Random Robin

I've been on vacation, and when I go on vacation I take hundreds of photos. As you can imagine, it takes me awhile to sort through them all. In the meantime, I thought I'd put up some random garden shots with no particular theme. This summer is vastly different than last year. Last summer I was recovering from a knee injury while dealing with a terrible drought. Those two events combined meant for a really bad year in the garden. Well, this year we have had plenty of rain, and I am no longer working outside the home. So this has been a banner year for everything outside. The veggie garden is going gangbusters, and giving us lots of goodies. When we returned from our trip, we picked about twenty cucumbers! Lucky for us, we love them. And of course I made some pickles.

I am a big fan of purple coneflowers, and over the years I have tried quite a few of the different varieties. I was disappointed in most of them, so I vowed to stick to the tried and true basics of either purple or white. 

But this coconut lime version has come back for several years now. It has interesting flowers, but the plant itself never gets any bigger or spreads in any way.

One coneflower that I really enjoyed was called Green Envy, but it didn't return the next year. So I bought them again, and they also disappeared. Lo and behold, this one lonely little Green Envy sent out a bloom. I had no idea they were still alive. Such a pretty little thing. Maybe I'll buy them again.

Another reappearance has been a couple of my phlox. I think this one is called Pixie Miracle Grace. This is the best it has ever looked, but it has never spread or gotten any larger. I also have Phlox Nicky, and it has never done much either. I got rid of most plants that have been letdowns, but for some reason the phlox has been allowed to stay.

Liatris, or gayfeather is one of those easy care flowers that everyone can grow. Well, almost everyone. Mine disappeared after a few years, so I replanted. Only one bloom, but maybe next year they'll do better. With my love of butterflies, liatris is mandatory.

It's almost time for the dahlias to appear!

Using moisture control soil in my containers has been a smart decision. They dry out so quickly, and even without frequent watering they often failed. This year they are thriving. I'm so pleased!

Pink has been the theme around here several times in the past, but I finally decided to stick with it every year, at least as far as annuals go. The brick on my home is a pinkish red, so pink just works. I have a lot of pink zinnias planted, and they never let me down. They bloom and bloom all summer long, and never show any mildew.

That's quite enough of the random shots, back to editing vacation photos!