Pink Flowers and A Murder

I ONLY KNOW OF one gardener (a non-blogger) who has an affinity (okay obsession) for pink flowers like I do. Well, actually two because my friend Mindy Northrop, who is a blogger is also a fan. But she is far less compulsive, a more universal, equal-opportunity gardener. See for yourself on her awesome blog. She lives in Portland, near my old haunt in fact. She's enormously talented. 

Anyway, as I scrolled through the photos I chose for this post, I realized once again how crazy I am for pink shades. Have a look see... 

I love the little "wishie" in the middle of these Coreopsis.
I'm pretty sure it planted itself there to celebrate the forthcoming Perseid meteor shower this weekend, 

For all Succulent-lovers in the audience, I present this unnamed Kalanchoe.
$4 at Rite-Aid. The pot is from a recent trip to Goodwill. Sweet combo!
Notice the pink edges. 

My Grevillea rosmarinifolia is putting forth an un-seasonal bloom.
It's in my front yard. I hope the dear are color blind. 

I love hardy fuchsias! Partnered with this pot of Dianthus and a carpet of Pulmonaria,
what's not to love? 

It's a Dahlia, dahling. A little stuffy, yes... but lovable too. 

Dahlia partnered with Kale 'Lacinata' and the white rose I can't identify
because I'm not anywhere near my plant tags. 

I love how Hydrangea serrata 'Preziosa' after prancing all over the spectrum,
eventually morphs into my favorite shade.  

Earlier in the season, I bought two species Impatiens (I. rothii, I think). The one above was losing leaves
so I stopped watering it. Voila, look at it now! 

Here is the other Impatiens. I am going attempt to winter it over.
Wish me luck. 

A few weeks ago, while in Salem for the Art Festival with gal pals
Connie and Annie, I found another nice Clemmy: Clematis integrifolia. 

This tri-colored Oxalis is another early-season purchase from Fry Road.
It was a wee plug and now look at it. Just so you know, I snip off the
garish yellow flowers. It's good therapy.

This is my 'Frost Proof' hardy Gardenia. A week before this photo was taken it had 13 blooms!
On warm evenings, the fragrance is heavenly.

'Cityline Paris' Hydrangea looks better than ever this year. Next month,
when the water bill comes, we'll be eating crumbs. 

This is a scented Geranium. The purported fragrance is "hazelnut."
While I'm not sure about that, I am in love with the pink flowers. 

One of my Ornamental Oreganos if nearing its bee-loving end.
Check out the intricate design of the bracts. 

After the rare sighting of a Malope seed packet last spring, this is the result.
It's an annual that I will allow to go to seed.  

'Little Joe' 'taint so little. But he sure is handsome. 

Now that we've wrapped up or pink flora photos, I'd like to present a few non-pink fauna ones.

Rarely am I able to capture wildlife with my camera and while this photo is far from
perfect, it gives you all an idea of what's been slithering through my garden beds. 

This last photo is violent. Please be warned! 

The reason I KILL crab spiders! They eat my beloved honey and bumblebees!

Evil, murderous creatures. Poor honeybee was minding his own business and wham!
Why, oh why must it be so? Totally pisses me off! 

Okay. Thanks for letting me vent. 

One-Hundred Three

THIS IS WHAT THE DIGITAL temperature sign read at approximately 6:15 yesterday evening as I drove past it. Tonight on the news, the weatherman said our humidity yesterday was 16%. Good thing because it was HOT! But it was a "dry heat." And it wasn't a surprise. The weather people let us know it was imminent and fortunately were also correct in forecasting a cool-down for today. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time with the hose Friday evening and Saturday morning, making sure my precious babies would be able to handle the day-long heatwave. And they did.  

Here's a little of what's going on in my garden.  

This is a Lobelia laxiflora blossom. 

And here is the entire plant in a container. It is one of my few new plants this year.
Apparently it's only marginally hardy in my Zone 8b garden so it might be a one-time
beauty. 

This is a third-generation Mimulus. I bought the plant two years ago.
It reseeded last year and then again this year. 

This little pink daisy is a miniature Dahlia.
The other pinky is Diascia integrima that has wintered-over for two years.  

This is Sedum 'October Daphne' in a hanging container.
It doesn't even need to bloom to make me happy. 

This particular clump of 'Firetail' Persicaria is huge, well over 6 feet tall. And the bees love it. 

In the photo below this one, the purply-mist towards the left is an
ornamental Oregano. Here is a close up. Bees love it too.  

This border is looking exceptionally nice with Verbena rigida in full regalia.
In front of the clump is a bunch of seedlings I need to dig up and replant.
This should give you a clue as to the conditions that please this plant.  

Phlox paniculata 'Bright Eyes.'  The scent is delicious.

Now we're on the opposite end of the garden. You can't see the pond but if you look closely
you can see the lily pads. The grass (Stipa gigantea) on the right,
is obstructing much of the view. 

This is the opposite side of the aforementioned pond.
In years past this area has gotten really dry by now. But this year,
thanks to all the rain in June, I've been able to keep it looking good.  

I almost forgot, again. (Sheesh!) The winner of the drawing for Ricki Grady's book, Bebop Garden was Jen of Muddy Boot Dreams.  Congrats Jen. If you haven't visited her blog, you can click on the link and be amazed.

Well, that's what's going on in my garden. I hope all of you have a wonderful week with friendly garden-puttering temperatures.