First Day Of School 2016

The first day back to school is here.  Which means, the obligatory first day of school photos.

Unnnnnfortunately, my camera is still in Klamath Falls, so I had to use The Dad's cell phone.

They did not turn out the way I had hoped.

Bummer.

Anywho, here's our new fifth grader, third grader, and little sis, who has one more year home with mama.

They'll be in college in a blink at the rate we're goin'.

On a side note, it suuuuuucks not having a camera for flower pics.

BUT, The Dad's cousin is headed up at the end of the week, and will be bringing my camera with her.

Prepare for photo overloads to follow.

The Parking Strip & The Driveway: 8/2/16

I only took a few pictures of the driveway, so figured I'd throw those in with the parking strip pics.

I'm feelin' like the food isn't doin' all that hot this year.

But maybe I say that every year around this time.

We're starting to get one or two tomatoes at a time now, so that's super exciting.

But no cucumbers yet, only two baby zucchini, and one of my basil plants is dying.

The green beans are comin' on hot and heavy, though, as well as the runner beans out back, so I made my first batch of refrigerator dilly beans today.  With dill and garlic from the garden even!

2 1/2 pounds made three quarts, so that'll be fun to bust into those in a week or so.

Anywho, here are just a couple pulled back views.

It definitely has filled in.

And a flower picture for good measure.

This is Angelonia.

Now, down to the parking strip.

The Echinacea and Pineapple Sage combo is winning for me right now.

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' is definitely in full bloom.

As is the Phlox.

I'm still diggin' it, but the Echinops 'Veitch's Blue' isn't as happy this year as it was last.

Phygelius 'Moonraker' is blooming again.

There's 'Otto's Thrill' again, bloomin' its little heart out.

The Gladiolas are so, so pretty, but what a serious pain in the ass to keep staked.

Clearly I need a better method.

A perennial red Lobelia.

Every year I say this, but I think this Crocosmia was mislabeled.

Supposedly, it's 'Canary.'

Annnnd, I had myself a little retail therapy in the perennial sale section at Fred Meyer when I ran in for milk.

I got a Milkweed, aka, Asclepias curassavica.

Echinacea 'Balscanery' Double Scoop Cranberry.

They had SO MANY of these in different colors.

It was damn near impossible for me to decide.

I almost went with Bubblegum, but the Cranberry won.

And Clematis integrifolia, which I've never grown before.

I should have gotten one of all three colors, dang it.

I also got one each of the two different Pineapple Sages to put in down there.

I love my other two so much, I figured, why not.

And there ya have it.

Have a fantastic weekend and a great next week.

We're headin' out on a family vacation.

This time we are NOT coming home with a puppy.

The Front Yard: 8/2/16

Time for a front yard update.  It's the place with the most areas I'm unhappy with.  I transplanted some things recently and killed a hardy Fuchsia in the process.  Hopefully it'll come back from the ground.  I think the biggest problem is, what went from almost completely full sun, is now nearly all shade until late afternoon. So things that used to be happy, aren't.  Oh well, there's always next year.  Full shade until 4:00, followed by blasting summer sun, is a tough one.  Plant recommendations for those conditions welcome.

You may have noticed in the above photo that all my Impatiens glandulifera is gone.

Long story short, someone, I'm assuming from our open garden tour, called the city and reported us.

Apparently, unbeknownst to me, it's on the Portland invasive plant list.

We got a pretty threatening letter in the mail, basically saying if we didn't get rid of all of it, we'd be turned over to another bureau, who would start fining us.  And if we didn't pay the fines, they'd put a lien on our house.

Good times, people, good times.

Sooooo, out they went, along with the stand of them I had all along the south side path, leading to the backyard.

Super lame, and probably the last time we open our garden to the general public.

And that's all I have to say about that.

I am still obsessing over the Painter's Palette Persicaria.

This is its second year and so far, I'm loving this plant.

I moved the old rusty wagon that had been here for years.

Everything in it was for full sun and this spot just isn't that anymore.

This Loosestrife that I've had for several years is blooming for the first time.

I bought a new one this year, that I think is 'Alexander', but I'm too lazy to dig for the tag.

And last, another one that definitely needs more sun, Crocosmia pottsii 'Culzean Pink'.

I was given a piece last year and this is its first time flowering.

Thank you, Alison!

And that's it for out front this time around.

Happy Hump Day!