Almost July

Well, the lilies are STILL blooming, and more are opening up every day. Most of these came from starts we got at Powell Gardens, during their Blooms and Booms Festival. But some came from Mom, and we treasure every one. She shared some of her pink hydrangea flowers with us on our trip down south, so I wanted to include a picture of her pretty-in-pink flowers here. Out here in the country, they call daylilies "ditch lilies", those "common" orange daylilies brightening all the highways and byways during hot summer days and nights, while the hybrids glorify our gardens--good relatives to have around.

The weather has changed, we actually have a drier week this week, but I expect more rain, only because it seems to be that way this summer. Oh well, good gardening what with everything in bloom. Our roses are back into their second bloom cycle now too. And the black raspberries should be turning black now down here in our woodsy patch. And our blackberries up in the field patch should be ripening after July 4th. Looking forward to that!

The red flowers are all over a cactus plant I got from Mom years ago, from her friend who used to have a hobby greenhouse. I put it outside last year in desperation, and it bloomed a few flowers. This year, it is really celebrating the 4th with fire cracker red blooms, all over the plant!
Happy Fourth of July!

Summer lilies

We are in the middle of monsoon season here in MO. Usually our summers are dry and we pray hard for rain. Last week the ground was cracking. This week it is a sponge. But the flowers really seem to love it. All my lilies are in bloom, and going crazy. Baby grass we planted in the fall looks like an emerald carpet. So I guess all that rain is doing some good. Hope you enjoy our June blooms!

Book pages

Just finished the most recent book in a series, and I have to share--written by Suzanne Arruda, Treasure of the Golden Cheetah takes place in the 1920's in Africa. The heroine, Jade Del Cameron, is most likely based upon a real life African explorer, Osa Johnson. Osa was born and raised in Kansas and she and her husband flew their little plane all over Africa, taking pictures, and writing stories, and returning to the US, giving talks and sharing their journeys with the rest of the world. This in turn would pay for future trips abroad for them.

Jade is a spunky heroine, and wild animals and hostile tribes or evil villains don't put a dent in her vast enthusiasm and abilities to lead people into the bush and share her views of the wild and beautiful Africa she loves. Most of the time she encounters help from the natives, and most of the time she can venture further into the bush, but there are always mysteries to solve, and quests for hidden treasures or high adventure.

If you want to learn more about this series, the author has several websites to check out:

www.suzannearruda.com and
http://suzannearruda.blogspot.com

These sites will get you deeper and perhaps make you want to read further. This author has also written a biography of Osa, which you may also want to read. Osa's books are probably out of print, and pretty old, so they are also probably difficult to find, which is why I recommend you read about Jade.

June flowers

Well, May flitted past and suddenly-gasp!-we are stampeding through this summer. So are our flowers it seems. Retirement gives me better looking flowerbeds, obvious conclusion is that I can now spend more time weeding, trimming etc. Anyway, here is a glimpse of the second wave of blooms. The double mock orange bush was doing well with its blooms until we had a little hail storm, so we can only pick pictures instead of blossoms!