Wordless Wednesday -- Morning Sun on Penstemon Flowers

Petal Pushers Summer Picnic

I'm still playing catch-up on my blog, sharing some of the gardens I've seen in the past few weeks. I recently joined a Northwest Perennial Alliance neighborhood group called The Petal Pushers, which  is based in the South Sound area -- Tacoma/Olympia. On the Tuesday after Nigel and I returned from Massachusetts, I went to the Petal Pusher's July picnic, which took place at the lovely garden of Linda Finkas in Lakewood.

I was surprised to see this large swath of rust-free Hollyhocks.

A shady corner

Pretty blue Hydrangeas in the sunny foundation bed

Clematis-covered arbor

A small patch of lawn with perennial beds, and a maypole with colorful streamers

Love the neon sign in the shed window

It's high season for lilies here, in more ways than one

A colorful potting bench

Glass and china flower

Gotta love a gardener who has a spot for pink flamingos!

Another patch of lawn to the right of the shed, with more beds

I was amused by that toy sailboat

Another shady corner with a bench

Matilja poppy

Colorful Hosta leaf casting, lying in a bed of blue annual Lobelia

Far in the back were bright sunny beds full of hot colors - Mmmmm, my favorite!

I love when a gardener matches the color of a flower with berries like this.

This limbed-up Clerodendron trichotomum towred over us as we had our picnic and conversed.

Thanks, Linda, for opening up your garden to the Petal Pushers!

Scenes from the Music in the Gardens Tour

As promised, here are more pictures from the Music in the Gardens Tour on Long Beach Peninsula.

The Goelz Garden

The Garden of Ron Barclay

The Garden of Steve McCormick and John Stephens

The Garden of Darla Baxter

The Garden of Ed Strange

The Garden of John and Cheryl Pells

The Seal House Garden

The Garden of Patti Jacobsen at the Music in the Gardens Tour

Last Saturday, I drove down to the Long Beach Peninsula on the southwest coast of Washington, just across the Columbia River from Astoria, Oregon, for the Music in the Gardens Tour. I met Photographer and Blogger Debbie Teashon there (she writes the invaluable website and blog Rainy Side Gardeners) and we toured together, ending our day at the garden and home of another blogger and Long Beach denizen, Skyler Walker, and her husband Allan Fritz. Skyler and Allan both contribute to the blog Tangly Cottage Journal, and last year on Labor Day weekend Nigel and I vacationed there, where I met Skyler, having befriended her on Facebook. I blogged about her garden here.

Debbie and I saw 8 gardens on Saturday, which is a lot in one day! My favorite was the very first one we saw, the cozy cottage garden of Patti Jacobsen.

From the Music in the Gardens tour handout: "Patti's vintage, turn of the century Seaview cottage anchors her compound which includes a variety of gardens and seating areas that will invite you to stop, sit, and relax for a time. Included are raised vegetable beds, annuals, perennials and roses. Within its well manicured borders are a shaded terrace garden with a bubbling pond, a deck with a fountain and a multitude of containers bordering the rose bed."

We saw a lot of Crocosmia 'Lucifer.'

Love this porcelain elephant -- I think it would be right at home in my Folly!

A corner decorated with functional birdhouses, one of which was inhabited by a bird with babies

A small water feature by the back deck

I admired this black and white combo

The colors on this arbor match the surrounding buildings

Fabulous driftwood bench

Every garden on the tour included live music from a local musician -- here, a harp player

Crocosmia

Debbie Teashon, lining up a shot and/or waiting for all the people to get out of the way. She says being a photographer has taught her to be patient!

Tomorrow I'll share some of my pictures from some of the other gardens on the tour.

For an excellent blog post that shows more of how this garden is laid out, and offers historical information about Patti, check out this post on the Tangly Cottage Journal blog.