Wow, time just flies! I have been so preoccupied with managing College applications (last child – yay!!!), the holidays, and other “stuff” (things that really don’t matter, but I stress over anyway) that I’ve neglected many other things (that I like and give me pleasure).  Anyway, the weather here is just gorgeous, so I took a walk around my garden and took some shots of pretty things that caught my eye:

I haven’t done much gardening lately, as the heat keeps me indoors.  But, things seem to manage quite well around the garden.  Here are the rest of my grapes, and my annual bumper crop of tomatoes:

I also started cooking with fresh basil more, and popped a little plant I purchased at the grocery store into the front garden, and it too is thriving:

I had my gardener transplant a pretty pink crepe myrtle this spring from my back garden to the front. It adds a touch of color to the front grove, and I can also enjoy it from my kitchen window:

I also had the landscaper transplant a Pride Of Barbados plant from a shady spot in the side garden to a sunnier place.  This is the first year that it bloomed!  The colors are just beautiful:

And lastly, here is a beautiful Aleppo Pine tree that we planted when we moved into our home.  Unfortunately, with all the grove watering, the tree seems to have grown shallow roots, and now poses a danger of collapsing into our back fence as well as the neighbor’s.  So we will be taking it down :-(.

After three years of cultivating our concord grape vines, we are now enjoying our first harvest of grapes. They are a bit small, but delicious!

Next year, I might try making grape jelly.

Where has the time gone?  I have been busy doing this and that, but I wanted to at least post something once a month. So, last hours of June, and here are some photos from my front garden.  I took an on-line beginner DSLR photography with Candice Stringham recently, and tried to be a bit creative.  I also used some filters:

Lovely hollyhocks are back (can you see the visitor?):

Beautiful bougainvillea in the entry:

Entryway arch:

View from front patio: