Lavender and 4 o'clocks

I love these...such a pity they don't last longer...they take ages to come out and then suddenly it's half past five!

Lol, so true.

great photo again - very detailed - love the rudbeckia in the background too

Rudbeckias are one of my favourites, always give a good show.Love the photo.

Thanks Paul and Rose!

:))))))))

...sorry, Lil...forgot to mention them.... :)

Very nice.....what are 4 oclocks?

Sry Scottish, don't know the proper name. Annual that blooms until 4 pm then closes up. Maybe someone else knows the name.

Somebody asked that not long ago...but I've forgotten the answer...I'll see if I can find it...

Mirabilis Jalapa...Marvel of Peru!

Lol (laughing out loud). Thanks Karen. It's no wonder I always use the common names :)

:)))

The scent of the 4 o'clock is the best! sweetens the evening air...delicious. The rudbeckias are coming up all over the place..they're a wild flower here. building a couple of new beds and plan to put in more meadow flowers in a huge lawn that's dried to a crisp and been munched over by grubs!...best part is; nature works...the local raccoons don't get into the garbage they dig up the grubs! Yay raccoons!

Maybe in your neck of the woods with all the land you have but I HATE raccoons!!! We have a 2nd story deck off our bedroom with garden doors that i leave open in the summer. They have taken to hanging out there recently forcing me to close the doors as I'm afraid they'll come through the screen one night, snuggle into bed with me and I'll think it's one of the cats :):):)

Don't laugh, Lil...but that's how it is with my dormouse. At least I've only got one...I think...

Oh that's a hoot! I love raccoons because as a child I had one as a pet...they're lovely little creatures, curious and funny and very smart! (not to mention, soft and cuddly).
Karenfrance: what is a dormouse like? are they larger or smaller than the regular house mouse? I stored my expensive downhill ski boots in the basement temporarily...and when I went down to bring them up to my closet I found that a little mouse had started building a nest in the left boot! lol... The mice are starting to nest earlier than usual....there are a few in the shed too..but saw a very bulgy garter snake yesterday. good old nature...raccoons eat the grubs..snakes eat the mice!

Hi Lori! There are two types of dormouse here...Luckily (or maybe not..since the other is edible!) mine is the smaller of them, the 'garden dormouse'...he's like a cross between a very large mouse and a squirrel! You could just about fit him in a teapot, but he'd have your hands off, first...
...I just keep imagining coming back at Xmas and finding him and his friends watching TV and snoozing in my sofa!

Ewwwwwww!
Reminds me though, any news on your VISA?

All very complicated...still in the works :((

Your dormouse sounds a lot like our chipmunks...but they have a furry tail and prefer to sleep in their little burrows outdoors! very amusing little creatures. Build them a palace in the garden...so they don't want to come into your house! I'm building bird houses and chipmunk bunkers at present. will have to put up a pic or two.

Hi Lori!
...if only it was that easy...
I think they are similar to your chipmunks... but I have trawled the internet...done everything...he still prefers our house!!! Last year he didn't even hibernate, because he's in with the central heating pipes!!!

They're also quite destructive.... and vicious, when cornered...my wee dog had to have stitches on her eyelid!

Should be different this winter, because we're going away...he might have to sleep!

I do look forward to your pics, though...so am clicking 'fav', so I don't miss them...K