Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

Can you imagine how many times a girl named Mary can hear that nursery rhyme?  A few times, for certain.  Although most of my weekend was spent making a few little things for the grandchildren, some of which I wrote about here, there was a little time for gardening.
Richard and I picked up a few zinnias and rooster comb, cock's comb, when we went shopping at a local nursery for some more tomato plants.  On Sunday I convinced Rich to help me clean out an area in the very overgrown, weedy flower bed near the patio. 

It's a bit shady but not badly for our Louisiana heat.  We added mulch and planted the zinnias and the rooster comb in this corner.  

The photo above is the view from the patio and the one on the right is from the back of the studio looking toward the patio.

The plants are still pretty small, but there are quite a few flowers already.  I tried finding some plants with only small, tight buds, but that wasn't happening.  I planted the rooster comb on the outside edges of the bed and in front of the crepe myrtle tree. 



Google.com photo of rooster comb

 I'm hoping that the plants eventually fill the space, so I planted them a little tight.  I like my plants to cover the ground.  Of course, I don't like the look I have now...chaos and weeds.

While we were at the nursery, I also picked up this beautiful mandevilla.  I have an old trellis that fit over this pot at one time.  It's been knocked down a few times and is warped, but I love the shape and design and can't bear to get rid of it.  Once the vines fill it in, it looks the same as it did new. 


I have yet to figure out what plant will survive the winters, so every year I end up getting a new vine.  I've tried mandevilla before and it's pretty hardy.  Anything that will sit on my patio must be hardy because it may well take a football to the head, uhm, limb.
I've found G.I. Joe, Matchbox tractors, croquet balls, and this weekend a pair of glasses in my flowers.

Richard choose the mandevilla color but I love it.  It's a deep pink--magenta, I would say.  I chose carefully, but I was surprised that already the vine reaches the top of the trellis. 

In the collage photo above, I have a bougainvillea, which is a plant that a friend gave me last year just before school got out.  It's greening up and has a few flowers, so I'd say it may have survived.  Yay!  It's difficult to keep anything alive here, but to do that through the winter with a tropical plant is pretty celebratory.

 And for a reason to celebrate, here's one: freshly dug Irish potatoes from the garden.  They are perfect when boiled with just a bit of salt and pepper.  I don't even add butter.  Richard has given a few away to friends and family, but I think he's planning to dig them this week to begin selling.  If the rain stops for a few days, I may end up getting dirt under my nails, again.

How does your garden grow?  Any flowers or veggies yet?  Need a few Irish potatoes?  lol