Serene Scenery Sunday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  Zim and I are just back from a walk and thought we'd show you a few of the things that made us feel mighty peaceful this week.

"C'mon, Zim!"

Zim was snoofing some of the cool air coming in from the north - can you tell?  Many thanks to our friends up in Nebraska for sharing it with us.  Anyway - let's start with a look around our gardens.

Some of the echinacea is still blooming!  Representing the different varieties is the Tomato Soup Echinacea:

Tomato Soup Echinacea

We LOVE that burst of color!

Mom's pots of Coleus plants are looking mighty good, too.  Here's a look at one of those:

Can you see the other varieties behind this one?  Mom forgot to shoot them.  Hmm.  Moving right along ...

We have Purple Emperor Sedum planted in about 3 or 4 locations in the back gardens.  The amount of sunlight each plant gets greatly affects the color!  Check out these next few photos!

This group up by the top gate gets the least amount of sunlight:

Purple Emperor Sedum

There's a little purple in there, but not a lot.  The blooms will be purple eventually.  We hope.

The Purple Emperor Sedum that are in the more "open" parts of the garden, along the retaining walls, get lots of sun!  Check out their color:

Purple Emperor Sedum

Woo!  These are on the top tier.  They are much brighter and bolder, aren't they?  Mom moved them from a shadier spot last year and they seem quite happy here!

Down on the next tier we have a couple groupings of the same sedum:

Yet another Purple Emperor Sedum (background)
and a Blue Dune Grass

That group is more of a deep purple!

Pretty fun, don't you think?  One plant type, three different looks - all because of the sun!

Speaking of purple stuff, remember the Starburst Ice Plant we showed you at the beginning of the Summer?   Mom planted it in May and it did just great for a while.  They are supposed to like lots of sun and wind and heat ... but apparently they got too much of a good thing (because if there's anything we can offer stuff in our gardens it's sun, wind and heat!) and pretty much got zapped out.  Sure, there's the drought ... but Mom watered religiously!  Anyway - here's why it pays to be persistent -- they're making a comeback!

They don't look great, but they look TONS better than they did!  Yeah!  Go Ice Plants!!!!

Just over from those is one of my favorite grasses - the Zebra Grass!

Zebra Grass - about 4 feet tall

Most of the ornamental grasses are doing OK in the drought - but the tops are kind of sizzled.  Or is that frizzled?  Whatever.

Here's something else that made me feel super serene this week:

Me and Squee-Kee Moose

Yep.  Nothing like hanging out with a friend!  I love spending time with Mom and Squee-Kee Moose.  Zim?  He'd rather go out on an adventure - and he got to do lots of that this week, too.  He'll tell you about his adventure from yesterday soon, but in the meantime, he found one of our very favorite wildflowers out where he was!  Show everyone, Zim!

"It's right here!  And it's my very favorite!"

It's Snow on the Mountain!  Maybe before too long, we'll have that snow!  Woo!

I hope you feel a little more serene now!  Whether it's strolling through your garden, spending time with a friend, or exploring everything out on an adventure, make sure you take some time to do whatever brings you that inner tranquility!

Luv,

Dave