Flowers, Finally!

Some of you may remember a few years ago when I had a regular Monday photo of the wildflower arrangement in the middle of my dining room table.

Those arrangements typically start in June, with yellow clover flowers and the purple silver nightshade flowers. Those got beat up in the first hailstorm we had, and I didn't get any.

The sunflowers are usually starting to bloom in July. This year everything was delayed thanks to our weeks of cold rain in the beginning of summer, and then the sunflowers that were just beginning to form buds were flattened in the big hail storm in July.

The ornamental sage I often put together with the sunflowers got almost entirely destroyed in that same storm, as well.

But finally, I'm starting to see just a few sunflowers blooming. Unfortunately, the cucumber beetles are already in full force, and they chew up the blooms. So it wasn't until this morning that I found a sunflower that had just opened and therefore wasn't yet in tatters.

I pulled a few of the long grasses with fluffly seed heads on them and put those together with the sunflower and the dried purple flowers that have been sitting on the table for months while I waited for fresh flowers.

And finally, FINALLY, I have wildflowers for the table again.

Happy flower times are here again.