Thursday, June 12, 2014

This Week in my Garden

Good day, my friends.
This little garden of mine brings me more joy than I can tell you. When life seems ridiculous, all I have to do is grab my camera and go outside for a while. In the heat, but that's ok. This week in my garden I'm actually skipping the random philosophical rhetoric and talking about what is actually growing in our dirt. :o)

I don't photograph our front yard space that often, but when I came home last night and noticed all the blooms on our Mexican bird of paradise, it had to be done. This one had been limping along until Doug fixed the water source to it and BAM! She's taken off.

Also out front is a white bougainvillea. These plants are plentiful in Arizona but you rarely see them done up in white. This one lives out front...and you can see our palm tree in the background.

Then in the backyard... THE SUNFLOWERS ARE COMING! THE SUNFLOWERS ARE COMING!!!

We have one dwarf sunflower open {photo below}, eight that are ready to burst, and another dozen-or-so that are still growing in height and leaves. Love, love, LOVE me some sunflowers.

If you are thinking about getting into the gardening gig, plant sunflowers! They are super easy to grow, and they grow really fast which is great if you're in to the whole instant-gratification-thing. Sunflowers, and zinnias too...

The zinnia in the photo above stands almost two feet tall, and the seed packet said this is a good variety for cutting. Yes, I grew her from a seed with the intent to cut the bloom for a bouquet, but I might not have the heart to chop her down in the end. It might help if I stopped referring to her as a her...
 
And the basil that I probably shouldn't have planted in the middle of my flowers, and that I thought wasn't going to make it...well...it's taken off and there is pesto in our future. I have no qualms about taking cuts off this bad boy! 
 
And that's it ~ this week in my garden.
What's in the dirt on your piece of the planet this week?

12 comments:

Maria Ontiveros said...

Love the gnome hiding beneath the basil. How many garden gnomes do you have?
I have only ever seen the traditional Hawaiian bird of paradise; the Mexican one is so pretty. We have a huge red bougainvillea in the front of our house; have never seen a white one either. Yours is gorgeous.
Finally, I don't think we have enough sun for sunflowers, but maybe I'll have to try sometime. Thanks for the happy morning views.
Rinda

scrappyjacky said...

It's all looking so wonderful...and love seeing the sunflowers out.They may be instant plants in the Arizona sun....but over here they take an age to grow....but so worth it.

Unknown said...

Love sunflowers. I called - Happy Flowers

debs14 said...

Not so easy to get lovely tall sunflowers over here!
What a lovely colourful garden you have grown.

Barbara Eads said...

Your flowers are gorgeous! Especially that first one---I've never seen that before. It's amazing what a little water will do!

Sian said...

What's in our dirt? Nothing quite as pretty as this, that's for sure! I bought a pre mixed selection of seeds and I have lots of greenery but no flowers yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for success soon though

Anonymous said...

Love the dwarf sunflowers and the colour of your fence but really love your sunflower sun catcher.

Ruth said...

You should visit the region around Cognac in France ~ mile and mile of fields of sunflowers for as far as the eye can see.
What's growing on our garden? Catmint, Elephant's Ears, pampas grass type thing, some wild flower stuff my mum planted, lilies (but no flowers yet) and clematis. Also growing out of control is clover and it's very busy trying to take over!

Karen said...

I love the basil in with the flowers. Those sunflower shots are just fabulous! I love the way the petals overlap like a hug in the first one.

alexa said...

That third photo is my favourite - so full of promise ... We don't get enough warmth and sun up here to get giant sunflowers to grow, so it's glorious to see them in your garden.

Audrey said...

Deb, we were gone this weekend but came home to find that our very first sunflower opened. Will try to get a photo today!!! Of course I thought of you immediately... XO

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos Deb. You definitely have a green thumb. I've never heard of Mexican Bird of Paradise or seen a white bougainvillea.

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