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Thursday, June 11, 2009

This and That Thursday...

Ragin Cajun RuelliaThe critters are coming out in full force.Strawflower
Dahlias--Can you pick a favorite?




I 'believe' this is going to be Abelmoschus manihot (Hibiscus manihot) A large ornamental okra with dinner-plate-sized, sulfur yellow flowers with dark eyes. Flower lasts only a day-unflolding slowly in the morning and closing gradually in the evening-the abundance of flowers open on any one day conceals their short span of life. Plant needs plenty of fertility and water. Inedible seed pods with tiny hairs that catch morning dew.

I took the seed pod from my Dad's yard last summer. Another one of the many flowers my mom grew when she was alive. May get to post a photo of the bloom soon!

More busy critters
Just look at this beautiul stepping stone one of our daughters made for me in her Art Class at school. The colors of Autumn.

This is for Catherine at http://agardenerinprogress.blogspot.com . Torenia Wishbone growing in some soil dumped out of a container on the back deck. How's that for easy growing?This is for Grace at www.gracepete.com My Celosia is almost to the top of the lattice, how is yours doing?
More growing beside the lattice and throughout the Full Sun Garden. If you have not visited these two ladies I highly recommend you do.

I love how the Zinnia looks when it's beginning to unfurl. Some flowers are just beautiful in all of the flowering stages.
The Dragonflies are out in abundance around here. For those of you who are a little shy of these creatures....they are so harmless, the girls catch them by their wings, inspect them and release them.
Don't know what to think about this thing!
Our precious Garden Angel oversees the entire Full Sun Garden.

That's it for This and That Thursday!
I am beginning to collect seeds for whatever seed exchange I can find in the Fall.
I have Cleome and Milkweed already and will be watching for the Hibiscus Manihot. Will let you know as the list 'grows'.

35 comments:

red studio said...

What beautiful blooms. I love the stepping stone, your daughter is very talented! Excellent wildlife shots.

Dorothy said...

Love the stepping stone, too. Also love to see all your flowers! The Garden Spider really put a lot of white zig-zags on his web! They usually just put one or two zigs. Yours must be planning to catch a lot of critters.

Roses and Lilacs said...

You have 'Charlotte' in your garden:) Remember the writing spider in Charlotte's Web? The black eyed susans seem to be attractive to lots of insects.

Love the Zinnia, I'll look for that one.
Marnie

Randy said...

I love the Zinnia photo! You're right it is just as beautiful, I think I even might like it better. :-)

marmee said...

you have some amazing photos today...love the spider and his web? your daughter did a great job on her mosiac stepping stone...you will have to find a special spot for that one.
you are having lots of little creatures enjoying your blooms...it is such fun with all that life going on in the garden.

we have no news on bea yet. :(

Jesikarena said...

I love the garden angel! Shes so cute : )

Tootsie said...

wow...that is a cool web from a not so cool spider..ick. Your blooms are outstanding lady....you should move closer to me..what fun we'd have!

Anonymous said...

Hi Darla~~ (My first, and rather lengthy first reply was lost in cyber world. Here's my second attempt.)

With spiders like that you really need that garden angel. LOL.

Up here at the 45th parallel, plants are a bit slower getting launched. Celosia 'Darla' (Hope you don't mind my personal patent.) is about four inches tall and very promising. I'll be sure to post a photo soon.

Lovely flowers. I bet you never want to leave your garden. Thank you for the link. I consider you a true blue garden buddy!

Anonymous said...

Hi Darla~~ (My first, and rather lengthy first reply was lost in cyber world. Here's my second attempt.)

With spiders like that you really need that garden angel. LOL.

Up here at the 45th parallel, plants are a bit slower getting launched. Celosia 'Darla' (Hope you don't mind my personal patent.) is about four inches tall and very promising. I'll be sure to post a photo soon.

Lovely flowers. I bet you never want to leave your garden. Thank you for the link. I consider you a true blue garden buddy!

Patsy said...

I pick number 3 Dahlia.Great daughter to make you a beautiful stepping stone for the garden.
Patsy

tina said...

Love the stepping stone! Yup, I'd say insects are out in full force. On a good note, the yellow spider with the cool web is a good friend to have in the garden.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Hi Darla! So many blooms caught my attention, but the unfurling zinnia looks mysterious. The spider with a zig-zag web is something! Never seen such a web.
Thank you for all your kind comments on my posts!

Lois said...

Love all those critters Darla! I've noticed a lot of dragonflies too.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous blooms Darla, it's hard to pick a favorite amongst the Dahlias. What a wonderful stepping stone, you will treasure that for years in the garden. :)

Leedra said...

That zipper spider did a real tight web. Love the stepping stone, I am sure you will treasure it in your flowerbeds for years to come.

My pick of the dahlias is the middle photo. 3rd from top, or 3rd from the bottom. Is your cup half full, or half empty?

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Those Torenia do look like the grow easily! I think I may add some around the edges of a few areas and see if I get any to reseed.
The stepping stone your daughter made is really pretty, don't you love seeing their creativity at work?
Isn't it strange to be thinking of seed saving already. I'm going to start collecting columbines seeds soon.

Susie said...

Darla you have so much color in your garden. It really is lovely to look at.

I like the garden spider. Those are the best. I haven't seen one in my yard in a long time.

Dani said...

Love the little bugga buggas!

Martha said...

Just stopping by to catch up on all the beauty around here lately - I swear, prettiest gardens ever! What's up with that spider? I've never seen anything like that! Yikes!

Phillip Oliver said...

Beautiful blooms. I just saw that red ruella at a nursery last week for the first time and was so tempted to buy it but I didn't.

2sweetnsaxy said...

You garden is certainly alive and produced some beautiful shots. Isn't that spider amazing the way it's constructs its web? I've only seen and photographed one once and I don't know if I was more fascinated by the spider or the web.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Darla: Those are some neat bug captures to go with the neat flowers. I love that green spider.

Twisted Fencepost said...

Beautiful flowers. And NO I cannot pick a favorite.
Love the little critter shots and the stepping stone.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Darla!
I came across this post doing a search on Ragin Cagjun Ruellia. (sp?) I bought 3 nice looking plants at a stand a local nursery had at a farmer's market. It will be an annual here. I don't often buy a plant I'm not familiar with. I think the name was familiar, though from blogging. The plants seem to be doing well. I hope some butterflies or hummers like them.

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