And today was the first snow in Alpine-three weeks earlier than last year.  Although it was heavy and stuck to the ground and buildings, now that it’s late afternoon it has retreated to the benches.  Most of my annuals survived the snow, but we’ll see how they do against tonight’s almost-freezing temps.  Indian summer around the corner, I hope?

I do NOT enjoy standing at the window watching hail the size of marbles pound my flowers and punch holes in my vegetable garden.

Grrrrrr.

I’m sharing the other photos I took  and you can click on one to open them all in a gallery with descriptions and plant names.

Because I love gardening, I’m Paying It Forward to a garden blog I found recently called Home Garden Diggers.  Yael has tons of interesting tips and information about all sorts of gardening topics.  I’m actually quite amazed at how much great info she has archived here.  If you like digging in the dirt, visit her blog, and click on the button below to visit Holly and all the other blogs that are being recognized this week.

I love this quote from Amy Stewart because even though I have good intentions of designing well, I really just want to plant what I love.  So I design by putting some color contrasts in place, but I  love everything there, so they are all a bunch of characters.  Here are some lovely re-seeding biennial Canterbury Bells with Pink Friesland salvia hiding my new antique milk can, and some marigolds in front.  (I simply adore Canterbury Bells!)

I started these Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia from seed last year and this year they are coming up great.  The photo doesn’t really do justice to the lovely dark red and orange-red color.  These are some of my favorites blooming right now.

My new antique iron wheel is set off by blooming purple catmint on the right, bee balm in the middle, and a really cool plant on the left called Redbirds in a Tree.  See why my gardens are like a crowded bus terminal?

Now to the vegetables: keeping up with the garden without kids at home is harder, but doing it with a husband recuperating from rotator cuff surgery is really hard.  I’ve despaired that we would get any vegetables this year, but with some serious weeding the last couple days I’ve found the vegetables.  Yay!  Turns out we’re going to get some after all.  We’ve got tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, squash, beans, and potatoes going out there.  I’ve included a photo Scott took of me repairing the irrigation ditches because he always gets amused at me playing farmer.

Perennials:
columbine, lavender, rose, flowering strawberry, delphinium, 2 types of salvia, 2 types of coreopsis, 2 types of veronica, 3 types of sage, 3 types of gaillardia, potentilla, aubretia, hollyhock, lamium, scabiosa, 2 types of daylily, echinacia, daisy, catmint, Jupiter’s beard, scrophula, rudbeckia, rosemary, Sweet William, and tall garden phlox.
Annuals:
many types of sunflowers, alyssum, nicotiana, marigold, nasturtium, geranium, petunia, and annual salvia.

Well, you would have thought I was some genius gardener!  Scott and I looked at each other rather dumbstruck.  We laughed about it in the car on the way to the first home.  Later in the day, we were stopped at one of the homes by an older couple who said, “Here’s the nasturtium expert.”  So we chatted with them and gave them my “secret” to growing them.  So now you know-I am one of the few who can grow nasturtiums.  But I’ve never tried eating them.

More about my gardens:  Because Brian and I were home all week, we worked in the gardens every morning until it started raining and have made great progress.  All the flower beds except one are cleaned up, edged with rock, and newly planted with this year’s new plants, and they look great!  Perennials blooming today: roses, poppies, columbine, salvia, iris, penstemon, lamium, and catmint.