How DOES This Garden Grow??

When we moved to this house, I was certain nothing would grow here because a.) our soil is 98% clay and b.) I have never successfully grown anything.
Somehow, we've beat the odds and this gardening thing has really taken root (get it?).

Here are my crazy growing broccolli plants! One has flowers and I don't really know what that's about, but they are all growing like mad! Speaking of growing like mad, here are my two tomato plants that are slowly trying to take over my yard! We'll be drowning in tomatoes here soon! That's okay because I have big plans for these babies!

Here is my darling squash. Don't look into the center or you'll get hypnotized! My squash has grown about 5.5 inches in the last week! And it has a blossom. I'll capture that another time!

My favorite! My beautiful purplish blue hydrangeas. This is the happiest plant in my yard. I love hydrangeas!

Oh, you...the only thing NOT thriving in my yard are my two lilacs! I love lilacs and I don't know why they hate me so much! They refuse to grow even though I am giving them long deep soaks and singing to them lovingly! I don't know what I'm doing wrong!!!!

Moving on...

My sister gave me a half dozen of her rose bushes! She has about a million. These suckers were planted in May and look what they are giving me!

These blossoms are huge! The other thing I can't normally grow: my nails! But look at them here!! Are the two things related??

I was trying to give some perspective in this picture but now I can only stare at my gorgeous fingernails!

Look how many blossoms we already have!

With more about to come! Here's another one of my rose bushes with nine buds about to open!

Check out this beast!! It's growing buds like crazy!!

And this:

I don't even know what it is but it's growing, too!

So is my lavender:

For Mother's day i dropped a bunch of hints about wanting a hanging basket for our front porch. Not only did Cam get the hints, he MADE this hanging basket at work! I love it!