Well, I've decided to look at it this way: they have inspired me to get started redoing the back yard to create a tranquil spot like yours and everyone else's that does not allow views of the neighbors.

I also discovered a HUGE hole that Annabelle dug near the other (nice) neighbor's fence. Time for chicken wire and more dirt. When she digs, I think she arranges for someone to haul away the dirt for her (other than that which she brings into us on her chest, front paws, and head). I can never find enough to fill up the hole again! Our back yard has craters along every wall and fence thanks to her search and destroy missions. Dratted voles and chipmunks! Wonder if I could cover the whole back in chicken wire...Misty is much better behaved. Wanna trade?

I like having only occasional glimpses of beautiful spots such as yours, Woody. Makes them all the more cherished, I think.

What a pleasant weekend ! Always crap-shoot in July, but it was mild , and still t-shirt weather out now at almost 8pm. One of the differences I have noticed in the midwest and east coast versus here in Norcal is the very cool nighttime temps we have here. It seems like the swing between day and night is more pronounced here ?

I am happy with my garden this year ! there are a few areas that are troublesome, but the beds I worked on last year are pleasing me. I am going to have my bug-ridden birch tree removed this winter- it will free up a nice chunk of real estate .

I got all my reservations finalized for IU8-flights , hotels , etc. Lots of travel coming up for me in the next two months, business and pleasure .

Time for dinner ..picked today corn and tuna salad. A good summer meal..

Kathy in Napa

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O, Yeona that is simply luscious -- wish you had more time to post photos and visit these days!

It's funny, Kathy - I have been searching for caryopteris Summer Sorbet and cannot find it - I stood in front of C. Gold "something or other" (I've forgotten already!) and decided I just needed to hold out for what I wanted.... I also really went looking for some late salvias but the nursery had nothing but S.g. Black and Blue which I've already got.... o well....

I will look forwrd to hearing other reports on the Echinacea Hot Papaya -- mine has had some real mutant blooms -- no petals or odd partial groupings -- but then perfectly good blooms - it's not been a bloom machine so far -- wow, E. Virgin has however - I planted it w/ the Hot Paypaya last year and it has grown into a wonderful heatlhy plant full of blooms.

Woody - I meant to comment - yes, my Rose of Sharon Blue Satin has been blooming for probably 3 weeks now; we are much ahead of you guys it seems. It could be the big hot spells we've been having -- another batch of those uglies this week -- likely to the triple digits tomorrow... more HHH weather.

Kathy, I'm glad to hear you're happy with your garden - it was lovely last year so I can't imagine how terrific it looks if you think it's better this year, LOL. I do know I'm a bit happier with a few areas I either re-worked this year or late last - I wish I'd had more time in the Spring to do some other areas but the long wet season we had definitely cramped my ideas.....

Looking now too for a good late blooming shrub not to get more than 6-8 feet high and likely less wide - I'm contemplating Lespedeza Gilbratar - it's to replace the 2nd buddleia that died this spring next to Hydrangea Annabelle and near the Albizia Summer Chocolate.. ideas anyone?

Cynthia - it is weird how life turns on a dime or a simple new neighbor - it changes our whole outlook and daily attitude doesnt it? I think you should think of it positively in the chance to address and landscape to give you privacy. Knock on wood, I've been lucky not to have dogs digging holes; I had good friends who had a Corgie that was a digger and got out many times under their fence; they had to go to great lengths with wire under the fence and other "safeguards." Your neighbors sound the types to be calling the police or county at any excuse -- what a nuisance people like that are!

--Cindy

Today is as Cindy predicts, HOT - HOT - HOT! I rushed off to the bank, picked up groceries for a cold dinner tonight, and now await Debbie & Sue this afternoon for a bit of house clean-up.

A young girl is weeding for me in the shade this morning. What a TREAT! She seems to know pretty much what she is doing too. I pointed her to a shady area so she wouldn't pass out...and gave her plenty of water to drink too. I hope she can return for a few more days so i can catch up around here!

I found the Persicaria I was looking for the other day. Only one left. P Black Field. I'm enjoying Persicaria 'golden arrow' as well.

I think this will be the day when I resort to using our air conditioner in the main room. So be thankful you are indoors with A/C if you are at the awfice.

'bug

Tie Dye
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HOT-HOT-HOT here too. 'Cooler by the lake' has abandoned us yesterday and today. It is 31C with a humidex of 35C (89/96F). We're desperate for some rain and have all fingers and toes crossed that the thunderstorms will actually arrive here later this afternoon or evening instead of fading away before they reach us - that's what's been happening for the last few weeks :-( It's a good thing we had so muce rain in May but all that moisture has ben used up by now.

gb - I hope your youg girl survives the heat out there! Even in the shade in the backyard, it's just too hot and humid out there for me. Randy has just gone out to the backyard to water the trees that we planted this spring - he's hoping the principle that 'if you water, it will rain' applies today :-)

The shade from the ash and oak keeps the backyard looking nice and green longer than is the case in the sunny front garden. These pictures are from yesterday:

The 'Blushing Bride' hydrangea in front of the shed is looking quite nice this year. It will show some pink and green as the flowers develop more and age:
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Looking at the shed from the back porch - I removed all the bigroot geraniums that edged the path along the pines. They kept spreading out and narrowing the path. I replaced them with the 'Ghost' ferns you can see along the edge. I hope the ferns survive this heat! The 'Jack Frost' down there has gotten enormous.
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This picture is taken from the center path under the pines, looking back at the back porch:
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If we don't get rain today, we'll need to do some major watering out front. There's no rain in the forecast for all the rest of this week:-(

No rain in the forecast for us anymore I'm sad to say. That means "move the hose" games instead of weeding.

The new girl does both indoor painting and gardening. She prefers painting because she can charge more...I said the more she works here, the more experience she'll have and the more I can pay her. I offered her $5 more/hour after seeing what she did today. I was pleased! She worked in shade by the creek and weeded about 50 feet worth of garden! It didn't have much there besides obvious plants: primulas, hostas and astilbes. What a difference! Other places will be harder as the number of kinds of plants increases. But she is good about asking which I appreciate. She worked for almost 5 hours.

Ghost fern is my favorite of all!

My carpenter friend is thinking of making a teeter totter for us! How I wish our grandchildren lived closer!

Off to prepare curried chicken salad and cantaloupe for tonight. No cooking for me!
'bug

Zilch in the rain department here again today :-( Serious hose-dragging required tomorrow...

We have an excess of rain here in Iowa. There is nearly 1 million acres of farm land under water. I-29 is closed. There isn't a lot of places to cross the Missouri River. We got 4" in the last 2 nights. We are ok here but the flooding is so sad for those along the river. We are about 1 hour away.

There was no breeze tonight and with the rain the mossies made it impossible to pull any weeds here. I made a nice little arrangement of pink and white lilies, pink babies breath and achellia The Pearl to put on my desk at work. It helps keep the time at the awfice more bearable.

Cindy, keep looking for that "Summer Sorbet" it's a great performer here even though in my zone it dies back to the ground. It's quick to regrow.

'bug, your "girl" seems to be quite the find. I doubt I could find someone around here to do weeding. Love that "Tie Dye" clematis.

Cyn, sorry to hear that the new neighbors aren't exactly neighborly.

Woody, your 'Blushing Bride' is looking great. I have a couple but they are smaller than that.

Michelle

Michelle, too much rain can be as bad as too little. Both are terrible!

I must be impossibly old. I remember when I could distinguish an 11 year old from a 12 year old. No more. That "girl" who helped me today spoke to me about her husband!

Oh, and I am hoping for blooms on a Caryopteris x clandonensis 'White Surprise' which i bought last summer. It is up and looking happy...so maybe in August there will be flowers.

'bug

Here is a link that might be useful: 10 million people across Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan

Michelle - I sure wish you could send some of that rain here! I know there's a lot of concern with harvest levels and impact on food prices given the conditions being experienced in your area. Is crop insurance common down there - i.e. will farmers have some income protection if their crop is wiped out?

One of the things that seems to be characterizing the weather in the last couple of years is 'stalled weather systems' where a system seems to park itself somewhere and give the same sort of conditions for a long period. The 7.3" of rain we got in May was like that, as was our fairly snowless winter and now our dry, cloudless summer. It sounds like your experienceing the same sort of thing.

Time to go attach the hose to a different soaker....

Hiya friends, another pleasant evening here, and thinking of the heat that is bombarding so many of my GW folks.

Cindy, I hope you can scare up 'Summer Sorbet' at some point. It was certainly impervious to the weather here, though I know humidity is quite another matter. Thank you too, for the nice comment about my garden last summer. The improvements I made mostly involved digging things up and adding more plants of what I already had. Repeated elements ! What a difference it made ! What about Sambucus for your replacement shrub ? Or Philadephus ?

Michelle, as one who has been evacuated more than once due to flooding, I always feel badly for those who have to endure that particular disaster. Our county is about a year away from completion on a flood control project -the Napa River is tiny compared to others but it is tidal and development has wiped out the natural flood plain. The restoration of flood plains is the lynch-pin of the project.

Woody, I always enjoy seeing photos of your shed. What a nice job you've done on that area.

A pic from my garden taken last weekend. This is an area I have particularly enjoyed this year .

Sweet dreams !
Kathy in Napa {{gwi:167385}}From Garden Summer 2011

Another 3/4" of rain last night. It's much cooler today, but is supposed to be extremely hot this weekend. The fireflies are thick this year and quite enjoyable as they twinkle through the garden.

Kathy, fabulous colors in your garden. I can see why you are enjoying this area.

A few things that are going on in my garden. On the far side of the container picture is a euphorbia 'Diamond Frost'
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Such gorgeous photos! The colors and textures are beautiful! I like repeated color throughout a garden...and the potager is once again looking perfect.

Much cooler here as well so far today. The tree man showed up last night so today will keep me busy hauling wood to the barn and taking cut down cedar shrubs to the fire pit. There is more tree work needed later on when the ground by the creek is dry.

I sat under a tree late yesterday with Phoebe and we watched the fields as the wind blew gently. A very fine time of year! The grain in motion is wonderful to look at.

These are reality shots, not things of beauty:
The willow during pruning
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The propane tank area with downed cedars
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I'll add Little Ms Ivy catching bubbles
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Kathy - that area is wonderful - it looks just like one of the photos from Annie's Annuals and the jewel tones! You've done a terrific job....
And I must ask - which daylily is that? I've been drooling over them on the daylily forum trying to figure out some I'd like to get to replace the ones I'm tossing -- sheesh, those folks are serious over there tho, some of the new cultivars they are all growing have some serious investment involved.... I confess I can't see investing in something that much that I might end up tossing in 3 years when I hate it or it doesnt perform, LOL.... I really need to find some that are late late bloomers too -- so far the Cherry Cheeks seems to be about the latest for me.

Thanks for the shrub ideas -- I actually have 3 sambucus already (I love 'em); I think the philadelphus blooms earlier than I'd like; I could probably move a cotinus Grace I've got and let it grow larger; I've been cutting it back.... the fence area looks horrible this year since that was where the roofers apparently threw (and missed) along a large portion of the line and smashed things down...Maybe Buffalo will have some good nurseries for us to stop in -- or I should locate some along the route home.

And it's so interesting to me to see your photos next, Michelle - some of them are quite similar in the coloration -- you've got so many wonderful combos -- all that rain has helped... and wow, how many lilies again together (are you buying up the bulb store, LOL?) -- it's quite a treat to see so many clustered together to give a Wow -- I like the pink asiatics that you had in large groups too (I guess those are your throways, right?). I havent had any luck with that allium - it just died right off after about 2 years - I love it, but dont know why they went away. I've noticed that most of my alliums seem to do that.

There's Phoebe -- I've been wondering where she was lately, 'bug - as you havent mentioned her much. I must disagree re your photos too, 'bug -- they are indeed things of beauty -- that view is lovely, peaceful and serene -- I can just imagine sitting on the grass peering down that lane...and Ivy -- so cute -- it's wonderful to have those quiet joy moments captured on film for posterity...

Woody, the overviews of some of the other areas of your garden look green too and I love love your shed -- that hydrangea is gorgeous; I love 'em; just dont have enough places or shade for them, along with the high temps here they just drop. There's a woman around the corner near me who has only hydrangeas, hellebores and I think a couple acuba planted tall pine trees that edge her corner townhouse -- she lives out there w/ watering those poor things -- they were gorgeous a couple weeks ago, but today look like they're on a terminal shutdown....I dont know if she's planning to fill in with other shrubs, but right now their pitiful state is very noticeable, LOL (mine are mostly hidden behind large shrubs, which may be part of their problem - not enoguh light). They certainly do have any number of new cultivars out - I'd love to have some of the paniculatas; but too large I fear.

Okay - hump day at last... and some cooler weather supposedly on the horizon. I'm just crossing my fingers I dont have to water again tonite; I only did some emergency stuff last nite - which likely did nothing since we'll be in the 90s again.....

Cindy

Michelle - gorgeous pictures, especially those lilies and the potager!

The willow and the driveway are a perfect peaceful-looking combination gb.

Cindy - I wonder why you have trouble with the Allium
sphaerocephalon...? I love them - and they seem to love it here too. A bit too much perhaps because they've spread well beyond where they were initially planted! I like this picture Randy took while playing around with his new macro lens on his camera:

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Sunny, dry and hot is all that is in the forcast for the foreseeable future :-( The hoses are getting a workout yesterdany and today!

These are what I call things of beauty!

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Back to work....

Indeed gb!

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I e-mailed Marian the other day to ask how she and Nolon were doing in the dreadful heat that I gather was/is happening down there. She replied today...

'We are doing as well as can be expected. Nolon has improved enough to get around better that he was. Yes, It has been very hot here, 102F yesterday.
Today it is cloudy and much cooler outside, but it was in the 80s indoors when we got up. I have fans going in the windows to bring in the cooler outside air. It is helping bring that temp. down a little. And I have other fans going that blow on us. We are comfortable. A 2 minute storm just passed over, with very loud thunder, and a nice downpour, that at least wetted the poor withered plants's leaves. I am watering special areas. We are under a burn ban.....'

'I do not function well in these hot days either, and only do what really needs done, and that does not include housework ! I feed us, and supply clean clothing, and that is about the limit to my indoor work. I don't think the heat bothers Nolon as much as it does me, either. But he still is not able to do much. He was told that he may start doing more the middle of this month, and it is nearing the middle. :-) He came out yesterday and helped carry in my groceries. That is the first time he has done that since his surgery the 2nd of May. His emphysema is harder on him than the heart surgery. He brought home an aparatus from the hospital, that he breathes into to measure his lung capacity. He is using it frequently, and getting the thing in it to go up farther. '

Yikes! I would not be able to cope with heat like that without air conditioning!

I call that Gardenbug's "bling", LOL.

I am always thankful to be spoiled with air conditioning - a wonderful modern invention.

-cindy

Fabu pics today ! Michelle , your garden never fails to inspire a 'wow' moment. And those lilies ! Is that Gaffity ? I dug mine up because the color was not quite right for the location. How heartless we gardeners can be , lol. And your pillar planting is to die for..I am ordering drumstick Allium from one of my catalogs. 100 for 14.50. I have had zero lock with Alliums, but Denise can grow this one in zone 10 so I think I may have some success. The price seems a bit low, which always raises the 'get what you pay for' red flags, but I'm going to order 200, 30 bucks is a drop in the bucket relative to what I've spent on plants this year.

'Bug , Cindy is right, she and I have small gardens and every photo of the farm just seems fabulous , bucolic, pastoral..even the downed Cedars ! What is the bottom pic you posted today ?

Woody, Marian is very active on FB , and very stoic about her AC situation ! Do you know she has acquired a dog ?

Cindy, thanks for your 'jewel tone' comment..that is exactly what I am going for ! Lol the daylily forum-they are directly responsible for the quantities of DL's I have here. They do not mess around do they ? I have had some real disappointments -the colors are so darn unstable. And, the snails are crazy for them-they are really high maintenance to keep looking decent. The plant in the pic I posted yesterday is Bela Lugosi ..don't you have that one ? Or am I thinking of someone else ? Anyway, the color this year has been really different-not nearly as dark. It's pretty though anyway. Hopefully it will return to it's normal self next year. If you don't have it I could easily carve up a couple fans and stick the in my suitcase for you at IU ? The plant is huge and really needs to be divided anyway.

OK, all for tonight..waves to all , and missing Yeonas posts !

Kathy in Napa

Kathy, Shasta 'old court' variety. They got very thirsty while in bud, but all is well now. This is their 3rd or 4th year.

What a day it was, very busy with people here for various work things. But divine weather!!! I edged the hellebore garden, but it needs some weeding still. The veg garden needs lots of work too. Maybe tomorrow. Lilies have begun to bloom in various places.

DH carted loads of willow wood to the barn. Not the greatest for burning, but the price is right.

Phoebe was busy howling at the moon tonight. What a hoot she is!

Sphaerocephalon bulbs here...everywhere. I like Bulgaricum very much, though possibly too subtle for some. I just cut them back today. Also like Azureum.

Here is a link that might be useful: allium bulgaricum

I wish I could be here more too. I do read when I have time, and think of all often. I enjoy the garden pictures of course, and wish I could have all of the plants, and space for them, but am glad to be able to own them vicariously, so thanks. :) Sorry to hear that weather is affecting some so much. We have warm days, but unseasonably cooler evenings. Great for my Leah, who loves her cool evening walks, but hard for most humans I talk to.

My garden is finally weeded, which I'm relieved about. My method; I lift a shovelful, weed, and put the shovelful back. It is the quickest for me. I worry about stimulating weeds with the amount of soil I disturb, but reason that I will be able to weed the loosened soil more easily. Hopefully that's the case.

My phlox David was almost completely overtaken with powdery mildew this year, owing in part to the later rains, I've surmised. I hope that there will still be flowers on the little green that was left unscathed on the top of the plant. I love my phlox David and hope the weather hasn't changed my being able to have it in my garden. The rest of the plants are doing okay, except for the asters and echinops ritro, which have been eaten by large white larvae. Again I hope I still get blooms. Is my garden trying to tell me something? Maybe my plants need some compost spray. I think I'll give that a try. For sure some newer plants need watering, like my beauty berry and the newly transplanted peony, which bloomed non stop this year despite the upset, of that move. Hopefully it hasn't bloomed itself to death!

I'm not happy with the daylilys so far. I have stella and wish it were bigger. It might be because I've only had them for a year. I haven't had much problem with slugs. Maybe the birds are keeping them down. Anyway of course I'll give them a few years. I love the stargazer lilies, though. They took a few years to put on a good show for me, but now they look great.

Good to hear Marian's hubby is mending. Sorry about the emphysema. MIL's twin sister contracted that and was struck very ill with it for a year before she passed. She suffered greatly with it. Smoking was the culprit for her. MIL, who smoked also contracted lung cancer and was taken quickly. Son-in-law's family are smokers, and I worry about my daughter and SIL around all that smoke. Apparently exercise helps protect against smoking which my daughter does lots, but SIL doesn't as he has a back condition from birth which causes him pain. I am a worrier, I admit.

We are thinking of getting another dog now. We are looking at a shepherd wolf doberman mix dog, but haven't decided. The parents are lovely and friendly, and the older siblings are apparently very friendly dogs, but I was hoping for a boy, and Richea likes the girl's markings. Decisions decisions.

It's late, and I have to work tomorrow so I'll say good night, and good gardening. :)

Yeona

The gnomes certainly held back posting this morning - but hopefully this will work this time...

Kathy - that's amazing that's Bela Lugosi - yes, I do have it and it is nowhere near that color this year - much darker/blacker...I think I've got two sets of it even, LOL...I believe my purchase of it was inspired by the pics you showed a few years ago along w/ Moonlight Masquerade (which I said on FB is so disappointing to me)...must have something to do with the moisture/rain we get each year, ya think? Which is why the fleshy toned-pink daylilies I've got proliferating the garden are out of here this year -- hope to do that this weekend - I managed to tape them while they were blooming for SP alert.

Shasta daisies are another plant that seem to flop too much even for me to stand it and they dont bloom as long as I wish so I did get rid of a bunch; I love that shaggy Old Court look, 'bug, and have admired this batch you've got.

We actually Finally got a decent downpour yesterday p.m. and it saved me from Hose duty last nite -- but in penance, I spent over an hour with tech support trying to install a new wireless printer at home -- the guy was obviously in India and said it aws about 5 a.m where he was -- Victory -- I have a working printer again after probably 6 months of none; frankly I would have preferred pulling hoses around, LOL.

Big sigh today -- gorgeous, fabu weather - no humidity and 80ish - if only I werent doing duty here at the awfice..... o well, I'm hopeful the weather will continue thru the weekend and I'll grab some garden therapy then.

Nice to see your post, Yeona -- getting some weeds out is a feelng of accomplishment, even if it's fleeting -- I know as soon as I pull, they're back somewhere else; I never mulch deep enough.

Ciao!

-Cindy

Cindy I know exactly what you mean by the 'fleshy-pink' thing--that color is just downright yukky to me and I too am sp'ing all that diSplay that. This is what I get when I order 'pink' . Soils, temps, moisture I think all are involved.

Back to work...

Kathy - I'm probably the last holdout re FB... :-) Yes, I knew about Marian's dog - remember the discussion here re a name...? Did Lady Rolex 'stick' as a name? Is the dog getting along with the cat now? I forgot to ask Marian about the dog.

There's a new dog in the neighbourhood here. Rex is a Skye terrier and he's the exact same color as Misty! He's the same height roughly but twice as long! And he reacts to other dogs in the same way as Misty does initially (i.e. run to the end of the leash, barking and lunging like a lunatic!) We hope to get them settled down together with time. They will make a very cute combination if/when they become buddies.

No rain here yet - the forecast says maybe Monday next week...:-( But it was pleasantly cool here today, which was nice. There was a lot of hose-dragging going on this morning.

On the subject of daylilies... I only have a few. The ones I like best are intense reds and rusty red-oranges. There're some nice combinations developing in the herb bed, which has become my 'hot' bed. I need to take some pictures out there to see if I can get some decent pictures that aren't all washed out in the intense sun we've been having.

I used to like shasta daisies, particularly 'Becky', which doesn't flop and blooms for a long time. But deadheading them is such a PITA that I've been cutting back on them - or at least I thought so until they bloomed this week! There's a heck of a lot more of them out there than I thought there was.

Drema mentioned once that she liked the Bressingham Blue hostas I have. They're in bloom now so I thought I'd post this picture for her. I like the flowers on the big hostas because they're nice and big too.
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OOO-la la for those Hostas Woody.

You aren't quite last holdout for FB though: 'bug, Mary,Yeona and though Chelone has an account she is never there. The fun part is that we see Brenda, Sue, Eden and Marian every day, Monique almost every day, T quite often. Deanne , Saucy and Cindy and Drema are frequent as well. And Michelle !

Bedtime for me.

Kathy in Napa

Woody's photo also shows that this was a great year for Aruncus/Goatsbeard! Yesterday I even found seedlings as I weeded. That's a first for me.

A beautiful morning here, but likely to get HOT once again as the weekend progresses. Lots of watering necessary at least until Monday. We'll see how that goes!

Today I'm hoping to work in the flats where it is shady. This evening the tree man returns to grind up some roots.

A photo for today - Ivy hiking.
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Here is a link that might be useful: Aruncus

Ivy looks like she's serious about trekking! That's actually Persicaria polymorpha you're seeing in the hosta picture gb. I do have lots of goatsbeard, but not in that bed. I find the dwarf stuff seeds around 'way too much! I now seem to have both male and female in the big native ones so I now have to deadhead those well and watch out for seedlings too.

I finally got a (less-than-satisfactory) picture of some of the warm colors in the herb bed. Unfortunately I couldn't get the red Helenium into the picture (it's a very small plant at this stage) and the Paprika rose has lost many of its petals - it will have nice, fairly large red hips in a month or two. The orange lilies are not blooming yet and the Belamcanda hasn't produced any flowers yet. I didn't used to like orangy tones but I quite like how this is developing.
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We have a new visitor today.
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Dawn has been a buddy of Misty's for a couple of years now. She lives a few houses down the street. But she's never stayed here bofore. Her 90+ year old 'grandaddy' is in his final days so we and Rambo's 'parents' are taking care of Dawn while her owner spends time with his father.

Dawn has mostly shed out her winter coat but there's still some left. Fortunately the undercoat combs out easily and Dawn likes being groomed. She's about twice as wide in the winter when her full coat is in! Sadly Dawn has cancer so we're not sure how long she will be around. Dawn's predecessor also died of cancer. I wonder if it's a common problem with Malamutes...

Hi all! I am the victim of a computer collapse. My machine is "toast" and I should pick up its replacement today, actually. It's been a week, but since I've been busy and it's more a recreational item than a "tool" I haven't really noticed. (am marginally freaked out about missed e-mails, though).

Woody, we're dog sitting a West Highland White terrier this weekend. He a very good cooperator, but having to put the untrained fool on a leash every time we go out is real drag. He has never been taught to "come!" and is a "slave" to his nose, lol. Rex has been great with him, and the cats have been a riot. They don't much fancy the "intruder", even though they're just about his size and he's as docile as a lamb. The Halloween Cat postures and the growling/hissing has poor Baxter very confused.

Michelle, the shot of the chandelier is great. It reminds me of the one that hangs over the stairwell here on the Compound. Have I told you lately that you have great taste? :)

Sorry about missed birthdays, etc., but you know how it goes.

Well Chelone, great to hear from you! Your replacement computer may become a tool in the salon soon, in addition to a recreation item. ;)

It is too hot to think or move today....and certainly too hot to work. The promise of showers and thunderstorms seems to get weaker and weaker. I certainly am tired of dragging hoses about, but I guess I'll just have to for the next week or so.

A photo from this week: Morina longifolia with Clematis Aljonushka.
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Hi Chelone! Long time, no 'see'... I'll bet that terrier is a lot of fun!

It turns out Dawn is a serious couch potato :-) It is too hot and humid here to spend more than a few minutes outdoors, so she's been alternating between sprawling on cool tile floors and sneaking onto the couch! Her 'daddy' leads a bachelor existance and it obviously suits her just fine...
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gb - I've never heard of Morina longifolia and looking it up quickly on Google wasn't terribly informative. Tell us more about it... any bad habits? Where did you get it? What conditions does it need?

I grow it near the Becky daisies in a fairly sunny location. It looks (and feels like) a dark green thistle. Last year I had a first bloom and this year 9-10. Read below. If I had read the page before buying these, I might not have tried them because of their "short life span" and tolerance to only -17c. I'm glad I did try them though! I got them at a nearby nursery in Fergus.

What a day it has been dragging the hoses about. Nothing below 86F is predicted all week long. The phlox and daisies...even the sweet peppers were all drooping. Loads of black flies and mosquitoes too. Ugh. I guess I'd complain if it were winter too.

Trying to get a cat sitter for while we go away. Not easy.... I think Woody will be caring for Phoebe. We will arrange details soon. I hope things cool down while Phoebe is there. DH is trying to teach her how to behave on a leash once again. (I tried to train HIM to be consistent about this...in vain.)

We ate out by the Grand River tonight. I was NOT up to cooking!

Here is a link that might be useful: Morina

Hi Chelone! Long time, no 'see'... I'll bet that terrier is a lot of fun!

It turns out Dawn is a serious couch potato :-) It is too hot and humid here to spend more than a few minutes outdoors, so she's been alternating between sprawling on cool tile floors and sneaking onto the couch! Her 'daddy' leads a bachelor existance and it obviously suits her just fine...
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gb - I've never heard of Morina longifolia and looking it up quickly on Google wasn't terribly informative. Tell us more about it... any bad habits? Where did you get it? What conditions does it need?

AARGH! I hit 'refresh' and it posted my last post again! Sorry...

Whew, this weekend sure wizzed by. Lots of garden chores as IU is on the horizon, closely followed by business travel and this garden is going to have to fend for itself for a few weeks.

Yesterday I got up and headed to the Ruth Bancroft Garden ; it was the last weekend for this years sculpture installation. Took lots of pics which I will share this week at some point. Of course I lolly-gagged there so the chores got short shrift. Still on laundry detail with only an hour or so t go till bedtime. The weather has been fabulous and staying indoors is not an option !

Hiya Chelone, great to see you check in ..computer meltdowns are excused absences. We do miss you though !

Woody, I,m with you on the Morina. Sure is pretty! I check out 'bugs link shortly. How sad that Dawn is ill.

Ok. A little baseball and then to bed .

Kathy in Napa

Minor rain last night, chances of more today. I hope so!

Thinking of V today as the veronicastrum is in bloom!

Happy Monday!

I fear we missed an important birthday -- Happy Birthday, Michelle -- I hope your Saturday was wonderful!

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-back later when I have some time.

-Cindy

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Happy Birthday Michelle!!

Cheers,

Julie

{{gwi:167440}}From Garden Summer 2011

Thanks everyone for the lovely birthday pictures and wishes. It was certainly a hot day and has been getting hotter each day since with today hitting 100 degrees and very humid. The evening before we took a boat ride on the "Queen" around the lake and had dinner overlooking the lake.

Tonight I went out to water the pots and couldn't handle anything more than that. I'm not chased indoors too often. I made good use of the time though and caught up on bookwork.

The roofers started today at 6:30 a.m. Four fairly young men. They worked until 4 p.m. Rick called and asked me to bring home a large bag of ice as the ice maker couldn't make ice fast enough for them. Tomorrow they will start at 6:00 to take advantage of the morning temps. Although at 11:00 its still in the mid 80's. The roof will be a steel one in dark grey. Hopefully, it will be long lasting. It also qualified for the gov't 30% tax credit. I don't think its for every house but I think for a farm house it should be ok. We have had lots of problems with the last shingles we put on.

Kathy, your dahlias remind me of my red bed or aka The Tractor Garden. I planted red dahlias along with red salvia, red cannas and red zinnias. Normally I don't like dealing with the staking. I was smarter this year and planted the stakes at the same time as the plants.

Bedtime for me.
Michelle

Hey! Where did my post from last night go? I bet I forgot to hit "submit" after "preview". Combination of heat, tiredness, old age, and GW, I guess.

All is well here. Hot,like everywhere else except Vancouver, it seems. Lots of watering needed, a great chore for a nine year old who needs to help to earn his allowance. Not so great for small short haired black doggies though.

Yesterday we had the ductwork cleaned. I had to give the technician a towel because he was dripping all over my house. It appears that the contractor didn't clean up the ducts when construction was finished and the ducts were full of construction debris. I bet the heat and AC work a lot more efficiently now. And notso much dust to clean up either, hopefully. Maybe one less JulieJob!!

All of the photos are gorgeous. Gardens thrive with heat and water, even if gardeners don't!

With IU 8 looming large, I hope that the temps moderate. Over on FB there are a few commentson birds panting. Same here. The three bbaths in my gardens are getting lots of action now, a treat for me to see too.

Lots of clematis that i thought I had lost are mysteriously reappearing, perhaps as a result of the weather? Once I lose a plant I toss the tag, so now I don't know what I have. I am looking for a Joe Zary and a Tie Dye to cover my back fence. Woody's swag and Bug's variety motivate and inspire me!

Warm here already. Doctor appointment this morning and awning installation this afternoon. I think of Chelone every time I look at my front window! And Deanne and Lisa because I have a large banana out there... Just musin'.

Cheers all!

Julie

Lots of pretty pictures -- Yeona, your photography skills are impressive - wow! I take most of mine on the run lately w/ the camera phone and they are pretty blurry... I dug out the regular camera in prep for IU and to make sure it still works, LOL, or that I recall how to use it! I love having photos of the trips that I can look and review in the winter or in years to come - always full of grand ideas.

Woody - your garden areas are looking lovely - the hostas are amazing and I love that bench; the herb garden area is a perfect place for "hot" colors.

Michelle - I saw that Iowa got the "it" for the day w/ its high temps and horrible humidity - I swear I heard one weather guy say it was heat index of 120 w/ all the humidity... I guess it's on its way here... the usual Calcutta commuting issues - it's almost enough to make me call in sick this week! But I feel for workers like roofers who actually work in these temps -- that's incredible - ugh; it was only mid 90s the day the roofers were at my house (and they did start at 6:30ish unloading, waiting for the noise ordinance time to end - 7 a.m. for my county). One has to hope they make big bucks for doing that sort of job in that weather?

Good to see Chelone check in again -- sorry for the computer fail - I had that happen last month;and am working myself into the new system I got - I spent over an hour one nite with tech folks getting the wireless printer to work... this tech stuff is one of the things I can definitely cry easily over -- soooo frustrating.

Well, back to panting in the awfice - stay cool everyone!

-Cindy

Sizzling here, moving hoses, weeding at 6am, planning travel & holidays...

Handyman Mario has fixed some hinges, repaired flagstone grouting, patched the wall where the raccoons nested, mended a hole in the barn floor and more. Tomorrow he returns to repair a board on the bridge, fix a faucet in the back room, perhaps replace a cracked sink, and work on a problem in the basement floor involving drainage. What a guy!

In the garden I am finding loads of hosta babies. Never seen so many before. Same with clematis babies. There are loads of chipmunks - and their holes too. Two special delphiniums were delivered by friends today. :) I'm afraid to plant anything now in the heat so will wait to plant them next week. Actually I planted a Rodgersia today in the shade.

Here's the arbor from a few days ago.
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My Orienpet lilies are blooming and are fragrant which is great. Other lilies are blooming but there is one which was mislabeled and looks weird. Tomorrow I think others will open.

I hope you are all drinking lots of water!
'bug (off to move the hoses once more...)