Week 10 - Love Me Some Bugleweed

I really need to take a photography class because these pictures don't do the yard justice.  :(  We have been getting about equal amounts of downpours and sweltering hot days, so everything is balancing itself out around here.

Waiting for the gladiolus to bloom, but I'm glad they at least sprout quickly so there isn't an empty 

patch in the garden.  I have them planted a bunch of places.

  Spirea is one of my favorites.  At Lowe's it's one of the cheapest plants you can 

buy at $6.98, but it's a stunner, even in the first year.

  Holy cow!  We've never had grapes before.  The kids are super excited about this one.  I think 

I heard talk of grape stomping.  That's what I get for taking my kids to a wine festival last year.  I'll have to watch this closely and throw a net over it pretty soon so the critters don't get them.

  Who doesn't enjoy some beautify lilies?  

{How many little girls do you know named Lily/Lilly?  I know at least 4}

 I keep forgetting to make tomato stakes!  I hate the ones here and refuse to buy more, but the 

tomato cage fairy hasn't come yet, so I better get on that, these puppies are getting pretty big.

 Um... I can't remember what this is.  Anyone???

Mountain Fire Pieris is beautiful and EVERGREEN, but is one of the worst 

growers my garden.  I have 7 of them and they've each grown like 2" in the past 2 years.  :(

 This was once the proposed site of our outdoor shower.  It is now going to have an outdoor

 bed on it.  I am not letting myself start building it until I finish the damn deck (and a couple 

of the other unfinished projects I have going on).

 I found a good spot for one of the shade sails I bought (last year) but haven't properly 

secured it yet.  I have 3 other sails I need to find a spot for too.  Just another thing on my to do list. 

 And sometimes I find myself starting projects that aren't even on the to do list.  Honestly, I do 

this almost every day.  :)  But what's a girl to do with her old tires when she gets her tires changed????  Make an obstacle course for the kids, of course!

Last, but not least, my favorite plant of the week... Bugleweed or Ajuga.  This is the Burgundy Glow variety which is my favorite. It makes an excellent ground cover, even in shade.

I planted Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' between pieces of flagstone out front, but I so far I am 

not nearly as happy with that variety.  But I'm still waiting for it to fill in.

What's going on in your garden this week?

Thanks for stopping by!
          Smart Girl

Need to catch up on what's been going on around the garden??
April

• Week 1 - A Still Sleepy Garden
• Week 2 - Looking Forward to Some Nectarines
• Week 3 - Cute Little Garden Helpers
• Week 4 - Getting to Work

May 

• Week 5 - Planting Gladiolus 
• Week 6 - Rainy Days in the Garden
• Week 7 - A Garden by Garden Tour
• Week 8 - Peonies Please!
• Week 9 - New Garden Beds