Animal, Vegetable, Mystery

I have to start with an apology for the sheer number of photos I've posted. I haven't had much of a chance to upload or post lately, so you're getting about three weeks worth all at once. They're a little out of date in terms of what's happening in the garden right now, but you can see what's been going on. Click on photos to enlarge and enjoy the spectacle :) 

Starting off with more pansy love (the colours and variations are just gorgeous):

  

Rose lollipop! Courtesy of the nameless pink rose:

   

It didn't do as well this year as last year, but I finally confirmed that this is, in fact, a 'The Fairy' rose:

  

Pansies again:  

I liked this California poppy shot because it reminds me of a watercolour painting:

  

Hosta flower buds:  

Blogger is being ridiculous today (I really need to look into porting my blog elsewhere). It decided to switch some of my photos from vertical to horizontal. This is one of the ones it switched. But it was such a nice shot of my 'Viking' rose I thought I'd just leave it.

  

Morning glory (I think it's 'Grandpa Ott'):

   

Remember a while back when I posted photos of potato flowers and commented that I didn't know what the point of the flowers was? Well, it turns out they have a point, after all. They appear to have turned into seeds, although I have no idea if they'll make new plants:

  

Tomatillo in bloom:  

Morning Glory among the pansies:

  

Poppies in bloom! Although I've pretty much lost track of what variety ended up where. I just like them:  

The only lily to have survived the squirrels and raccoons flowered for the first time this year! In the first photo it's surrounded by periwinkle and sweet woodruff:

   

Lady's Mantle leaves are covered in fine hairs that hold on to droplets of water. Diamonds wish they could sparkle this brightly:

   

Yup, another one:  

Black-flowered Hollyhock, the only one to bloom this year (the others have been set back by hungry bunnies). We estimate this plant is now about 12 feet tall! The ones that do well do really well!

   

If you look closely you can see Morning Glory vines twining around the Hollyhock's stem:

   

My mom snuck this plant in with the dahlia bulbs she gave me. I wish I knew its name in English (if you're curious, it's called "zaharocalamo" in Greek). Like the dahlias it'll need to be dug up and stored inside before winter. It's a fairly common plant, and this one will eventually have red iris-like blooms. In the meantime, we get to enjoy the attractive foliage:

[Edit: It's called Canna]  

More poppies (taken a week or two after the last photos):

   

Swiss Chard and carrots--see how they grow!

   

I love how this hydrangea has multicoloured flowers on one plant! This is the only blue cluster; if you look at the photo below you'll see it at the back of the plant. The rest of the flowers are shades of pink and lavender:  

Finally, I got these peony poppies to grow! My mom has given me a ton of seed from her own poppies, but for some reason they've never worked out for me before. Until now. Actually, I'm not sure whether the red ones are actually from my mom or whether they're another type I sowed, but either way--they're awesome. I've since had many more flowers, which I've let go to seed so I can get even more next year. I am poppy obsessed. In the first photo below, you can see flowering hostas next to the poppies, and not-yet-flowering Rose of Sharon behind them:

   

Jacobii clematis, blooming at last:  

Potted Hydrangea on the deck (this one's flowers are massive, and range from pink to lavender):

   

Visitor hanging out on our deck:  

This one was harder to capture; it moved too quickly to get a really good shot...

 ...as you can see!  

This mystery weed came out of nowhere and I left it for awhile because I thought the flowers were pretty. But check out those thorns! I pulled it up once I saw seed pods; the last thing I need is this populating my yard. But anyone know what it is?

:  

Another pretty weed (and another photo Blogger screwed up). This one is a Brassica of some sort, probably mustard:  

Whimsy Bower is about the entire domestic sphere, so it wouldn't be complete without a couple of shots of my very domesticated felines:

 Either the bed is too small or they're too big (actually, I think it was too hot--that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)  

This squirrel had a sweet deal going for a while there. It would show up and look cute and I would feed it. I've stopped feeding it now, even though it still shows up. I feel bad about it but the first step in protecting my tomatoes is to teach the squirrels that there is no food to be found in my yard. Just hang on until September, guy:

   

My strictly indoor cat letting me know how he feels about being left behind:

   

And, lastly a couple of photos taken by the SO. I love this poppy! It's the perfect shade of red--not at all orangey. I'm not sure if it's a biennial or a perennial, but I saved seed in either case. 

  

And how does your garden grow?

Photos by Whimsy Bower

[Edited to update links, details, and for formatting. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]