Welcome to the garden! I am truly amazed at what the magic of nature can accomplish in just two and a half months... If you recall, JP and I spent a full day in early May, sowing both clover and poppy seeds across our newly designed, rolling landscape. Little did we know how lush the results would be! For reference, I suggest you take a peek back to my Playing in the Dirt post to see the astonishing before and after images. Now, it's mid July, and a large portion of our front yard is blanketed in a luscious layer of Dutch White Clover. The knoll in the midst is all-a-buzz with the happiest of bees, frolicking in a colorful mound of poppies! So, it seems my vision for a whimsical garden scape is certainly taking its magical shape. Neighbors and passers-by, pause to ponder the amazing transformation on a daily basis and inquire about the process and the plants. We remind them that it's still a work in progress and a learning experience, but we are overjoyed at the results so far! So, I invite you to take a walk with me in the garden...

* I can just imagine that a tiny elf & fairy live here...

* Like morning glories, this sweet poppy mix radiates its best mix of hues in the early morning hours...

* The bees were absolutely drunk-in-love with this gleaming red poppy...

* Take a stroll on a winding path that promises to delight your imagination...

* Captured in time, a bee darts from one poppy to the next...

* Just a peek above, peering down at the colorful knoll...

* Soft, painterly poppies sway in the breeze...

* I noticed this little gem ~ a sweet red poppy, trimmed in white...

* Poppies reach for the rays before a field of lush green clover...

* A sweet bee savors the delicacies of this pink poppy...

* Brilliant red poppies add a festive punch to the mix...

* A pair of bees with that glassy-eyed look of love...

* A sweet knoll of poppies adds a touch of whimsy to our landscape while clumps of clover create a whimsical backdrop. Once upon a time, this was a crusty old driveway infested with cracks and weeds...

* The clover fields are polka-dotted in red as we have noticed how much the ladybugs like this new habitat...

* Clover now sprawls and spills over the rocky borders that we painstakingly placed early this year...

* A pebble path snakes around and accentuates all the green...

* And the clover is now starting to flower ~ as a result, the bees are jubilent!

* A dreamy zoom on a clover bloom...

* I recall being quite concerned that my efforts to sow the clover seed had fallen short as there were so many barren patches of earth with no seedlings emerging. Again, this is another reminder that with patience comes reward, and worrying will get you nowhere! :)

* Another ladybug dangles from a clover leaf...

* Slowly but surely, this garden is taking shape...

* Once barren berms of clay soil are now completely covered in mounding masses of clover! Off in the distance, JP has rigged a 3-story scaffolding configuration which allows him more play on the house, attic and siding...

It must have been an intuitive feeling that JP had early Saturday afternoon. My parents had stopped by to say farewell before they flew back to Seattle. I had placed my new camera on its tripod out in the garden, awaiting to take a few family photos. The weather was beautiful as we said our goodbyes. Then, JP suggested I "play" and take a few photos for fun. And FUN it was!... I snapped all sorts of close-ups which I will share with you here. Then, sprinkles started to fall and as we ran inside, torrents of rain and hail replaced the raindrops, and we watched our garden in dismay. Again, our garden was pelted on Sunday with heavier hail and rain after which flooding took its place. All is peaceful again, but the garden sadly took a beating. There is always hope, and we'll see if the plants will arise to the sun's warmth and rays. For now, the photos offer fond memories and an acute perspective on nature and its wonders...
~ Johanna

* A bee crawls up and over the bloom of a Bachelor's Button flower...

* A Green Lacewing stops to rest on a spent Alium bloom...

* These poppies just "popped" before the storms rolled in. We enjoyed their paper-thin blossoms for only a few hours, all of which have now fallen to the ground...

* A special peek at the life of a roly-poly in his armored suit as he climbs across the yellow bloom of a sedum iceplant...

* A bee extracts nectar from the violet blooms of a wild geranium...

* Yellow Yarrow, just beginning to pop, glows for the camera...

* A bee-like insect with a peculiar hovering habit searches for the center of this tiny Snow in Summer bloom...

* Tissue-light petals in brilliant red open to the skies... I'm afraid most of these flowers were lost in the storm...

* A bee grips the edges of the tiny Catmint flower in search of sweet nectar...

Please click on the images for a larger view. I cropped them all so you could see the intricate detail, but the subjects are interesting shown in their surroundings as well. I do wonder what became of these small insects and how they could possibly survive such a violent series of storms....? If the storms stay away, perhaps my garden will have a chance to recover ~ There is always hope.