Beth, I adore your fun spot with the sign post and I also like the statue in the background. thanks for sharing. Barb I love that cyclops steer skull. Must be right out of mythology so does that make your garden a mythological western garden? Felix, from all the amazing stuff in your yard I know your garden is as delightful as others have said. I may just have to invite myself up one of these days and see it in person. Thank you so much for sharing and I love all your garden angels and the windmill and the tree eating the bicycle.I simply adore the tree face. Judy, your sun always makes me smile and I still think you should host a swap. Regine, if that snorkeling cat disappera he wandered over to my yard if he doesn't stop at Kate's first. Kare, I adore your birdbath and the plants in the pots that is a neat corner. Evelyn, the mirror is fantastic. I am thinking of using that on my Florida room to make the plants look thicker and give the area more interest. It would also reflect the hot tub and make it look like two in the room. Kara, you are so creative and I adore those totums. I also now know what to do with all my old sneakers. Thanks, everyone thus far, you are all so talented and creative. Linda

Beautiful pis everyone!! Keep them coming! Veronika and Musaboru - :O BEAUTIFUL!!! I hate dropped inflos :((( I also hate when my buds fall off and never bloom :((( especially if I have to spray pesticide ('organic'). Ok, so I am premature in saying this, but I felt a little faint when today I feel like my suspicion that one of the Goldilocks twins maaaaaaayyy be the very beginning of pushing an inflo....ohpleasepleaseplease...say it is so. Peg - it's kind of funny because I felt I was very lax last year with ferts, pesticides, etc. but it's funny to see how the plants are kind of doing what they want anyways for the most part...I just know yours will pick up!!

Oh my goodness, your gardens are all so gorgeous, beautifully manicured and bursting with colour! Here in the UK - we're in Staffordshire, so the middle of England, although originally from the South Coast - we've had a pretty poor Summer so far with tons of rain and exceptionally cold weather even for us, lol, so some of our plants have taken a hit. Our roses, for example, have suffered badly from waterlogging and many plants seem to be behind schedule. The large hydrangeas are in bud but still have a way to go! That said, today is a sunnyish day (if still only 18 degrees) and our garden - typical English country style - looks fairly good. Here are a few pics taken today. Please excuse the quality - I took them on the iPad.......

The pandemic and stay at home period hit at exactly the same time I've been under doctor's orders to stay out of the sun completely, due to the recent skin graft on my nose. So in a way it hasn't been so bad mentally for me because I would have been scurrying around wearing a hat and trying to avoid daylight anyway! That said I'm ever so grateful that we are retired for many reasons. Obviously we have tremendously less stress in that neither of us has work commitments that we are now trying to accomplish from home. And based on what I'm hearing from my best buddy at my former workplace, things there are very difficult. The university just announced a round of severe budget cuts and beyond the uncertainty I'd feel if I was still employed I am beyond happy I don't have to deal with needy college students, or their parents, right now. Add to that dealing with them by zoom or phone or email...yikes. We get along well and it helps that husband cannot stay still or inside. He heads out in his boat for shoreline clean up daily which is perfect for both of us: he is outside away from people being useful and busy and I'm inside without him around all the time LOL. M-F I'm doing a daily exercise or Pilates zoom class which gives some weekday structure and that helps too. I've also been cooking regularly and that's been very satisfying. Before retirement it was challenging to prep and serve meals because we like to eat early but that meant unless I got out of the office by 5 (rare) I was either frantically rushing or more frequently cobbling something together from the freezer or leftovers. It has been a pleasure to have the time to prep, cook, eat and clean up without racing around. We are very blessed.