All Grow'd Up With a Garden

We've been busy around here!

This week, my mother in law is visiting and has been helping me get some stuff done around the house. We have a great backyard, with an even better patio and pergola. While everything is very green, the space lacked some color. So one of our projects this week has been to venture out to get pots and flowers to decorate our patio space with - especially given our upcoming baby shower/housewarming party this weekend!

Otis Beaufort just has to be in the shot...

My father is a MASTER gardener. Their home in the suburb of Edina in Minnesota is immaculate, and every single thing - including the deck and the inlaid stone steps - was designed and done by him. My mom used to ask me to come over once a week to water her houseplants when she and her husband still had a home in Saint Paul, and were winter snow birds.

I inherited none of my father's amazing talent, and usually killed all of my mom's plants.

Fortunately, mama-in-law is talented in this area and came to help! We went to the nursery and picked out the pots, then were surprised with how few options we had for plants. We needed partial shade plants for where these pots would be located. Everything, and I mean everything, was for full sunlight.

Which I just don't get in Texas! Full sunlight means these flowers need to be able to stand some 120 degree heat for hours on end. What plant can tolerate that nonsense?! 

We ended up finding some begonias and some other type of plant that would do well in partial shade and went with it! She and I are used to northern plants and knew that there were a few more that would look great in the pot, but looks like those delicate little flowers can't take the Texas heat. I don't blame you little flowers, I just don't even blame you.

Behold! Our work. Rather, her work. I'm pretty sure I sat at the table with my feet up and drank sweet tea. In fact, our doggies were more helpful than I was in the planting process. But she seemed to have it under control and since it was so hot out, I was happy to stay the heck out of the way with my pregnant toes propped up!

I don't know what this is, but it's my favorite

Could NOT pass up this color!