My garden

I've gone all out with my garden out front this year.  I didn't have ANY garden at all last year, with the drought.  Nothing.  NADA...zilch!  I really miss having cosmos, sunflowers, poppies, zinnias, and other seedlings out front.  Our water bill is only $20 a month and, with all the birds in the yard, I figured it was time to start up the old garden again.  The railroad ties planter is FULL of flowers now and I've planted a few things (lavender and daisies) along the rock walkway.  I've made it a point to drive up to our neighborhood nursery and I give myself $20 a week to spend.  I have to get things into the ground NOW before it's too hot to plant anything.

So, so far, I have 4 inch sweet peas coming up, I have a cosmos already blooming, and a tiny daisy out front along the front fence.

Here in the yard (where I can see everything from my laptop), I have 5 lavender plants, 3 daisy plants ( 1 large one and two small ones), salvia (for the hummingbirds), snapdragons, phlox, stock, and some verbena.  Oh, and 1 Tacoma stans, which will be HUGE by the end of summer (also for the hummingbirds).

I've planted several  many packets of seeds:  cosmos, a California garden mix, a couple of bird seed mixes, two butterfly mixes, and now a couple of hummingbird mixes (mostly nasturtiums).  Yesterday I actually talked to one of the sales people up at the nursery and I came home with Tithonia, more zinnias, more cosmos, and a couple of things I haven't tried...(I'll have to write down their names)...

So, I've got my work cut out for the next couple of days and for next week.  Now I just have to figure out where to put all these things!  Here are some pics of what I have so far:

 My 17 year old cat, Loki, likes to help me!

 Ripley likes to walk through my photos!  Yes, we have a ranch style house.  I LOVE IT!

 Railroad ties garden.  I think this garden is 35 years old.  I love the weathered look of the ties now!

 This is the view from my front porch, looking east.  I have 3 hummingbird feeders in the front yard and 2 in the back.  So far, one little female has stayed.

 Salvia.

 Ripley, once again, IN THE WAY!!!

 verbena

I love the purple verbena.  I hope the hummingbirds or butterflies like it, too!

Okay...I looked at the seed packets I bought yesterday:  4 zinnias, 1 butterfly flower packet, 2 Tithonia (Mexican sunflower), 2 chocolate flower (the guy said these have an amazing aroma!), 2 globe mallow (the guy said these LOVE the heat and they are native to the desert here), and 2 packets of Rudbeckia.  He used to work at the Living Desert and he was very helpful and even gave up his break time to talk to me!

I also have some black eyed Susan seeds that my neighbor saved for me from her front yard last year.  I need to get them into the ground NOW!!!  And, I just discovered they are Rudbeckia!

I also bought a 1 gallon honeysuckle vine...sweet orange.  Can't wait for that to bloom!