Red Sun Coleus

Red is one of my favorite colors in the garden so I wanted to share this picture I took while vacationing last summer. We visited Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain Georgia, a garden I have long wanted to visit after seeing it for years on the Victory Garden . The gardens were as beautiful as I expected, serene and full of wildlife. While in the hummingbird garden I took this picture of a drift of red sun coleus.

Finding Mr. "T"

Knockout Roses really live up to their name!

Purple pansies and yellow violas with white alyssum are an easy tolerant combination and can take our extreme spring weather changes in Oklahoma. I just love french wire baskets!

......and finally Mr. "T"

Finding Mr. "T" on Saturday was a nice surprise and quite amusing little break from our gardening chores. While busy planting begonias and cleaning out leaves from the flower beds our little terrier decided to explore a pile of leaves where she carefully decided to bury her cherished rawhide bone. In the process she met Mr. "T" and began barking incessantly, I went over to calm her down fully expecting to see a toad or frog but to my delight there was our resident turtle.

Mr "T", as we affectionately call him, had survived another harsh winter. I wondered if he was even still alive as I have saved his life many times from the driveway and street in front of our house. He roams freely and sometimes tries to cross the busy road. Thank goodness I have found him or he has found his way back. Since we live across the street from the lake I am always amazed to see him back in my yard but I guess he likes to munch on the bananas I throw out around my roses. I first discovered Mr "T" quite by accident and realized he would show up every time I "fed the roses". He loves bananas so Saturday I had to stop what I was doing to get Mr. "T" a fresh banana. This is the picture we took of him enjoying his post-hibernation snack!

Thanks Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for hosting Outdoor Wednesday. Check out all the beautiful posts-I've enjoyed them all!

Sunday Favorites

This "favorite" blue and white table setting is from my first post as I was learning how to set up my blog. I invited my neighbors and foreign exchange students for a spring tea and served quiche, assorted fruits and muffins along with several flavored teas. I used dishes my mother gave me from her vast blue and white collection she acquired while living in Japan and Hawaii. Some dishes are from China, some Japan and England and I just love to mix them. The simple goblets were from my great-grandmother and I love the bubble glass bases on the stems.

Thank you, Chari-I am having a wonderful time viewing everyones posts and learning in the process. Hope your Sunday is special.

Spring and Easter Vignette

A few of my favorite things for spring always include little bunnies topiaries, birds and birdhouses. I adore yellow tulips and a friend gave me the lenox flower vase.

Stargazers in Full Bloom

Happy Sunflowers!  This one grew to over 6 feet in my garden! 

Spring Table Setting