Hey, y'all. We did the veggies and herbs a few weeks ago, and this weekend was the time for flowers.

Today my fingers smell like garlic and dirt. I spent Sunday doing chores, planting and cooking spaghetti.

Up at Riddle Plant Farm in Sand Springs, we found some interesting stuff. We decided the mostly purple flowers in our garden would benefit from some more color variety. We picked yellow. So we got marigolds, yellow snapdragons and evening primrose.

We replaced the double impatiens we got last year for the center planter around the oak tree with hot pink double impatiens. They're really striking when the sun hits them.

For the fence, we got a climbing clematis vine. My mom has this vine climbing on her mailbox, and if she can do it, so can I. For the shady spot by the door, I got a pair of silver-lined hostas that I hope will do well.

In a bid to get mother's day shopping out of the way early, I also got my mom some balloon flowers, purple coneflower (echinacea) and red Oriental poppy for her containers by her swimming pool. They're all summer-blooming flowers that do well in high heat. She often has trouble keeping plants (even cactus) alive in that spot.

Also in the flower beds, the English ivy we planted last year has taken off and we weaved it through the fence in an attempt to hide our neighbor's disgracefully ugly yard. Some sunflowers have sprouted up near where I raised them last year, and a mysterious lone lemon balm plant sprouted as well, even though I never planted lemon balm at this house at all. But it's a great plant, so I welcome it.

The wine cups we got last year have returned, but we're not sure if they will flower a lot. The creeping phlox is looking fantastic and has grown a lot since last year, and the standing phlox looks great too, but no flowers yet.

The elephant ears, I'm sure, will return with a vengeance. I almost wish they wouldn't, as they tend to crowd. I'm attempting to train the lavender to stand up instead of sprawl along the ground, but the rosemary needs no such help as it's standing all on its own.

In the back, the parsley and coneflower look the best right now. But the oregano and chocolate mint are preparing to take off as well. The chamomile has recovered from being transplanted from where they sprouted on the lawn. I'm told that in the future I should remove a third of the plant whenever I do this.

That's about it! If there are any special care instructions for any of these plants, let me know. I think we'll have some good weather this week, so maybe I can post some pictures soon.