Well, here we are on another Friday where we join our pals from Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Please hop on over at the link to see what others have posted.

Today is July 4th in the US (well, technically it’s July 4th everywhere but it is a big deal holiday here in the US…but I digress). Wilson here. We were out walking in the early morning hours yesterday and came upon a new inflatable {insert rolling eyes here} at a house we walk past every day. I swear they must have a couple dozen of these things. May I should peek through the fence posts to see if there’s a huge shed to store them all. All I can say is “PSST.” Even if I posed nicely in front of them. I personally think they’re weird. But to each his own, eh?

The weather continues to be ungodly hot, as in pizza oven hot. Very dry with super low humidity so I’m guessing our friends in the Midwest and East Coast likely don’t have much sympathy for us. Enough of my kvetching…let’s get this show started, shall we? Oh Mumm…

The Mum: Good morning, House Pony. I see you decided to use the latest inflatable we saw yesterday to open our post. I’m just blown away by the number of inflatables that family has. All the holidays and even some special occasions-it’s hard to comprehend all of them.

Wilson: It’s a mystery for sure, but let’s stop talking about those fools guys and instead, share some of the beautiful flowers I found this week.

The Mum: O-kay. What do you have to start out today’s post? Got anything special you want to share?

Wilson: Well, I’m rather chuffed about a couple of today’s flowers that are rather unusual. Like this Greater Masterwort that our neighbor recently planted. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. And listen to some of the attributes this plant has. First, it’s a perennial with an erect and glabrous stem, with little branches but few leaves. The small flowers are typically greenish-white with reddish shades. They typically flower from June through September, and they’re native to southern Europe. It’s been in the British Isles since the 16th century. Apparently it’s quite common in mountain meadows and grasslands, in forests and clearings, and close to streams, anywhere the altitude is above sea level. It likes partial shade apparently with moist conditions so we both know it likely wouldn’t survive in our garden.

The Mum: Is that some sort of a dig at me because I avoid plants that need a lot of supplemental watering like the plague?

Wilson: Umm, nope, there’s nothing subtle about it, Mum. You only plant flowers that will withstand very arid conditions once they’ve established themselves. Now here’s a plant that will work well for you in our garden…Gaillardia,  commonly known as blanket flower or Indian blanket is a native wildflower to North and South America where they often naturalize in prairies, plains and open areas. Named after  Maître Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was quite an enthusiastic botanist. They’re a cheerful lot, aren’t they?

The Mum: I do like those and am always amused when they suddenly appear in the garden without my planting them. Those little globe seed heads are chock full of potential new plants and they remind me of dandelions in that their ability to readily propagate around the neighborhood are quite remarkable.

Wilson: Their flowers kind of remind me of these orangey Rudbeckia, commonly called Black Eyed Susan’s. It’s another member of the Asteraceae family. These native North America perennials bloom from mid through late summer and are sometimes called coneflowers. They are deer and rabbit resistant. They grow in both damp woodlands and dry prairies, indicating they are most adaptable. They’re perfect for you, Mum.

The Mum:  Yes, I do like them, and they have a range of colors from yellow and orange flowers as well as some varieties that bloom in multiple colors with dark brown or black centers. There are even some that come in red, bronze and even bi-colored shades.

Wilson: They’re a very good looking plant.But so are these, Mum. Anemones enjoy a nice shady spot in a woodland garden and come in multiple colors.

The Mum:  Those are really beautiful. And I like this red Monarda you found. ‘Bee balm’ is quite popular with butterflies and other pollinators. This specimen was beginning to get a little past its prime but the color was still so striking, I couldn’t resist taking a pic of it.

Wilson: And finally I found some blooming bellflowers on our walk earlier this week. Look how pretty it is. “Campanula” is considered another wildflower and can be found across the Northern Hemisphere, the Mediterranean, and its range even extends into mountains in tropical regions of Asia and Africa. A delicate perennial with graceful, slender stems, usually in clusters, rising in height from 4-15 in. The stems can be weak which causes the thing to bend over. Its rounded leaves wither early while the narrow, stem leaves remain. Blue-violet bell-shaped flowers hang singly or in clusters. Those bell-shaped flowers are borne in loose clusters at the tips and may come in a variety of colors from pale pink and light blue to deep violet-blue and pure white.

The Mum:  This was quite the find since I’ve only ever seen the purple/blue variety around the neighborhood. I loved the pale pink/white and will have to look for one at a garden center for future inclusion in our garden.

Wilson: Finally, because I know you love Swallowtail butterflies so much, here’s another one that followed us along our early morning  walk. He sure was beautiful, Mum and looked so cool flitting around on the summer breeze.

The Mum: You’re right, I do like watching them. They seem to take all your worries away. Well that’s it for us this week. We hope you all have a terrific weekend. Stay cool (if that’s possible) and stay hydrated. And above all, have a safe holiday.