agrostemma gem (-a)

 If you don't pick them, they'll go to seed.  So...

Some flower farmers grow on as little as 1/4 of an acre.  I'm not sure how they are able to harvest enough to sell!  I feel like I planted a lot of flowers, but it seems to be juuuuuuust enough to keep us in household bouquets (so far).  Which is just fine by me!  

The last of the peonies made a gorgeous display that lasted a week.

Whenever one died, I just clipped out the flower and put in another.  I love the mass of blooms!

I've been so focused on the back garden that I've basically ignored the front perennial beds.  Too bad, because they are starting to pop!

It's more quiet in the back.  Claudia sleeps next to me while I plant, almost blending into the mulch.

The pleasures here are best seen from ground level, like the Iceland poppies still going strong...

...and other odds and ends that have been blooming for weeks...an odd patch of sweet william, the last of the "Virginia Sparkle" stock.  

The sweet peas are finally taking off and it was worth the wait!  Started in early February, these guys needed months to form deep roots in cool soil.  Every shade of pale purple, pink, and cream...they are lovely.

I'm also getting wonderful rich color from my pansies.  They are container-grown, solely for bouquets.  They're tiny, but so gorgeous!

Sometimes the beauty is not in the color, but the shape.  I love the unique formation of bupleurum!

Hopefully I'll have some blooms soon!

Agrostemma provides both lovely shape (tall, wispy) and gorgeous color.  See the "stitching" in the bloom?

The "hots" - sun-worshippers like sunflowers, celosia, zinnias, and amaranth - are at least a month away from blooming.  Because of space constraints, I'm interspersing them with the "cools" so that they can start putting in roots.

I'm basically hoeing out weeds and planting the final "hots," pulling out spent sections to make room.  I have no idea if my little space will prosper.  I'm dealing with scads of moles, invasive thistle, and odd poor soil patches that seem to make growing impossible.  I'll just do what I can and hope for the best!

Klaus has proven to be an attention hound.

Two laps are better than one, right?

He's still playing too roughly with Tabitha, though, and requires a lot of attention.  I'm thinking about trying to leash-train him so we can walk off some of that energy.

Otherwise, we're making plans to be outside in a non-working capacity.  Not planting, weeding, mowing, or mulching...we want to get back to hiking, sitting and chatting, grilling out, and just enjoying the views.  

Have a great week!