A beautiful week end here with community sponsored fireworks at the ball field, camp ground filled with all sizes and shapes of tents and travel trailers with families. Nice lingering rain in early morning hours of the 4th. Similar things blooming here. Keeping up with the deadheading is most time consuming. Baby rabbit romping in the flowers. Nothing has changed much from last summer except there seems to be more of it. We have an abundance of the double orange day lilies and others, tiger lilies, tall phlox, echinacea, queen anne's lace, shastas are still blooming and some roses, purslane, lavender, marigolds, salvias, crape myrtle. I also appreciate the weekly journals and reading of our cyberspace associates current events. EP

Gld , I have day lilies that I grew from seed from crosses of my day lilies . So far , all the flowers are yellows of varying shapes , but one plant has variegated leaves .... a band of white the full length of the leaves . Very pretty .

Went out to water the tomatoes and the Cleveland pear tree we put in this spring and wound up pulling crabgrass, watering some potted plants and some other newer planted stuff. No way I can water everything but do try to help the new plants along.

Quiet 4th here as well--daughters were here for supper and we watched the neighbors fireworks sitting on the patio.

I have thought about hybridizing some daylilies but really don't have space to line seedlings out and don't want to make new beds. Maybe I could just do a few--but there are so many other different annuals/perennials that I want to try that I feel I just don't have the space. Would be nice to grow your own babies.

Due to the dry weather and mole runs my daylilies haven't bloomed as well as last year. I notice that where I water that is where the new mole runs are--never ending battle. Even though there aren't as many blooms from the daylilies there is still a pretty good garden show-----purple and white coneflowers, rudbeckia, shasta daisy, melampodium, salvia, agastache/hyssop,hardy geraniums, lamium,lysimachia, gaillardia, butterfly weed, verbena, echinops, achilla-The Pearl, monarda, calamintha, balloon flower, carnations/dianthus, clematis to name some.

Doesn't sound like rain is forcasted but can always hope for a popup shower!

We had my parents for the 4th. I grilled steaks and mom made us a lemon ice box pie. Yum.
My vincas have filled in very nicely so I now have a nice mass. My herbs look good except the basil. It's awful leggy, but I've started pinching back and it seems to be helping.
I've picked green beans several times now and two messes of squash. My son ate his first bell pepper. I've had a few tomatoes turn red so have been eating tomato sandwiches for lunch the last few days. Yum. I was later than usual this year getting the veggies in, so I'm just now reaping the rewards.
We're watering like crazy. Today we've had a steady drizzle but I doubt it will amount to even a half inch. Just dry, dry, dry. I'm thankful that I have well water. We let our son pop off a few fireworks but it was just too risky to do much this year. Didn't want to set the field on fire.

Hi...not much going on around here. Had a little rain on a couple of days and it was much welcomed. Garden plants took on a new life. So did the grass and weeds. Oh well, can't have only the good all of the time. Had a quite weekend and 4th of July. Stayed around home and worked in the yard and garden. Kept our eyes on the Tropical Storm that was in the Gulf and now it will be on "Dennis" that may be affecting our weather by next week. Most of my tomatoes are done for this round. Pulled the plants and will cultivate the row and plant a fall garden. I have some nice tomato plants ready for transplanting and also seeded some that I want to plant in containers. Hope everyone has a nice and safe week.

Yolanda, I thought of you today when I watched the weather report. Some thought La. would be hit. Keep us informed, please.

Another day of cleaning out flower beds and cutting down spent hollyhocks. I had one bed that I had neglected all year, so it was a challenge. It was a bed with New Dawn rose in it and the Grandpa Otts morning glory was about to eat it alive. I love GO, but must find some place totally away from other plants....it self-seeds like crazy.

Hopefully, I am now ready for some routine maintenance like pulling the odd weed and watering and mowing and trimming.......

DH and I both got a bit too hot today which really leaves us drained. I think we will take tomorrow off and just rest.
I think I will go to the library and get a couple of good books. Any suggestions?

Gld

Have any of you noticed decreases in butterflies? Have noticed this on some of the other forums. We normally have swarms of butterflies in July but have seen very few this summer. It seems to be quite wide spread. Everything is brilliant here. The echinacea, zinnnias, cosomos, and other flowers in full bloom. Have been enjoying watching the goldfinches exploring the echinacea. We don't have a lot to share but interesting to learn of other areas thru GW. EP

Weather is still on people's mind and especially here along the Gulf Coast. Latest projections have Dennis going ashore around the Florida/Alabama coast but all that can change once it enters the Gulf later today. All we can do is wait and see. Did receive 1 inch of rain yesterday afternoon.

gld, did you find good books at the library? I enjoy reading books also and went in yesterday and they did not have the material I was looking for, but will obtain it from another library.

ep...have not seen a drastic change in butterlies at our place. We usually have more later this year. This year we have a much larger bird population than in prior years at our home. We feed birds year round. For some reason my bluebird count is much lower from prior years but other breeds are way up. Purple Martins were on the increase and many have left for the year. However, looks like they are using our place for a roost for other martins. They are present by the 100's during the day and the total increases as evening begins. They should be leaving this area within the next 2 weeks and fly south. Soon the humingbirds will start arriving as theri migration begins. That is when we have the most of them. We did have 2 and 3 that were seen at the feeder through out the summer. I have held a feeder in my hands and had them come and drink from it while I was holding the feeder. We enjoy sitting on the outdoors and just watch them as well as the other wildlife that our place maintains.

We need rain!
I'm trying to be more kind to my hostas this year and have been watering them more often. Hoping they'll come back bigger next year. After seeing how well the hosta garden has done at Close Park's garden, it makes me realize that mine could look much better by now with a little more attention.
I have some marble sized watermelons now and some other melons. Some of the vines don't have any on them yet though.
I haven't seen many butterflies yet either EP. Also no caterpillars yet on some plants such as passiflora, willow, fennel, spicebush and dill that all had caterpillars last year. Maybe it's just too early? I haven't used any pesticides in my yard. I do think spraying for mosquitos may have an effect on the butterfly population. I don't know if they spray around here but some cities do.
My mums are starting to bloom. I only pinched them once in May and then just let them go. I have 'Beth' and it stays pretty compact even without pinching.
I cut back my 'Marshall's Delight' monarda and wonder if it will bloom again.
I have my first bloom on shasta daisy 'Becky' and also on some phlox 'David' that I got in a trade this year. 'Moonbeam' coreopsis and 'Creme Brule' are blooming. 'May Night' took a little break but looks better now. My conflowers are still blooming. I haven't deadheaded those before but I think I will try it this year to see if they'll bloom longer.
Also blooming - Cannas - Assorted bag from Wal-Mart or Lowe's. Kind of fun to have surprise colors.
Sunflower 'Velvet Queen' from Parks. I LOVE this sunflower and so do the birds. They're eating the seeds even before the flowers are dry.
Yolanda - Hope all you get is a nice gentle rain. Send any extra this way.

We took today off and it was a good choice! It is 91° here right now. We kind of overdid it yesterday.

I did go out to check things this morning with my coffee and, of course, set the cup down, got out the hose watered some new roses and a couple of trees and an hour later came back in. I did take a few pictures of the yard.

The birds are still here, hb's, baltimore oriole, blue birds, chickadees, and gold finches and the turtle doves. I have noticed the blue birds enjoy the bird bath (new this year) more than the other birds.

EP, funny you should mention the butterflies.....I told my husband today that all I was seeing was the cabbage butterflies that cause all the damage to the cole crops. I have seen a couple of fritillaries, and one zebra swallowtail and that is it. Wonder what that is about?

I am still watching the storm movement, Yolanda. Are you in northern La, I hope?

We went to the library this morning and I picked up 4 that look good by Maeve Binchy, William Faulkner, David Baldacci, and John Gardner. Surely 2 out of those 4 will be really good. Of course, that means the house will go! When I get started on a good book, all else slides by.
gld

Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors.Rosamunde Pilcher is my favorite.Does Maeve have a new book out?I really enjoyed Scarlet Feather? and Quentins.I have lots of flowers.The rain we got last week and the week before really helped but it is still dry.The daylilies have been so pretty-blooming in the weeds and dry larkspur etc.I am working on a new area just for daylilies.I am seeing lots of new poison ivy plants in the flower garden-husband said "In the flower garden!You better quit planting it there!"The birds,I'm sure!We had lots of butterflies too early and now there aren't any here either?!Posy Pet

Friday was just not my day for posting to this forum. On my previous post I had noted errors and prior to submitting I edited the message but when I submitted, the message with the errors was posted. I then attempted to send another message explaining the errors but my submission attempts were rejected six or seven times. Must have been a SENIOR MOMENT so I just gave up and turned it off.

Still paying attention to weather information on "Dennis" even if the projected landfall is way east of us. I am located in Central Louisiana and all motels are filled to capacity with people who have evacuated from the lower areas of the state and Gulf Coast. Heard in the news that individuals are now being diverted into Arkansas and Texas.

Well, i've worked so hard the last 2 weeks, i'm taking today off. do wish i had some good books to read. i'm thinking of calling the local swap line to see if i can find a fellow-reader to swap with. we read mostly murder mysteries/detective stories--and in paper back as we both read too fast.patterson, kontz, etc.
planted my "walking onions" that i recieved this week from a dear person on this forum, i've wanted to have some for last 10 years.
does anyone else have the summer/annual poppies? my first year for them, they're beautiful!! had a deep,deep purple, rose pink, white-they look like very double roses, hope they come true from seed.
i also have the new echinecia from parks blooming, a salmon color, and a pink. consesious(sp) on another forum is that they have to be tissue cultured to propogate. i also have the purple one that has petals coming from the cone on top, very unusual.
yolonda, it was much easier to wish the hurricane would come up the coast,so we could get rain, hopefully, but now that we know you--can we hope it just skips over you, and brings us rain?its so very dry here now, fields and lawn are brown. daughter from springfield was down last weekend, and she was shocked at the looks of pastures here. even the rose of sharon bushes 15' high are wilted.
one thing that is doing good in my garden is the turtles, poor things crawl into my tomato jungle, and are never seen again. garden tomatoes are such a maze that sun cant get to them to ripen--must remind myself, less than 12 tomatoes next year. only tomatoes ripening are the ones in pots.cucumbers are doing great, have sliced ones each meal--hubby quit on them after 2 days !!
everyone, dont work too hard in the heat, and Pray for rain!

Yolanda, glad you are in the central part of La (at least, not southern). Still dry here. I went out at 6:30 this morning and turned on the water in the garden.

I won't do much outside today. We are having my in-laws out to belatedly celebrate Mil's 87th bd. She is a wonder woman......Just baked her favorite pie, pecan.

As for mistakes, don't fret; we don't pay too close attention to them here (I hope). Sometimes I come back later and see one I have made and hope no one thinks I don't know any better! My spelling has failed miserably in the last few years.....as well as many other things.

Yard is starting to get that grey/green look from lack of water. I never ever water grass and may have to cut back on the flowers. We have never had a water problem, but I feel guilty using that much water for flowers.

Gld

GLD--I am like you--I feel guilty watering and I don't much. We have a good well but have several cattle waterers in the different pastures that run from the well so I try to be conservative and water only newly planted stuff, flower containers and the tomatoes. I was going to cut back on container plantings this year but didn't. Pecan pie is one of my favorite pies--sounds good.

Went to the library this morning and got some paperbacks. In the summer I don't like a time limit put on my books and most of the paperbacks at our library aren't. Then went by by Wal-Mart to pickup DH diabetes test strips. DH and I went to a car show in Licking later. Lots of really nice restored cars and trucks. I made me a top ten list in my head, which was very easy to do--told DH I think I went over my ten.

ceresone--I have the orange poppies and the double pink ones that looks like pom poms. They have now gone to seed and I have pulled the dead foliage. Mine come true from the seed.

EP--It has been so hot that I am not out alot during the day but hadn't noticed the lack of butterflies until it was mentioned here. They usually like the hyssop so will watch and see if they are around.

Yolanda, we didn't have purple martins this year--I think the sparrows/starlings took over their house. I missed them this spring as I had a flowerbed under their house and they would scold me when I was working in that bed. Hope you get rain and no damage and that the rain works itself up this way.

Christie--sounds like you have alot blooming right now. Marshall's Delight monarda is my favorite color but it doesn't seem to be as hardy as the other colors I have. I like all of them and the Becky daisies and pink coneflowers. Mine don't get watered and seem to be surviving the dry weather better than most other things in the garden.

Posy--one of the books I got today is by Maeve Binchy 'Tara Road'. The cover says it is a Oprah's Book Club selection.

Waving to Marian, Vicki, and all-------have a nice weekend everyone.