Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Fireworks in the Garden

Do you have big plans for the Fourth of July?  There are many activities planned in our area to celebrate the holiday, including the annual fireworks show in C-U, which is always outstanding.  But my husband doesn't like crowded celebrations and the traffic afterwards, so sometimes I go to the show with one of my children and grandkids.  Other times, we'll simply sit on the lawn after dusk and watch the displays in surrounding towns from a distance.   I'm not sure what we'll do this year, but we could just stay at home this year and enjoy the garden--in the past week, my garden has exploded into a riotous display of color that's almost as good as fireworks.


Like pink?  There is plenty of it in my garden right now.  The Asiatic lily 'Brindisi' is nearly at the end of its bloom cycle, but what a show she has put on!


She's the biggest and most prolific Asiatic I have, putting out too many blooms to count.


As she is fading away, the pink of the purple coneflowers is taking over.  I have a sea of coneflowers this year, and I'm not exaggerating--more on this in a later post.


Prefer a hotter shade of pink?  These phlox always defy my photographic skills, but they are a dazzling shade of hot pink/fuschia.  And to think I almost pulled them their second year, because I didn't remember planting them!


More hot pink from the Monarda in the butterfly garden, which is a jungle once again this year.  By the way, please ignore the many weeds you may see in the photos.  The abundant rain we have had this year has certainly been good for the garden, but it's also been a boon to the weeds.  I'm fighting a daily battle against them, and I think I'm losing.


Now this is my shade of pink!


We can go darker still with the Drumstick Allium.


Or how about a bright red?  I wish I had taken this photo a few days before, when more of the poppies were blooming. . . and wish I had pulled that buttonweed behind them before snapping this photo:)  I scatter poppy seed in late winter over the snow and never know how many or where they might germinate; needless to say, this was a good year for them.


Going darker still, 'Little Grapette' is the first of several darker daylilies to bloom.


Personally, I like a combo of light and dark as in this early daylily 'Moonlight Masquerade.'


If you prefer the purity of white, there's plenty of that too--'Beckie' daisies are just starting to bloom.


And so are the 'Knee High Sonata' cosmos.


In fact, there will be quite a bit of white in the coming weeks as the 'David' phlox join the parade of blooms.


We can also add some purple to the dazzling mix of colors with some larkspur.


And almost blue--Balloonflowers.  I actually had to pull out some volunteer Amsonia, which were hiding this plant.


There is plenty of yellow in the garden, too, with all of the 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies in bloom, as well as other yellow blossoms, such as this 'Moonbeam' Coreopsis.  In fact, about the only color that is noticeably absent in my garden right now is orange, but that will soon change as more of the daylilies begin to bloom.  Tarzan obliged me by adding a little orange today:)  I think he has the best idea of how to celebrate the weekend.


No Fourth of July would be complete without displaying the red, white, and blue.  Maybe the phlox are a little more pinkish and purple, but it's close.


A little closer to the patriotic color scheme--an "accidental" combination of red, white, and blue.

Wishing you all a happy and safe Fourth of July!


16 comments:

  1. Your garden is a profusion of fireworks in flower colors. Love it. If we would get some rain I would have some beauties too. Still dry here. Happy 4th to you too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your garden is really beautiful. Everything looks in such good condition.
    I had to get rid of my lilies when the lily beetle came over from mainland Europe and left all my lilies in a terrible sticky mess.
    Love all those colours and of course, the cat lazing in the sun, is a picture of peace, calm and contentment.
    Maggie x

    Nuts in May

    ReplyDelete
  3. You do indeed have fireworks in your garden, in addition to patriotic phlox. The poppies at their peak must have been breathtaking. My Asiatic Lilies are also in bloom, though mine are all orange, red, and yellow.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Some beautiful plants! I love those Alliums - they look rather unusual with its two tones. Your cat looks like he's found quite the nice spot in the garden to sun and nap - so cute! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. As I was going through your pictures, it was almost like looking through my garden. I am shocked how many of the exact same flowers we share. David is not blooming here yet, but the Flame Phlox is and I have the same shades as you. I have pink Monarda and lilies too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Everything looks great! I love how colorful your garden is. We have a lot of the same plants. :o) I'm hanging out with family on the 4th and hoping the local fireworks aren't so loud the dogs freak out.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rose, Happy 4th July to you. I expect you will be celebrating with friends and family :)

    Wonderful displays in your garden Rose. Love the whites, I am very fond of daisies and the Phlox (David) is just beautiful.
    I can imagine the poppies in bloom, amazing when you get them en masse.

    Your garden is positively blooming Rose, well done :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your kitty Tarzan adds color to your garden flowers Rose!Love your bluebells, phlox, daylilies and especially monarda!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I hope you had a lovely 4th of july. Your garden looks so beautiful with all these flowers. I love you pink lily. Helas mine were all eaten.
    Have a wonderful weekend Rose.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You have such beautiful flowers. I wonder if I may have accidentally pulled up some of my perennials as I never seem to have much luck with them!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Such an abundance of flowers and your opening with the pink lilies is a show stopper. They really benefit from being massed as you have done. It does look like you have a sea of echinacea. Won't that make for a great August! Finally, I love the two toned larkspur. So pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love all the pink! Do you happen to remember what variety Monarda that pink one is? Drumstick allium is on my list to order this fall. Love the balloon flower too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful, beautiful--everthing! I'm not sure how I missed this post, Rose, but I'm glad I found it now. Everything looks great, but especially 'Brindisi'!!! Wow, it has drama and character, and such a beautiful shade of soft pink! I might have to invest in some of those! Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love all the pink in your garden, it really is a sea of blooms. Everything looks fantastic. I love the kitty snoozing on his rock too. He has the right idea on a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Canada Day is July 1 and like your husband we tend to avoid the crowds. This year we enjoyed fireworks at a neighbours home so we got our firework fix but in a slightly quieter atmosphere.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yes, it is looking good your way! July seems to be the peak of bloom time around here. I love it!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. I love to hear from you, so please leave a comment. I'll try to reply here, but I'll definitely return the visit.