Cool Colors Bed in Late Spring

 The coneflowers are starting to bloom. They were planted a few years ago from seed and die to the ground in the winter. It's a warmer purple/pink than I was expecting, but still blends pretty well in the bed. I'm finding it hard to keep strict color schemes, as a crazy plant collector.

 The blue creeping phlox are done blooming. Not much going on from this angle.

 Some blue salvia and a purple autumn sage. The hummingbird stake was from Target and spraypainted blue. An actual hummingbird eats from this flower bed a lot, so it's fitting. There have been several huge bumblebees this Spring, too, on these salvias and pinata lavender.

 These lovely gladiolus' were a Valentine's gift from my husband (I always ask for bulbs instead of cut flowers). They were falling over and had to be staked... I don't normally "babysit" plants like that, but there are just a few of them and they're so pretty.

 A grape-purple autumn sage, the pinata lavenders which aren't blooming much right now, pink dianthus.

 Slightly different view including the purple lantana.

 Pretty gazing-ball-peacock from my mom. The blue pot holding the agave was really inexpensive at Lowe's... They're very sturdy and come in several bright colors. I want to say this large size was only $15 or less.

Thanks for looking!

Backyard Updates, Stock Tank Pond

 View from the back door / deck. (Sorry these pics are fuzzy. I don't have time to retake them, since I have 4 small kids I pretty much make all my posts on my phone while hiding in the bathroom.)

I'm glad my husband suggested completing one small section of my garden at a time, instead of trying to work on the whole yard at once. Because I at least have this one nice view from the living room. It being mostly finished helps motivate me to keep going, and reminds me it's possible to eventually transform the whole backyard.

 The plants in and around the stock tank pond are filling out. (I got instructions for making a stock tank pond here on Pam Penick's blog.) Since the kids have finally stopped ripping out the lily pads, I'm hoping they'll start to shade out some of the algae. There are still 4 fish in there, somewhere, as far as I know.

 The floating solar fountain from Amazon is still working well when the sun shines on it.

 A view from the other side where the bench is.

 Cosmos, planted from seed, starting to bloom.

The Mexican Ruins area has some new broken pots. I just planted some lavender in the one on the left. A couple of lantana are starting to grow. I also added various irises (orange from Wal-Mart clearance a while back, and yellow ones that a neighbor left on her curb after thinning hers). I also moved some colorful glass bottles here. The rose on the wall and the climbing Joseph's Coat on the rebar teepee are done blooming for now.

 To the right is my grapevine trellis.

 Here are some shots from April when the roses started to bloom. I didn't get pics of their peak.

 Bunk bed ladder.

 Dianthus? Or Carnations? Bought on Lowe's clearance last year after they were done blooming, just $1 each.

 Back to today's photos, looking back towards the house. The tire planters are for the kids and still have pansies and spring bulbs in them. The shade sails over the deck are great to have in the summer.

 Fence made from crib pieces I've collected from the curb on trash days. I love spray paint!
Lots of zinnia planted from seed about to bloom.

 This solar stake light was $3 Lowe's clearance because the glass bird was broken. I just stuck a green jar on top of it that I had at home, works great!

 Lots of coreopsis on either side of the steps. This side also has pink autumn sage, purple bee balm, autumn joy sedum in the metal watering can, and some purple bean vine whose name I can't remember is starting to sprout and climb the purple crib trellis.

 This side has purple butterfly bush, a blue/purple sage whose name I also forgot, and a pineapple guava tree on the right. Its interesting red & white flowers don't fit the color scheme but that's ok.

 This half of the deck still looking good. The $5 rug from Five Below is holding up well.

...And then there's all the work yet to be done in the Wilderness of Weeds. I refuse to use any chemicals, so it's hard work to dig or smother all the Bermuda grass (and who knows how we'll ever kill the trumpet vine on the fence that spreads EVERYWHERE) but I believe it's worth it to not be poisoning ourselves and all the critters who share our yard. And I've made progress, so it IS possible! 😊

Thanks for looking!

Double Delight Rose and Friends along the Front Curb

 The new Double Delight bodybag rose is now blooming! It smells the best and strongest of all my roses. I planted it near the front curb in my reds/oranges area, thinking it'd be more red than pink. I think it still works here, though, somehow. I added several pieces of purple heart to the area because dark purple seems to harmonize the reds and pinks.

 A rose peaking through the feather grass. I love Mexican feather grass and wish I could afford a whole field of it, but it's one of those plants you rarely find on clearance. However, it does seed itself in between my edging bricks, so over time I've gotten several new free clumps and just move them where I want them.

 The curb is on the right. There's red autumn sage, red/orange lantana, yellow/orange day lilies about to bloom, oxblood lilies, red yarrow (started as 1 small $1 clearance plant last year, and I recently divided it into 3 plants along the curb, I love it!), batface cuphea, and the purple heart and a mystery sedum w/ red flowers that I just planted here & there.

 The rusty wheelbarrow in the background has 2 types of purple heart and other random sedums. Wheelbarrow was $3 with some holes in the bottom, I put coconut liner and dirt on top of that, then the plant pieces. Zero maintenance!

 I love batface cuphea! The red/purple combo is so pretty.

 The Double Delight roses start out mostly offwhite.

 Yarrow at bottom right.

A view from the other end of the curb. The cool stumps were free wedding decor leftovers from the church building, and the boys like to stand on them. Notice the massive pile of mulch that's always in our driveway? I get it, delivered, totally FREE, from a wonderful local tree trimming business, and this is probably my 3rd load.

Thanks for looking!