Our Gorgeous Azaleas

 Our Azaleas are just bursting with color! These two hot pink shrubs just make my day when I see the ultimate beauty they bring to springtime.

This picture was taken from the front of our yard looking back at our huge expanded flower bed and our home in the background. 

Purple creeping phlox are blooming in front of the azaleas. 

You can see our expansion project of this flower bed linked at the end of this post.

The tall iris are reaching their beautiful purple heads up behind those hot pink blooms of the azaleas. 

Buds and looms encompass the entire azalea shrub.

Our dogwood trees are young trees that stand about six feet tall. They make a nice backdrop for the iris and azaleas. 

Here are the two posts I made on this huge undertaking to expand this flower bed:

In the Garden and A New Project in 2018 - click here

Flower Bed Project Update in 2018 - click here

Thanks for stopping by to see our gorgeous azaleas - Judy.

Linking to:

Our World @ Our World Tuesday on Monday

All About Home @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Party in Your PJ's @ The Apple Street Cottage on Tuesday

Tuesday Turn About Link Party @ Thistle Key Lane 

Wonderful Wednesday @ Oh My Heartsie Girl on Tuesday

Wonderful Wednesday @ Ducks in a Row

Share Your Style @ French Ethereal

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Friday Photo Journal @ Serendipity is Sweet

Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner

Flaunt It Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring 

Grace at Home @ The Charm of Home on Thursday 

Saturday Sparks @ Pieced Pastimes on Friday

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Garden Affair @ Jaipur Garden  on Saturday

Sundays at Home @ My Soulful Home on Saturday

Saturday Spotlight @ Calypso in the Country

Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate & Decorate on Sunday

Mosaic Monday @ Letting Go of the Bay Leaf on Sunday

Love Your Creativity Link Party @ Life and Linda on Sunday at 2pm

Sunday Link Party @ Finding Silver Pennies

Sundays on Silverado @ The House on Silverado

Busy Monday @ A Pinch of Joy on Sundays at 5pm

Blooms and Butterflies in Late June

The month of June is just about over and I'm only seeing a few butterflies visiting my flowers. 

Today I snapped an orange butterfly on my deck. 

I believe this one is the "Question Mark" butterfly. 

Bees are visiting daily.

The pumpkin seeds that my grandson and I planted weeks ago are blooming. We simply planted the seeds in a big pot and began watering. The seeds were a couple of years old so I didn't know what to expect. Would the seeds grow or do nothing? You can see by the blooms they surprised us and are now blooming. I've got to get them out of the pot and in the ground. 

We had dove eggs in a nest at the back of our shop a while back. The eggs are gone now so I'm not sure if something bothered them or, hopefully, they hatched while we were gone on a trip.

I moved some of our hummingbird feeders to the middle of our zinnia and coneflower beds hoping to attract more hummers. 

Thanks for stopping in today - Judy.


Linking to:

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Sundays at Home @ Little Farmstead on Saturday

Saturday's Critters @ Viewing Nature with Eileen on Saturdays
Camera Critters on Saturday
I'd Rather Be Birdin' on Saturday at noon

Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate & Decorate on Sunday

Dishing It and Digging It @ Rustic & Refined on Sunday

MET Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Talk of the Town @ Kick of Time on Tuesday

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop @ Claire Justine

Share Your Style Link Party @ White Arrows Home 

Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life on Wednesday evening

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Friday Photo Journal @ Serendipity is Sweet

In the Garden and A New Project

I am still enjoying so much color in my gardens here in Eastern Kentucky. Even though it has been hot and very little rainfall lately, watering has been a must. 

One night this week, I accidentally left the sprinkler on all night in one of the bed so those flowers were soaked. I'm sure they loved it.

My purple coneflowers are still holding on and the butterflies are visiting every day.

The zinnias are still blooming . . .

and I love to cut them daily for the table.

We even have them for the breakfast table. That was a very candid shot with our two grandsons and my hubby but you can see the flowers on the table.

You know I love taking pics of the butterflies and bees visiting the flowers. These were taken just this week.

A few sunflowers came up in pots and in the beds.

The goldfinches enjoy the seeds.

Now for the new project. Here it is hot as blazes outside, and we decided to undertake a landscaping makeover in the front yard in a bed near the road.

Here's a pic of this bed in the spring when the azaleas were blooming.

and here is it right now. 

We kept the two azaleas and the crepe myrtles. The rest of the over grown bushes were taken out. Plus we decided to expand the bed. New concrete edging stones have been bought and dirt delivered. I'll keep you posted on our progress. It's terribly hot for a project like this, we must be crazy!

Thanks for stopping by - Judy.

Linking to these great parties:

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Grace at Home @ The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage on Thursday evening

Friday Photo Journal @ Serendipity is Sweet

Garden Link Party on August 31 

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Saturday Sparkles @ Pieced Pastimes on Friday

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather @ Shabby Art Boutique on Friday


Sundays at Home @ My Soulful Home on Saturday

Table It Link Party @ Life and Linda
Inspiration Monday @ Our Southern Home
Dishing It and Digging It @ Rustic & Refined on Sundays

Blooms and Growing in the Yard #2

Welcome Friends and thanks for stopping by to see what is blooming or growing in my yard.

Here it is the middle of August and I'm happy to say my mini-pumpkin vines are blooming.

This is my first year to plant mini-pumpkins so I'm really excited to see that I now have some actual mini-pumpkins growing on the vines.

Our tomato plants are still blooming. We planted Big Boy and Better Boys just like my Dad always planted. 

Although we only planted 5 tomato plants, we have been getting lots of tomatoes and more coming.

That's about it for my farming skills so on now to some flowers blooming in the yard. 

Blooming below are: purple coneflower, black-eyed Susans, purple verbena, and wild Jewell Weed. The Jewell Weed is growing wild at the back of our property. They say it is nature's cure for poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. 

The crepe myrtles and hydrangeas are just stunning.

My "little lime" hydrangea did produce some beautiful blooms. This was the second year for this dwarf hydrangea. 

The elephant ears have gone crazy and many are really as big as an elephant's ear. 

Giving a nod to fall, I'll share a some fallish color from my yard with you.

I am so thankful to have flowers blooming and plants growing in my yard.

Thanks for stopping by - Judy.

Linking to:

Gardens Galore No 6

Met Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Amaze Me Monday @ Dwellings

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life on Tuesday

The Scoop @ Stone Gable Blog

Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style on Tuesday evening

Outdoor Wednesday @ A Southern Daydreamer

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Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style on Tuesday evening
Simple & Sweet Fridays @ Rooted in Thyme on Wednesday

Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have A Cup of Mrs. Olson on Wed. evenings 

Share Your Style Link Party @ 21 Rosemary Lane on Wed. evenings
Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life on Wednesday evening

Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Foodie Friday & Everything Else @ Rattlebridge Farm on Thursday

Friday Photo Journal

Saturday Blog Link Party @Sunny Simple Life

Blooms and Growing in the Yard - Plus A Welcomed Guest

I think we all look forward to Spring. It is always exciting to see growth in the gardens and flower beds. For me, it is a thrill when the azaleas bloom. Take a look:

We went to Disney and Seaworld for spring break with our grandsons and I was concerned that I would miss the azaleas. They were just budding when we left but when we returned, they were gorgeous. 

Also in the front beds, bearded iris are blooming.

We planted several pink and white dogwoods last spring and were happy to see them have blooms this spring.

There is a farm field across the road from our house. The field is full of these yellow blooms. I'm not exactly sure what they are but they make a beautiful picture.

I've been making some new beds around some of the big trees in our front and back yard. A friend have me ten hardy ferns that were just becoming active to plant in the beds. Now all ten are up and growing.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are starting to return in our area. I was lucky enough to get a couple pics of these welcomed visitors. 

I certainly have a lot of yard work to do and the constant rain has been slowing my progress.

I am so thankful for Spring. Thanks for stopping by - Judy.

Linking to:

Outdoor Wednesday @ A Southern Daydreamer
Wild Bird Wednesday @ Paying Ready Attention Gallery

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern
Wednesday Around the World

Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life

Simple & Sweet Fridays @ Rooted in Thyme 

Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have A Cup of Mrs. Olson
Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Skywatch Friday
Friday Photo Journal 

Saturday's Critters @ Viewing Nature with Eileen on Saturday

Camera Critters on Saturday

I'd Rather Be Birdin' on Saturday at noon