Black Eyed Susans

Black Eyed Susans

Fall is that time of year when my summer garden starts to fade and gets a bit overgrown, except for the black eyed susans with the formal name Rudbeckia. I think they should be called black eyed Beckys.

I pulled out the annuals that looked tired and overspent to make room for more perennial growth and spreading. That'll give the "susans" a chance to scatter their beauty to other parts of the garden. These flowers are not only beautiful but functional as well. As they go to seed, they'll be a tasty treat for the birds.

When I arrived home the other evening I was fascinated with the garden lights weaving their magic among the bright yellow flowers. I grabbed my handy I-phone and captured the moment. Happy gardening and hugs to all.

Check out alphabet Thursday at Jenny's.

Nature At It's Best

While driving up the winding driveway to the barn around 8:30 a.m., I was greeted by two beautiful swallowtail butterflies feeding on thistle weed. I thought, 'What a great photo opportunity!' So I reached into my purse, pulled out my I-phone, stopped the truck (I think I stopped the truck), then jogged over to the thistle weed site where the butterflies were oblivious to the fact I was even there.

I raised the camera, hit the camera button, and like magic, this is what I was able to capture. By the way, I'm having a blast with my new I-phone, compliments of my lovely daughter!

Let's see what others have created for the letter N on alphabet Thursday.

Swallowtail buttery feeding on thistle weed blossoms.

More is Best

Most of the time my philosophy is, "Less is Best"; especially when applying makeup and cheap perfume (or any kind of perfume for that matter). However, there is one time when more is best and that's when I plant my garden in late spring.

This year I won the garden contest. It feels pretty darn good to come in first out of 200 entries. To tell you the truth, I'm the only one with horse pucky in my garden, which is probably why the plants are all mutant-like. The coleus look like trees, and the black-eyed susans are taking over the neighborhood. As you can see I love color.

I decided to go all out and plant as many different types of flora and variegated vegetation as would fit into a 7' wide x 5' long x 6' deep garden patch. There are probably seven different kinds of perennials and as many annuals.  It looks like a multicolored jungle. It was a lot of fun as well as hard work, with a $100 gift certificate as the prize, but the best reward is the gift of the plants themselves.

It gives me great pleasure to sit on my front porch and enjoy their beauty as I think about my sweet little Buzi, who was always right beside me in the garden, during the spring and early summer planting.

Flowers for Jenny and all those who read this blog post. Hugs, Pam

Gardening and Georgia O'Keeffe

Gardening is one of the most enjoyable things I do. The garden is small, but it's full of some of  my favorite flowers and is always a work in progress.

One of my flowering front runners are my poppies. Trust me , they're not opium poppies.

I took a close-up picture of one of the blooms the first year of planting. It reminds me of a Georgia O'Keeffe painting. She's one of my favorite artists because I love her large, detailed paintings of flowers. 

My neighbors all wonder why the poppy blooms are so big and colorful. I'll give you readers three guesses. Your first guess will probably be correct.

Jenny's place has some great "G" words for Alphabet Thursday.