A look back on the flora (and fauna) in our yard before the heat wave killed all the plants and the thunderstorms/wind destroyed what wasn't already brown...
To be honest, the plants in our yard are up against a bigger challenge than temps in the triple digits: my brown thumb. I kill everything. So the blooms I am sharing are very hearty souls and have thrived throughout four years of neglect. The survivors:
Rose of Sharon. This plant (bush? tree?) is kind of a jerk. We call it the "dirty kleenex tree" because it drops the dead flowers all over our patio and they dry up and look like wads of used tissues:
Lilies. Lilies, lilies, lilies. Are lilies an invasive species? Because they spread like crazy. My mom pulled these double orange lilies out of her neighbor's trash (YES!) years ago, planted them in our yard and they've taken over and killed all other flowers in their path. Good thing they're pretty:
Hydrangeas. These guys were past their prime when I took the photos, but at their peak my hydrangeas are the most intensely blue hydrangeas I've ever seen. I got them this way by...doing nothing:
I think this is another variety of Rose of Sharon? (Wrong! My friend Matt just informed me that this is a Mallow Tree.)
Yellow Lilies:
Parsley. I know you're not supposed to let herbs bloom, but this is curly parsley and we don't eat it:
Daisies! I'm actually really proud of my daisies. They've grown bigger and more impressive every year and I estimate that I now have well over 500 blooming at any one time in my yard. If you have a brown thumb and a sunny patch in your yard, I highly suggest growing daisies. They evidently love being neglected:
Stonecrop. Planted these this year. Predict they will be dead by next year:
Coneflowers. When we moved in, the purple coneflowers were nearly as impressive as the daisies, but they've been crowded out by other plants. Hope to plant some more because they really are beautiful:
And now for some fauna: Larry calls this guy the Vulture Cardinal. I don't know why he doesn't have feathers on his head, but he is freaky:
1 comment:
So beautiful! You have so many lovely flowers. We only have one or two things. Probably for the best because I am an expert at killing plants/not taking care of them. But! My tomatoes plants are going nuts. I will have to take a picture for the blog. Seriously, they are out of control. I should have Gravy over to snarf on them ;)
Post a Comment