I Love My Life, behind the scenes of Jamie Sierra Knits

We were the lucky recipients of some much needed rain yesterday afternoon, along with some tiny hail, too. The storms came out of no where, and dumped a ton of rain.

This storm drain was flowing a half hour after the rainfall!

After the rain Hunter and I stepped outside to see everything.
Pretty red Daylily:

Self-sowing Hollyhocks. So far, no Chatter's Double pink, but these bright pinks are pretty, too.

Hostas:

Butterfly Bush with Cosmos from seed:

Even with the trailing Lobelia out of bloom, this planter turned out nice. I have to water it nearly twice a day, but it's right by the back door, so that's easy enough. I just stuck a grocery store bag filled with dirt in this basket here, so there is little to no moisture retention.

Lantana:

Purple Coneflower with Russian Sage:

This is why I sought Bee Balm this year:

I know I show all the pretty things outside, but the garden and I have had a our first ugly battle of the year. This guy and his buddies are eating my plants. I have sprayed them, and taken to walking outside a few times a day to whack them off my plants with a flick of my fingers. Bastards.

Hunter found dirt. Well, mud, actually. We have grass seed in this area where the turtle sandbox used to be. One Happy Kid.

And, of course, there's nothing like a good lawn-mowing after playing in the mud.
This morning when I stepped out to Laura go potty I had Theo grab the camera. The morning sun was perfect, everything looked so pretty.

Phlox, "David" my favorite flower in the garden. Enormously fragrant, and blooms for a long time.

Black-Eyed Susan, Russian Sage, with Cosmos and Zinnias from seed.

Another Bee Balm variety.

An ocean of Rudbekia (black-eyed susan).

Bright Lights Cosmos:

More coneflowers with russian sage:

This is my most recent project. I put in Liatris, Pinks, Butterfly Bush, and Bee Balm earlier this year. I added the two $1.80 perrenial Lobelia here, too, as well as some more pinks I grew from seed. This will eventually be the perrenial border that goes all along the lilac at the back of our yard.