Yep, no watering here either.

My garden is a mass of weeds; too wet to till. I think I will start mulching over them.

I have some bonariensis blooming too, but not as many as last year. They may be crowded out by violets and perilla.

My Homestead Purple never came back. I loved it while I had it though.
Do you like the purple poppy mallow? That is one I want to check out at the wild flower nursery in Willard.

I planted out more pots yesterday, the rest of the foxgloves, the Virgo feverfew and a few petunias. I still want to sow all my leftover seeds and see what happens.

The strawberries are ripening; I have to fight the mocking birds for them!

I have terrible BS on the roses and need to start a spray program asap. My somniferum poppies are beginning to bloom.
I love checking each day to see what I have. They cross readily and each year brings new variations of the pink and purple blooms.

I got ambitious and cut down all the phlox that was crowded in the HB bed (they didn't belong there anyway). They were absolutely covered with downy mildew. When, and if, they come back, I will dig them up and move to an airy spot.

My macrophyllo hydrangeas are still minus buds, but Annabelle, has lots. I may remove the three in front of the kitchen if they don't start doing something this year. They are definitely not earning their keep.

I am making slow headway on the new foundation planting, but it still looks awfully bare. I am sowing lots of annual seeds to fill in this year. I will post before and after pics if it looks decent later in the season.

Have a good week.

The first flower just opened yesterday on my Purple Poppy Mallow. I don't think it bloomed at all last summer after I planted it but it has formed a patch five feet across now from just one plant. I've seen it in bloom before and it was very colorful - and I think it's supposed to bloom for a long time too.

Hey - WHAT wild flower nursery in Willard?!!! I don't think I've checked that out yet. I bought my poppy mallow last year at the Nature Symposium that's held every spring at the Nature Center in Spfd. I also bought a Fringed Poppy Mallow. It has a single stalk that's nearly five feet tall with a bunch of buds on it but it hasn't spread out at the base at all. Those two plants may be related but are nothing alike in their growth habit. Hope the storms they're predicting for tomorrow don't break off the tall one before I get a chance to see it bloom.

The hydrangea that I started from my mother's is just starting to show a little pink in the flowers. My other two still just have a few green buds. It seems like it takes a few years for them to start earning their keep. My mother's hydrangeas look much better than mine but she's had them for many years.

What's everyone up to? Some of you haven't posted for awhile. James still hasn't posted since that last round of tornadoes went through his area. Does anyone keep in touch with him?

Christie, I found her through the Grow Native website. It is:

Blue Bird Lane Wildflowers
8422 West Farm Road 84
Willard, MO 65781
Telephone: (417)742-3770
E-mail: AliceCounts@att.net

She may be at the Willard Farmers Market each Saturday. I know she was planning to be there on the opening day.
I hope to go tomorrow if it doesn't storm (again). I can't remember what the hours are; do you?

My Annabelle hydrangea is starting to bloom now; the others are still not!

I finally was able to till out the garden and tie up the tomatoes. I don't have much blooming now, some clematis, rudbeckias starting, lavender, hollyhocks, a rose or two, poppies just starting (somniferums), gaillardias and a heliopsis or two.

I am having lots of black spot and gave up and bought some spray....sprayed yesterday....has rained at least three times since.

I am still planting some old flower seeds here and there.

Christie, if you get a chance, please take a picture of the callirhoe. That is one wild flower I am interested in for the front ditch area. Here is a wild flower blooming there now. Does anyone know what it is?
{{gwi:1113491}}

The farmer's market in Willard doesn't start until 12 or 1 I think.
I'll take a photo of my poppy mallow. It has spread out six feet wide. (I measured it) lol It doesn't look thick enough to suppress weeds though. There are just sprawly stems going out in all directions but maybe if you spaced them so they would overlap it would work.

I went to the Farmer's Market (l pm) There were only 4 vendors present and the wild flower place wasn't one of them. I found her location.....no sign, just a very nice house, long lane beside it and could see a small green house way at the back.
I am thinking a phone call would be required! Probably will be ordering mine online.

TIA for the poppy mallow picture.

I am pooped. I spread 4 bales of old hay mulch around and sprayed (again). Now it will rain.

Tomatoes are coming along with blooms,had one bloom today on my cukes.Been eating green onions. The strawberry plants i bought are full of blooms. Am going to have a mess of strawberries this year.
First daylilly bloom. The container is right out my livingroom window so i check on it every couple of hours. LOL
Lambs ears,and a couple roses are blooming.

There are a couple of luna moths playing on my window by my puter. They are such beautiful creatures.

Looks like more rain and cooler temps next week.
Am going to pick mint leaves to dry tomorrow.

been in the nineties the last 3 days. have had no rain in a week. watered yesterday and today. the bigger problem is the wind. been gusting in the 20 mph range for 5 straight days. has beat up the corn and squash plants pretty good. starting picking squash last sat. and cukes today. the tomatoes are going crazy particularly silvery fir tree. much bigger then last yr and a ton of fruit set.

william- in yellville

It has rained all day here, 2 inches last count. We sure didn't need it, but I like the cool down in temperature.

We have been extemely windy here too. I did get my tomatoes all tied to the panels so they should be OK. Lots of flowers are suffering from the wind.