This is the first year that I have had four-o'clocks go to bloom
You have to grow them by seed
and every year something happens to them
last year I nurtured a few surviving seedlings
and then! the landscaper pulled them out
thinking them weeds
boo hoo
So this year I started them in pots
and then with the hot weather I left them there
and woo hoo...they continued to grow
and now I have about four plants all blooming in reds and yellow
These are a childhood plant....my father loved them..he threw seeds
in the ground every year (he was not a gardener)....and they grew
He said they were the only flowers he remembers seeing
growing up in a rough neighborhood on the west side of Chicago
So these are "father" plants to me.......and now this year...flowers

I just love this aging fairy standing fast in the flower bed

and this morning I spotted Happy Jack squirrel
actually foraging for food
he found an alder cone

 

I told you the vines are taking over the castle

and this purple flower is a weed...of which I do not know its name
it has a pungent smell when touched
and I rather like it
in small amounts, of course

 

and asters...glorious asters
and sweet autumn clematis..
sigh

Joe pye weed...he struggled this year
and I think he just gave up and went to seed
to get it over with
I understand this attitude, Joe

but look at the hanging bag of petunias...they're
still hanging in there....

 

 

 

The morning air was  cool and refreshing
and the crickets quietly sang in the grass
and the grass squished a bit under my feet, due to the rain yesterday
and poor drainage.......
I wandered around the garden looking and observing
a fabulous morning activity
I am filled with gratitude for all of this privilege given me
in this plot of land
my....  Open Bar of Joy