Toad Lilies!

My toad lilies are blooming and it is so very exciting. They are my favorite flower in the garden, and I was afraid that they wouldn't bloom.  Hopefully they'll come back next year.

These were the first two, but right now there are many buds ready to bloom, and I can't wait!

Bleeding hearts and Broken teacups

My bleeding hearts are finally blooming!  I thought for sure they would just grow leaves all summer--don't they all bloom earlier in the year?  But look!  Here they are.

Also, I couldn't resist including a little teacup collection, they are some of my favorites from trash beach.

I hope you're enjoying your summer!

Rainy Garden

One reason we've been busy lately is that we've spent every free moment (and there haven't been many) on our garden.  When we first got here, it was a tiny concrete slab surrounded by warehouses. Remember the baby ferns from the first teasings of spring? Some of them have grown up, but some are still unfurling.  I've also been on a fern buying spree for the past few weeks; every time I see one I like, I'll snatch it up... but now I'm having a hard time placing all of them!  

We've been planting hosta, sedum, moss, impatiens and morning glory.  Hopefully it can stand the shade until it becomes tall enough to catch the sun--they all have string trellises to climb.  And I want to get some begonias, but I'll have to build some more wooden planters, since I'm out of container space right now.

We repurposed the planter in the back (it was an old media center that was about to get tossed to the curb) and we will be building benches one day soon, but my favorite place to sit is the swing:

It's the perfect place to sit and have a cup of tea in the morning. We made a small table that sits next to it and is perfect for a cup and plate of cookies. There's also a surprise that will be coming soon...