I was looking for something bright yellow, and just nothing was doing it for me. I went from place to place looking, leaving holes in my annual bed for weeks trying to find the perfect thing. I can’t say they’re quite perfect – not quite “romantic” enough for the look I was hoping for, but they’re close enough to get the job done.

They’re kinda cute in a funky sorta way.

This month is going by so fast – it’s like I’m in a time warp. Every day I look at the calendar and a whole week has gone by. How can that be?

I have so much to do, and so little time to do it – I guess that’s why time is flying. Oh, for it to slow down a little!

Today I’d like you to meet my hot red Dahlias…

I planted them in pots this year instead of the ground in hopes of keeping the snails away from them, and so far it’s working!

Have I ever mentioned (or confessed?) that I am a major t.v. junkie?

It’s true. I watch more shows on a regular basis than I care to admit. Now, I’m not the typical t.v. junkie, ‘cuz I don’t just sit and watch mindlessly. I’ve always got something goin’ on at the same time – knitting, typing away on the computer (like now!) working on a project of some kind. But the t.v. is on, and I’m paying attention, even though I’m multi-tasking.

Most of the network shows are going through their season finales right now, and man are some of them leaving me on the edge of my seat.

But then there’s the letdown. My shows are over. For months.

The good news? I watch a lot of cable shows, too, and they are just starting their new seasons! I think I have a dry week or so, then back to the fun!

The bad news? One of my favorite shows probably isn’t coming back. Smash. Not my typical type of show, but for some reason it hooked me, and I’m going to miss it a lot.

A friend on my Facebook feed today mentioned not even having a t.v. I can’t even imagine.

More little cuties from the garden on this 22nd day of the month – again, new to me this year. It’s called “Brachycome” (brak-kee-KOH-mee.) You can’t get a perspective from this photo, but the blooms are about the size of a dime. I love daisies and daisy-looking flowers, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one this tiny! They are just presh.

On the creativity front, without any pre-planning, I’m onto a new project today.

You’ve frequently heard me mention Kelly Rae Roberts, an artist that I have followed for some time now. On her blog today she mentioned that she’d had her blog posts made into books. What a GREAT idea! I look at my blog posts as documentation of my creative life, but I’ve often wondered if they would always be available, and thinking what a shame it would be to lose them all.

So, I pulled up the site today, constructed, and ordered a book for my 2011 posts. The learning curve wasn’t too bad, and when I ran into trouble the customer service was great. I’m going to wait to do a full on post about it until I have the book in hand and see if it is as good as I think it will be, but I wanted to let you know what I’m up to. If I love it, I’ll be doing one for each years posts!

Yesterday I signed up for an e-course that began today. I know. I said it was going to be a long time before I signed up for another course for a long time knowing how I rarely follow through with actually DOING them. But this one seems different. It came about at JUST the right time, just as I was getting back into the groove and moving forward. And it’s called “Radical Wellness.” What could be more perfect for me right now?

The course was developed by Tamara Laporte, the same gal that does “Lifebook,” the class I seem to sign up for every year and not do. Oy. I just love her energy. Anyway, she’s going through many of the same things I am in terms of wanting to get on track to a healthy life. So she developed the course and now is doing the work right along with us.

AND, I downloaded the pdf, and actually completed the work for the 1st day. Yay, me!

If you are interested in the course, you can find out about it at http://www.willowing.com. Registration is closed for this class, but she’ll be offering again later in the year.

Getting work done, starting a wellness program…will wonders never cease?

Meanwhile, back in the garden…

…Cosmos is the star right now. I think hot pink is becoming my go-to color in the garden. I swear red is still my favorite, but if I want variety, I’ve gotta go with what nature provides!

She commented on yesterdays post about working out in the garden by saying “way to go!” Now I read and reply to every comment made on my blog, and as I was thinking about what to say besides “thank you!” it dawned on me that without even realizing it, I had come to a crossroad.

You long-time readers know that I have had some challenging physical issues the last year that have had a profound effect on me. I have been gentle with myself, allowing myself time to heal (or so I told myself.) And to some extent it was true. I needed to let time pass and give my back and knee the opportunity to heal.

But, I think I overdid that, and allowed myself to become sedentary, something I have never been. There was a time not too awful long ago, I could run circles around women half my age. And I do know that with age I should expect to slow down a little, but this has gotten ridiculous, and it’s largely because mentally, I gave up. It hurt to do much, so I sat. And with each day I sat, it got that much harder to move. This is not me being hard on myself. It’s me being real. This is not who I want to be.

I think I finally scared myself, and from that fear forced myself to move in spite of the pain. Now in just a few days I seem to have my mojo back. I am not pain free, but I’m up and doing things in spite of it. When I feel like sitting down, I make myself do just one more thing, which has led to one more thing, and then another, until, at the end of the day I’m able to look back and see a lot of completed tasks. And it feels good. Really. Good.

So, I was traveling toward Old and Decrepit, but I caught myself, and now I’m headed down Strong and Productive. THAT feels even better.

Before signing off for today, I’d like you meet another flower in the garden:

This is Lavender – English Lavender. Last year I had Spanish Lavender in this spot, and I never really liked it. So, last fall I yanked it out and replaced it and I’m very glad I did. This is the traditional Lavender that you see tied with pretty ribbons and put in your under lovely drawer to make them smell nice. Oooooh…another project!

I spent most of the day out in the garden. In addition to the normal planting and watering, today I got into pruning mode, something I rarely do. One corner of the garden is primarily perennial bushes. They are such prolific bloomers that I really hate cutting them back and have let them get way outta control. I hadn’t intended to do so much. The plan was to cut back some of the cottage roses and perhaps a bit of the Lavatera. But, after doing them, the lilac bush looked particularly shabby. You know how when you get a new couch all of a sudden the carpet and window treatments look bad?

Next thing I knew, I had cut way more than would fit in the “green” receptacle and had to start a pile that will be around for almost 2 weeks. Yuck.

By the time I pruned and cleaned up the debris in the yard I was beat, but, I hadn’t even touched the plants I had intended to get planted, so pushed myself to keep going. These days that is no easy feat. I felt like a marathon runner hitting the wall and willing myself to push through it (cue up the Rocky music! – I can get a little dramatic sometimes!) Several hours later I had extended the annual bed a few more feet, fed the birds (again!) and finished my watering. Yay me!

Today I’d like you to meet my Verbena. It’s a gorgeous hot pink.

This is one of my newer plantings, and I’m anxious to see how far it spreads during the season.

Tomorrow, I’m back out to the garden again. I love how it’s shaping up, but it was such a mess there is still so much to do! I’m feeling the pull to get other parts of my life shaped up, but I’m having so much fun that I’m obsessing a bit (who me?)

Hope you’re enjoying your favorite obsession this beautiful weekend!

In addition to big things like grocery shopping, I did a ton of little things – dishes, laundry (washed, dried AND folded and put away!) feeding and watering the birds, several large handfuls of small weeds pulled, pasta salad made, trash emptied, soap dispensers refilled, plants purchased to be planted this weekend – and all that before 11am! I was like my old self, and it was amazing!

I’m tempted to say “I’m back!” But, one day does not a pattern make, so I’ll wait and see if there are more days like this to be seen.

For Flower Day #18, I’d like to introduce you to yet another flower in my garden -

Okay, so she’s not REALLY a flower, she’s a succulent, but she looks like a flower, doesn’t she?

I cannot believe it has taken so long for me to get on the succulent bandwagon. I just LOVE them, and I love adding them to my garden in little nooks and crannies.

As soon as flower month is over, I plan to take you on a total tour of the garden, along with the finished succulent fountain, and then you can see all this gal’s buddies!

Today’s pick is a lovely little annual called Torenia. I have two different colors, pink and purple, and both have the most darling little blooms.

These were new for me this year, and I’ll need to remember them for next year. They are just the sweetest little things. AND, I get so bored having the same flowers every year. It’s nice when I find something different.

Would love to stay and visit, but I’m in the midst of a yucky cold, and I’m tired and coughing and all I can think about right now is going to sleep. So, see ya tomorrow! Hope you have a lovely day full of beautiful flowers…

Last year my hollyhocks barely made it in time for May Flower Month. This year they are ahead of schedule! The hot pinks have always been my favorites, but the reds have grown on me over the years. And this year they are particularly impressive.

I wish I could have dozens of these beauties. What am I talkin’ about? I can! I just have to find the colors I want and plant them!  Problem is they are kinda hard to find, at least the giant ones! The place I got them originally has gone out of business, and no one locally carries them. So, I’m going on a quest – international if necessary. Surely SOMEONE has them and is willing to ship!

I’ve gotta tell you, I am almost obsessing on the garden these past few days. The weather has been gorgeous and  ideas for projects are coming so fast I can hardly keep track of them! After neglecting the poor thing for a year it feels really good to be taking care of it again. And even better to be spending every spare minute of the day creatively!

Woohoo!

You know the beautiful Lithodora that I transplanted? Here’s what it looked like before the transplant…

But now -

I can’t even believe a plant could go from beautiful to DEAD in one day. I’m guessing it didn’t appreciate being yanked out by the roots even though it was done carefully, re-planted in great soil and well watered. I thought that at the worst it die a slow death. So, note to self – buy another one.

Elsewhere in the garden, this hot pink veronica is yet another of my favorites.

Hope you are enjoying Flower Month, and that maybe it’s inspiring YOU to get out in the garden!