Birdwatching from the dining room window

This year's garden has been a mix of random success and failures... So many weeds, so little time and energy to pull them. Despite this, we found random beauty in our yard and garden...each year is so different in what does well. I am a very relaxed gardener...love trying new things and moving plants around just like I move my living room furniture.

This year we had a two volunteer sunflower plants sprout themselves randomly in the flower bed on the south side of our house. This flower bed lies between our house and our drive way- and gets very hot in the summer. Aesthetically, gangly sunflower plants would not have been my first choice on this side...however they loved the sun and heat and grew well there.

As the summer progressed, their stalks each grew over 6 feet tall- one directly outside of our dining room window, the other directly outside the kitchen window over the sink.
What delight we found in sitting at our table, enjoying our meal, and at the same time observing the wonderful visitors to that gangly sunflower! Gigantic bumble bees, multiple praying mantis' , beautiful butterflies, and several cheerily singing birds.

The chickadee...
with his cheerful, unique song...

stopped by many times to snatch a seed from the large bloom.

The beautiful yellow goldfinch enjoyed the seeds too.

All goes to show that beauty can most certainly be found in the randomness of the garden. And to be sure, we are planting sunflowers in this same spot next year, too!