my heart is and one of these days we will move back to see how all my flowers and plants are doing. In the meantime, I have some nice neighbors who are looking after our place for us...I'm living in the Ozarks vicariously until then through you guys ... :)

My verbena seedlings came up so close together they were touching each other and I didn't thin them out although I intended to, I just never got to it. Maybe it's just as well because they're blooming just fine. They're all 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall.

Marian - You're plants all look so lush and pretty. I'm bad to let my potted plants get too dry sometimes. I've been saving lids from salad dishes to use under my little pots - if I'm good and get salad at the drive-through instead of a burger.

I can see why you're so good with orchids, Marian...your garden has such a tropical flair. I think when I get back to MO, I'm going to try to duplicate your deck..How did you get your elephant ears to be so hugh? I tried to plant those and they came up but they were much smaller...

Yes, Missfourseasons, I do have quite a few tropicals. You should see the inside of our house in the wintertime. LOL
Almost wall to wall plants in some places. :-)

My, what a compliment on my deck. It is due to the deer population that most of my plants gravitated to the deck. It is the only place they are safe from them. I have had problems with the raccoons digging up my potted plants, and I shook powdered hot pepper in the pots last year to deter them. I have had no problem this year. Just a couple of small incidences.

I have 2 elephant ears. The one out in the front yard is not nearly as full and pretty. It is in mostly last year's potting soil, just topped off with new. The one in the pic is in all new (mostly Miracle-Gro)potting soil. The funny thing is...I think I planted it upside down ! It took forever to come up. I had put the bulb in a bucket to get it started, and finally gave up on it, and planted some other plants around the perimeter of the bucket. When it did finally sprout, I transplanted all of the contents of the bucket into the large tub. It has 5 very strong healthy sprouts. The other one (planted rightside up) has only one big shoot, and a tiny new one has just recently came up.

I hope you stay with us on this forum, so we can follow along with your move back here, and your new garden here.

Marian