come on, let's go...

one thing that I like in my yard are continual bloomers...

annuals give you that...

if you tend to your garden...

they can also add texture...

dusty miller has that, plus a new green color and a fun design...

begonias add a different leaf color along with bloom after bloom...

as long as you tend them...

portulaca...

if you get the mixed varieties...

withstand sun and heat...

and they change daily...

beautiful little flowers...

and they can dead head themselves...

marigolds come in oranges and yellows...

I like the solid versions...

and they keep away the bugs...

coleus...

just a splash of color anywhere your garden tends to get boring at times...

and they bloom...

I like to line the older, established beds with begonias and other small bloomers...

right along the edge...

tucked in...

these constant bloomers give you something to grin about in between the big bloomers...

the rose of sharon...

my only one...

I know this is on my list to "add more of"...

there are so many versions and it's one thing I never get tired of...

and it will bloom from now until it's time to start thinking about fall...

this is great to draw bees and humming birds to your garden...

we all need the bees, for sure...

the tomatoes are really taking off...

it won't be long...

finally...

tomatoes with some acid in them...

these will be loaded later...

another thing we do...

we plant our tomatoes in cycles...

so many a week...

so they don't come on all at the same time...

and don't be afraid to plant a few late...

then you will have tomatoes when everyone else's are done...

to get more off of the vine, pick them as soon as they start to blush...

they do not need the sun to finish ripening, so don't worry about putting them on the window sill...

we just put them in a bowl on the counter...

the longer they are on the vine, the more energy the plant is putting into them...

once you pick them, the plant will send energy into making more and you can double your crop by picking as soon as they blush...

for this area, I wanted a bed that looked like it could have been here for a century...

when we moved here, there was only one small tree on the whole acre...

I love old farms...

where several generations have added to the property...

the kind of place where you sit and wonder about the hands that tended them before...

and when you don't have things blooming...

make your own...

vintage dishes, glass glue and a copper fitting on the back...

the possibilites are only limited by your imagination...

this was the pattern my mother collected for our "good dishes"...

and I wanted to see the whole pattern, so combined it with a clear dish...

hostas blooms are here...

as soon as it is finished blooming...

we are going to dig and divide and spread it around more...

a very small, but happy, bee...

and finally back to the deck...

I cannot believe that the violets are still going...

they do not like the heat at all...

planting in pots allows you to move them around...

for change and for climate...

they can stand full sun in the cooler spring...

but need moved on those hot, hot summer days...

and we have one here today...

humid and hot...

tend your bloomers...

I dead head twice a day...

morning and evening...

never let anything go to seed until it's cycle is over...

it will quit blooming on you...

and if a plant starts getting leggy, pinch it back...

take off the bad leaves...

the plant thrives best when tended to...

and it blooms and blooms and blooms...