Back in business

Back in the garden business, that is.
If you enjoy flowers, you will want to click on the photos to see them larger.


After we moved here last summer, it was so hard for me not to have gardens. It was late in the season to plant, and we had to finish our front porch renovation before we could dig out borders and add new soil.

That was all done on Father's Day, as I documented here. Now, unless it's raining, the first thing I want to do after I get dressed is go outside to make the rounds.


Hi, butterfly bush(es). Nice to see you so big and bloomin'. The butterflies have been coming around, too.




Hi, pale yellow roses I bought in cramped pots at Stop & Shop. Your buds open deep gold, then turn to a rich cream. Kudos on all your shiny new foliage!

Hello, hydrangea left by previous residents. You were kind of bedraggled at first, but look at you now: big and leafy, with true-blue lacy blossoms.


Oh, I do love you, coral-and-yellow rose, also from the supermarket. I'm so proud to see your first new blossom after you established your roots in the back yard.

The vegetable garden, she grows. And grows.


And puts forth the tastiest cucumbers we've ever eaten, little fat ones called "Boston"; and the sweetest tiny orange tomatoes; and firm miniature plum tomatoes.


More Early Girls should be here soon. And peppers! Not quite ready for picking, but working on it.


We've been eating chopped basil in our salads, dill in omelets and potato salad, and thyme on chicken. I keep forgetting to use the rosemary, but just the smell of one needle rubbed between my fingers can send me into raptures.


We chose, it seems, a fortuitous spot for growing plants in gardens and in pots, as seen around our patio in the back.


And feeding goldfinches. This guy has brought back many of his friends and relatives since I bought the Droll Yankee thistle-seed feeder.

That's it! I officially love it here.