Dahlia plant and lettuce bolting
I made another trip to Homewood nursery. I am really loving that place! I had Blooming Bucks to spend that I earned from that last shopping trip. It was $11 worth so I wasn’t about to let it go to waste even though I planned on being done planting things for the summer. We ended up taking home a Dahlia plant. The color is Tahitian sunset. It is so pretty. There are so many buds and I am so impatient for them to bloom! On the recommendation of my husband I planted it right by the front steps. I love looking at it every time we come and go.
Right after planting 
Placement in front yard by stairs
This butterfly seemed very attracted to the Dahlia. I don’t know if they normally attract butterflies or not but I like it! They are certainly welcome. Also, a couple of the blooms seem to be dying. Am I possibly not watering it enough? It is not in direct sunlight all day. Any insight is welcome.
In other plant related news, my vegetable garden box is a little out of control lately. The lettuce in particular. This is the first time I have ever grown lettuce so I didn’t know what to expect. I bought it at the NC State farmer’s market from a very friendly man who only told me it liked afternoon sun (whatever that means, I threw it in the box with the rest of the plants), and to take leaves from the bottom up. Well, it really took off! Now, I don’t even know what kind of lettuce it is (there are 3 varieties), but it has grown straight upward. Nothing like a head of lettuce that I imagined. After minimum research it seems that it is called lettuce bolting. It got so tall that it fell over and I ended up ripping it out recently. It was fun to grow something new, but I’m not sure I would grow it again.