My very first zinnia blossom. I feel just like a little kid.

I goofed around with some photo software to make the color/black/white trick. Fun.

Charlie basking in the afternoon sun. These bamboo mats are great in a furry household.

AND NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT LUCAS. Lucas has been sadly missing from this blog. We aren't sure why! Normally, he is the subject of many photographs. It seems that he prefers the darkest, coolest spot in our yard. This is under a hammock on some bare dirt! I think that is why we haven't photographed him lately, but here he is in all his glory. We love the guy...big wet snout and all...he is the alpha male. (Be nice and don't notice my nemesis weed in the upper photo, lower right corner.)

For some reason, these little flowers thrill me. What a bonus! They are all over town and all over our backyard!

I know that Saint Francis has appeared before, however, there is something new to show. You might notice the new Begonia right in front of St. Francis. Think positive thoughts for the new Begonias. I am thrilled that they are perennial and anxcious to see how they do.

Finally! A Bloom! I think the spot that these gorgeous flowers are planted might not drain well enough for them....may need to try them in a raised bed in the future.

One of the sweetest dogs ever! I can't seem to get enough of this girl. She is lucky, and we are lucky! A perfect match of dog and family at just the right time. She will never be hungry or lonely again.

Nice photo of my new coreopsis. I think I planted it in late April this year.

For some reason, I didn't plant Black Eyed Susans until this year. They look great. I really, really, really hope they come back to us next year.

Cat-Trina is a very special kitty. She came from the shelter where she was the quietest and calmest cat in the bunch.

First mail order plants!!!

I am sooo sooo excited. I got my first mail order plants ever today. I asked Andrew very nicely to go home at lunch and save them from sweltering all day in a box! (He made the mistake of telling me that he got an email telling him that they arrived.) Since he is so sweet, he did, and he sent photos! I haven't seen them in person yet. He left the newspaper on one of them so that I could envision the mess that was being made!
:o)
I got them here:
http://www.plantdelights.com/

There are three Kniphofia 'Alcazar' and four Begonia grandis 'Heron's Pirouette'. Update: I also ordered a Aspidistra elatior 'Asahi' and three Lantana camara 'Miss Huff' (hardy in this area).

This Azalea seems confused. I think it was about this time last year that it reflowered......hmm...........It is pretty!

And this Coneflower is definitely confused! Is that a petal growing out of the center? Could this be the start of a new bizarre variety? Probably not, but we will watch....

This is Linus. He is one of our foster cats with www.fcdf.org (The Friends of Cats and Dogs Foundation). He is an absolute sweetheart. I am totally in love with him. He came to FCDF, because he was apparently being routinely beaten up by neighborhood cats and refusing to fight back. Nobody knew where he came from. A nice couple turned him in to FCDF with a donation for his care. He had a lot of scrapes and cuts and missing fur. He is all healed up and FULL OF LOVE!

Petunias were a positive experiment this year. I had it in my head that you had to deadhead them constantly and that they were sticky and basically not so great. This pot has proven me wrong! I will be planting many in the future!

Before the rain started, Andrew took some photos for me. The cleome volunteers are really taking off (I was so excited when I first saw them. I hope they return) and my double impatiens are FINALLY opening. I planted them in April with the other impatiens, and I can not, for the life of me, figure out why they held their buds closed for so long!

The lantana is carrying on. We think we will try planting it in the ground at the end of the season (wish it luck). Andrew likes the tall lantana bushes that he see around here. He also likes that we saw a hummingbird come to our lantana! My only concern is their reputation for being poisonous to dogs, so we will plant them in the front yard............I love them too.

Note to self: Andrew bought some very discounted Zinnia seedlings, and we planted them in both the back and the front today. Stay tuned to see if they come to fruition...........

Today is a very, very rainy day, so we thought we would take photos of our humble little home-grown flower arrangement. The girls thought it was a good idea too.
:o)

(To give credit where credit is due, Tabitha is the tan tabby and CatTrina is the orange/red tabby. CatTrina was adopted from our local Humane Society. We are fostering Tabitha through http://www.fcdf.org/ . Despite her foster status, she has been with us for awhile now, and I believe she may be a permanent resident. We have seen quite a few fosters come and go, but she seems determined to stay, and I love her. She has been returned twice............)

Two more Panoramas. Again, click on the photo to see the full detail

Panorama shot of the garden. Click on the photo to see the large version

Sunflower beginning to strain under the weight of its developing seeds. Sunflowers are ridiculously fun to grow. It was Andrew's idea, and I highly recommend it!