Maybe I do have a green thumb!

We've had some amazing weather this year when it comes to growing flowers and grass.  We have had tons and tons of rain broken up by some very hot days.  As much as I hate the humidity (and the heat for that matter) the plants seem to love it.  Let's jump right in to the update!  Click here for the original post!

It's been about a month since I planted all my flowers and I am happy to report that they are all still alive!  Probably most impressive is that the weeds in the flower bed aren't as big as the flowers!!  This is really shocking since everything is literally growing like a weed and of course the fact that I despise weeding more than anything in the world.  I think I would actually go through labour again before I spent an afternoon weeding.  I was also lucky enough to have my Aunt (Hi Aunt Kathy!) come over and water my flowers while we were away on vacation, which I'm sure saved them from certain death.

My irises bloomed beautifully but the idea of taking a picture for this post completely escaped me!  Which is unfortunate because they were gorgeous!  I forgot just how much I truly love lilies until mine started to bloom.  John probably thought I had lost my mind as I went running across the yard to bask in the glory of the first lily bloom.  Now it has become a daily ritual to check the progress of the new buds and to admire the magnificent blooms.

A few weeks ago my Mom, Roman and I made a trip to Dutch Growers to pick up some new additions for the flower bed and came across this beauty!  I loved this mushroom the moment I saw it!  Because the top is attached to the base by a spring, Roman also loves it since he can hit it and make it dance!  Some people try to keep their kids out of their flower beds.  I have accepted the fact that there are not enough hours in the day to chase this child out of my flowers and therefor have tried to make my flower bed baby friendly.  So far there haven't been any flower casualties as he's too distracted by the "toys" to notice the flowers, let's hope it stays that way!  Thanks Mom for the Birthday mushroom!

Now for the new additions to the flower bed.  I decided to get a few ground cover perennials to help choke out some of the weeds so that one day I won't have to weed at all!  Just the thought of it makes me smile!  The first plant I picked up was a Purple Robe Rockfoil.  This plant has small spiky leaves that produces red/purple flowers with white centres in spring.  The horticulturist at Dutch pointed out this next plant to me.  Elfin Thyme is a moss like plant with tiny leaves and tiny pink/purple flowers.  The selling point for this plant, you can walk on it!  Perfect for planting between paving stones on a walk path, or for a flower bed that doubles as a playground for small people!  It is also drought tolerant which is perfect for this south exposure bed.  Last but not least I picked up a Creeping Speedwell, which is similar to my Creeping Jenny (which I learnt is also a perennial not an annual!).  The plant has small white flowers that bloom in mid spring to early summer and can stand up to moderate foot traffic.  Bring on destructor baby!

The other day I noticed that Canadian Tire had all their plants on 50% off.  We decided to stop by and see what they had left.  I'm so glad that we did!  I have loved hydrangeas forever.  In Toronto (where John is from) people have them all over the place and I knew one day I could have my very own bush.  Would you believe they had the Annabelle Hygrandea on sale for $15!?!  Plus the plant is huge (probably close to 3 feet) and is in really good shape considering the time of year and the fact that it was on clearance.  John loves lilacs so I knew I wanted to get a couple for the yard.  Just my luck they had Syringa Vulgaris 'Prairie Petite' on sale for $11 each!  Total score! 

Now for John's pride and joy, the lawn.  I think we won the lottery when we decided to try to grow grass this year.  With all the rain we've had I only had to water the grass for a couple weeks before the rain took over and showered the seeds with the elixir of growth.  The bare spots are filling in amazingly and it's just a lot more lush and green over all.  There are still a few spots that are a little worn down but with dogs in the yard you can't expect perfection.  The only down side to this amazing grass is that poor John has been having to cut it twice a week just to keep from losing Lola in the yard!