Wordless Wednesdays: Today in the Garden...

Perennial Snapdragons

'Wild' as in not hybridized Prairie Coneflowers

Ummmm.... can't remember.

Mallow, miniature Hollyhocks

My private spot.

Petie Pie keeps an eye on me while I'm weeding.

For more Wordless Wednesday participants click here.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day ~ August, 2011

 Say it isn't so! 8/15 already?? I'm worn out with the heat but not weary with this season.

I wish summer could last forever. I wish these flowers could, too.

A cavalcade of color fills the big rock garden ~ moppy head Bee Balm and Helianthus...

Hollyhocks and Purple Rain...

Phlox, phlox and more phlox. Can't resist. Must add a new one every year.

Wild 4 o'clocks and Strawflowers adorn a particularly awful section of the street garden. Both seem to enjoy massive amounts of neglect.

Clematis climbing vines add bright color to this ratty porch. (Don't get any big ideas about relaxing in that chair. Hummingbirds will surely dive-bomb you.)

 

I get so many compliments on this flowering tree... 

Though, I'll bet you garden gurus can tell it's not a flowering tree at all.

Clematis Jackmanii flowering vines do a fine job of fooling people, climbing 20 feet into the branches of this young crabapple.

Pay a visit to Carol of May Dreams Gardens ~ creator of this monthly bloom day meme.

From her website, you can connect with all kinds of flower lovin' friends...

Delightful Dahlias

'Excentric' Dahlia

A hot wind blows across the north 40. (Which, in reality, is the east one half. But, north 40 sounds way cooler, don't you think?)

I flip on a sprinkler, for the 3rd day in a row, all the while admitting it's a day late, buck short. There's no hope for the pasture grass, have not irrigated all summer long.

'Betty Ann' Dahlia (Heirloom: 1928)

But, it keeps my weather-weary horses occupied. Like 1,500 pound kids, they love running through that sprinkler. Cooling down their big bodies, keeping those pesky flies at bay.

Made a half-hearted effort to pull some weeds, trim one tree, then abandoned my chores for the comfort of an air-conditioned house.

'Junkyard Dog' Dahlia (isn't that a terrible name for such a pretty flower??)

I am eternally grateful that I have AC ~ I think it's one of the premiere achievements of modern man. Partly because I'm a Minnesotan and never learned how to cope with hot weather.

And, also because I grew up in what I call a hot family. (Which had nothin' to do with being good-lookin.) My Mom and Brother never saw a need for air conditioning, sitting comfortably in an 85 degree house with nary a complaint. While I was melting like that proverbial wicked witch.

'Bahama Mama' Dahlia

That's probably why I ended up living so high in the mountains ~ where I devote an entire post to bitching about the heat ~ when it's only 80 degrees out there.    [B.A.B.Y.]

August (as you have probably guessed) is my least favorite month of the year. When I've run out of energy to do most anything. Other than to dream of a seaside vacation...

Which is not gonna happen this year, but it did last year. The delightful Dahlia pictures in this post are from the Swan Island Dahlia Festival I attended in Canby, Oregon last August.

'Emory Paul' Dahlia

I probably should have mentioned that at the top of the post but I wanted you to be all impressed, thinking these beauties are growing in my garden. :)))

'Double Trouble' Dahlia

* PS: Email theft and craziness. Apparently, while I was on vacation someone got ahold of my email address and sent some of you odd comments. My apologies, 'twas not me.

** If you scroll down to the next post, you'll see the one lonely Dahlia that is truly growing in my garden. I'm plotting to plant a lot more of them next summer.

Wordless Wednesdays: August's Bright Bloomers

Dahlia

Bellflower

Lily

Hollyhocks

Zinnias

For more Wordless Wednesday participants click here!