July Blooms

Oh my, it’s hard to believe that July has come and gone!  Seems as though it simply whisked by.

Last night I grabbed my camera, strolled the garden and caught a bit of what was blooming.  Before long they too will be just a memory.  Sadly I missed quite a few pretty flowers that blossomed earlier in the month.

Pink is always a favorite of mine in the garden.  (Left to right) Phlox, climbing rose, Coneflower, Rose of Sharon.

But nothing says summer sunshine like yummy yellow!

Lily, Rudbeckia, Sun Flower, and Yarrow.

Look closer at the bottom of this sunflower.  Do you see one of our giant bee’s?  We have had tons of them this year.  Little fellas as well.  I love them, but both hubby and I have been stung this year.  I was just cutting back in the garden and he was working on our pondless waterfall.  Just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  lol!


A little purple is always a pleasure. . .Mallow,



Butterfly Bush,



Salvia.  (I cut them to the ground after their Spring blooming and they always come back for a second go round).  Not as big and beautiful as the first, but still pretty.



Every garden needs some wonderful whites, don’t you agree?

Daisy, Strawberry Vanilla Hydrangea, and Annabelle Hydrangea,


If you ask me, Hollyhocks are just heavenly!  One of my favorite cottage flowers.


The annuals have really started putting on a show.  Nothing quite as lovely as a Zinnia!





Unless maybe it’s a Begonia.  My first Canna bloom.  For some reason this one is short.  Don’t ask me why?



I love when the Sweet Potato Vines trail to the ground.  Although this pot usually has a lot more color.  I just pinched back my Petunias and Geraniums.







Not my favorite, but a little orange is nice.

 I planted both orange and pink Hyacinth Beans along my metal fencing.  Sweet blog friend,Stacey from Poofing the Pillows sent me the pink seeds.

    I haven’t seen a pink bloom yet.  Sadly I’m  thinking the orange just crowded them out.





The gorgeous seed pods on my Hot Wings Maple makes me realize just how close Fall really is.



And look what I have coming. . .a little Baby Boo and



some that will be orange.  Yup, Fall is just around the corner!



Better start gathering our nuts. Hee-hee!

hugs,

Jann

I will be sharing with these lovely parties:
Fishtail Cottage for Garden Party

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Shabby Art Boutique for Shabbilicious Friday

Rose Vignettes for Fresh Cut Friday

Share Your Cup Thursday #112

Hello my friends and welcome to Share Your Cup, (SYC for short).  The party where you share the things that make you happy.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!  Hubby and I had a great time on our vacation to Napa Valley!

Always nice to be back home and excited to be partying with you!  Yes, I am one big ‘party animal’!  lol!

I just finished visiting the links last night and so many amazing posts!  Thank you for sharing them!  I love how we help fill each others cups!

Now let’s see some features from SYC #111:

I love the patina that Gigi from Old World Patina gives to her found cemetery angels!



Sarah from Hope in Every Season shared her fun Mad Hatter Tea and this delicious Baltimore cake that her hubby spent hours making the flowers.



Andrea from Scrapality Designs shared her fabulous 2 tier deck made from pallets.



Maria Elena from Our Home Away from Home has been making some fabulous things with drop cloth.  This stool is just one of the many she shared.



Julia from Vintage with Laces shared her creative space and it is filled with so much eye candy!



Joanna from the Squirrels Diary shared a humorous post about the Haphazard Homemaker.  Sure to make you smile (and I’m guessing even laugh)!



Don’t forget to hop over and see who is featured on my Facebook Page.

Now let’s get this party started:
1. I would love for you to be a follower of Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson.
2. Link up a particular post and not your entire blog. Please limit your links to no more than three and please do not link up the same thing you linked up last week.
3. Please have a link back to this post. That way others will know where the party is. Feel free to grab my button on the sidebar if you’d like. Only those with a link back will be featured.
4. Please find time to visit at least two other participants. It’s a great way to find new friends!

After you link up, please come back and leave a comment. They fill my cup!

When pinning, don’t forget to pin from their site and not mine.

Sunflower Station. . .

Yesterday late afternoon as we pulled into our circle it looked as though we had arrived at ‘Sunflower Station’.



We had only been gone a week, but the Sunflowers had all but buried our home.  It certainly was a sunny delight, but I knew that a few of them had to go.



They are ones that reseeded from last year.  None of the heads are large this year, but I didn’t have the heart to pull them out.  But this morning I was out there trimmers in hand cutting back like a mad woman on a mission!

They were so pretty that I couldn’t just toss them in the garbage.  I grabbed my white wicker funeral basket and began to fill er up!



Some have yellow centers. . .



Some brown.



I love their happy smiling face!



They prompted me to make a few subtle changes on the porch.



It’s been hot lately and my fun thermos collection reminds us that it’s still summer and to stay hydrated.  I always think of that commercial, “Stay thirsty my friends”.

Don’t you love yellow and red together?



The grey thermos with the diamonds was a new find in Fairfield, CA

I remembered that a while ago I had picked up this sunflower chair pad on clearance at our local grocers.  Needs something a little more.  I’m sure it will get a bit of tweaking.



Doesn’t look quite like ‘Sunflower Station’ anymore, (although I left some); but I have these beauties to enjoy…at least for a few days.



hugs,

Jann

I will be sharing with these fun parties:

The Dedicated House for Make it Pretty Monday

Kathe with an e for You're Gonna Love it Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow

Lavender Garden Cottage for Cottage Style Party

Ivy and Elephants for What's it Wednesday?

Fishtail Cottage for Garden Party

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Shabby Art Boutique for Shabbilicious Friday

Rose Vignettes for Fresh Cut Friday

California Dreamin. . .

The week leading up to our California adventure to Napa Valley I found myself dreaming of what was to be.

I dreamed of:  gorgeous flowers.

I dreamed of:  seeing rows and rows of vineyards.  Some surprised me with both grapevines and roses.

Wildflowers Winery exceeded my expectations!  Wildflowers grew the entire length of their vineyard.

I dreamed of:   historical adventures.  This little florist shop was once a bustling place when the road in front of it was the main highway. The freeway changed all of that.  Now abandoned, those days are just a memory.                                         

                                                       (picture of what it looked like back then)

I dreamed of:  taking a train ride through Napa Valley.

Seeing this gorgeous baggage was an extra bonus!

I dreamed of:  eating delicious food.

I dreamed of:   sleeping in a beautiful bed.

I dreamed of:  finding vintage treasures.  Believe it or not, I dreamed of finding at least one jadite piece to add to my small collection.  BINGO!  And didn’t even dream of finding more red transferware, but how fun is that?  The egg cups match the thrift find plates on my living room shelf.

 

Well, it’s obvious that our visit to Napa Valley has been wonderful and dreams do come true!

However, all good dreams must come to an end.  Today is our last day here and we’ll be heading back home tomorrow.  I’ve loved our adventure but always look forward to getting home to family, and our home and garden!

And as my blog friend, Rose said, “you’ll be seeing some of my found treasures in new vignettes.”  lol!

hugs,

Jann