Blooming White

This is what my peonies should be doing right now. *Sigh* For the second year since I discovered them, they are not. I finally figured out what I'm going to do with them. Right where my garden meets the front yard, there is a big old jumbled mess of thorny bushes. I am going to take those out and replant the peonies there. I am also going to get a couple of these:
Viburnum! They remind me of hydrangea, which I'm so excited about because we just don't have the humidity to grow my favorite flowers.

These are a couple other flowers around the neighborhood that I think are fun:

Over the Door Shelf

"For function fanatics and small-home dwellers alike, storage is a luxury. So look up. Installing a shelf above a door in the bath to hold towels and toiletries – or in the kitchen for cookbooks or collectibles – is smart and stylish. It's a simple project that can be completed in little time. You can make it fancy as we've done, or simple with a change of bracket design." See the project here.

House Envy

I need one of these:

Not want. NEED.

And Kyle would never let me do this to a perfectly beautiful wood floor:

But if I ever have to figure out what to do with a floor that is beyond refinishing? Yes, this is indeed what I will do.

How does your garden grow?

These are things I want for my yard - if only I knew what they were. Any ideas?

(This tree is one of the only evergreens I actually like. There's something about the whispy, reaching branches.)

What's in Bloom

I returned today from my sister's graduation in DC. Her law school graduation. At which was was a speaker. I'm so proud of her!

I came back to some bummers and some beauties! One of my squash plants had been dug up and put aside - roots in tact. I just replanted it, and we shall see. One of my pepper plants has been beleafed. I can't say it was beheaded because the stem is still standing; all the leaves are just gone. Oh well, I will continue to water and will see on that one too. Everything else in the garden seems to be dandy.

Now for what's in bloom:

Snow in Summer (the kind I like to see)

These I got from my MIL. Can't remember what they're called? The one on the left is the first on the plant.

First bearded iris of the summer. It's about 4 feet tall!

Tiered Inspiration

This is so cute!

Tutorial is here at Positively Splendid.

Afternoon in the sun

And Shafer Butte is important because the tomatoes finally went in today! I got them last weekend at the Peaceful Belly farms sale.

Anna Russian - 65 days. Pinkish red heart shape fruits that weigh a pound with outstanding flavor. Indeterminate.

Oregon Springs - 58 days. A cold-tolerant tomato for short season gardeners. Compact plants produce concentrated sets of medium to large fruit that is nearly seedless. Fruit is juicy and tender with full tomato flavor. Determinate

Black Zebra - 75 days. Burgundy tomato green stripes on the outside. Sweet and juicy, unique and stunning variety; vigorous plants produce an abundance of 3 to 4 oz tomatoes. Indeterminate.

Cal Wonder Orange Bell Pepper - (I thought I'd grabbed one orange and one green but I guess I grabbed two orange, woops!) 80 days. Classic bell shape, sweet, beautiful fruits

Summer Squash - Tromboncino - 80 days. Light green/tan skin, Italian

Cantaloupe - Super 45 Hybrid - 88 days. 4-5 lb fruit.

Eventually I'll get to the point that I can line all the veggies to produce at the same time so I can actually make salsa and such.

Shafer Butte

Shafer Butte still has snow. May 4th hit 32 degrees, and the 6th got close at 35. The forecast for the next 10 days show the lowest will be 42.