August Bloom Day

Mid-August.  The dog days of summer.  Usually about this time of year, I am whining about the heat and humidity and ready for the cooler days of autumn.  But not this year.  Sure, we've had some hot weather, but very few really miserable days and no long stretches of overbearing heat, as we have had the past few summers.  In fact, the last two weeks have felt more like fall, and I am loving it!  With such beautiful weather, you would think I would have my garden in top shipshape--I only wish.  I'm blaming it on all the rain we've had this summer (except for the past few weeks), which has been wonderful for the garden, but has also been a boon to the weeds.  That's my excuse anyway.

If you will overlook the weeds and the lack of deadheading, let's take a walk around and see what is blooming today.

My July Bloom Day post was one I started before I left for Portland, and since I didn't have much time to add much else when I returned, I focused on just the purple coneflowers in my garden.  But what I neglected for the very first time in all my summer blog posts over the years was a showcase of all the lily blooms.  Although there are a few stray blooms here and there, most of them have finished for the season, except for two latecomers.  'Andrea's Dragonfly,' above, was the last to start blooming.

'Dragonfly Corner' has been putting out even more numerous late blooms.  Both of these are unnamed hybrids that my friend Beckie named and shared with me in the last couple of years.  It's a good thing they are separated in the garden, or I'm sure I wouldn't remember which was which.

Not a true lily but a member of the amaryllis family, the Surprise Lilies were in full bloom a week ago, but have only a few straggling petals left today.  I'll probably forget by next summer where they are, but I'm pretty sure Frank marked the spot:)

The 'Vanilla Strawberry' Hydrangea has never looked as good as this year.  My only complaint is that all those blooms have made the branches bend over.

The bottom of the blooms gradually turn pink, but then they quickly turn brown, too--making the blooms look more like a vanilla-strawberry-chocolate ice cream cone.

Next to the shade garden in front of the house the 'Limelight' is blooming its head off, too.  I can never get a good photo of the whole plant, but this picture does show what I found out early this summer--my spring pruning was not nearly ruthless enough.  This is my favorite hydrangea, but it is sprawling out of control.

In the shade garden, the volunteer phlox has not only re-appeared, but a second stand of these has popped up this year.

The plainer hostas--Plantain lilies, I believe--are not my favorite, but they do have the most beautiful blooms, which are about to open up.

There are Black-eyed Susans and Brown-eyed Susans in different parts of my garden, but one of my favorite Rudbeckias is this 'Prairie Sun.'  Like other Rudbeckia hirtas, it is a short-lived perennial or biennial, but it can re-seed.  I planted a few seedlings that I started from seed, but for the first time, I had some come back from last year as well.

Elsewhere, the 'Becky' daisies in Roco's memorial garden are doing very well.  This is a new start I had to plant this spring, since last year's plant died.  The original mother plant in the arbor bed is probably five times this size.

The arbor bed is a jungle once again, mainly because I can't resist planting more annuals than I have room for each year.  Cosmos, all from direct-sown seed from Renee's Garden, are one of my old-fashioned favorites.

I'm not the only one who loves these blooms, as you can see.  The funny thing is, I was trying to get one good photo of this bumblebee, but it wasn't until I downloaded my pictures that I realized he had a friend!

Another favorite annual I've been planting from seed the past few years is this 'Zowie Yellow Flame' zinnia.  I'm sure you'll see these again in another Bloom Day post, because they look good all the way until frost.

Another two-fer shot. Ms. Ladybug also escaped my notice as I tried to focus on the butterfly.

A good example of the "jungle"--I planted the Agastache in the middle and a few of the 'Victoria Blue' salvia, but many of the salvia are volunteers, surprising after the winter we had.  The Nicotania are also volunteers--I planted seeds three years ago, and they keep coming back!  Except for the native blue Agastache, most of the cultivars do not like our winters, so they are more of an annual here.  I plant them every year, nevertheless, because the hummingbirds love them.  In fact, I took a dozen photos of a hummingbird enjoying the Agastache yesterday, but unfortunately was rewarded only with blurry images.

The bumblebees are more cooperative, thank goodness.  This one is enjoying the 'Victorias.'

A new bloom I'm excited to see in my garden this year is the new clematis I planted next to the arbor trellis.  I love these little bell-shaped blooms on 'Roguchi.'  I'm glad, too, it has survived some stiff competition from the volunteer hyacinth bean vine and the cardinal vine, which has spread everywhere.

Despite the jungle, my youngest grandson found the perfect seat one day--

yes, this is my favorite bloom of all!

And what about all those coneflowers I showed in July?  Well, some are looking a little tattered and faded, but they're still here.  I've deadheaded a few, but there are just far too many to keep up with.

I intend to thin them out eventually, but as long as others are enjoying them, I'm leaving them right where they are!


Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is held the 15th of every month and is hosted by the always-entertaining Carol of May Dreams Gardens.  See what is blooming across the world this month and come join us!

November GBBD: End of the Season?

Every Midwesterner knows that November can be an unpredictable month. Often gloomy with gray, wet days that never end, this is one month I've often wished could be wiped off the calendar. Last year, however, was an exception. I remember planting bulbs, warmed enough by the sun that there was no need for a jacket, all the way till Thanksgiving. This year November has been a welcome surprise and relief after an unusually wet and dreary October. Although we have had frosty mornings, the sun usually brings the temperature up to a comfortable warmth. For example, yesterday I sat through yet another disappointing Illinois football game wearing only a sweatshirt and jeans.



The cold of October has brought the garden nearly to an end. Yet there are a few things still to enjoy for this November Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day:





There are the usual suspects for this late in the season, like the fall pansies sitting on the steps.

Or the potted mum carelessly planted in a container to replace the dying zinnias and heliotrope.

Or the lavender mum in the shade garden partially obscured by the dried feathery plumes of the heuchera.

More typical scenes in my garden, though, are like this one. Some of the Victoria Blue salvias are still showing some signs of their vibrant purple of early autumn, but most are fading to a silvery hue for the winter.

The hydrangeas are wilting and turning brown, but "Let's Dance in the Moonlight" is determined to give one last colorful hurrah before ending its season. I know you're probably tired of me showing yet another photo of this plant, but this fall I have been enthralled by the hydrangeas that have been almost as colorful in their final days as they were in their summer prime.

Looking for something--anything at all--still blooming in the shade garden one morning, I was sad to see that the Brunnera "Jack Frost" had finally succumbed to the frost. Or so I thought . . .

The next day, after a few hours of warm sunlight, I was surprised to see a full recovery! "Jack" is typical of what it is still blooming in my garden--what I call the "hangers-on."

Still hanging in there, protected on my back porch, is the Desert Rose begonia. This is one of the few plants that will be taken in the house for the winter--I've never had a begonia do so well for me as this one.

Another hanger-on is the "Homestead" verbena. It seems to actually enjoy the cooler weather, but here in zone 5 it is an annual so its time is limited.

The lamium, specific name now forgotten, is another plant unfazed by cool temperatures and is still setting blooms. If covered with leaves, it wil usually stay green all winter.

A few stray petunia blooms are also hanging in there, along with the helichrysum. Someone asked me about this plant on a previous post. It often goes by other names, such as licorice plant or mouse ears, and it is one of my favorite accent plants in containers.

Another tough plant is the sweet alyssum. I think all of these re-seeded from last year. They were getting rather leggy this summer so I gave them a "haircut," which gave them a new burst of energy for this fall.

There are a few surprises for this time of year, though. This is the first year I have planted lemon verbena, purchased early in the season from the local Herb Society's plant sale, and I don't think I've ever featured it here before. According to information on the Missouri Botanical Garden website, lemon verbena, Aloysia triphylla, reaches a height of 2-4 feet. Not to brag, but my plant is at least 5 feet tall! (Wish I'd moved that trampoline out of the background, though.)

However, the website also mentions that it has showy white flowers from June to September, but mine never bloomed. I'm not too disappointed, though, because this plant has done so well otherwise and provided much more than blooms. Every time I was in the Butterfly Garden I couldn't resist pulling off a leaf or two and taking in its heady lemony scent. While it can be used in making teas or desserts, I have only dried the leaves in hopes of making some potpourri. Unfortunately, while lemon verbena is a perennial in zones 8-10, it won't survive in my zone 5 garden. But I am going to attempt to root a cutting, and if that fails, I'll be back at the plant sale in the spring for a replacement.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the new lush greenery and pink blooms of the Achillea, or yarrow. This is a tough plant that is one of the first to bloom in the spring and one of the last in the fall.

But I was surprised to see these little violas blooming in the pot of now-spent dianthus. Did I plant these in here last spring and they've come to life again? Or did I throw out the dead spring blooms in this catch-all pot? Sometimes there are advantages to being forgetful.

Yes, the season is winding down, and for the next few months, I'll have to use some ingenuity to come up with a Bloom Day post at all. I'll enjoy the garden for as long as it lasts, admiring the seedheads of the daisy "Becky" and discovering right next to these dried up blooms . . .

A brand new "Becky" bloom!

You may have noticed a common theme throughout this post--throughout my flowerbeds are leaves, leaves, and more leaves.

Sometimes, though, it pays to pull back a few of those leaves to discover a final surprise underneath--a few primroses are blooming again! This can only mean one thing--only a few more months until spring!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is the brainchild of the always entertaining and energetic Carol of May Dreams Gardens. For more Bloom Day posts from around the world, be sure to visit her.