Summer Flowers

I love the flowers of summer.

They bring life and excitement to the scene and keep everything interesting.

Yesterday was a work day around the house. We had a lot to do and catch up on after being gone on vacation and really tired when we returned.

We made two trips to the landfill in the newly repaired pickup truck. I am proud to report that with the exception of two small items--everything was recycled!

And then we had the idea to remove a fairly homely, tall bush which was out of control near the deck and replace it with a crepe myrtle.

We have one beautiful red crepe myrtle on the other corner of the pool area. We have watched it grow now for the past four or five years and it has become a magnificent specimen and so we decided to drop another one on another corner--nearer the deck.

This activity was preceded by removing the 10-12 foot tall bush which was previously occupying the spot. Cutting down was easy--digging out the stump--not so much. Thank goodness for an all wheel drive vehicle which could assist in encouraging the stump to come out of the ground. That was a lifesaver because the digging was really tough. And did I say it was hot?

If you look in the picture of the red crepe myrtle you can see the tire tracks in the grass as we drove down around the back of the pool to access the area where the stump needed to be pulled--I love driving on the lawn!

It was very hot like in the mid-90's. Probably not the best time of day to labor outside--but it was all good and the end results are nice. We still need some additional top soil and a bag of mulch; which is the project for today.

I like the blast of color that the crepe myrtle's provide and it is one of the advantages of living our area that I enjoy. They just provide a canopy of color to enjoy. And then underneath--as this newly installed crepe myrtle grows--aha, then come the hostas for ground cover underneath.

And we have hostas the need to be moved because they have matured into huge hostas!

We have become a fan of hostas because they are green and they keep the weeds down.

Here are two of the varieties we have--the little standard green hosta that most people get, and then the huge Frances Williams variety--which was recommended to us and we love. With their huge leaves they fill up an available space.

Who knows what today will bring--another project and more satisfaction about being home and working around the house.