Summer rain

More rain begets more flowers. Below is a snap from my friend's garden. Her wisteria is blooming again and really taking off. She's had it growing up her pergola for a few years now, but this year it's starting to gobble up the structure. Now she finally has some shade!

I was entertained by toddlers smelling (and picking) the very generous neighbors' roses tonight. The little ones are practicing sharing and sniffing. Very sweet. Luckily the thorns were avoided. Guess I'd better add "sharing" flowers to my front beds.

Rain, rain go away; Hello humidity

Today it stopped raining. We got quite a bit the last two days. It rained steady all day yesterday, which is unusual for this part of Texas. Usually summer storms rush in and out quickly. I guessing those cracks under the fence line are filling in now.

I haven't done anything garden-related, except getting my two newest garden books from Amazon a few days ago. Garden Planner by Robin Williams (not the comedian), is my new favorite. Easy planing ideas, with the great tips on design. The other is Big Book of Garden Designs. Haven't cracked this one open yet.

This is what I've been up to recently.

blogs, blogs, and more blogs

Aside from tending to/being dragged down by a tired two-year-old, I've been sucked into so many great blogs today. Most focus on design. A few are local (yeah, sources!). And a couple mention garden design and outdoor living. Let me share:

Houses Gardens People (dallasdecor.com)

style/SWOON

design*sponge

We had a nice break from the heat the last few days. Cloudy mornings are great for sleeping in. We definitely appreciated the rain too. But I still need to figure out why there are crevices in soil under the fence. Argh.  

Oh, I test painted a dark teel blue on large cards for my office. Not so much. Think I'll stick with shades of chocolate. Maybe I'll work up the guts for a lighter gray blue in the bedroom. Still want to paint the office ceiling dark chocolate brown. Thoughts? Opinions? Send 'em.

Photography in the garden

Garden photography combine both of my passions. Getting it right is a challenge for both the photographer and the garden designer. When both are on, it's brilliant. Even without perfection, the results are usually pretty decent. So keeping an eye on the finalists for International Garden Photographer of the Year will prove pretty interesting. The National Trust in England and Wales even offers workshops and advice to those whom enter. Pretty decent of them.

Something's out there

The dog's got a new fascination. Something (I hope, I hope not a rat) is in his backyard. It's still 95 degrees outside at 10:45, and he's on the hunt, in the dark. Maybe it's the same mystery guest who knocked down our garbage can and pulled three trash bags into the street.

Must have plants

Need to make a list of my must-haves. Since I have lots more space, I hope to squeeze in plants I always wanted to incorporate into my garden but could never find the room.

Gotta Have Plants

Mexican Bush Sage

a Redbud tree

more ornamental grasses

shrubbery (hollies & maybe boxwoods)

Also wanna have-its

a swing (for big and little people)

a fun/dramatic fountain

a really great garden gate (actually two, one tall exterior and one short interior)

These lists have the potential to get really long. Better stop now.

Keeping busy

Nothing too exciting to report. Just keeping busy with the kiddos at VBS, chasing after the boy and waiting on servicemen to fix things at the house. The construction next door is in full swing. They're almost done framing the neighbor's house; wasn't it just a slab on Monday? 

A very helpful landscaper was out yesterday to fix a broken sprinkler head. It was a construction causality; probably the first of many. I'm now becoming very aware of how much light is going to be blocked by the new house. It's on our north side, where we did enjoy an unobstructed view, if only for a short time. But we knew it was coming. I predict we'll have a warmer and more shaded micro-climate between the houses. Hmmm, maybe this is where I can plant my camellia (currently pot-bound at a good friend's home)? Hubby wants a fence there, pronto. But that will just get damage by construction too.

Since I don't have anything in bloom here, I'm sharing eye-catching colors from the past. From my old garden and garden travels.