Beautiful!

My goal is to post some on Sunday!

Gorgeous gardens and great photography.

Oursteelers looking forward them!

Sandy thank you, I just use my iPhone.

What a great time of year!

I've been outside as much as I can be (although not working as much as I should be) so there's little time for the online stuff. In another couple weeks I'll either finish or give up so thats when there's more time again.

I wish my garden looked half as well cared for :)

Thanks Katob and I agree. It’s the best time to be out there... before the temps rise.

Thankfully we have been getting a good amount of rain (raining now as I type), so everything seems to be exploding!

I sure hope we continue to get rain throughout the summer. The past drought summers we’ve been having sure gets depressing....

Beautiful flowers GardenHo. Mine are not quite as showy but Im still super happy with this plant!

My wife ordered a dozen Lupinus polyphyllus plugs in 2016, almost all of them died or grew very weak and stunted. Then I sowed 2 dozen Lupinus perennis seed balls in different spots in my front beds in winter 2016, almost all of them sprouted, but again most of them wilted and died, or grew really small and stunted, except this one that found a place it likes. I dont know if this is one from seed or one of the plugs that hung on and finally got established.

Beautiful Skip! Thanks for sharing.

I just love lupine and planted my first ones last year. I lost some also but discovered 2 areas they are happy in :) I don’t know why I waited so long to try them...

Thank you for the nice compliment.

spectacular ....

perfect sky for color intensity in the pix .... peeps used to think me insane for being out in that type of sky taking garden pix .... too many peeps take pix in full blinding sun at mid day .. and though good ... they just dont seem as magical as yours.. or those taken nearing dusk ... especially if there are clouds that turn pink.. near dusk .. zowee ...

thx for posting your pix .. ken

Beautiful thank you for sharing!!!

I don’t think it looks neglected, it looks beautiful!

Today:

GardenHo, I cant add much of value right now as I am speechless...what a property you have. I would so love for you to give me a tour.

I agree, early morning or just before sunset garden photography seems to be best.

With my old Kodak point and shoot, I still feel I got better photos. This new camera seems to photograph globs of color, blurry, not defined. Unless I have the settings messed up on my new Canon, I need to find someone with experience and help me out.

Kaillean your beds look far from neglected! Did you have to tear all that out to make the deck?! If so, I couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been. I love your pots! Thanks for sharing.

Rouge thank you so much. Too bad we weren’t closer, I’d be happy to give you a tour.

Those are my front bed gardens which were 2016’s renovation project.

Here is the chaos and work in progress in the back. At least the potager is taking shape and I got some veggies in. Gravel paths around veggie beds and the chicken run are projects for this weekend. Deck railings still to be done. This has been a long project!

We just have a small 50x100 foot city lot.

Wow you do have a lot going on! I love what you done and would love to sit in that chair and take it all in. Can’t wait to see it completed. What is that beautiful white monster in the corner?

A rhodo. Planted probably by original owners of our house. There are three huge ones in the backyard!

I'm in the lull between bulbs and perennials where it seems most of the growth is foliage, not flowers, but there are splashes of color everywhere. It has been raining all week, so I am hoping the forecasted sun for the next few days will be bringing blooms.

Beautiful Jenn! Seeing your bird bath reminds me I bought this fun solar bird fountain. You can float it in a bird bath, pond or pot and it goes about 24” high when the sun shines. Very fun. ($15 cdn on Amazon)

Oh, I'm glad to see the solar fountain in someone's actual birdbath as I was tempted to buy one too. Thanks for posting.

Do you think it helps keep the water cleaner longer? I don't know why I have that in mind, unless I read somewhere about aerating baths and ponds helps.

I read it adds oxygen but can’t attest to that yet. I just got mine.

I'm ready to order one. My birdbath in the middle of the courtyard garden is a bit shallow, thus have to add water more often than others. Pic from last year (lupines gone, only last several years or less for me).

They do stop working if there is shade or shadows. In hind sight I might have ordered the one where you can have the solar charger in a different spot than fountain. This way you can cover spout with plants etc and it can be in a bit of shade. Mine has to be in direct sun with no shadows to reach full height and run continuously. I’m going to get another one. Your bird bath would look great with a fountain.

Oh gosh, you're probably right. So you're going to order another one with a separate solar charger? I just got confirmation form Amazon that my order will be here Friday. I had thought about the separate charger thing. Well, we shall see.

It also would be fun in the secret sunken garden in the very small water receptacle at the foot of a statue. However, lots of shade there except in the morning and noon time. One with a separate charger would be best here. The unit may be too big as well. Now I'm tempted again to buy another one! ha

I actually have one of those, too, but I had to take it out of the birdbath because it was too shallow, and the water would go over the edge in even a slight breeze, emptying it out during a normal work day. I plan on getting a deeper pot or urn to float it in. It worked better in full sun, but was cute when it was working.

That's what I'm worried about Jenn. Thanks for posting pic.

Perfect spot schoolhouse! Jenn, I found that too. So I put mine in a deep old pot with a cork in the hole.

Jenn your beds looks great!! Didn’t you just make/plant these last year? Or am I thinking of someone else??

Thanks! This will be the third growing season for the bed with the iris and for the long bed with the coreopsis in the foreground (that is the same bed that has the close up of the polemonium) but the rest of the pictures are from beds that are in their second year, yes. Actually, I expanded the one bed to connect with another and added that pink salvia in March, so I guess that section is first year. I keep adding as it still looks rather blank and empty when you take in the property as a whole. Anyway. I am glad they look good to someone else's eye - I think some of my neighbors think I am nuts. (Nice orderly green shrubs by the foundation with a pot of seasonal porch flowers, and a manicured lawn is the neighborhood standard, although I am not the only nonconformist.) I am continually inspired by the beautiful gardens I see everyone posting here!