There are surprise lilies all over the yard.

The grass ‘Morning Light’ is one of my favorites. It always looks great.

And the zebra grass is another favorite.

The crepe myrtles are beginning to bloom.

This miniature crepe myrtle gets only about 12-15″ tall. I don’t remember the name. The blossoms are just beginning to open. Soon it will be covered.

Here’s a good place for viewing the front yard.

Yup, still pretty.

Hop over to Tootsie’s and click the links to see what is blooming in other gardens.

~~Rhonda

In the fenced garden, the bare spots where DH took out all the over zealous lemon balm need to be filled in with something new. We’ll have to ponder that.

This bee seemed deliriously happy in the hollyhock.

The surprise lilies are popping up all over the yard. Look at all those little ones coming on. There were surprise lilies in the yard when we bought the house, but these, in the fenced garden, are from my grandmother’s yard.

The garden phlox is blooming like crazy. And it makes the garden smell so good.

The tallest daylily in our garden opened for the first time today. We don’t know the name of it. It’s a very late bloomer and extremely tall.

Ack! What’s this?? Red sassafras leaves… You know what this means?? Before we know it, autumn will be here. ::sigh::

And the little wild asters are starting to bloom, too. Another sign of fall.

But I’m going to play Scarlett for now and think about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day…

While I’m not thinking about fall, why don’t you join me as I peruse Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer’s blog. Let’s see what everyone else was up to today.

~~Rhonda

Outside the fence, on the northwest corner, ‘Second Hand Rose’ (daylily) is still blooming strongly. It seems *all* the daylilies have extraordinary color this year. The subtle tones and patterns are more prominent, the colors more vivid, the shadings more lovely than other years. I wonder if other daylily gardeners found the same to be true in their own gardens.

Don’t the daisies look like they are peeking over the fence? I guess they want to check out the lovely phlox.

The color of this blue spruce against the many shades of green makes me happy every time I see it. The tree sits north of the fenced garden. When we bought the house, there were three spruces planted in the front yard, near the porch. They were just a few feet high. We decided to move them. One died, but the other two thrived. This one has the prettier blue color. It used to stand alone, but the garden has grown up around it.

Moving north from the spruce, we enter the east side of the front yard. The black eyed susans are beginning to brighten the beds with vivid splashes of summer gold.

On the west side of the front yard, there is a much smaller space between the drive and the edge of the yard than on the east side. But we manage to pack a lot in. The hosta in this picture lost it’s sheltering redbud tree last year, so it’s showing signs of a bit too much sun. Seems to be doing fine other than that. All the rain we’ve had this year has helped, I’m sure.

I like the way the ribbon grass adds a light spot in the flower bed. Especially at this late afternoon hour of the day.

This patch of phlox is just beginning to open. Last year, it didn’t bloom well. There was something wrong with the patch…not sure what. I almost had DH dig it out but this year it seems fine, so I’m glad we didn’t get rid of it!

It makes me sad to know we are on the decline side of things in the garden. Even if it doesn’t show a lot just yet. When I mow, I see the first few leaves fallen from the trees. Just that tiny hint that autumn is coming, whether we’re ready or not. Sure, we have two months of summer left, but those months will fly by. Sad, sad, sad.

All over the yard, the volunteer honesty (money plant) has gone to seed and is ready to pick for dried arrangements and bouquets. What we pull to discard, we will scatter in the woods at the back end of the garden or sprinkle along the west fence for more volunteers. They make such large and lovely swathes of purple in the spring. You can see the honesty in the foreground of this picture.

But let’s put autumn on the back burner and ignore those signs for now. We’ll enjoy every moment of delicious summer as long as we can. Perhaps in two more months we will be ready for a refreshing change, for cooler crisper air, for falling leaves, and asters and mums. But for now, it’s still summer.

And if you would like to enjoy other lovely summer gardens, head over to Tootsie’s place and follow the links.

~~Rhonda

And we had a special garden visitor today. Isn’t he cute?? I know he’s green, but he’s really a gray tree frog. DD would have liked to keep him, but she released him after a short visit.

To see how others spent their Wednesday, visit Outdoor Wednesday and follow the links.

~~Rhonda

A long bed stretches across the front of the yard, near the sidewalk. This picture actually shows both beds…the one along the sidewalk in the background and the long bed in the lawn. It is just on the brink of an explosion of color. The daisies, daylilies, and coreopsis are going to look spectacular in a few days.

Walking back toward the house from the front yard takes us past quite a few beds. Right now, they are sporting lots of orange and melon yellows…the ditch lilies (Hemerocallis fulva) and the Stellas…bright and cheerful, a foretaste of what’s to come.

I don’t think the front birdbath bed can hold one more plant. Unless it’s a weed, of course. There always seems to be room for one more weed.

Our front yard used to be all grass. A big, blank, boring expanse of grass. Now it’s a maze of flower beds. One by one, they added up!

Volunteer hollyhocks come up here and there. These are along the east edge of the yard.

We’ve planted a lot of redbud trees in the yard. The small trees make pools of shade in the yard, adding interest and structure without blocking all the sun. They make great spots for hostas.

We’ve also placed quite a few benches throughout the yard. Perfect spots to stop and enjoy different corners of the garden.

Our garden is always open to visitors. Come over, claim a bench, and enjoy. And then, stroll over to Share a Garden Sunday and visit the gardens there. Enjoy!

~~Rhonda

My kitty Zak, strolling past the hostas.

Ants on the peonies…

The flags are blooming now.

Hosta ‘Minuteman’ grows in the woods. We’ve found most of the hostas prefer more sun than the woods provides, but this one seems to like it here.

Hosta ‘Squash Casserole’ is great for fast growth.

Hosta ‘Wheaton Blue’ We acquired this hosta (and many others in our garden) from Chris Wilson at Hallson Gardens. His plants and the nursery’s service are both superb. If you want to order online, you can’t go wrong with Hallson Gardens.

Gotta stop somewhere…so here I stop…for now. More pics soon.

~~Rhonda

Beside the back sidewalk is a peony row…

…and this one, called ‘Dancing Butterfly,’ is at the end of the row. One of my favorites.

Last Saturday, DH planted red geraniums in the planter at the back door. They are a cheerful sight as you come up the back steps.

The viburnum hedge on the west side of the yard is just beginning to bloom.

No time for sitting in the fenced garden yesterday morning, though I did sit in the swing for a while after I mowed in the afternoon.

The peony is ‘Nymph,’ which has proven to be a quick multiplier and nice bloomer in our garden.

The lovely scent of honeysuckle is almost overwhelming in some parts of the yard. I wish the plant were not so invasive, choking everything it covers. We work at eradicating it, but it seems a hopeless case. It *is* pretty this time of year. And does smell good!

In the front yard, the beds are still pretty with iris blooms and lots of peonies.

This is my mower. Love it! A work horse!

The back yard, from the old mulberry tree, looking toward the garage and the playground behind it.

The old, old mulberry tree is a gnarly, twisted thing. We’ve planted quite a few hostas under it. There is a spring that seeps up under the tree and the hostas like the moist cool area.

Weeding the hostas under the mulberry…a job that doesn’t take long. The hostas are well established and shade out most weeds in the bed. DH took a turn around the edge of the bed, cleaning it up quite a bit.

Looks like another beautiful day to spend some time outside. I’ll finish mowing…didn’t do the back yard yesterday. We are expecting a garden club for a garden tour next Wednesday. I’ll probably make a list of things that must-be, should-be, could-be done for that while I’m out there.

~~Rhonda

We were given this iris at a nursery after seeing it growing on their property in a bit of a slough. They didn’t know the name.

‘Alabaster Unicorn’ is one of my favorite irises.

An interesting thing about this iris is the horned beard. Most iris beards are rounded at the end. This one comes to a sharp point.

The irises hit their peak this last week. Still beautiful, but not the bountiful fullness of blossoms we had before.

Some of the early peonies are almost done, but there are plenty of the later ones still in full bloom.

I like this combo of the dark iris ‘Before the Storm’ and the light colored peony.

This rose was given to us by a friend. It’s a rambly brambly thing, but has a wonderful full rosy scent that fills the air.

The false indigo is so pretty right now. This is a plant native to the prairie. It needs no care and makes a beautiful addition to the garden. Later in the season, the seed pods will turn black and rattle when shaken. An interesting plant!

If DH gets home in time, you will find us “walking the yard,” taking pictures of new blooms, talking about what needs to be moved where, etc.

The garden is so pretty in the evening light.

I’m headed out there now…

You can check out more gardens at Bloomin’ Tuesday! Or stop by and see ours.

~~Rhonda

‘Miss Kim’ is a late blooming lilac (our latest) and it has petite blossom clusters. So pretty.

Our peonies are in full bloom and, along with the irises, are a beautiful sight. If you’re in the area, drive by. Better yet, stop in.

It amazes me how well they hold up under high wind and torrential rain such as we had Friday morning.

I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. I certainly did!

~~Rhonda

The white sprays are bridal wreath spirea. It has purple and yellow irises, the last of the Poet’s daffodils, and some lilac blossoms. It smelled so good!

~~Rhonda