Wednesday Walk

Would you like to go for a walk in my garden?

Here's a view of my side yard which I intended to be a serenity garden.  (Odd because the brick house next door belongs to my VERY LOUD Puerto Rican neighbors.  Good people.  JUST REALLLLLY LOUD). 

The serenity garden isn't very serene.  Not because of my neighbors - but because it's overgrown with weeds.

It's downright embarassing.  But in my defense, we had nearly two weeks of intense heat and humidity and I just couldn't get outside. 

My poor cherub is being swallowed by a volunteer trumpet vine.  I better dig it up or it'll be taller than my house in no time!

My pricker weed thistle plant is starting to brown up.  If you let those hard, crusty pricker weeds grow, they get about 5-6 feet tall and get lovely thistle purple flowers on them.  I always get one in this patch and, since it's on the side of the yard, I let it grow.  The flowers attract yellow finches.

Unfortunately, I didn't see a single finch this season.  But the bees love it as you can see here.  My yard was FULL of bees tonight which is so encouraging considering the colony collapse issues out there.

(Mr. Bee is atop the flower mooning me and my camera in case you can't spot him).

My rose of Sharon are doing wonderfully, bursting with lovely lavendar color.  They're the first thing I see when I pull my car in back - a very lovely "welcome home".

And there's BIG things happening in the yard.  Check out the size of thes squash leaves!!  My foot is next to one to give you some perspective.  Yes, I wear old lady gardening shoes.

And my hibiscus have popped.  They are the size of saucers - or, my hand.  They're happy faces smile at me as I round the corner to head to my car for work each morning. 

And that's our walk today!