The Flowers are IN!

I've been missing flower gardens the last few summers.
So I planted this:

Hastas, coleus, petunias and impatiens are beginning to
grow in my shady garden. (photo by Anna Jauhola)

When Grandma went into assisted living a few years ago, she wasn't able to keep up with gardening. She'd do a little at the farm, but not as much. I miss touring her gardens when I'd come to visit. We'd take a slow walk through her yard and she'd tell me stories about planting the garden, and randomly veer off into stories of childhood and perhaps about what the cat did a few weeks prior.
We'd stop and smell the peonies she transplanted from my dad's farm (the farm she grew up on) and she'd tell me stories about her mom, Grandma Annie -- the peonies were hers. We'd smell the Stargazer lilies we both loved so much. We'd admire the roses, sweet williams, sweet peas, delphiniums (which won grand champion year after year at the county fair), and numerous other flowers that graced her yard.
We'd even stop to taste a few (or more) raspberries from the bushes she and Grandpa planted so many years ago.
This usually ended up being a good half hour to hour-long tour, with me asking questions about new flowers she may have planted, or about old flowers of which I'd forgotten the names. The conversation was often filled with laughing, usually over the dog's or cat's antics.
Then we'd sit at the kitchen table and have coffee and chat about mundane, everyday things, often laughing about our favorite show, "Keeping Up Appearances."
Now that Grandma's gone, I miss those gardens and tours even more.
So this year, I had Derek till up a patch on the west side of the house and I planted shade-loving flowers and plants.

The hastas love shade and should 
grow about 2 to 3 feet tall. 
(photo by Anna Jauhola)

Grandma typically had a few hastas, two huge planters of petunias and hanging baskets of impatiens.
Jacob picked out the colors, red and orange, for the impatiens. He is excited about watching both the flowers and vegetable plants grow. We told him Grandma Ruby (my grandma) and Grandma Sherrie (Derek's mom) would be very proud that he's helping with the gardens, which makes him that much more interested in the process.
Last night it rained quite a bit so the plants should be loving life right now.

I fell in love with impatiens a long time
ago and can't imagine a flower garden
without them. (photo by Anna Jauhola)

I'm excited to watch my little plot grow and will be on constant watch when my cat, Mo, is outdoors. She likes to eat plants. She will be trapped inside this summer if she decides to eat mine.

Petunias love some sun, but can do well
in shade too. Looking forward to them
growing large. (photo by Anna Jauhola)