My internal gardening clock is set to the incorrect latitudinal zone. Every year around the months of May and June, I get the gardening bug. Of course, by this time in Florida the weeds are well established and the sun is powerful and capable of producing a sunburn on my pale skin in 5 to 10 minutes. And despite that most people have finished their major gardening work for the year by the time May comes around, something awakens in me and I start to plant, and weed and work.

With our intensive summer home-schooling program, I planned to skip the gardening this year. But, around the middle of May, that little switch in my brain turned on and gardening plans took root. I started with a couple of trees for the front yard. Every now and again I plant trees in the front yard and every time, they die. We have the only house on the street without front yard trees. So I tried again. We'll see how it goes.

While I was tree shopping, I saw the most beautiful hybiscus. I've wanted some hybiscus for a long time now. After thinking about those beautiful flowers for awhile, I had to get a new hybiscus plant for my garden, and then a second one.



Both of my new hybiscus have pink blooms, though they are slightly different in color. This flower is from the second hybiscus I planted. I also planted two new gardenia bushes, thought they are too small yet to produce flowers.

My garden is full of hydrangea. When I bought them 3 years ago, they had blue flowers. Then, they all turned pink. Last year Stasia suggested I put citrus peels around the base of the my hydrangea bushes to alter the color.



The hydrangea are no longer pink, but they are not blue either. They seem to be a purple-ish color. . . with one glaring exception.



While I am by no means an expert on flowers or hydrangea, I have never seen one that was anything but the palest pastel color. What is up with this intense pink color???

I love the sound of water! I also love the fact that mosquitoes cannot breed in moving water and I do not like mosquitoes! So when I found a cute little "fountain kit" at Wal-Mart for under $20, I turned my bird bath into a fountain!



Now I have two sources of "moving water sound" in my garden!

Gregory has really taken to weaving on his potholder loom.



Here he is early Memorial Day weaving an American Flag-like square. (By the way Caroline, Gabrielle is wearing a nightgown made entirely on the serger! I made matching heirloom nightgowns for the two of us last year.)

I'm still working on Barbara's shawl. (Boy am I getting tired of typing that!)



At least I am fringing it. I fear that I will need to spin more yarn to complete the fringe. But I am so burned out spinning this particular designer yarn that I am waiting until I know for sure before doing any more. Thus, the spinning wheel waits, unused, in anticipation.

I am still trying to figure out how I want to finish off the long side of the shawl. I don't know if I want to spin a fingering weight yarn and do a lacey edging or just do a simple edge with more of the designer yarn.

Gabrielle turns 5 on July 1. I started working on matching dresses for her cousin Savannah and her as a birthday present. I'm having a hard time finding adequate sewing time and the project is going slowly. I have not yet begun to cut the fabric. I'm still preparing the material for the bodices.



I have an embroidery machine which I have used to stitch a mock insertion and entredeaux. I am also sewing multiple rows of pin-tucking. Embellishment is the most time consuming part of the job, but it really will "make the dress." I REALLY need to get going with it though!