More from the Garden

I told you that there were more pictures from the garden.

The last floral post focused on volunteers and major installations.

Today, I'm sharing the little pieces that are still accessible to my gimpy-gardening self.

This area at the base of the columns TBG loves and I despise was covered with ivy when we moved in.  Unkempt and un-tend-able, the messiness made TBG nutty.

The yard guys and I pulled it out and replaced the river rocks in artful patterns.

Then, I decided to move large ceramic pots into the barrenness.

There is a volunteer acacia trying to establish itself toward the back.

I am especially taken with the black petunias.

I put in bulbs brought from my California garden and added annuals to bloom while I waited.

That was 5 years ago, and the freesia just keep coming back, year after year.

My favorite part of gardening is sharing plants.

This Gopher Plant (Euphorbia rigida) was a teeny tiny itsy bitsy sprout, growing where nobody wanted it at the edge of the xeriscape plot at the UofA's Master Gardener's Demonstration Gardens. 
I brought it home and nurtured it in a pot placed in the raised veggie bed. 
Not requiring much supplemental watering in the wild, it flourished next to the regularly irrigated lettuce and basil and tomatoes.

I have a space for it out in front, but it looks so lovely back there I am reluctant to move it. 

Citrus is something I've never tried to grow before, but my friends at Rillito Nursery assured me that it was simple.

This is a dwarf clementine tree.

It should grow to 8'-10' tall.
The "cuties" will have some seeds, but they are the sweetest of the varieties that grow here.

This little fellow obviously agrees.
As long as he doesn't take too big a bite I'm not going to worry about an infestation.
Can you see the buds forming in the lower left corner? 
Those will be sweet treats to eat before the summer is over.

And then, like most gardeners I know, there are these leaves.

I once knew what they were.
That knowledge is lost in the ether.
This is the first year that they have looked this green.
Should they actually send out a flower I will post the picture.
For now, though, you can join me in one of my favorite gardening activities:
Guess What This One Is?!

And, for those of you living with 30's and 40's and water vapor

http://tinyurl.com/ysnzvk

I hope these sunny photos have brightened your day.