Nature's Artventurous Woes and Wows

Am I the only one with gardening woes? I've shown you mine, now show me yours! It's true, as written in my journal, that rust and brown look a whole lot better on paper than they do on rose leaves.


Some girls like bad boys, I like delicate flowers that have no business growing in my garden. But I can't help myself. LOL! I love hydrangeas and I've seen mounds of them scattered throughout Los Angeles in people's front gardens BUT, and this may be a big reason, they're usually planted in front of older homes. They must be a different variety from the ones they sell today. Those suckers are out in hot weather and don't look droopy like the one in my journal page below. OK, show me your droopy flowers; I've shown you mine!

Oh but look at this guy. The vibrant blue hues are what drew me to him. I could not resist leaving him behind. This bad boy has proven to survive the miserable heat we had last week. Although the flower heads got droopy, they made a great comeback and even the leaves retained their healthy green color.

Look at what I discovered. Another hydrangea that I thought was a goner! This one gives me pink flowers that fade to green. Really nice. I had to prune it down but it didn't take long before there'd be new growth. If you click on the pic you can see another hydrangea next to it on the ground. That one does just great and it's a Lace Cap Hydrangea. I've had it now for about 15 years and it loves being in the ground. It's starting to grow blooms. I'll show them to you later.

I forgot there was something in this pot and so it was no big deal when I sat a plastic chicken in this pot. WELL, last week I decided to move the chicken and look what she laid!! LOL! I forgot that a few years ago I planted some yellow Calla Lily bulbs in here!!! They did bloom for a couple years and then the chicken sat atop and that was that. OH, I'm so glad I removed her. Now I'll have some yellow lilies! Should I clean out the pot first? Maybe that debris is doing it good.

This has been an interesting week. Hot one day, cold the next. Warm. Then windy. And then there's the garden. Beautiful one week. Strange the next. Am I the only one who has roses with rust? I would have been outside pruning these diseased branches but the wind was so strong yesterday that it toppled my patio table and umbrella onto the block wall. It was kinda funny actually seeing the umbrella hanging across the wall peeking into my neighbor's yard. LOL!!

If there is anyone out there BOLD enough to show me your gardening woes, do it! I've gone blogging and have seen only the BEST. I have to admit, even I only show my best but I'm so bummed about this rust thing that recently appeared on some of my rose bushes that I had to share it with you. Just keepin' it real. What can I say. OH, and am I the only one attracted to flowers that are too delicate for her region? Why do they sell them then?! I guess I should have kept those hydrangeas indoors like the lady at the nursery said to do. But I have cats that get curious and sometimes they like to jump and investigate "new" things. Ugh! In the ground under a shady spot they will go where I insist they do well or else! On the other hand, I went to Home Depot yesterday and bought this beautiful Aloe Vera plant that had a very thin graceful flower blooming out of it, a pot of four individual blooming pink lilies called Lilium Stargazers, and guess what? I could NOT leave this new type of Hydrangea that will bloom the entire summer! It's a pretty powder blue color and the directions say to plant it in the ground. YAY! THERE IS HOPE! We'll have to see how well this one does. I'll keep you posted and

hopefully it will all be good news! So, how does YOUR garden grow?