Blooms in My Garden

 My garden has lots of things blooming right now.

 The Oakleaf Hydrangeas look pretty next to my Geraniums.

 Teddy always looks pretty.  We should all age so well!

 The pink Impatiens need to catch up to the white ones.

 Magnolias.

 I'm hoping my gladiolas bloom soon.

 Zinnia blooms last a long time.

 The Clematis growing between the Geraniums.

 Another planter.

 This Clematis plant just keeps on blooming.  It is huge.

 The Candy Corn vine.

 Olives.

 I can't wait for the first red tomato!

 Bay leaves.

 Some herbs.

Nasturtiums.

Zucchini Casserole

It's zucchini season!  I picked my first ones today.  I know I've shown this recipe before but if you haven't tried it yet, you are missing something very good.  This recipe is from the early 70's and I've made it ever since then.

 Slice 2 zucchinis into quarter slices.  Add one sliced onion.

 Add 4 shredded carrots.

 Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, 1 package Pepperidge Farm Stuffing (dry), 1/2 cup of melted butter, 1 cup of sour cream, 2 cans of cream of celery soup, salt and pepper (1 tsp. each).

 Mix it thoroughly and spoon it into a greased casserole.  I doubled this and made 3 large ones.

 Bake it at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

It should be bubbling around the edges and turning golden on top.

Sunrise

 Sunrise pouring through my front door.

 It makes crazy designs on my wall.

 Tree peony pods. I always think they look like jester hats.

 I think this Fall is time for me to split hostas.  All of them are huge.

The Astilbe are blooming.

 A nice gate until you have to paint it.

Morning in my front garden.

Teddy's Little World

 My poor old girl is slowing down.

 The older she gets, the smaller her world becomes.  I guess she is a lot like us.

 It's been years since she would get in the car.

 She no longer goes down to the lower gardens.

 She is leery of crossing the creek.

So, about 6 times a day, we go to the upper pond for a drink.  I tell my husband it's like someone pushing an elderly parent around the grounds at the retirement community.

 Here's a new mirror chain I made.

I really like these hummingbird chains because when the wind blows, the bird flies.  Click on the pic for a closer look.

Roses and Daisies

 We rushed our planting to get everything in before Tropical Storm Cindy arrived.  As it ended up, she arrived much later than predicted but still in time to water everything.

 I planted the beds with Knockout Roses, Daisies and some Impatiens.

 They will add the little bit of color my garden sorely needs.

Remember this bed I showed yesterday?

 Here it is now.

 It will be so pretty when it fills in.

 A grumpy chow.  She is not thrilled with this storm.

 My vegetables are going a bit crazy this year.

 And I finally have a zucchini!

 Here is a better pic of the front.

 Yesterday's pics had uneven sunlight shadowing them.

 I also potted the Geraniums for the cistern.

 If you look closely you can see the cistern running.

It recycles rain water that runs off of the garage roof.

 Here it is from my kitchen window.