Cornholing?

No, really! It's not as bad as it sounds!!


Cornhole is actually just a bean bag toss game. And it's totally fun. But you can imagine my surprise when I came into the library and opened up the computer and PlayCornhole.org was up in Firefox. Um, what?

But all cornholing aside, our barbecue was a blast. The shish kabobs were delicious! And the rain didn't even last all night.

My lisianthus is falling over, but it doesn't seem to bother it any.

These Exotic Impatiens are just so pretty!

Grape Crush New Guinea impatiens and nemesia.

Salvia and Dusty Miller are making themselves perfectly at home.

These, I think, are dahlias coming up from the tubers I planted a few months ago in the petunia garden.

And speaking of dahlias, my highlighter dahlias are making a comeback!

The Indestructible Thyme is blooming! (Keep off it.)

There are still a few flowers on my columbine.

But most importantly, yesterday my first lily opened! Say hello to my newest addition, Happy Returns.

Dusty Miller and Salvia

Annual flats are on sale right now at my local nursery for $10 each, which is pretty good considering the size. So I went and CONTROLLED MYSELF and only got two. And a hibiscus. And yes, Mom, I planted them all in the same day. ;)

This "hibiscuit" is called Cool Wind. Isn't it pretty? A woman working at the nursery saw it in my basket and commented on how pretty it was.

The whole thing. It was just a 6" pot, so it's a good container one. Especially since I learned my lesson and I'm not planting it in the ground like I did with my pretty one last year -- they're only hardy to 55 degrees!

The clearest picture yet of my nemesia.

The portulaca has multiple flowers now! So pretty. Margarita Peppermint. :)

The Outback Paper Flower. Its buds kind of look like little beetles with all the overlapping shiny stuff, don't they?

The Indestructible Wisteria is growing like crazy since it's started getting watered regularly.

Look at the shoots my coleus are sending up! I think they're going to flower. Interestingly, the Red Velvet coleus (like the one in front) that I kept inside is not doing this.

The far patch of Las Vegas irises is still going strong.

The petunias seem to have appreciated the torrential rain we've had for the past day-and-a-half or so. Yay!

Here are the Dusty Miller and the Red Vista salvia put in on one side of the porch steps. The bad news is, Dan and I finally caved and admitted that what we thought was Jim's moss rose was, in fact, a weed. *tear* So I tore it all out, and I had all this empty space. The annual sale just happened to coincide perfectly.

The other side isn't as uniform, and I can't decide which side I like better.

I just love these violas. They're so happy.

Dan's peach tree had 38 baby peaches on it at last count. That was before Dan took all but 18 off to make sure the poor little tree doesn't die under its own weight. Here are the biggest ones. As usual, sorry about the focus.

In completely unrelated news, I went upstairs when I was finished planting, and found Ginger and Elphie lounging in Elphie's room in the sun. I went downstairs to get my camera, and when I came back up, Ginger was giving Elphie a bath!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!

It was so sweet! Elph was purring like crazy. I'm so glad they're getting along so well now.

And then Elph had her photo shoot.

She's just so darn tiny!

Psycho kitties

Checking to see if Ginger is done with her attack or if she can relax.

They both love the laser pointer. It's one of the few things that brings them together. Literally. ;)

Lazy!

Look at her, all stretched out.

I'm not even exaggerating when I say that the instant after I snapped this picture, Elphie attacked Ginger's tail and an epic battle began.

The Las Vegas on the far side of the porch are going CRAZY! Look at that! I count nine blooms. Just fabulous.

The nameless white and purple ones are also looking beautiful! (And there's a little tiny Las Vegas plant right in front. See that?)

The Vista Red salvia are looking great as well. They're filling out quite nicely. :) I wish I'd bought more!

This is the best picture I've gotten yet of the nemesia. Isn't it pretty?

This is my Margarita Peppermint portulaca. It reminds me of moss rose, a little bit. This is the first bloom I've had on it, and I'm really excited. Apparently it's a succulent, so you have to be careful not to over-water it.

The Outback Paper Flower has a few buds, and it's so pretty when it opens up all the way! (Doesn't it kind of look like a Bloomin' Onion??)

This is that mystery flower in front of the coral bells. Any ideas?

The mailbox verbena. So pretty! The Pink Picotee verbena will definitely be making an appearance again next year. :)

Preparing for hunting camp

The Yellow Rebel has finally peeked out of the leaves and opened up! But it seems not to be doing quite as well as the Lucky Strikes. Hopefully it perks up.

Also, our hedges have started blooming! They're really pretty, but it's kind of hard to appreciate them when they're absolutely FULL of maple seedlings. Stupid maple trees, reproducing everywhere!

Blurry, but you can see a little better detail.

The Dynamite Light Blues are doing nicely. Such a pretty color! (I've pretty much given up on the lamb's ear. I think it's supposed to be an annual, anyway.)

My Dynamite Oranges aren't doing quite as well, but this one is pretty.

The dark purples and the violas are positively flourishing!

So are the Red Vista salvia. :)

Preview of Coming Attractions: So many tall stalks with buds on this patch of irises!

My little dahlias are coming up from the tubers I planted! They're technically dahlias, but they resemble daisies more than the traditional dahlia. I can't remember what they're called.

This little lisianthus is really very pretty. I'm glad it's doing so well, considering I bought it at the grocery store. ;)

A little blurry (the zoom is great on my camera, but my hands are a little unsteady), but these little Gerbera daisies don't seem to be getting the weird brown spots on the petals like their late brothers did. Knock on wood.

I really can't get enough of these dahlias! They're just so fabulous!

And here she is, the guest of honor: My purty iris!