Through the garden

Dahlings, it's June!!! It's hot and steamy and everything's growing like a weed, including the weeds. I've been outside quite a bit, pruning, straightening up, trimming, cleaning, mowing, getting my hands dirty and generally being happier than a pig stuck in mud. (How's that for a lovely visual?)

I'm sharing some of my hard work for your viewing pleasure today, mostly because I'm trying the different settings out on my camera and didn't think I should have to suffer alone. I've also been inspired by Ree's garden post, which has some wonderful links on it that have given me some good ideas.




I've been using this to scare small children for years. He's much more effective when sitting on dirt or grass. It looks like he's coming up from underground.

These are some examples of the fine housing I provide for our feathered friends:





Instead of using these, they pick an old stand on the bottom porch and make their nest in the top drawer:
Fountains that work:



And don't:


Purple flowers with small dog:


And without:


Finally, my favorite, the wisteria, which is fading fast:



Hopefully, we'll have some roses and peonies for next time! Out of curiosity, how do you pronounce peony? I say "PEE uh nee", my friend says "pee OH nee", hubs granny says "PIE nee". What's your version?