Happy, happy

It has been hot and dry this week. In fact, today's heat index is 101 degrees. Most of the rain that's been promised hasn't shown up. But most of my plants are doing ok.

Happy daisies:

More happy daisies, some happy sunflowers, and some exceedingly happy weeds:

I am reclaiming this little sunflower garden today.

Planting a couple new mega-sunflower plants. Six seeds, to be exact.

But what's this?

Nature beat me to it. Nearly two months after they were planted, these decided to grow.

I still planted more seeds. You can't stop me!

The alleged green beans that were sprouting a couple of days ago shot up toward the sky and now I almost have a proper row. Never mind the quackgrass.

I love green beans!

And my sad little roma tomato plants, including the deer-stomped and munched one, look pretty well today for all that they've been through.

Sad Sand Cherry

I love purple. And at its peak, I thought that this sand cherry was beautiful and added a lot to my landscape. This was the first shrub that I picked out for my home after the builder/previous owner took most of the landscaping with her to her new home.

But now, the sand cherry is sick with some sort of illness, and I don't know how to help it. And it makes me sad that the typical Michigan lifespan for a sand cherry is 10-15 years.

 The landscape at my friends' home features a beautiful, full sand cherry that clearly is mature. I'd love to know the secret. Or is it just luck?

The sand cherry may be sad, but one thing that thrives all over my property is daisies. I have at least six different plots of these. The first two flowers have opened, and my daisies are soon to be featured at a relative's rehearsal dinner.