Coneflowers, Bumblebees and Habitat for Humanity

A fun close-up of a coneflower in my garden, complete with bumble bee. I use the word garden loosely. I transplanted these flowers from another area of the yard last year. They had been planted 8 or 10 years ago, next to the river birch tree. The river birch has grown and grown, and in retrospect I probably planted it too close to the house. It's about 17 years old. But it's doing it's job, shading the house. We have a full western exposure on the front of the house, so it can get hot in the summer in the evening. The trees really shade the house, and I think make the house cooler. While shading the house, the river birch also shaded the coneflowers. The last few years there have just had a few wimpy blooms. So, last year, I transplanted them to the side of the garage, next to my lavender. They are very happy there I think!

Tomorrow our church mission team is heading out to the Habitat for Humanity Blitz Build in St. Louis. Then July 19 we are heading to Gulfport, Mississippi for more Hurricane rebuilding.