You See, I do Have Other Flowers

Not many, I'll admit, but, enough to keep from being labeled totally obsessed.  I'm not a great gardener.  If a plant requires coddling, it's not for me.  So, most of the stuff in my gardens are plant 'em and forget 'em types.
Lantana - I tried a new color this year and, though I love the brightness of it, it doesn't seem to be growing as well as it has in the past.

Bidens Ferulifolia.  New this year, and grows like a crazy thing.

Salvia.  The first mad bloom faded and I cut it back.  It then comes back with a second bloom, smaller and a little more civilized.

Black-eyed Susan.  Just beginning to bloom.  One of the flowers that lets me know that high Summer is, indeed, here.  Though, today, I didn't need any reminder.  I went out at 7 AM to turn the sprinklers on in some areas that are in shade in the morning, and take a few pictures.  I was, literally, dripping wet from sweat by the time I got back in.  I give those of you who live in the South a lot of credit.  I just can't take this stuff.

Because I can't resist it, a couple of new daylilies.
Nova Lavender

An unknown.  This is one of the first that I bought, and I didn't bother keeping track of the name.  But, I've always loved its fierce red color, and I love that it blooms so late and is till going strong after most of the other daylilies are gone.

And, finally, something that is not a flower.  I had to laugh, yesterday, when TexWisgirl posted some pictures of crows, because I had been trying all day to get some pictures of the crows around here.  I threw some bread down, hoping to attract them.  The crows here are very shy, and, every time I went to the window, they'd see me and fly away.  I finally got a couple of mediocre shots when they landed in the big pine tree behind the stone wall in my back yard.  I've always had a soft spot in my heart for these big, noisy and kind of rude birds.  They remind me of teen-aged boys, all bluster and bravado, yet endearingly awkward.

It's going to be brutally hot around here today, and in a large part of the nation.  We have a very good chance of tying or beating the record high for the day.  I'm staying in, and staying quiet and hydrated.  I hope that all of you fighting this stuff take good care of yourselves, too.  Put your feet up, and relax.  But, most of all, have a great day.