so hot!

Its been roasting outside for the last week, far too hot for me to dare go outside for too long. Works out OK, because I'm in the 3rd trimester anyways, so it would be too hot regardless, but I'm worried about the weeds taking over. I can see them sprouting up in the former vegetable patch, and I just cannot get to them, not to mention the ground is rock hard because we haven't gotten any rain! The husband would help me out, but we have so many indoor tasks to get ready for the baby, and I don't want to pull him off any of those. My job right now is to sit around and be so tired that I can't even read my gardening books or browse the internet. I think I must have slept 15+ hours yesterday.

However, when I have enough energy to browse the web, I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do next in the garden. You know, when I can bend over again! One of my favorite interior design blogs does something called a mood board, where they put together some accessories, paint colors, etc, to help them pull together the room they are working on. I pulled a lot of these images from Plant Delights Nursery, which I am lucky enough to have nearby.


I actually put together a much longer collection of plant images, but I noticed that I've got 4 main colors going, a yellow green, a blue green, and hot pinks and orange flowers. I need to start working out a actual bed plan, but there's plenty of time for that this winter I suppose. I've got my Fireball Hibiscus, an Antique Lace Brugmansia and 2 August Beauty Gardenia already (some still in pots, bad Jen!). I want this garden to be gaudy and tropical, and remind me of the gardens in Houston, particularly my Grandmother Rose's garden, which I love. As a kid, it was one of my favorite places to play in and hunt for frogs and lizards, and I'm hoping to have a space like that for my children. This is an ambitious project, so I'm going to have to take it slow, but I have all winter, and I'm sure that baby won't keep me busy ALL the time, right? Hahahahaha. Well, all this typing has worn me out, time to lie down.

Coneflowers

Coneflowers are one of my favorite flowers. Tough, easy to grow, long blooming, bees love them, drought tolerant, there are so many reasons to love them. Most of all, I love their beautiful range of colors. I've got quite a few different kinds growing, and some of them are blooming now. I'm guessing on these names, because I forgot to write them down, but I think my memory serves me correctly.

Miss Kim:





Sundown(?)or Summer Sky (?):



I have several more varieties waiting to bloom, one white, one yellow and one of the classic pinks. I love their warm colors, especially with the Catmint's purple hues, which you can see in the first picture. I added some Liatris which I thought would bloom with the coneflowers, but since we're having such a mixed up year, the coneflowers are blooming early, who knows when the Liatris will actually flower. Also added some May Night Salvia this year, So hopefully I'll have more purple throughout the bed. I have most of my Coneflowers in my drought tolerant bed, which I think of as my sunset bed, because all the colors are what you would find in the sky as the sun drops down.

Other than roses, I think my collection of Coneflowers is the largest in the yard. Speaking of roses, here's my Graham Thomas, I think its looking pretty fabulous! I can't wait to see how it performs next year.