A Closer Look Over The Garden Gate

Come on over and look at what's blooming in the garden, and a few new goodies I got on a trip to The Natural Gardener...

This rose is still blooming it's heart out. Now that the searing heat of summer is over, the garden has taken a big sigh of relief, and is rewarding me with new growth and blossoms here and there.

Ah! Here is one of my new purchases that I am still trying to decide just the right spot. Nola (at http://alamo-north.blogspot.com/), you will appreciate this vine called Alamo Vine. It has a white morning glory blossom, so I just HAD to have it!!!

And here is a pot of Copper Canyon Daisy. I still can't decide if I like the smell or not. It is very fragrant with a kind of citrusy, pine smell to it.

Here is a closer shot of the mystery plant that I am calling Aster for now...

These mums I got on the half off wagon at Round Rock Nursery have never stopped blooming since I put them in this spring.

Here is another shot of the mystery plant with Thai peppers.

And here is a Tangerine Marigold that I just love. The color reminds me of pumpkins and Fall.

The Mexican Marigold Mint is really putting on a show now.

That's all for today. Next post I will try to get some shots of the beds I am building this Fall, and the new plants I have put in them. Let's sit down in the shade and have a glass of iced tea for now. Would you like some of my favorite tea; Perfectly Pear White Tea?

It must be Fall!

The cats are enjoying drowsing in the fresh air of an open window.

The Mexican Mint Marigold is beginning to bloom.

I'm not sure what this yellow flower is behind the Russian Sage, but I think it is a form of Aster. It blooms October every year, and gets 5 - 6 feet tall, and as you can see here, has a tendency to flop. I think it looks nice with the purple of the sage.

I am still recovering from having 30 middle schoolers invade our house yesterday. I have been cooking and baking since Friday, getting ready for them. All went well; they came, they ate, they sang, they listened to the devotional, so I guess it can be labeled a success. Libby asked me why we wanted to have it at our house. I couldn't help but laugh. I told her it wasn't that we wanted to be invaded by the church youth group, but we wanted to do it for her. I hope it makes an impression on her--that we love her, and want to do what we can to make her growing-up years fun and the best that we can for her!

Emily and I went to The Natural Gardener on Saturday. I finally used my gift certificate from my birthday that she had gotten me! I have so many lovely perennials to plant this week. I was going to start first thing this morning, but I found myself just hit with this longing to be lazy and decided to blog instead!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Loudon.

It's hard to believe it's been a year since we waited for hours in that cold hospital room waiting for you to arrive. It's been a year of firsts for you. We have enjoyed watching you grow and explore and discover the world around you. Life is an adventure for you and your life is a blessing to us.

Sunsets and Blossoms

We are back from our adventure on the other side of Austin and the annual company dinner for Hubby's job. We had dinner at a place called the Oasis. The food was okay. Not really up to the standards of past company dinners, but good by the Oasis standard if that makes any sense. One doesn't really go to the Oasis for the food, but for the view. It is a series of terraces built into the cliff on the edge of Lake Travis in the Hill Country. The main event is the sunset. Even though the dinner was inside in the dining area, most of us gravitated to the outside to watch the sun go down. Dinner didn't start until the sun set.




Here was the view from our room at the Four Seasons. The lake is Lady Bird Lake. It used to be called Town Lake, but after Lady Bird Johnson died, it was renamed. I always forget and call it Town Lake.

There is a hike and bike trail around the lake. It is a popular place anytime of the week, but weekends, it is especially busy. Not only serious runners and bikers, but families out for a weekend outing and occasionally lovers looking for a bit of solitude.The picture below, is a shot of the outside restaurant, where we had breakfast. Sitting outside just lured me further ,to investigate all the flowers and plantings.

The Hibiscus below were bigger than my hand, and the honeybees were busy collecting pollen.

The petunias in front of the cactus in the shot below, were riddled with holes from the naughty little squirrels digging in the mulch, burying acorns, and pulling up plants. Just beyond the petunias and cactus, was a bed of mint. As I walked, I caught a whiff of mint on the breeze.
There were several hammocks situated around the grounds, just beckoning. If only I had more time and a good book to take advantage. I tried to get a shot of three children in one of the hammocks. But sadly, they rolled out before I could get my camera turned on.

We were so rested and relaxed from our trip away, without going away, that we canceled all our plans for the rest of the day and just took it easy. We get so caught up in all the things that have to get done, and the plans for what we want to get done, that we just don't take the time to relax. This was a golden opportunity to change gears. We felt like we were a million miles away from home and I told DH that we got away and didn't have to worry about missing flights or lost luggage. It was a perfectly lovely time.