Elainealope Iris

This is Elainealope iris. I moved it to this spot
last summer. The top flower, before it opened, had
a large worm chewing away at it. I promptly removed
it before it could devour all it. The rose behind it
is William Shakespeare 2000, a David Austin rose.
My sister requested that I put a few iris foliage
tips on my blog. Here goes:
1. Keep your iris bed free of weeds or debris.
2. After the iris has bloomed, cut the bloom stalk
off close to the ground and discard.
3. Healthy leaves should be left alone but the
old, dying or diseased leaves should be cut off
and discarded.
4. In the fall or early winter trim up your iris leaves by
trimming the healthy leaves to about 6" and remove
dead or dying leaves. Your trimmed iris should
look like a fan.

An August Day In The Garden

The coleus that I potted from pinched tops are
coming along nicely. I will
eventually put these by my front door.

Bloom on "William Shakespeare 2000" David Austin English rose.
It's growing right in the middle of the
zinnia patch.

Purple Fountain grass. I just love
when sun shines through
it in the mornings. Comes across
as golden shimmery lights.

I moved the decorative
bird house over here. The birds
have been eating on the sunflowers.

If you look closely, in the middle of the photo
is a tiny crepe myrtle growing. I took an offshoot
of the mother plant last fall from my old
house and kept it in the garage all winter.
 It was about an inch
high. I planted it in the cantaloupe patch
because I didn't know yet where I wanted to
put it permanently and I didn't want the mower to
get it. It is now 6 inches tall and has flower buds on it.
This variety is "Dynamite", a brilliant red.

Another shot of "Dynamite" 

Small purple flower on the liriope.

Here are some snapdragons I grew from seed.
I'm hoping they will bloom in the fall.

This morning's little harvest. The melon on the right
is "Charentais". This is the first one I have
been able to bring in the house to eat. I've thrown about 6 out to
the rabbits. The bugs have been getting
them just as soon as they are ripe, but not this one.
I got two little tiny bell peppers - hey it's hot here. I
guess you could call them "bite-size".  I
will mix this okra with yesterdays harvest and cook up
some fried okra tonight.

Hornworm

We think this is a tomato hornworm. I went out this morning and was
inspecting the cherry tomato plants that are
growing in pots next to my chair on the patio.
I didn't have my "reading" glasses on and I
thought this was a curled leaf. As I reached
to pick it off I realized it
wasn't a leaf.

Catnip with William Shakespeare 2000 English rose.
My cats are not interested in it.
We have had 100 degree temps the whole
month of June and no rain since the middle of May.

I love the bicolor zinnia.

This is the Lemonade Mix sunflower. See the seed packet
below. I haven't gotten any of the lighter shade ones.

The okra is coming along. It's not bothered by the heat.

I like the shape of the okra leaf. This is Clemson Spineless.

The cantaloupe are intermingling with the okra.
I'm not sure which one this is - I planted
two varieties. Hale's Best Jumbo and Charentais

I like the little tendril in this photo.

Photos of the seed packets.