Mums the Word

I forget how much I love mums until they are blooming again . . .

Suddenly I am so glad that I remembered to plant some . . .

I enjoy their presence all through spring and summer . . .

I faithfully pinch them back until July . . .

Lots of them I bought after their blooms had faded . . .

I wasn't really sure what they would look like . . .

I just can't leave sad little plants in the store to be thrown out . . .

So when I see them marked down I pick them up . . .

And take them home . . .

wondering if they will be pretty . . .

Sometimes even wondering what color they will be . . .

And when they begin to bloom in the fall . . .

I remember again . . .

How very much I enjoy them . . .

And it seems that Xavier enjoys them too.

Debbie

Last Blooms

We had our first frost this morning. It makes me so glad I took a walk through my garden the other day. I took a few pictures of the sights in my garden on a beautiful crisp autumn day. I thought I would share a bit of that day with you.

This little Red Fox Veronica was new to my garden this year and has done very well. I especially look forward to next year when it will fill out more.

My plumbago and bunny tail grass looked so pretty together this year.

I love how fluffy each seed head is and how reliable it has been.

Of course the Mexican petunia and lantana are Texas garden staples.

I love all colors and types of salvias. They do great in the Texas heat and light

This was started from some seed gathered from another garden. I had actually forgotten that I had sown some last fall and so it was such a nice surprise when I had these beautiful blooms pop up in some areas that tended to be trouble spots before. And my goats, Bert and Ernie did not seem to munch on them at all. Good news! Not sure what kind it is though. Could it be a tithonia?

This lantana grew to be as tall as me (5' 4 ") and about 4 foot wide. I finally trimmed it up and that helped it to look so pretty. I have been told you can create topiary with these. This one might be a good one to train each year.

This pretty Esperanza will probably perish in the cold this summer. I planted it in a pot that could probably be moved but it is such a heavy pot to move and I have already crowded my home with so many plants. Sometimes I have to make choices about which to save. I am hoping to make a greenhouse this next year so that I won't have to let this happen anymore.

This pretty red rose is just outside my front door. It has the prettiest blooms every year. I am not sure what rose it is because it was planted before we had the home.

I have lots of mums. I have been working on getting my garden to have a wonderful fall display. I have a ways to go yet but I work on it bit by bit.

Here is another shot of one of the velvety red roses just outside my front door.

Here is another salvia that I planted from seed. It was supposed to be a miniature variety but it gets pretty tall. this one reached 3 feet. I still really liked it.

Vinca is a great and reliable annual to plant in Texas. They are drought and heat tolerant. I love there bright color. They always look so pretty just when the season ends.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of my garden.

Until next time.

Debbie

Colorado Garden Art

While on vacation in Colorado we saw lots of garden art ideas. I think garden art is important to your garden because it gives interest during the winter months when nothing is growing or blooming. It also adds an extra bit of punch to the blooming garden. Garden art can be the largest of professionally made art pieces, old collected junk pieces, and anything we use to decorate our gardens with. I thought I would share some of the cool things we saw.

I thought this old propeller was a really cool piece that could be put in a garden.

We saw some really amazing statues in all the towns we visited.

I have seen things like this wagon used many times but it never fails to please me when it is used in a beautiful garden.

I thought this statue was really sweet.

Doesn't this guy bring a smile to your face? I loved him.

I thought this pole was really different but cool.

I can see something like this towering in a cool flower bed.

What a child pleasing piece of art

Rocks are definitely included in my garden. I would love some that are this big.

I loved all these. I have also seen real bicycles placed in gardens.

Can you see the rope with the pine cones strung onto the fence? Not sure how they were attached but it looks so cool added to the fence.

This wasn't in a garden but he would look really nice in one.

Isn't this tile wall beautiful?

Another beautiful art piece.

I loved the mine car used as a planter.

I would love one of these clocks. They always look so classy

This bench was made of old skis. I loved it. I hope I stimulated your creative side this time. Look around, you might be surprised at what you have that would make awesome garden art for your garden.

Until next time.

Debbie