around the garden....

a surprise of loving carrots...awwww!

while I was planting and weeding, and harvesting potatoes, carrots, strawberries, and a few small turnips....I saw this Western swallowtail resting...on the lobelia....
(Papilio rutulus)

I think he had a bit of a run -  in with a bird who bit his tails off.....

and I doubt he'll fly again.
Rudbeckia....

the ladybug population could not keep up with the aphids this summer, so I sprayed a mixture of kitchen dish soap with a lot of water...and that did the trick (aphid death)...with no damage to my sunflowers and nasturtiums....which are notorious for being aphidmagnets...

the evening sun shines on the houses across the street....

and the clouding sky.....

Summertime...right in the thick of it.

these have been on the turntable this week......here's a few vids to experience the aural and optical beauty that is soothing, and inspirational....and so very Summer....

and in between the songs are pictures of my garden right now....
the rainbow swiss chard is going strong...so damn tasty.

striped nasturtiums ....I love nasturtiums...so much reward for such a tiny bit of work...

relaxing with my thoughts in the back yard....

bright purple allium....a tall plant with a tiny head....
crazy !!
dusty miller yellow flowers in the back ground...

the side yard.... rusty gate, old pots, an old coffee can, big clay pots, the old tricycle, a few rusty junky water sprinklers...blue lobelia and a dark purple lily, and the johnny jump ups have gone wild.....and my little sassy kids horsey...he's losing parts but he retains his charm!

a tower of hot pink and red petunias....a few pink and coral geraniums and long trailing creeping charlie....
and a cracked pot of succulents....

in the background, an Autumn Joy sedum....those green flower buds will change to pink in the autumn, and then fade to rust...this is another joy! ;-)
and the daisy is a Magnus echinacea...so purple..and I love the big center orange cone!

the sweet pea ...Old Spice Mix

Lathyrus odoratus, Old Spice mix, is an  heirloom collection of the sweetest sweet peas ! These are loving growing up my cyclone fence. These are amazing ! Fragrant fragrant and oh so very fragrant flowers. I started them in late February, after enriching the soil with chicken manure. By July, most Sweet Peas are all done and over.
They took a while to start after sprouting....they seemed to just languish in March and April....then in May they really started growing.... I should have planted more...one pkg is pretty Scotch........I only got about a 4' run...but I'll grow this variety Old Spice, again and again. .....Look at the colors! A 2 tone purple cutie...

 

Bright pink in a mottled pattern....

 Mottled and rather ombre pink......these are so great !

 These are bright neon pink raspberry ! 
and lastly..... a blurry pink and white mottled sweet pea...
I'm telling ya....this is a great package...
I bought these locally, they're Territorial Seed Company, from Cottage Grove OR. Clicky this link for all the info you need to grow these beauties.....

In the garden and with the camera....

once I get things planted, I take pictures ....because it is so fun to see the growth as the season rambles on......growth is never, ever fast enough......

already the little alyssum and petunias in the pots are twice as big....that week of sunshine, 80 degrees and water really does the trick!

how easy are pansies to grow from seed? Well, these all seeded themselves from the pansies in my pots...here in the side yard....that is all...... scatter the seeds in the early fall, or start them in the late winter indoors....keep them watered, and that would be easy in the fall outdoors right? rain rain rain......

let the onions I planted last Spring to go ahead and blossom.......

work area......that rusty rake head....found that on the beach.
perfect.

Swiss Chard!

I'm not super happy about the shady garden near the garage....
once the flowers and things get much bigger....

Pot in the garden

not that kind....the clay pots..the things that you put your plants in. Let's take a look around my garden in February after a snowy winter.... oooo, not cool, man.

I buy my pots at yard sales, and very seldom at retail, and I always will pay a premium for an Italian made pot. Why....because after 50+ plus years of gardening, I know that a cheap pot, ie, Mexico-made, will crumble and crack in the freeze-dry-sun-freeze cycle of a year outside. I'm lazy, I admit. And I'm a Californian...so I think things that live outside, should live outside all damn year long.........god knows I used to!! (damn you Washington, you suck).

Can you tell which pot is made in Italy, and which pot is made in Mexico??

OK, but what's going on with the clay pots?
If clay has too much "temper" or too little it won't be strong when exposed to temperature extremes. Posts from Mexico, like almost everything from Mexico is cheaply made.

Pots made in Italy, like most things made in Italy, are very well made. If you are gonna invest in good outdoor pots, please ask the vendor or garden store, where and how they are made, and, are they really outside pots? Can they live outside all year long? Must they be emptied in the fall and placed in a freeze-free storage zone?

this one says ITALY...it survived quite nicely!

DEROMA

What's "temper"? It's crushed gravel or sand, or other rock-type material that's added to clay in specific proportions, to be sure that the clay will stick together when exposed to harsh extremes.
Too little temper  or too much, will cause a pot to crack during the drying process, and certainly during firing and outdoor use. A cheapskate manufacture will skimp to save a few pennies per pot to increase profits. If you buy Mexican pots or now, cheap Chinese pots ...just be prepared to use them inside only, or empty and store them come fall. Outside uses require a quality pot. In the garden!