Backyard happenings

I love this time of year. Flowers are blooming. It's amazing how much this echinacea has grown in 4 years. It was only a 6-inch plant when I bought it and it has multiplied many times each year.


I don't know what this cream-colored freckled flower is. It reminds me of foxglove, but the blossoms are about half the size. Any ideas? I also forgot what the yellow one is, too.


Orange boy is standing by his raised bed garden. The weeds in the background are part of the vacant house/lot next door - the one that the developer wants to put 6 crammed 3-story homes in. We're still fighting this. We knew the ground in this lower portion of our backyard was saturated with water most of the year - even running water that goes into our yard, along our fence line, and into a catch drain in a neighbor's yard. What we didn't know is that it is definitely wetlands. Because of all the water, we rarely have to water the raised beds. When my son planted the seeds, we didn't water at all - that's how moist the ground is. The neighbors are wondering how the developer will deal with the water. Evidently, developers are allowed to pay a fine to fill a wetland. Oh joy. That may deal with the wetland, but what about the stream of water that comes through our yard most of the year - so much water that we cannot do any kind of landscaping or even walk? I try not to think about it - it is very upsetting.