Tea Pots

 I seem to have a lot of tea pots.  I didn't really mean to collect them; it just sort of happened.

In order to go to the back door of our house you have to walk  beside what was a boring cement block wall. DH built a wood shelf and roof so I could put anything out there to make it more interesting.
I already had some extra tea pots and it seemed a good spot to line them up.

I found them at different times, all at thrift stores. This pretty one is my latest find.

I think I have around 30, some of which are on the porch over my tea cups.

Thanks for visiting; I'd be interested to know which tea pot appeals to you the most ( if any).

 

GRANNY MARIGOLD

 

 

Clematis and More

  I have just spent a frustrating hour and a half trying to determine what my many Clematis are called. I have various tags which I tried to match up with the blooms that are  on the plants right now but I'm mainly guessing. I'm so disappointed that I didn't take the time originally to make proper sketches of both the front and back flowerbeds.  It doesn't help that several of the first ones we planted have died and been replaced by new varieties. Oh dear. I think I'll have to give up on this effort.

 When I moved the pots of Basil onto the porch it left the windowsill in the sunroom empty. I bought three plants to fill the spot. A Hibiscus, a white Carnation, and a lemon scented Geranium.

I had thought I'd plant the Carnation outside but when I looked more closely at the information on the tag I saw that it isn't winter hardy here. Something I should have checked before buying it.

Oh well, it will do nicely inside too. I have never tried to grow a Hibiscus so if anyone has any tips for me I'll be very glad for them. Already I've learned that each flower lasts only one day.  Luckily it has many buds.

It's another very warm day again. The temperature now at 2:30 is 29C which would be maybe 84 or 85F.  Not the kind of afternoon to be outside so I'm trying to get my gardening journals up-to-date.
Later I have a cake to bake for DH to take to Gleaners tomorrow. If I'm going to have the oven on I might as well make some muffins too.  I think they'll be Orange-Date muffins. I think baking will be less frustrating than sorting my Clematis labels.

Thanks for coming by,  GM

Mainly about Flowers

 

The sunshine continues and so does the drought. I do some watering every day and am thankful for the flowers that can manage without watering. Like Rudbeckias, Shasta Daisies, and Coneflowers.
 

Nasturtiums are also fine with not much water although these got a good soak one night when middle son forgot to turn off the sprinkler.  Oops.

The white Clematis cascades down every year right onto the nearest patch of Daisies.

Last but not least the first pole beans are ready. These are the Rattlesnake ones which I like because they're early but I don't like the roughness of the bean itself. It seems all pole beans are 'hairy' but the Rattlesnake are the worst. I've told the story before but will tell it again for new followers. When grandson M was in kindergarten each child got to plant a bean in a cup and bring it home. His thrived and we were able to get enough beans to keep some for seeds for the next year. Every year since we've grown them ( he's now going into grade 7).

Have a good day!!  GM

Blueberries and Apricots

 

We found lovely blueberries and bought a 20 lb box. They have been sorted and cleaned  ( that's what the people in the second picture are doing.)

This big blueberry harvester makes the need for human pickers unnecessary.

The fields are huge and the rows seem to go on forever.

 The next 3 pictures are in reverse order. I meant to show the lovely apricots we bought before the picture of the jam and scones but blogger loaded them like this.

These apricots are not 100% ripe yet but we were able to buy 2 bags of very ripe ones ready for jam NOW so they were greatly marked down.  We had the jam made within hours and it is delicious. Last year we couldn't find nice apricots anywhere so we started looking early this year and were lucky to find some.

Today was a lovely day, not too hot and with a pleasant breeze. I hope your day was lovely too.

Thanks for coming by,  GM

On the Porch

I moved my Basil onto the porch. I had it in the sunroom but it was in full sun and needed watering 3 times a day. Here it will be in bright light but not direct sun AND it will be right there on the table for me to pluck leaves when we have our meals outside.

 

My .50 table on the porch close to the swing where I spend so much time.

Did you know that July 13the is National French Fries Day?  Well, I didn't either but now that I found out that's what we'll have for supper. We'll use the air fryer to make things super easy.

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Herbs

 I've started a little herb garden behind the house. So far I have planted Winter Savoury, Sage, and Rosemary.  There was already several plants of Thyme growing here. Also self-sown lavender which I just cannot make myself remove.  There are tomato plants up against the house and one in that black pot.  A couple of volunteer squash or pumpkin plants are growing near the old fountain in the corner. My daughter made the sign on an old board which I carried home from one of our walks much to the chagrin of DH.

Lavender growing in the cracks.

On the other side of this little path is a now mostly empty bed where the Daylilies grew. The ones that I had to get rid of.  In that bed there are tomatoes growing in the back, against the house and several self-sown Summer Savoury plants as well as 3 clumps of Chives.

This is my gardening journal. I try to keep it up-to-date but often forget to do so. I have a different one which is actually a photo album for 5 X 7 photos. I use that one to keep the tags that come with plants that I buy.

 Another week begins and we're getting close to the middle of the month already.  Don't we all wish Winter would pass as quickly as Summer does?  Or maybe just have Summer slow down.  

Thanks for coming by today. I always like to read any comments so please let me know how your summer is going.  GM

A Good Day

 

 

What is happening?  I'm posting 3 days in a row!!!  The forecast for today was cooler ( or so I thought) so I planned a baking day.  Hmmm.  I was wrong. Nevertheless I baked 2 carrot cakes ( thank you to my DH who grated the carrots), and an Angel food cake ( just a box mix). We did our weekly grocery shopping first thing this morning and I bought strawberries. I love to put sugared strawberries and Cool Whip on Angel food cake. Yum.

I also put in an hour's work in the flower garden. In spite of the drought weeds still grow. Luckily a bit of hoeing and the sun does the rest.  The Daylilies are loving all the sunshine.  I've noted which varieties are doing the best and may replace the ones not doing great but that will have to wait until next Spring. 

So that was my lovely day. I hope yours was a good one too.

Thanks for coming by. I'll leave you with this old photo taken here in town  back in the days when gas was under 40 cents a Gallon.