Kansas has some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets I've ever seen, but they are so difficult to capture on film that we are rarely able to share them via photos. These pictures come as close as any I've ever shot to capturing the breathtaking colors and the sense of calm a Kansas sunset inspires.
The Butterfly Milkweed has popped open, leaving bright orange spots in three places along the fence. It looks especially nice nestled between the False Sunflower and white Yarrow.
This is the Smoky Hills plant we moved from Rock Garden Hill. It seems to love its new home in the entry garden where it receives nice morning sun, but shade in the late afternoon.
For a couple of beginners, we've been fortunate that our plants have done so well, but we'd be less than honest not to tell you about some of our failures:
Smoky Hills. This pretty purple-bloomed plant (along the base of Rock Hill Garden) captured our hearts when we saw it at the arboretum plant sale. Ken grew up in the Smoky Hills of Kansas, so of course we had to have some! But something about this spot didn't agree with our Smoky Hills (too much afternoon sun?) and it died. Fortunately, we were able to transplant one plant to the flowerbed at the entryway, and it is thriving.
Moonlight Broom. For reasons unknown, this beautiful, unique plant only lasted three years in our garden before giving up the ghost this spring. We held out hope, until early June when we finally dug out the shriveled root. 
Blue Dune Lyme Grass. Its blue hue contrasted beautifully with the lawn. The first year it was mild mannered, but after that, it tried to take over our world (the label warned us, but we turned a blind eye.) Finally this year we got aggressive and fought back with Roundup. It would be a great plant to fill in a large, contained area, but not here, where we prefer to see Catmint and Rose of Sharon thrive.
We've had some other wildflowers that bloomed beautifully one year and didn't come back (Cornflower, Coneflower and Coreopsis...hmmm...all the "C" plants?) and others that we planted that never showed up (New England Aster, Lupine and Stiff Goldenrod). But Cupflower, Butterfly Milkweed, Wooly Verbena, Yarrow, Columbine, Spiked Gayfeather (Liatris) and a host of others return faithfully each year.
We're so happy with the way the coleus pots are turning out! Every bit as colorful as any flowers we could have planted, and always in bloom, much easier to care for and we can bring some of them inside this fall for cheery color throughout most of the winter. And to fill all these pots, we spent under $14! To see these pots when we first planted them, click here.
Early June and the garden is on the verge of peaking. The flower pots are filling out, the Carefree Delight roses are a riot of pink against the back of the garage, and the wildflowers along the fence are beginning to bloom. It's a joy to spend mornings and evenings out here, but the hot afternoon sun makes the backyard off limits to everyone but the cats.
I forgot what a treat it is to have roses to cut and arrange on a whim. They make the house so cheery!
A new tree is always cause for celebration here, even though our reason this time is bittersweet. An ash tree that was here when we moved in succumbed to ash borers. It's always sad to lose a tree, but we chose a beautiful lacebark elm (Siberian Elm) to replace it. Because the trunk has a crook in it, and some damage from deer, we got a great deal, but the tree farm planted the tree for us and assured us the elm would survive both flaws. We think it has great character because of those flaws. Here's a before-during-after shot. (As always, click on the photo to enlarge.)
Moments after I first posted, I looked out to see that a fat robin had adopted our tree. Doesn't he look pretty perched there?
Biscuit strikes a pose on the deck, and Sundae soaks up some lovin' from her favorite girl. The cats will miss our daughter almost as much as we will when she heads off to college this fall.
UPDATE: The roses are in full bloom...hundreds of them, pink and yellow! And this is the first year they've reached the top of the arbor.
Roses are blooming like mad. This is the yellow rosebush the nursery gave my husband three years ago because they thought it was dead. It's doing better than the one we bought and planted on the other side of the arbor. It will soon be in bloom too. The bright pink Neon Star Dianthus is perfect in a broken pot at the foot of the rose arbor.
With color! Rock Garden Hill, that is. The Sedum is blooming, along with the last blush of Columbine, and a lavender mist of Speedwell. Absolutely gorgeous! And it's only May.
May 11, and the garden is a crayon box of colors! Suddenly everything is in bloom and growing faster than we could have imagined. We cut the shrubs back hard this year and they apparently did not get the memo! ;) The colorful daisy-like flowers in the large pot are Gazanias. The blooms are stunning, but the foliage looks a bit too much like a dandelion for our taste.
There's so much in bloom now, I can't decide what to show you first! The speedwell (our variety: Veronica Waterperry Blue) is doing beautifully...blue flowers on purplish-green leaves, and it spreads like mad, keeps the weeds at bay, and looks gorgeous three seasons of the year. (See the hen and chicks peeking out between the rocks?)
One of our favorite shrubs is Dappled Willow. We pruned it almost to the ground this spring and it's rewarding us with its pretty "dappled" pink- and white-tipped leaves. The plant doesn't actually bloom, but the new growth sure looks like flowers.
And then there's the columbine. We have a luscious shade of salmon and also deep purple. This is the third year for the columbine. (That's yarrow coming up behind the sandstone rocks. It will have pretty white flowers later this spring.)
We're being budget conscious this year, so decided to plant coleus in nearly all our flower pots. Coleus has been one of our favorite plants each year, regardless of price. A planting like this:
turns into pots like this in a matter of weeks.
Coleus are extremely easy care (just pinch back every couple of weeks and they stay thick and full) and they seem to thrive in sun or shade. There are dozens of varieties in a rainbow of gorgeous colors, and once they are established, cuttings can be rooted and planted in new pots. Coleus don't have as long an outdoor life in Kansas since they do not tolerate the cold at all, but they can be brought inside to brighten up the house for most of the winter. I had a few pots that made it through the winter inside without getting too leggy or pale. Here are some more of our coleus plantings this year (and again, these pots will be thick and full in a few weeks.)
April 21: Green grass, sprouting plants, pots filled and on the deck, the outdoor carpets and umbrella in place, and 80-degree temps in the forecast. It's been a long time since we had such a late spring, but finally, finally we're enjoying the outdoors again, and it's glorious! We cut back the red twig dogwood and the dappled willows hard this year. I think we'll miss the lush foliage they provided last year, but they were taking over this little plot and really needed to be controlled. Already they're making their way back. It will be interesting to see how big they get after such a drastic pruning. 
It's been a long time coming, and interrupted with snow. But finally mid-April 2009, the grass is green, the leaves are unfurling, tulips are blooming and we can believe that winter is truly over. All the ornamental grasses have been cut down and they're already starting to come back. Next week we'll fill our flower pots, plant a few wildflowers along the fence, hose down the deck and get the outdoor rugs and umbrella out. Can't wait!
The view off our front porch this late March morning is typical spring-in-Kansas. Green grass, forsythia in full bloom – and snow gathering in the flower beds and on the pavement. We have 12 inches of the white stuff predicted for the next 24 hours. Brrrrr! But we can't complain. We'll take the moisture in any form it comes.
We worked in the garden for an hour and a half this lovely middle-of-March afternoon, cutting back the rosebushes on the arbor, and the Carefree Delight rosebushes, Spirea, and Dappled Willow. Lots more work to do in both front and back yards. It's hard to believe that in a few short weeks the garden will go from this...to this! 
We've been so dry! And finally, today, March 7, we got a nice shower. Not the two or three inches we would have loved, but moisture anyway. Amazing how much fresher and cleaner everything looks now. I'm trying to enjoy all the grasses because we'll be cutting them down soon. I'll miss them, but it won't be long and they'll be back spring-y and green! Can't WAIT!
