Flowers In My garden

We woke up to a cloudy morning. Since the colors usually pop so much more on a cloudy day than on a sunny one I decided to go outside and take pictures of some flowers in my garden - I was pretty sure that the sun would come out very soon.

I really love the Mexican sunflower - I have three of them, and one is huge, one medium and a small one. This is the L version - just stunning, don't you think? They're annuals and I've already decided that I will have them again next year.

The verbena bonariensis is right next to the Mexican sunflowers - a wonderful color combination. My friend Jo gave me these plants, they are from her garden. We often exchange plants. This one is very popular with the bees.

I have African daisies in this color and lavender, and they have taken off in my front yard. I first had them in the back where they didn't do very well, but since I transplanted them to the front in early spring they have been happy as a clam and doubled in size.

The pink yarrow are also from Jo. When I got them they were small and I didn't really know what color they were. They go perfectly with the African daisy that are happen to be right next to them.

The red yarrow is my favorite among the yarrow. Such a beautiful, rich color.

Look, the poppies are still coming!! Only a few now and they are rather small, but small is beautiful, right?

Every garden needs to have some Shasta daisies. They are so uncomplicated, the deer don't like them (and neither do the raccoons who love to devour sunflowers) and they're just pretty flowers. This is the variety "Alaska". Hardy, of course.

I saw these gaillardias in the nursery this week - and their color just blew me away. So rich and happy. Usually I don't plant during the hot summer months, but I couldn't resist these stunning beauties. Would you have?

Yes, this is a California poppy - just in different colors. I love these shades, they look a bit delicate but they are tough little cookies. They wouldn't even die when the deer ate part of them.

Of course there is a bird bath here as well. This one I can see from my kitchen window. So far mainly the crows use it - whatever they find to eat they first dip into water here and then they enjoy it. Funny creatures (yes, I love them).

These flowers are all in the front of the house. Now let's go into the backyard. I haven't worked that much on the backyard yet, the main work went into the front.

The backyard offers more shade which is perfect for the delphinium. California isn't prime delphinium country, but they remind me of England. I just need a few of them here, all in blue shades.

Abutilon (Flowering Maple) - they love part shade as well. Some locations in my backyard are almost perfect for that.

Coreopsis - I love love love the color combination in this one! So gorgeous.

Echinacea is another must in the garden, I think. There are so many varieties available by now. I love how the center of the flower peaks above anything else.

I have always loved rudbeckia - this is "Indian Summer". The other variety I love is "Autumn color" with rich rust and bronze shades.

Most of my sunflowers fell victim to the deer and the raccoon, but in the backyard I was lucky with a few seeds I had put in the soil. This red sunflower is amazing - it's tall (about 6 ft.) with dark green foliage and this stunning red flower. It's one of my favorites in the garden.

This post wouldn't be complete without a picture of my little feathered friends, in this case a titmouse. They are such loyal visitors to my garden.

How does your garden grow?