Baby Chewie's First Race Car Experience

Biking Cuyuna

Lavender Bee Balm

It's my favorite! My fuschia bee balm is starting to die out - it's spread so much that I don't have a large patch of it anymore. It's dispersed itself throughout my boulevard and I don't think it looks as nice as if it were in a large patch. I think I'm going to dig up the little plants that haven't bloomed yet and put them all into a patch in our boulevard that needs to be filled in (and cross my fingers it doesn't die and comes back next year!).

Last night The Monkey had mountain biking camp at Lake Marion in Lakeville, which is about 45 minutes from us in traffic (30 without traffic!). The trails curve around soccer fields and then go back into a small woodsy area that's next to a lake (Lake Marion). I had Baby Chewie with me on the Mac Ride so I was a little slower with an added 30 pounds which gives me a chance to look at all the flowers without slowing down the whole family when we all ride together. I really am THAT person that stops to look at flowers and foliage. HA! In any case, there's a small prairie area and within all the grasses there's lavender bee balm mixed throughout - there's not patches of it, instead it's dispersed through the whole prairie area and the little pops of lavender during sunset are absolutely beautiful! I didn't think to take pictures last night because I was too busy riding and I haven't been on a trail in awhile because of the heavy rains. I will stop to take a photo next week as long as it hasn't rained and the trails aren't closed. 

Hibiscus!

With Captain America in the background! HA!

This is my first year attempting to grow a Hibiscus and it's been great - I bought two and one has not exactly thrived, but when Baby Chewie picked it out, it looked a little limp and sad with some dead edges on leaves. I didn't have high hopes for it - but it's come back strong and there's lots of buds on it. I think it'll be even more awesome by the end of August when the temperatures are even more tropical than now. 

Now I'm curious to see what happens over winter - I think I can bring them inside so maybe I'll do that and see if I can keep them alive. I've over wintered my mint plant for 3 years now and it's looking super lush and beautiful. I've also over wintered sage and oregano - all the herbs have come back more lush than the year before. I'll give it a try!