Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim - and today both me and Dave are here to bring you Serene Scenery Sunday.  There's a lot going on in our gardens, so we thought Dave would take the front yard and I would give you a quick tour out back.  Ready?!?  Take it, Dave!

Dave is all smiles!

Woo.  Thanks, Zim.  Let's peek around the north side and take a quick look at one of the Russian Sage plants:

Russian Sage

It's looking nice and healthy, but doesn't like to stand up.  Mom thinks it needs to be moved in the Fall or Spring to an even sunnier place.  Or maybe it needs vodka.  She's not sure.

Over on the other side of the house is one of our big Austrian Pines.  Mom shot this with her iPhone and did some special effects to it:

It looks peaceful, doesn't it?

The Mums are still trying to make the scene:

I wonder if they'll have any "oomph" left by Fall, when they're supposed to bloom?  Oh.  And that Dwarf King Tut Papyrus that Mom has in that pot in the middle of the Mums doesn't look like it's been enjoying our heat.  It gets plenty of sun there, so we aren't sure what the deal is.

Oh.  Check out the guy I saw in the front of the bed:

A snail.  Or as the French say, "escargot".  It reminds me of a great joke my sweet sister Ammy used to tell.  (Please click here to hear it; you won't be sorry.)

I better turn things over to Zim...

Thanks, Dave.  And I still think Ammy's joke is a riot!  Anyway... let's start the backyard tour over here in Mom's favorite part of the garden.  Here I am, snoofing the Echinacea Mom bought in a fund-raiser for the MaPaw Siberian Husky Rescue group:

I thought I could make a wish that all homeless pups and kit-cats could find forever homes, then eat the petals off the flower, but Mom thought maybe that wasn't how it works.  I decided to say a prayer instead.

Just on the other side of the fence from there, up on the lowest tier, is where the Pow Wow Wild Berry Echinaceas are.  Here's a look at one:

Mom can't get enough of that color!

The Blue Dune grasses we put in this year are just down a bit from the special part of the garden:

Can you see them there, sort of straddling the light?  The grass by the light is one Mom transplanted (it's a Dwarf Fountain Grass); it's not doing real well, but there is green in it, so Mom's not giving up!

Over by the fence is where Mom put that not-14-inches-but-14-feet grass:

Me by the Plume Grass

It's doing great!  Click here to compare how it was just a couple weeks ago!

OK... back up on the middle tier... let's see what the Becky Daisies are doing!

 

Entertaining a well-camouflaged bug!  How cool!  (For more pix of the daisies and other various garden pix, please visit our set on FlickR.)

After a short hiatus, the Butterfly Weed is back in bloom:

Click here for a close up!

Mom wouldn't let me eat that, either, but I did snag a buzzing cicada when she wasn't looking.  Ha roo!!!  I love it when they vibrate all through my mouth!  Mom gets real excited about that, too.  (Sadly, she makes me spit them out...)

Moving right along ... here's how the "Red" Creeping Thyme is looking:

I think Dave, Mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind, needs to have a talk with whoever named that!

Let's check on the Lavender:



Looking good!  Here's a close up:



On the bottom tier down there are the Crape Myrtles and the white Rose of Sharon.  Here's a Rose of Sharon for you:

Further up in the yard, the other Rose of Sharon are still blooming, too:

I can't decide which ones I like best!

Well... that's about all I've got for you today!  Do you feel nice and serene now?

"I hope you found some serenity in our gardens!"

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Play bows,

Zim

And Luv from Dave!

PS:  To answer the question we know is coming ... no, I do not have to be on a leash in my fenced-in yard.  However, if Mom wants sweet photos of me carefully checking out her garden, a leash and a pocket full of treats is going to make the process a WHOLE lot easier and more serene for both of us!  Ha roo roo roo!!!