Cross Stitch Bees and Bumble Bees

Design - "Keeping the Bees" (kit)

Designer - Shepherd's Bush

Fabric - 32 count Light Sand linen

Fibers - Silks - 1 strand over 2 threads

Started - 15 June 2015

Completed - 19 June 2015 

I always enjoy the color pallets that the gals at Shepherd's Bush come up with and the specialty stitches that make up the bands beneath the design.

Goodness and just like that it's Tuesday once again and time for a Garden Party and a Blog Hop. So here we go...

We started off the weekend by visiting our local Farmers' Market.

I thought it was very clever that they are now offering cooking demonstrations using market produce. 

Somehow fresh produce is really photogenic...

Even potatoes!

As you can see, there was lots of wonderful fresh food.

New this past week were cucumbers...

...and cherries.

We came home with strawberries and cherries.

And we obeyed all parking signs!

Now on to the Home Front.

I am really pleased with the exuberance of our Mudroom Flowerbed.

Terrible name for it, but it is off our mudroom door.

Echinacheas and Salvias are in full flower.

This is one of my favorites. 

The hummers like the Salvias. 

I have several displays of sedums and succulents. 

The bottom shelf is reserved for resting cats!

My sedum theater is looking really good.

Cupheas have become 'a thing' for me this year.  I have six different kinds.

The baking hot west patio is perfect for Lewisias and Agaves and the like.

I am so pleased that this little plant is blooming.  I've had it for five years and this is the first time it has bloomed.

Front and center here is a gravel patch in desperate need of weeding.  Are there any volunteers? You are supposed to ignore the weeds and admire the clay pots that edge the area.   

Hummers aren't my only pollinators!

Last year I grew annual mimulus and I was really disappointed in them.  They did not last the summer.  But this perennial mimulus is in its second year and has been blooming for over a month now and shows no signs of stopping.

I now have seven strawberry pots that march down the steps.

Echiverias are happy in strawberry pots.  This one has just begun to bloom.

My shaded nook is home to begonias, primroses and fuchsias. 

Our west flowerbed has oodles of self-sown annual frilly red poppies.

And it smells wonderful as my sister has planted sweetpeas there.

I hope you enjoyed this week's Garden Tour.