My Flowers Would Like to Meet You!

Hello, my friends, I hope you are well and 

enjoying these last few weeks of summer! 

I have been so busy that I almost forgot to 

introduce you to my flowers this year, 

and they have been whispering in my ear

that they want to meet you, too :) 

So before this wonderful season of flowers ends, 

let me take you around........

These are Nikko Blue, mop-head hydrangeas

that seem to love it here, so I have quite a few. 

They are wonderful for drying in early fall, 

and I always have big baskets full to place on

cupboards, tables and in corners. 

I live in the forest, so have plenty of shade. 

Begonias are wonderful for that. 

I love the vibrant colors and they will bloom 

until first frost. 

You can see more hydrangeas to the right and 

reflected in the windows. 

I have a large hedge of them here. 

Another variety of begonia that is just as 

pretty as a rose, but without the wonderful scent. 

They are the perfect flower to live under 

my umbrellas. 

They look pretty in hanging baskets, too. 

Here they get just a tiny bit of sunshine

late in the afternoon. 

They don't mind living under the shade of the canopy.  

(You can see the basket in the back corner.)

I potted up a flat of blue lobelia for my plant rack. 

I painted the rims of their terra-cotta pots with 

green porch paint. 

The hanging baskets were Mother's Day gifts. 

Purple petunias have the prettiest scent. 

Whitey Bear and Kai are always photo-bombing :)

The fairies have been busy gardening, too! 

xoxo

These tiny Johnny Jump-ups (viola) were planted 

last fall and have bloomed non-stop ever since! 

I have saved the seeds and hope to grow a new 

generation to keep the happiness going. 

One of my favorite roses - it has the sweetest scent. 

Even Kai seems to enjoy it! 

Another sweet scented beauty.

You can see how large the blooms are. 

These are 'mystery' roses, as I have forgotten the names. 

I do remember the name of this one - Joseph's Coat. 

This garden has Sweet William and tansy. 

Here the tansy hasn't bloomed yet. 

The Sweet William has reseeded itself over many years. 

The tansy is perennial and is a native wildflower here. 

It has very aromatic leaves that I use for sachets that repel moths. 

Both of these grow with very little care and water. 

I have a few butterfly bushes (Buddleia), and I am 

glad that I do, as they are now deemed invasive

and restricted for sale here in WA state. 

Not only do they attract the beautiful tiger swallow-tail

butterfly, but they fill the whole yard with their 

amazing, spicy scent with every breeze. 

And it wouldn't be summer without red geraniums, 

I think. 

Geraniums and marigolds are classics that 

never go out of style. 

We continue to have smoke drifting down 

from the large fires in British Columbia, 

eastern Washington, and even some smaller fires

locally. We have not had rain in 52 days, 

breaking all records. 

The air quality is terrible and at times it is 

extremely irritating to breathe.

The air quality has been compared to the air in Beijing, China.  

It's especially bad in the morning. This is smoke, 

not clouds concealing the mountains from view. 

But there has been one amazing surprise........

The blood-red moon. 

I took this unedited photo last night as it rose over the 

smoke-filled mountains. 

Later it glowed with this eerie ring. 

The weather is expected to remain the same 

until early next week. 

We are praying for rain. 

xoxo

Thank-you for your sweet visits and lovely comments, 

dear Friends. 

I have so much to show you in the next few weeks

and I will keep posting and visiting as I find time. 

xoxo

Today I am linking with :

Floral Passions - Floral Bliss

Won't you join the fun?