This and That...About My Gardens!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Sunday. The weather in my part of the world is sunny and warm today, but not as hot as it could be, especially for August! Did you notice the color change I made to the blog? I decided to play a little with some of the fun color choices that were available and I like the new look a lot. I hope you do too. As I have said in earlier posts, I am very new to blogging and still have much to learn. But, hey, that's part of the fun isn't it? Learning and growing with something new.

And speaking of growing, I thought I would share today about my flower gardens and update for you how they are growing. I have never actually considered myself a "green thumb" gardener, but I do enjoy messing around in the flower beds each year and trying something new. In past years, I have had pretty good success with planting varieties of Impatiens. They are pretty forgiving with the heat and can take some sun and some shade which makes for a good plant choice for many yards. I especially enjoy seeing them in containers and have used these plants on my front and back porch for eye popping summer color. But, I always have issues with the stone wall garden in my backyard. It's very shady there and for some reason, even plants that do well in shade, like Hostas for example, have not grown well in this spot. So...this year I decided to try mainly Coleus plants with a few other flowers mixed in for variety. And I am so pleased with the results!

The type of Coleus I used are call "Kong Series Coleus" and as you can see they have flourished in this spot!
Here is a close-up of one of the "Kongs" that has really bushed out this summer!

As you can see, I also have a couple pots of Impatiens in the garden to add some more color. But I am so impressed with the colors on the Coleus, as well! I even decided to plant Coleus on the back porch as you see here:  (Love my stone garden squirrel!)

And even planted Coleus on the front porch to add color to my potted ferns. (Sorry for the extension cord in the background. Mr.thisandthat is still working on gutters today!)

I guess you could say I'm a happy gardener with a reasonably green thumb this summer! Here's hoping that your summer gardens are doing well, also. Have a great Sunday, everyone!