Donovan's last zinnias and Stolen cuttings!

These are the last two zinnias that I believe can possibly come from Donovan's pot! These are on the tallest stem (about 4.5 ft. high)!!! The color is lovely! So soft and muted. I think they are my favorite of all. Worth waiting for!

Below is a pic of some coleus I stole today from a shopping center. These are very pretty, but I had seen some down the way farther, that were even frillier and with more color. It was so hot, I couldn't bring myself to walk back down to get them. We had the kids there, where the movie theater was, and neither of them could sit for the movie we went to. An American Girl movie about a gal named Kit, who was raised during the Great Depression. My Mom went along and she and my daughter got to watch the whole thing, while I wandered around outside with the kids! They said it was so nice, rated G...just a very sweet movie. I will rent it one day for myself!!!

Does anybody want to paint these???

Is tomorrow really already Friday??? My gosh time flies! Hey, I found out that I type 39 wpm with an online typing test! Better than I thought. I basically use the two finger method, and I have to look!!! LOL. Sad. I needed a 35 wpm to get the job, so yeah!!!

This is my hubbys last few days off for a vacation week, and we are looking at a lot of rain with this tropical depression off coast. We thought we would try and do an overnight trip somewhere with grandson, but now not sure...may be not worth it with all the rain. We shall see.

Have a wonderful Friday everyone! xoxo- Julie

Morning beauties!

Got up this morning to check on things in the garden and found my pink-eyed pea plants in fairly good shape, except for a few areas infested with aphids, which I wiped off by hand. None of the other methods work very well for me.

I had found 1 ladybug in the BE Pea patch yesterday and they are aphid eaters!!! I was hoping more would come...hey, maybe they will!!! Keeping my fingers crossed!
These are my two longest beans...about 4.5 inches long now! I am amazed I have any. It is always such a lovely surprise when you see the fruit of your labor come to pass!

Two coleus close ups with morning dew!


My beloved Kalanchoe!!!

A couple of colorful succulent shots!!! (My lovie-dovey babies).


And the gorgeous purple color of these gosh darned eggplants! They are so pretty glistening in the full sunlight, and covered with morning dew. (It probably rained in the night). This bigger one will be the second one to touch the ground. The leaves on these two plants are just aweful looking...straggly and rough...even with every two weeks application of Miracle Gro solution. It is sad. I hope the plants will keep supporting the fruits until they are ready!

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

Planted flower tire gardens!

Well, I accomplished my goal of planting my tires this morning!!! Yeah!!! I got all the flowers at Lowes...cheating I suppose...but I wanted instant gratification! No time for seeds...

In random order (cause I am lazy)...are a few views. The flowers are yellow and orange (mmmmm...my favorite color) orange zinnias, white and red vincas, variegated coleus, and a red coleus, and purple salvia! The actual nursery guy helped me with a taller purple plant that could take full sun all summer and keep blooming. I sure hope it holds true! I know the zinnias will not last the whole summer, but my hope is that all the other plants will be much fuller by then and I won't have any worries.

I really like the taller purple salvia! I put the taller plants in the backs of the tires in relation to my view out the kitchen window...

Do you think the butterlies will be attracted to the red vinca and the salvia??? Please continue to ignore the horrid condition of the grass on this side of the house...it is slowly filling in with more reguar water and fertilizer! I had moved things around, too, so you see bare spots from where things had been sitting...like Buddha and my strewberry pot! Weeds will be slowly worked on as well in these areas, and another application of Weed and Feed very soon!!!

I adore coleus!!! All of these plants with three days of water from my sprinklers should do OK. I will be watching closely each morning when I go out to water the all of the vegie gardens too!!!

Coleus on a hill

I have had more than hints of seeing Coleus grown in full sun down here, but it never really got into the far back recesses of my brain, to where I really ever thought it could be done...at least not by me! Well, here is living proof! Coleus living and thriving in full zone 10 sunshine! Are they not gorgeous??? Makes me want to run out and get some...until I realize how much water it takes to keep them going! I have one on my front porch, and it has to be watered daily, or it is draggin bigtime!!! They just wilt without water...doesn't sound like anything I would like to do year-round. I am thinking a rock garden will be added soon, and I better hurry up before it get to being blazing hot around here! Any ideas on what to make a rock garden out of, since we do not have rocks in south Florida??? I have ideas for making hypertufa rocks...have you seen that recipe for making them in grocery bags with quik-crete and sand, etc? I must give it a try. I will have to keep looking for the recipe...couldn't find it last night.

Today will be a full day at work, plus I have to squeeze in a graduation meeting with the other Moms. I need to get serious about buying birthday gifts this weekend...I have 4 birthdays to celebrate throughout May...about 1 a week!

Oh...speaking of making rocks...I have an idea for making a boulder sized one, complete with nooks and crannies in the top and with drainage from the nooks, all the way through the rock and out the bottom. It is brewing in my brain, and I plan to give it a try as soon as I figure out each detail.

OK...I am off to get ready for the day...TGIF! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!