This morning I was greeted with my first morning glory. It was still early when I let the dog out, and I spied a curled up, bluish form on the trellis. I thought to myself, “wow, in a couple days that could be a flower!” I strolled back through the kitchen ten minutes later in pursuit of  a cup of java, and here she was, in all her glory:

I transplanted those morning glories into the trellis container with the sweet peas barely a week ago, didn’t I? They are positively flourishing, especially since I laid some major Sevin and Sluggo down keep whatever was nomming at them at bay:

I am disappointed that the sweet peas don’t seem to be similarly thriving, I keep them moist and well-fed and they are surely getting plenty of sun. Oh, well.

Maybe next year I should plant just nasturtiums. These bad boys are practically busting out of their pot:

Overall, I think the deck looks nice, lush, and inviting.

“Oh, mom, you KNOW I don’t like my picture tooken!”

The hydrangea bush has been filling up the vase on my kitchen table for two weeks now:

The strawberry hanger is definitely thriving, too. Half the holes are unfilled and I’m constantly tempted to buy sproutlings at HomeLowe’s when I’m there, but I figure the strawberry plants I’m seeing are going to produce plenty of fruit.

Speaking of which, I’d really like a little mini lemon-tree for the deck, but I’ve only seen them at Home Depot (not Pike’s, which was having a sale on shrubs and bushes last week) or Lowe’s, and Home Depot wanted $50 for it. I suppose that’s not completely nuts for a tree, but it was already a pretty big tree. As in, perhaps not the dwarf cultivar specifically bred for container living. So, I passed on it. That, and I’m trying to control myself better at the nursery now that planting season in Georgia is basically over.

As Garden Nerd said, my lettuces are growing back on their own!

My little patch of wildflowers is so raucous. It pleases the part of me that loves chaos. I have also been spying little blooms here and there:

Out front, the gladioluses are going nuts! One of them was so top heavy it had landed face-first in the grass during a recent afternoon shower, and had broken its stem, so I had to prune it. There are two others bursting with blooms in gorgeous organey-pink colors.

The Duchesse is pumping out new blooms:

There are earwigs– nasty little buggies!– all over the place in this plot. Like, every bloom I pull, two or three of the nasty buggers run out. Ick! Ack! Even if they aren’t harming the flowers, they are harming ME. So I bought some Sluggo Plus which claims to chase ‘em away and liberally applied it. I’ll let you know in couple days if it works. Or helps.

Here’s a view of the front porch, with a hanging basket and a railing windowbox. I hate, hate, HATE that bush. My lovely huzgrump, who is not a landscaper, gave it a ferocious haircut when he was home a few weeks ago, so now its bare twigs on one side and sort of just annoys me MORE. I think I will ask him sweetly to just go ahead and chainsaw it to death when he gets home. Partially, I admit, a friend of mine  told me she could envision someone scary hiding behind the bush to “surprise” her (/me) coming home late, in order to gain access to the house.  Its sort of an insane fear, since we use the garage door to go in/out mostly, but still I view the bush with distrust. And, add to the that, the Very Bad Haircut.

Pink and white begonias in both the basket and the windowbox, creeping jenny on the outside edges of the windowbox. I don’t know what it is, but I’m really partial to the begonias. They seem to be the cheap, common “annual” option other than impatiens, which, for some reason, I mostly don’t care for, perhaps because I see them everywhere. Some of the doubled impatiens I’ve seen are pretty, though. But I like the begonias. The windbox frame I bought doesn’t fit that railing in a complex and stupid way, so I bought a cheaper holder at Lowe’s today. I will switch it out. I’m sure I can find somewhere to utilize the one shown; Its adjustable in length and pretty sturdy.

Other things:

I bought packet of heirloom watermelon seeds, a cultivar named “Georgia Rattlesnake.” How could I resist! I potted the seeds; they’ll need to be thinned if/when they sprout. It was $1.79 at Pike’s and I have plenty left for future years. I also bought a packet of canteloupe seed but I haven’t planted those yet. I gave in to temptation and bought a small, 2.5 qt potted Sunny Knockout Rose at the Pike sale; it was $5 instead of the usual $15. It smells lovely in the heat of the afternoon– don’t you hate those rose hybrids with no fragrance? I picked up packets of Foxglove  in mixed colors and Forget-Me-Nots in blue, and scattered them under the plum tree, betwixt the transplanted monkey grass and Lily of the Valley. Both of these flowers are perennial and tolerate partial shade, so I’m hopeful that they will fill out that area a little; $1.25 a packet.

I also picked up to tomato sproutlings: one  a grape hybrid, another an heirloom variety called Mr. Stripey. I bought tomato seeds earlier in the year from Renee’s Garden, but they would not sprout! Even in special seed-sprouting mix and seed-sprouting cups. I was very frustrated. But I still want tomatoes. Also I picked up an oregano sprout, because I also didn’t get any action from my Renee’s Garden seeds. I figure that I’m a beginner and those are beginner’s losses. I think I will follow my friend Jen’s lead and next spring, start sprouting seeds earlier, indoors, with a light and a controlled environment, somewhere far away from where kitty cats can get to.

I did some weeding in the rose plot and hopefully we will get a rain-free afternoon so I can spread fresh mulch without worrying about creating mold-friendly conditions. I also need to pot up my second tomato (Mr. Stripey), my oregano, my new rose. I really ought to mow today, but I have too much other stuff going on in preparation for the week ahead.