Weeds

Whenever I weeded my flower beds or even my flowerpots, I always found a multitude of seedlings of one certain kind. I didn't know what sort of weed it was, but it seemed prolific and very vigorous. It had one or two pairs of leaves atop a long stalk and a pretty good sized root for a young seedling. They were under my azaleas, in the tomato patch, in flower pots on the patio and by the driveway, even among the evergreens. They didn't seem picky about the amount of sunlight or water, and every specimen I pulled up was thriving. I wondered if other people had trouble with these weeds. Were the seeds scattered by the wind? What were they, anyway?

Finally, I pulled one out of a flowerpot that had a recognizable remnant of the seed casing still clinging to the roots and all was revealed. They were sunflower sprouts. The squirrels weren't just eating the seeds from the bird feeders, they were burying them too, and the seeds were germinating.
If you want to grow sunflowers, I can hook you up with some squirrels that are excellent horticulturists.

Not just a pretty face......

....it's a really nice desk lamp too. I finally got my lamp. Kudos to Bellacor, where I ordered it Tuesday and received it today, with free shipping and the lowest price I found. I even like the brushed nickel finish. Whew, that's over!

On other fronts, I haven't stitched a stitch this week because I have been planting flowers. My hanging baskets are filled with purple scaevola and the flower bed around the birdbath, a mixture of perennials and annuals, is complete. No pictures yet because the annuals are those 4" tall plants from the six-packs and will need a few weeks to look like anything. When they're blooming, I promise I will post a photo. I have tomatoes and bell peppers in pots because I don't have a garden plot anymore, but we have done this for several years and the plants do fine. Two large (large! about 30" diameter) pots will grow all the tomatoes and peppers the two of us need, with plenty to make tomato sauce for the freezer.

The large pots flanking my driveway were planted with the most beautiful coral-y orange new guinea impatiens with varigated foliage. These are shaded most of the day, and it was difficult to find something that was large and bright and showy, but didn't need sun.

My azaleas are fading, but the blooms were outstanding this year. The dogwoods didn't bloom as much as usual, but last summer was very dry and they were stressed. A little TLC and extra watering this year, and they'll do fine.

My back yard makes me happy when I look outside from my office. The white rose bush is covered with buds and will burst forth soon with the loveliest old-fashioned roses. There are hanging pots of lavender African Daisies on the trellis beside the maple tree. Once the white dogwood and hot pink azaleas fade, the color scheme in the back yard becomes blue, purple, orange and yellow, one of my favorites. I'm not much for red and pink flowers, but I love yellow. It also goes nicely with my brown-y tan brick house with blue shutters.

It's been a lot of work getting here, but my yard is ready for summer.