June Bloom Day

I'm a little late for Bloom Day, but it's been a busy weekend.  Besides a birthday party for two of the grandchildren, today was our annual Master Gardeners' Garden Walk.  Since I was a volunteer at one of the gardens this morning, I was able to preview all the gardens on the walk last night.  So many gorgeous gardens in our community, full of imagination and ideas to copy.  Maybe I'll get around to doing a post on them--one of these days.  I spent the morning at a friend's garden who has created a beautiful and peaceful oasis in her backyard.

This is one of Jolene's latest additions--she calls it "the door to nowhere."  I was so happy that we had a great turnout this morning in spite of the sweltering heat and humidity.  Everyone was in awe of this hidden gem here in our little town.

You won't find anything that creative in my garden, I'm afraid, but I do have some blooms.  I'm feeling pretty happy that I finally planted all the annuals I purchased this spring, some of which had been languishing on my back porch for nearly a month!  This is a begonia that I fell in love with called 'Appleblossom.'

'Wendy's Wish' Salvia is an annual I plant every year because the hummingbirds love it.  This year I took a friend's advice and planted one in a container near my back porch where I can see the hummingbirds up close as they visit each bloom.  I've noticed the bumblebees love it just as much.

I've discovered I really like succulents.  This combo in an old birdbath is doing well, and just look at the bloom on the Echeveria!

A close-up of these blooms, which I think are pretty cool.

Among the many annuals I planted in containers and in the garden are some I didn't plant-

-at least not this year.

These are 'Prairie Sun' Rudbeckia, which are annuals here, but this year they re-seeded themselves in the roadside garden.  I love volunteers like this!

Other than the annuals, there isn't a lot blooming right now as we transition into summer.  I say "transition" because according to the calendar, it's still spring, but the hot, sweltering weather we have had most of the time since May certainly feels like summer to me.  In the shade garden, Lamium blooms are spreading everywhere.

Lady's Mantle, a newer addition here, is also sporting its blooms.

Since my last Bloom Day post, the hostas have grown by leaps and bounds in the shade garden.

A few are sending up the beginnings of blooms, like 'Empress Wu.'

Indian Pink, Spigelia marilandica, is nowhere as big as the Empress hosta, but I'm happy it has survived here for several years.

The buds are just beginning to open up.

Elsewhere, a few hydrangeas are blooming, including 'Mary Nelle' above, the 'Annabelles,' and 'Ruby Slipper' oak-leaf hydrangea.

The weather lately has been crazy--besides the heat, last weekend we had bad storms that included a tornado nearby.  Fortunately, we had no damage from the strong winds, but we had five inches of rain.  The rain produced some interesting-looking fungi in the lawn.

Moving on to the Butterfly Garden, aka the Garden of Chaos, there are always some surprises--some welcome and many not so welcome.  Not sure what these flowers are--maybe Evening Primrose?  At any rate, I know I didn't plant them.

I have several butterfly weeds, and this one is really doing well right now.  I haven't seen any butterflies in awhile, but I'm hoping they find my garden soon.

Lamb's Ears are shooting up their blooms in the Lily Bed.

One of the more interesting blooms right now in the Arbor Bed--Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus.  Some might consider this more of a weed, but it certainly draws attention.

The vegetable garden is growing slowly, but I finally picked my first snow peas this past week.  I'm loving the new raised bed built for me by a friend.  Lettuce and spinach will be pulled out soon to make room for some zucchini and squash.

This past week I visited a local lavender farm with a group of fellow gardeners, and what a treat!  I was able to brag that I have finally succeeded in keeping one lavender plant alive for more than a year:)

The Sidewalk garden doesn't have a lot of blooms right now, but these little Monarda are doing their best till the coneflowers take over.

The first Asian lilies are blooming in the Arbor Bed.  'Stella D'Oro' daylilies are also blooming in many places throughout my garden, but the real show of daylilies won't begin for another week or two.

While there aren't a lot of blooms in this transition time between spring and summer, all that is about to change--the coneflowers will be arriving soon!  Between the coneflowers and the daylilies I am looking forward to one of my favorite times in the garden.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is brought to you the 15th of each month by Carol of Maydreams Gardens.  Thanks, Carol, for motivating me to post at least once a month!

GBBD: Mid-August Doldrums

It's time for another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, but I must confess I haven't been in the garden much this past month.  I wish I could say it's because I have been off traveling the world or doing something equally as fun, but no, I have been busy with mundane things like cleaning carpets and other household chores  I've also been chauffeuring grandkids around to their sports practices, because, well, that's what Grandmas do.  But I've also been pretty lazy--by late July, I'm tired of constantly pulling weeds and deadheading and would much rather just sit back and enjoy the garden and think about changes to make next year.  So let's stroll around the garden and see what is blooming--I might find something that surprises me as well as you.

The daylilies of June and July are pretty much done blooming for the year, but there are two later lilies in full bloom now, including 'Autumn Minaret' above.

'Challenger,' an heirloom lily, is the other one.  These are both tall daylilies, which are nice because they draw the eye upward, away from the dying foliage of the rest of the daylilies.

The coneflowers are still blooming, though many are looking pretty tattered by now.  I cut back some of the ones that look especially bad, but I leave most of them up for my pretty visitors above.  The goldfinches love the seedheads on coneflowers and are busy feeding on them all through the day.

While I have the native Echinacea purpurea throughout all my flowerbeds, I do have two hybrids, both 'Cheyenne Spirit.'  This is one hybrid that has done well for me, and the cool thing about this plant is that it can have different colored blooms on the same plant.  The one above had orange blooms when I bought it, but you can see it also has some pink on the same plant.  The other 'Cheyenne Spirit' I have has yellow blooms.

The other plant that is still going strong is my 'Vanilla Strawberry' Hydrangea.  I made my husband take this photo of me just to show how large it has grown in just a few years.  I'm 5'8", or I was before age started taking its toll, so this shrub is at least 6 feet tall.  The photo was taken a couple of weeks ago, and now the blooms have turned a darker pink with tinges of brown, but it's still lovely.

The 'Limelight' Hydrangea, however, is just beginning to bloom

 and keeps soaring ever higher each year.

The phlox have a second flush of blooms.  The white one is 'David,' but I'm not so sure about the pink--I think this might be a volunteer, since I also have some pink ones in my shade garden that I know I never planted.

The 'Radsunny' Knockout rose also is beginning a second flush of blooms.  It must have heard me telling a friend that I thought I might dig it out next year and plant something else.  We'll see--I have two, and unless the second one starts over-achieving, it may be destined for the compost pile.

Containers are still looking good, for the most part, though some of my petunias are getting rather leggy.  I had to share this container on the back porch, though--these caladium leaves are huge!  They are at least 10" across and 12" inches long.  I received these bulbs last year from a fellow volunteer at the County Nursing Home who passed away unexpectedly this winter.  I hope they make it through many more winters as a reminder of his friendship and generosity.

Okay, so let's move on to some new blooms or ones I haven't shown in previous Bloom Day posts.  'Wendy's Wish' Salvia is so hard to capture on camera, but it's a hummingbird favorite, just like its kin, 'Black and Blue.'  Next year I plan to plant one near the front porch where I can see the hummingbirds in action from my seat on the porch swing.

It's been so dry here for the last few weeks--I don't remember the last time we had a good rainshower--that about the only garden work I've had time for is watering.  Lantana, though, is one tough annual that seems to thrive in the heat and drought.

Volunteer Cleome are just beginning to bloom.  

A new perennial in my garden this year is Calamintha.    After seeing this at the Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison, Wisconsin last year where it was swarmed by bees, I knew I had to add it to my garden.

I don't usually think to include my hostas or their blooms, but this is a new hosta I planted at the end of last season that I really like.  Not only does it have pretty blooms, but I love the color and and edging on these leaves.  And 'June Fever,' unlike some of the other hostas right now, doesn't have a single brown leaf.

No August Bloom Day post would be complete without my favorite late-summer annual, the 'Zowie Yellow Flame' zinnias.  They started blooming a couple of weeks ago on rather short stems, but as the days have gone by, they have gotten taller and filled with blooms.

August has never been my favorite month.  It's usually miserably hot, and I still think of this month as the end of summer and having to go back to school, even though I no longer have that deadline.  The garden is often looking a bit worn-out as well.  But one aspect of August I do love is that there seem to be more critters visiting my garden than earlier in the summer.  The hummingbirds are in a frenzy of activity right now, and there are more and more bees buzzing about.

After seeing few butterflies this summer, I am finally seeing many more of different types.  Sunday I spotted the first Buckeye of the season on the Nepeta.

The first Black Swallowtail in some time also appeared on Sunday.

And finally, there are so many Painted Ladies.  This lady fluttered about, but seemed to enjoy the tall Liatris most of all.

Even the 'Zahara' zinnias were sampled.  

Seeing all the butterflies and other winged visitors enjoying the garden this time of year makes me happy.  And while I may not be working much in the garden, I am enjoying just standing back and enjoying some of the fruits of my labor.  Garden chores can wait till September!

It seems as though I haven't had much time/motivation for blogging the past several months, so I especially want to thank our hostess Carol of May Dreams Gardens for continuing to host Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day each month and giving me the nudge to get busy and record what's blooming in my garden every month.

October Bloom Day

It's time for another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  Although I don't post as often as I used to or would like to do, I always try to participate in this monthly meme because it's a great way for me to keep a record of what is blooming each month.  It's interesting to compare a month to previous years as well, especially in a month like October.  Some years we have had a frost by this time and there's very little left in bloom.  But unseasonably warm weather this year has kept the garden plugging along.

The garden is definitely winding down, however, There are still many green leaves on the hostas, but most are in the middle of their fall decay.

But there is still quite a bit in bloom.  

What is more appropriate for this month than 'October Skies' Asters?

The New England Asters, which I have the most of, have long since turned to seedheads, but besides the later Aster oblongifolius I have a few others, including some Aster tataricus, a tall aster that somehow found its way into the back of my butterfly garden.  And yes, I do know the botanical name has changed to Symphyotrichum, but that is such a mouthful and I am getting older and stuck in my ways, so they will always be asters to me.

There are also some large clumps of Aster pilosus, known as Frost Aster or Hairy Aster, that escaped the weeding tools this spring.  This is not an aster for everyone, because many consider it a weed and it tends to spread pretty aggressively.  Still, the bees love it, which makes it worth keeping a few.  If you would like to know more about this plant, you can find it here.

Speaking of bees, one thing you won't see today are any flying visitors in my garden.  There are still some bees around, but I think many have started making nests for the winter. There are few butterflies as well.  I have a seen a Monarch or two floating through the air this past week, but I think they, too, are sensing the change in seasons and starting their migration south.  And Tuesday was the last day I spotted a hummingbird at the feeders.  I only wish he had said goodbye!  I wish them all safe travels and a warm winter and look forward to seeing them again next spring.

Autumn days have brought a fresh flush of blooms on the Knockout roses. 'Radsunny' adds some cheerful color to the Lily Bed.  

One of my favorite flowers this time of year is the Japanese Anemone.  I think this is 'Honorine Jobert,' but the tag has long since been lost.

The vegetable garden is pretty much done for the year except for green tomatoes that will probably never ripen.  But on one end closest to the house, I always plant a few marigold seeds, and this fall they have taken over four to five feet of the garden!  I'm not sure why they have spread so much this year, but I don't mind since they are choking out any weeds and certainly add a bright spot of color to this area.

Autumn also means the 'Victoria Blue' Salvia has come into its own.  This is one of my favorite annuals, and I have it planted in many places.  While other annuals have faded or will turn brown at the first hint of frost, 'Victoria' will keep going until a killing frost.

'Wendy's Wish' isn't as hardy and won't last past the first touch of frost, but I do enjoy this larger, fuschia Salvia, and it's a favorite of the hummingbirds.

The past two weeks I've been thinking about fall chores and slowly starting to prepare for the winter.  My bulb orders all arrived this past week, and I've made a little headway in planting bulbs.  Soon it will be time to put things away and dig up tender plants.  I know you can't tell from this photo, but this caladium leaf is huge!  A friend gave me a few bulbs this summer, and I put them in a pot, having no idea how big they would be.  I want to make sure to pack these safely away before winter--these are going directly into the shade garden next year, instead of being crammed into tiny pots.

Looking around the garden for a few photos on this breezy, rainy day, I found a few surprises.  There are a few new coneflower blooms, and the white phlox have a few fresh blooms as well.  But most surprising of all was this--a bloom on my huge lilac bush!  This is not a re-blooming lilac, but an old-fashioned shrub.  The warm fall must have it confused.

And, in case you're wondering, yes, I still have zinnias!  Some of them are even taller than I am.

'Zowie's' are blowing in the wind, but still standing strong, with a few new blooms opening up every few days.

It really has been a great year for zinnias, and I had to show them off one more time, because I'm sure this will be the last Bloom Day for them this year.  The first frost will bring them to an end, so they remind me every day to enjoy each and every moment of this fall.

The leaves on the trees have just begun to turn, and with the warm weather we've had for most of this month, it's hard to think of winter just a few weeks away.  If you'll pardon the pun, it's been a "berry nice" fall.  Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy' above is full of little berries to tempt the birds.

My non-gardening daughter asked me one day if these were blackberries, and I told her she was close, but I wouldn't recommend eating them.  I enjoy this stage of blackberry lilies as much as I do their earlier blooms.

The crabapples are full of fruit this year--enough to keep the birds happy for awhile.

And one of my personal fall favorites--the Beautyberry.

The weatherman has promised warm weather through the end of the month.  I certainly hope he's right, not only to finish all my fall chores, but also to enjoy the remaining beauty of the garden for as long as I can.  I hope you are enjoying Autumn as well!


To see what else is blooming around the world on this mid-October day, be sure to visit our hostess Carol of May Dreams Gardens.