I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.~
Walt Whitman

1.  You want to dead head other people’s flowers ~like at the Dr.’s office.

2. Your receive potatoes for your birthday~ and they are in a gift bag!

3. You need to work in your yard all day….and you are happy about it.

4. The  Gardening department is your first stop at the home improvement store. 

5.  Mosquito netting over your hat sounds like a good idea to you~ Damn gnats!

6.  You don’t care how you look while wearing that mosquito netting over your head.

7.  In addition to the mosquito netting, acquiring gardening apparel of any kind feels like a wardrobe boost.

8.  When it hasn’t rained in a while,  and you finally get a good soaking rain ~ you imagine your plants just sighing with relief….. and you are so thankful for not having to water.

9.  Your teenagers and/or their friends actually notice your garden AND remark at how nice your yard looks. 

10.  Strangers stop to ask questions about your different plants ~ and you know the answers. 

11.  Your favorite shoes are waterproof.

12.  You are nodding your head because you can relate to most of these reasons… 

Have any others?  Let me know!  I will be sending out a Waistie Garden Pouch from Garden Shoes Online to one of you who comments with a good one! I will have the staff at gardenshoesonline.com pick the winner from your comments.

Weather means more when you have a garden.  There’s nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans.  ~Marcelene Cox

 I even found a tiny pumpkin.

There are still quite a few patches of color around the yard 

and many flowers to admire as August winds down.

It’s kind of sad to see summer ending,  but fall brings color of it’s own, crisp cool apples as well as crisp cool nights.

go on over to Tootsie’s and see what everyone else has going on in their gardens.

Enjoy your last few days of August!

“When gardeners garden, it is not just plants that grow,�
but the gardeners themselves.”
    ~   Ken Druse

After looking over my photos I can see the vast difference from Spring until now. It is kind of like looking at pictures of your kids as babies and comparing them to now.  What a difference! It shows you just how fast time does fly. 

  The good thing about blogging is that it is a journal of your garden. It makes it easy to see the changes that occur right in front of your nose every day, that you somehow don’t really notice until you look back. 

Like my side garden here in May and then in August.

My front yard has huge pine trees  which make it difficult to grow anything. 

I put these impatients in on a whim-  just for color.  I didn’t expect much, and they were slow to start ,but they are finally looking good.

This section of my yard is one of the most colorful  and changing spots I have.   

 I loved it in the spring and it has kept getting better all summer long.

 This corner is of course where I put the stone patio.  The changes there are very obvious, and the flowers have filled in nicely.

My fire pit area started out slim and now in August I have cut back all the dying daylilies and ferns so it is not nearly as full as it had been, but you can easily see the difference on that fence between spring and summer.

  My back fence has  been fun to watch.  I have hibiscus there that never fail to make me happy.    

Watching everything change in the garden is what addicts us.

We strain our muscles, endure bug bites, water, weed, sweat and swat but still we come back for more, day after day. 

 Year after year we wait impatiently for spring to arrive so we can begin again. What are we gluttons for punishment? 

Maybe… but the word I like to use would be… 

gardeners. 

If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.  ~Author Unknown

Weather is a great metaphor for life – sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, and there’s nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella.  ~Pepper Giardino

Gardening Gone Wild is hosting their monthly photo contest.  The Subject is Roses.  Weeeeellllll,  I just love roses. 

                                                               The following 3 pictures are my entries.   

   This is the rose in my garden that I think is easily one of the most beautiful roses I have ever seen~ It is a russet-colored floribunda named Hot Cocoa. 

The texture of the petals and the shiny leaves make it stand out from other roses.I watched the flowers unfurl.  When it is was a bud – I was sure that it was the prettiest thing I had ever seen, then it opened and it was even more pretty, now when it’s in full bloom, it is even more beautiful.  The color is extraordinary, and I also really love the name~ how could a rose named after chocolate be anything but delicious?

 I took this picture last week at Cayuga Lake.  I couldn’t resist photographing them, they looked very old fashioned and romantic.

      You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses”~ Ziggy

Today is Friday and that makes it the day to take stock of what’s going on in our gardens, thanks to Tootsie and her Fertilizer Fridays. 

My garden is much the same with a few exceptions from last week.  The weather has improved so we can at least be out there to enjoy the show. 

 Our vegetables are really coming along.  There are many blossoms on the tomatoes, squash and peppers as well as the cucumbers.   We have eaten some of the hot peppers, or should I say my husband has eaten some of them.  I am not big on hot food, but he makes up for me.  He loves the hot stuff.

My front yard has been a bit slow but it is starting to burst.  As you can see, I like alot of colors and flowers all mixed up out there.

I like vintage ceramic animals.  I especially love when I can find ones that are flower pots.

 Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

~It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.
 ~ Lewis Grizzard

Rainy days were made so gardeners could get their housework done. ~ Anonymous

Thanks for visiting!    

    The best fertilizer is the gardener’s shadow.  ~Author Unknown