Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Even though we just did Flower Friday, we thought we'd take you around our gardens and show you a little bit of what's happening.  Ready to take a walk around?

We showed you the Korean Dwarf Lilacs Friday.  They're still in full bloom and Mom can't get enough of them.

"Look, Mags!  A person!"
"Ooh, yeah!"

Between the sunlight and us being more interested in the neighbors than whatever Mom is saying, she has a hard time getting "good" shots of us in front of them. She snapped that one quickly, as evidenced by the fact that we look like we're sitting on a slope. Moving right along ...

Mom went shopping Friday and brought these guys home:

Plants in Mom's HR-V

From what I gather, we've got a few Gerbera Daisies, a variegated Vinca, a couple Purple Fountain Grasses, Butterfly Weed and Milkweed for our butterfly/wildflower garden, a couple varieties of Coleus, a dark, lacy Sweet Potato Vine, and some tall, spiky thing.  Except for the Butterfly Weed and Milkweed, they are all annuals here.  As mentioned yesterday, Mom spent yesterday morning pulling weeds and planting the new things!

Here's where the Gerbera Daisies ended up:

Gerbera Daisies in the mailbox planter, with the Clematis 

A bunch of the other things went into the planters and some pots on the back deck:

They'll help fill things in a bit.  Our sage is still growing from a couple years ago, and so is some mint.  Check out this cool bud on the sage plant:

Maggie thinks it looks like something out of a science fiction movie!  She was very interested in it.  Do you know who else was interested in it?  This guy:

A Woodhouse Toad!

He jumped out and surprised Mom!  We don't know how he would have gotten onto the upper deck!  He hung out there all afternoon, then Dad caught him and took him down into the yard.  Something about us girls and temptation.  Hmm.

Speaking of temptation - here's one of the Purple Fountain Grasses:

Apparently, it will be much taller than the railing there before too long.  Oh.  The "temptation" part?  Let me just say that is a mighty tasty ornamental grass and that I couldn't help it.

Remember our Beth Lily of the Valley?  This is a Beth Lilac bush:

Beth Lilac

Mom planted it two years ago from a tiny cutting.  It's nice and healthy, and in a year or four, it will have lovely white lilacs on it!!!

Here is one of the perennials Mom planted last Fall:

Hummingbird Mint

It has really taken off in the past month, so Mom is really excited!  For those who've never heard of Hummingbird Mint, it is also called Agastache; you can learn more about it at this link!  It will attract Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees!

Our Snowball Viburnum has also taken off and is now in full white bloom!  Check it out:

Me and Maggie, posing very nicely!

Here's another look:

Maggie and me!

Lastly, Mom has something of a history of making us and our great-brothers and -sisters pose on the porch.  You probably remember the shots from Christmas - but she does it in the warm months, too.   She put a grouping of the plants she bought in a big planter out there, so ...

"Oh, not this again!"
"Sigh.  I know.  Oooh!  I like me in this pink collar!"

We eventually (OK, a day later) were a bit more cooperative and gave her this shot:

Mags and me, giving it our best shot

Can you see the plants back there?  It's the spiky thing, a Coleus, and a dark Sweet Potato Vine. Mom said they'll all get really huge by the end of the Summer!

I hope you enjoyed the garden tour and feel nice and serene now!  Have a lovely Sunday!

Cammie!