It's Bloom Day and Sunday to boot. For those who live somewhere other than the center of the country, I'll give you the forecast in two words: hot and dry. Okay, it was three words, but we don't count "and," do we? It's not as hot as last year, but the Bermuda grass is finally starting to burn up all over town. The rural grasses are turning amber too and setting seed like the prairie natives they are. Our weather is terribly dry. Popup showers, caused by the heat and a Gulf Coast front "thingee" have been popping up. Nothing has popped up here. Nary a drop. However, with well-timed soaker hoses and a drip watering system, I do have plants and lots of vegetables. If I'd quit frying them, I'd lose weight, but I do love a fried piece of summer squash once a week. And, our new find...

Bumblebee on mountain mint, a native which is very pollinator friendly. And they brought lots of their rowdy friends. Male carpenter bee on the same mountain mint. He has a shiny black abdomen and a yellow face. Did you know males don't have stingers? However, male carpenter bees are highly territorial and will chase you. I know this to be true because I had some last year that were alarming around celosia 'Intenz.' I may not have as many bees as last year, but they have returned lured by the power of nectar and pollen. My nemeses, the grasshoppers, also seem to have moved on for the most part which is a blessing. I saw two different bees pollinating zucchini this morning: the metallic sweat bee and  Peponapis pruinosa, squash bee. I got a great shot of the green sweat bee, but the squash bee was too fast for me. I...

Since it's a Monday, and we've all gone back to work, I thought I'd show you some of my favorite flowers blooming today. Maybe you'll get some ideas for your garden, or you can give me some ideas for mine. 'Grandpa Otts' morning glory climing into Whirlwind White fan flower (scaevola) with 'Blackie' sweet potato vine behind. A cold front is stalled over Oklahoma, but hasn't reached my part of the state yet. We have been very hot, and yet, some plants soldier on. We are not as hot as last year, and my heart goes out to Tennessee and other states further east who have bourn the weight of the heat dome poised over the U.S. Some of the containers on the back deck. I'm watering all of them with a drip system. Bill and I installed a drip irrigation system in our pots for my last Lowe's contribution....

The vegetable patch at the beginning of July, 2012 All looks well in my vegetable patch doesn't it? Well, looks can be a bit deceiving. As you may know, I have very few bumblebees this year. All pollinators are down in spite of my efforts to spray nothing harmful and to grow all their favorite foods. Summer squash and other cucurbits are not wind pollinated like corn. They need help to bear fruit so this year I'm playing Aphrodite. Just in case you're facing the same bee crisis and want some cucumbers, melons, squash, etc., I wanted to show you the difference between male and female flowers. Male flowers of summer squash, Gray zucchini The beautiful male flowers, which are also good for eating, appear first, about seven to ten days before the female ones. In Latin America, they are much sought after and are called flores de calabaza. The male blossoms are...