Farmyard Garden Safari

Ahh.. summer.  Windows are open and fresh air is blowing through the house.  Mother Nature is showing off and a stroll outside provides one's senses with color, aromas and beauty.  Would you like to walk along with me and see what is blooming?  First off is the 4th of July rose which is offering up some pollen for a friendly bee.

I must say that this rose is the best rose experience of my life.  It's right by the deck so I see it coming and going and it's a floribunda so there are a lot of flowers on each stem, kind of like a whole bouquet in one cutting.  :-)  And it blooms all summer.  A real joy of a rose.

Dayle's wintered-over Bonfire Begonia is doing very well.

Such bright flowers.  I can highly recommend this flower to add to your garden and you can winter it over every year and never have to pay for a new one!  :-)

The two big flower baskets are thriving.

The Petunias in this one are quite remarkable and look like a starry night.

Kristi placed several pots of lilies in the ground-cover and it's fun to see them bloom.

I've been keeping an eye on the Hydrangea by the deck and was thrilled to see some color begin to show on the flower buds.

I actually love these flowers at this stage, lime green with lavender beginning to show.

Can you spot the photo bomber in this shot?  Can you guess what it is?  Let's see how good your eyes are!  :-) (OK, nobody found it so far, to the left of the lily in the middle of the photo is a black Buddha that Dayle got when he was in Texas teaching helicopter flying after he returned from Vietnam and was recovered from being shot while flying.)

Dayle potted up this colorful Begonia in a pot I found for it - now to wait and see if it will flower.. hmm.  I think this is called "Spitfire" Rex Begonia.

My Sweet William that comes back every single year.  Love it.

Our Canterbury Bells that Kristi found growing by the barn and pulled up to show me.. I suggested that she plant it in a pot and see if it grew and lo and behold.. it's back bigger and better every year.  Amazing.

I wonder if I can thank a bird for dropping it's seed there?  Who knows.

Kristi brought home this Mandevilla and put it in a larger pot and it's thriving.

Some of our wild Rose Campion - which managed to escape the blade of the riding lawnmower.

I find these flowers eye popping in their color.. love them.

Looking across the pond to the deck and the new gazebo.  Yes, there are pine needles on the roof.. living under our 70 foot tall Douglas Fir and Cedars it's just impossible to keep the roof clear.  Oh well!  The room you see on the right is my craft studio which Dayle is also using as his office for his treasurer duties for the Friends of Multnomah Falls and also his assistant treasurer duties for Portland Women's Forum.  :-)

Kristi bought this flower and planted it and I have no idea what it is.. can you identify it for us?
Thanks to reader, Linda - It's a "New Vintage - Violet color - Yarrow - Achillea - millefolium - :-)

Mandevilla close up.

Yellow flowers in the pot that is the home of the red Banana palm.

Bananas don't winter over here but it's worth buying one for the summer as I just love them for some reason.  The red lace leaf Japanese Maple behind it.. on the left of the bird feeders is a Blue Fountain Bamboo and on the right is a striped Maiden Grass that comes back every year and gets quite large.  Kristi has worked very hard to weed and tidy up our huge wild garden.  

On inside pursuits I'm making a little hat for a newborn of a cousin that I found on the internet.  :-)  This yarn is so soft but sad to say that they stopped carrying this variety.  What a shame.

This was on my drive home from swimming on Wednesday, can you see how hot it was?  What song is playing?  I tried to take a selfie of my hair blowing in the wind and drying but decided I didn't want to scare you all.  LOL!  See the carnelian arrowhead hanging from the rearview mirror?  We got that from a Navajo Indian woman who was selling her wares at a roadside viewpoint near Hoover Dam in Nevada.  She told me it would bring me good luck.. as we merged back onto the highway a FedEx truck threw a rock at us and cracked my brand new car's windshield.  LOL!

Sharing a pretty image of Mt. Hood I saw on Facebook.

Well.. off I go to swim.  What are you up to today?  Do share.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)