Fun With Flowers In St. Louis

One of my favorite things to do is walk around my garden and capture the beauty of my flowers! The above picture is one of my dwarf Iris's. I planted the bulbs 2 years ago and this is their first time blooming. I'm in love with blue flowers these have become my all time favorite!
I tucked this Hosta in my back bed 2 years ago. I had no idea is was going to get this big! I take pictures of my clogs next to the plant for comparison. It will be split this fall!
I plant most of my plants by seed and this Columbine too 3 years to bloom, but it was so worth the wait! The details are just amazing. I planted these as "extra's" since I had so many plants come up, and these are planted under my window boxes in the front of the house.
Another true blue Clematis! This one trails on our white banister in the back yard and blooms for a very long time!

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung! I've been working on the beds for the past few days. Most of them have been neglected due to my ankle surgery last Spring. My favorite flower , or at least the one I love looking at the most, are the Red Hot Pokers (pictured above). I cleaned out the dead leaves and I can see lots of new growth at the base. I started these by seed, and have divided the plants several time. The stems can be 3 to4 feet tall and the bloom is about 5 inches tall. A very stunning plant!
Peeking out are my Sweet William. Not many came back last year, so I will have to sow more for the upcoming year. They are in the very back of the yard, so I can't see them unless I am in the backyard with the dogs. I need to move them closer to the house.
Cleaning out all the grass, I noticed lots of baby Gallardia's. They bloom all summer long and will grow just about anywhere...we have a few growing in our grass last year!
It was fun getting my hands in the dirt. Nothing replenishes the soul as peering at a worm at eye level!

A Morning Walk Around My Yard

Summer Hydrangea Cold Process Soap

This soap was "supposed" to be pink and green! It started to trace faster than I wanted so I quickly plopped it into the mold without any color, but I really like how it turned out. It hasn't changed colors during curing, which is nice! I took the picture with a bloom from my Hydrangea Bush. The bloom is about 8 inches wide! They started out blue, and later in the summer turned pink, and now they have this fantastic rose color! Oh, the soap smells fantastic too!