Wednesday, June 15, 2011

GBBD: Early Summer Blooms

My, but the summer days are flying by . . . well, technically, it is still spring until June 21, but last week's heat wave certainly makes it feel like summer.  At any rate, here it is the middle of June already, which means it's time for another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day hosted by our fairy godmother Carol of May Dreams Gardens.


As I said on my last post, bloom times seem to be out of sync this year. 
The daylilies 'Stella d'Oro' are finally in full bloom.


Another latecomer, though, is the star of the garden right now. I had hoped my lone Asiatic lily 'Brindisi'
would bloom last week so that my daughter could see it, but it waited until this week to open up.


Look at all those buds!  I have been so smitten in recent years with daylilies that I have passed by the Asiatics.  I must find a place for more of these next year.  That's Hemerocallis 'Moonlight Masquerade' in the right background; a close-up of it is featured on my last post.


Nearby is another prize--my first red poppy.  I've never had much luck with poppies before, but this year I scattered some seed in late February over the melting snow, and they apparently liked that cold start.  I still had some seeds leftover from Spring Fling of '09 when Cindy generously shared her bounty with us, and I also had seeds from Tatyana, whose red poppies I so admired last summer.  Both packs were spread with abandon in late winter, so the lineage of each plant is unknown.



In the butterfly garden, chaos reigns as usual.  Bachelor's buttons have reseeded again,
and yarrow invades any empty space.


Penstemon from  friend Beckie--'Husker's Red,' I think--is nearly swallowed up by taller plants, either asters or goldenrod.  Not knowing what they are until they bloom means I am surprised every fall:)  The asters/goldenrod were cut back after this photo was taken.


Another re-seeder, Nigella, bloomed before I had time to take a photo, though a few florets remain.


Butterfly weed, however, is just beginning to bloom. 
I'm hoping the Monarchs can find it in the midst of this jungle.


The first hollyhocks have opened up.  There will be fewer than usual of these old friends this year, I'm afraid--in the feverish trimming that went on here a few weeks ago many of these fell victim to the weedeater.  But I know they will be back again next year.


The new Itea 'Henry's Garnet' was chosen for its fall color, but the little white brush-like blooms are a welcome sight this spring.



And for something different, you can't get much funkier than the vertical blooms of the Lamb's Ears.


There are other blooms, too, as the garden begins its summer session, most notably the first of the coneflowers as well as 'May Night' salvia and the geranium 'Roxanne,' but it is pouring down rain at the moment with thunder booming overhead, so those flowers will have to wait for another day.  There are many annuals, too, that will have to wait for their own spotlight, but I will leave you today with one of the most eye-catching at the moment, the yellow Hibiscus.


To see what else is blooming across the country and across the world, be sure to check out the list of participants at Carol's. 


And my best bloom of all?--My garden buddy who turns eight today. 
 Happy Birthday, Granddaughter!


30 comments:

  1. That last bloom is the most precious and beautiful. You have lots of color in your garden Rose. Happy GBBD.

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  2. A lot of things are out of sync in the gardens this year. Poppies do indeed need some cold stratification to germinate. Love the hollyhock and the Itea, BUT the last bloom with the striped petals is my favorite..Happy Birthday!

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  3. Happy Birthday to your granddaughter. The most perfect bloom of all.

    Your garden is in good shape with lots of flowers still at their best. Can't believe the longest day is almost upon us!
    Maggie X

    Nuts in May

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  4. So many beautiful photos. Happy birthday to your granddaughter!
    Love the poppy. It is spectacular.

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  5. Lots of lovely color in your garden — including that lovely young lady in the last photo. My Stellas have not opened yet here in southern WIS.

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  6. Hi Rose,

    The last bloom is the prettiest of them all....Happy birthday to Grand-daughter.

    You have so many flowers Rose, what a joy.
    I grew milkweed from seed this year. The plants are quite small but I have put them in the beds regardless. I do hope they bloom before summer is over:)

    The seedheads of love in the mist are so lovely. I love the blooms, but the seedheads, for me, are very special.....

    Love the Poppy.....my garden is full of them. I love the simplicity of the flowers and the striking colour. They look lovely mixed with yellow blooms.

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  7. Happy Bloom Day Rose, and Happy Birthday to your beautiful granddaughter!

    Your gardens are full of bloom, and oh so lively, in spite of the crazy weather! The yellow hibiscus is gorgeous!

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  8. What a sweet garden buddy! Loved seeing your other blooms, too, especially your lilies, which I love, and the nigella, which I find intriguing.

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  9. Brindisi is a beauty alright! I have considerably less asiatics this season as I knew they really needed division and have diminished for lack of it... there are so many new ones available, I am ok with not taking care of the old ones that were tiring me... I enjoy change every now and again in the gardens... enjoyed seeing your flowers... larry

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  10. Congrats on your poppy! I love the annual poppies. In Virginia I had a bunch....forgot to sow any this past winter. In one of my containers there was a wayward seed--had ONE poppy bloom in the container. I sure saved those seeds, will sow them! I always do it on Thanksgiving. Love that pink lily, I am having many of the Oriental lilies blooming now. Love the fragrance!!

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  11. I'm always so glad to see people growing Hollyhocks...such lovely, old-fashioned flowers! That Nigella looks awesome...love the little seed-pods!

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  12. 'Husker's Red' is such a nice plant! I keep meaning to add some, although I'm not sure what conditions it likes. How dry is the soil where you have yours? Happy Bloom Day!

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  13. Rose, Your Brindisi lilies are a beautiful color~They might be just what the Susan's bed needs~It could help with all the melon colored daylilies I seem to have. If you love Husker's Red~Look for Dark Towers~the foliage stays a rich burgundy. Happy Birthday to your sweet grand and Happy GBBD to you. gail

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  14. This was the first year I've had a red poppy too! I was so beside myself I could hardly contain my happiness so I know your feeling. Happy Happy Happy Birthday to your lovely granddaughter!

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  15. Your granddaughter is a doll! I've never seen a yellow hibiscus, that's kind of surreal, but beautiful. My poppies have buds, but no blooms yet. They ended up all over the garden, not where I sowed them, obviously tracked on somebody's feet. I just love them.

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  16. Happy Birthday (or maybe belated by now!) to your delightful garden buddy :)

    Such lovely flowers again Rose. Your garden is always so full of interest!

    I love Nigella (my Mother always grew it) but it never grows well in my garden.

    I do hope the Monarchs find the Butterfly weed, I shall look forward to seeing photos :)

    Love those poppies and also that beautiful yellow Hibiscus

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  17. Like the hocks, too. First year in my garden. The Itea Little Henry is a great selection, they will perform in any instance. Thanks for the tour.

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  18. I love daylilies and have 'Moonlight Masquerade' too. I think it's an especially beautiful daylily.

    I'm with you about summer already being here even if it's not June 21st. Even with our recent cool-down it still feels like summer!

    Thanks for the tip about not checking the stayed sign in box when leaving comments.

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  19. lovely blooms Rose. Send us some summer please, still a bit chilly here and wet recently too.

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  20. Lisa, Thanks--she's the one who always admires my flowers.

    Darla, I didn't believe that scattering seed in the winter time would work, but now I'm a believer when it comes to poppies.

    Maggie, I'm looking forward to daylily blooms soon. It's hard to believe Granddaughter is 8 already; grandkids grow up way too fast!

    Gardener on Sherlock, I am thrilled to have the poppies; more of the red ones have bloomed since I posted this.

    Linda, The Stellas were definitely late this year, but they're making up for it now. I think I'm going to have to divide them again this fall!

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  21. Happy Belated Birthday to your pretty granddaughter! Your garden is full of blooms, you've had great success with the self-sowers. I have a obsession with the Asiatics lately too, added about 6 new ones last fall and they've all bloomed beautifully this year except one so far. I really loved the yellow Hibiscus, very special. :)

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  22. Cheryl, The nigella seed originally came from you, so thank you! It's in the butterfly garden, so I'm happy to have it re-seed wherever it wants. The poppies are beautiful; I'm glad I finally had some luck with them. Now I know to scatter the seeds in the winter.

    Linda, I bought the hibiscus to add a another tropical touch to Daughter's wedding reception. I'm really enjoying them.

    Holley, I'm looking forward to the next few weeks when the daylilies will really come into their own.

    Larry, The 'Brindisi' was an end-of-the season bargain buy at a big box store two years ago. I'm so glad I bought it.

    Janet, I didn't believe it at first when I read to sow poppy seeds over the snow in late February, but it worked! I planted some Orientals this year, too, but they're growing slowly.

    Scott, The hollyhocks were established here long before we moved here, and I added some that came from my mother's garden. They're sentimental favorites of mine.

    Rose, I'll give you some info about 'Husker Red' on your post, but I will say they are definitely low-maintenance and happy in dry, sunny soil.

    Gail, I seem to go for the melon and peach-colored daylilies, too. 'Brindisi' was a bargain purchase that has turned out to be a great addition. Thanks for the tips on 'Dark Towers'--that sounds like a beautiful plant.

    Tina, The funny thing is I didn't recognize the seedlings when they emerged. If my friend Beckie hadn't told me they were poppy seedlings, I might have weeded them out:)

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  23. MMD, I was looking for a pink hibiscus, but all the nursery had left were yellow ones--now I think I like them better than pink! Yes, I don't remember sowing the poppy seeds in this area, either, but I must have. None of them came up, though, where I thought I planted them!

    Songbird, Thanks; the butterflies are slow in coming this year, but I hope to get some photos soon.

    Greggo, Thanks for visiting! 'Little Henry' is new, but so far I'm really happy with it.

    Sweetbay, 'Moonlight' (or maybe it's 'Moonlit') really is coming into its own, and I discovered last fall that it's a re-bloomer, too. Hope you're able to leave comments now; that had me frustrated for a week!

    Suburbia, I would gladly send you some sunshine if I could--it's heating up here again!

    Racquel, I have had great luck with many self-sowers--too much sometimes:) I do want to add more Asiatics, but I'm trying to figure out where I have room!

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  24. Pass on belated birthday greetings to your garden buddy who is the best bloomer in GBBD this month.

    I enjoyed seeing all you have in bloom this month Rose - it's a great display.

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  25. Scattering poppy seeds over the snow in late February, eh? I've taken notes, and I hope that this works for me, too! (No other methods have, sadly.)

    Loved all of your blooms, and hope that your gardening buddy had a wonderful birthday!

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  26. Thanks for sharing your garden with me.......love the flowers and love the smile on the little girl. See you in July.

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  27. I am going to have to try growing some nigella. I keep "running into it." Must be trying to tell me something. I love your garden. I love plants filling every possible space and climbing over one another. I keep trying to add butterfly weed to my garden. I hope to find a spot where it will grow. So great to have a garden buddy!

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  28. It is so nice to have a garden buddy! I wish I had one...to help. Your Asiatic lilies are stunning...I love the color! Thank you for your very kind comments on my blog!

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  29. Belated Happy Birthday dear Granddaughter - the best bloom of all! She is lovely. Where does the time go?

    Love your garden blooms. Hollyhocks remind me of my mother's garden. She always had some blooming against the house.
    Asiacs are so fragrant and come in such bright colours. And hibs, well they just steal the show for me.
    Happy gardening!

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  30. My blooms are out of sync, too. They are also later than the same kind as others I've seen around town. Yours are looking great, though.

    I love those nigellas so thick and full! I have scraggly ones. I hope they fill in next year.

    Thanks for your comments on my bloom day and latest post. Yes, my garden defies any style, too, but when you look around the gardens of gardeners, that is frequently the case. We love plants, and like to find spots for all kinds of things.

    This afternoon, I went to a garden center I hadn't been to yet this year. I have purchased some plants they took to our farmer's market, though. I talked to the owner about my decision not to buy plants that say not to propagate. I asked him if that meant you weren't even supposed to divide the plants and plant them in another spot in your own yard. He explained that people work on growing new hybrids, and when they patent them, they get from 25 cents to a dollar or so for each plant sold. He said no one is going to look in your yard and tell you you divided that hosta even though you weren't supposed to. You could get caught trying to sell plants from your yard that are patented, though. He said the patents run out in 20 years or so. He said Stella daylilies are no longer patented. I should write this as an update on my blog post.

    I found a few plants I was interested in, and that do not have that do not propagate on them. Some of the plants there did, though.

    Yes, the tree ring steps came from the tree that was cut down. I'm glad it wasn't here this evening to get blown around in the storm we had. The other trees on the street sure were swaying! Oh, of course you can copy the idea! That's part of why we blog- to give and get ideas from each other.

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