Garden Pics: Breakin' Our Backs for Beautiful Blooms! #10

Funny coneflower.

These were pretty early yesterday morning. I clipped them so I could enjoy them indoors as I knew they would be toast quickly if I left them out in this heat.

My agapanthus is starting to bloom. They can take the heat.

willow.. that is a beautiful hydranga..hope it survives the heat...


The O. Lilies won't look pretty for long with this scorching sun.Braved the heat to get a few pictures yesterday.They smell wonderful!

These are huge and look so nice with the monarda & yarrow.

For all of you who have time to kill indoors with this heat, here is a cute video of a pug pushing a stroller. She was on the news today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdLVLPoRXR4

Cute video Bea!

I had these visitors a few days ago. The mother has been coming for two years and this is her new baby.

We are at 103+ and staying relatively cool in the house with the ceiling fans going.

Not afraid of me at all.

A weird bug.

Another Hydranga

Another lily.

And if this comes out--a pretty sky.

By the pond

I think the froggies appreciated the shade from the umbrellas. This little guy was very active:

This fella was happy just hangin' out:

the1pony, How cute!

BeaHive,
Your lily, yarrow and monarda picture is beautiful!

Sherry

Willow.....that fawn is so precious! "Mama said you were a friend, are you?" Love the bug.

Yeah!!! Pony to the rescue......well done.

Pony..... Success!!

Willow... great pictures, even of the deer, and I don't say that often. However, very happy that she's in your yard and not mine. I rarely can get a good picture of my deer because it's really hard to get the camera to focus as I am running after the deer trying to get it out of the yard.

Bea... love those lilies. Cute vid too.

Bea- great flowers. Lily season is wonderful isn't it?

Pony, your froggies are looking happy. Good job.

Willow, I am also glad the deer are in your yard. I know they are around here, but much more sneaky, usually coming out to graze my stuff at night. Your sky pic reminded me of the ones Rarejem took from my front deck a couple of nights ago. It was lovely. (And, yes, that is Mt. Rainier under that cloud.)


This message was edited Jul 30, 2009 7:52 AM

My hanging begonia and hydrangea are putting up a good show now, when the sun isn't on them directly and making them wilt.

And my back patio is getting into its summer show mode now too.
Which reminds me, time to go out and water (AGAIN!) before I head out for the day.

PNW.. Lily season is wonderful.Many have gotten fried with this heat, but I still have some still getting ready to bloom. It was actually cool here when I woke up at 4:30. Once the sun started coming up I went outside to get some work done. Lots of dead heading to do. As I was working I kept getting drifts of lily scent. It is wonderful. There is actually a slight breeze this morning and only 68 deg at 8am. Yesterday I think it was around 80 at this time. In to feed the dogs then back at it until it gets to warm,
Hoping it will be cooler for everyone today in the PNW.
Your hydrangea is beautiful.

estimated temps today will be -- drum roll -- 2° cooler!
My plants are getting fried & I have been watering all week long.
Lost some of the veggies that I had reseeded, but the beans are exceptionally happy campers.
The hydrangeas are crisp - I had to look twice: the blossoms are already perfectly dried & ready to go...
The roses are fine, but the lilies that just bloomed 3 -4 days ago have dropped their petals. Last 2 nights the fragrance of the Oriental Lilies was wonderful.
Grateful to be on a well - my water bill would be astronomical. The electric bill will be worse...my house was 89° this morning at 5:30 am. Ran 4 fans all night on the cool side of the house - it only dropped 10° from last night. It's humid, too. Bright side: this will not last, and we don't live in the desert.

And we will forget all about this heat when we are knee deep in rain and snow!

Katye... I share your sentiments in fried plants. This is the first year that I finally had my hydrangeas the right color, and the flowers which had just opened, dried right on the plant. I don't think that they were finished changing colors yet either. Oh well...

Today I'm going out to assess the damages, maybe take some pictures of ugly stuff, hopefully it's not too bad.

Portland.... I wont forget! lol. I'll just be wishing for warm, not hot, weather when I'm knee deep in snow. I'm not sure which I dislike more... knee deep snow or hotter than hell?? How about just an Inch of snow??? That i'm ok with!!

This is "Remembering Bill's Hugs" given to me by two dear friends whom have endured a great loss and honored me with this day lilly. I treasure this gift although it gives me heartache to gaze upon it. Thankyou Sharon & Julie.

PNWgirl- your patio is really looking beautiful! Gees I gota get up there to see it!

Ah, Linda... that is a lovely DL. :)

Does anyone have black bamboo? Does it get terribly out of control in the PNW? Can it be planted in an 18" wide space between a fence and a driveway?

Judi - I would be cautious with the running bamboos. Phyllostachys nigra is a running type, hardy in the PNW, ht = 20-25'. I would be inclined to give it a lot more room - maybe a 5' wide space AND sink a 3' barrier into the ground around it. My neighbour has this one & others. It turns black over time, and is beautiful, but it could not be classified as polite! A barrier will help keep it in bounds.

Now that it has cooled some, I ventured out to see what has survived the heat. I guess extra watering paid off. Found some pretty blooms today.

St. Francis of Assisi DL was my favorite of the day! last bloom...so sad

Mortimer Shackler climbing rose. This bush is on its second round of blooms. Just as many of the first. Its a great pink climber..I just bought a second to put at the other end of the porch!! Hope it does as well. It also is very fragrant.

This message was edited Jul 31, 2009 9:05 PM

These triplet DL's were pretty in the shade first thing this morning.

Same triplets taken from a side angle with sun shining on them later this morning. Amazing how the color becomes more vibrant with a lttle sun added!

This message was edited Jul 31, 2009 9:10 PM

and a backlit view.

pink and yellow four o'clocks

Wonderful stuff everyone!

Bea, loving your daylilies as well! I have been feeling like a grower in the "hot" zones this last week...all of mine are melted by the time I get home to take pictures of them. I can't imagine being a DL grower that lives in an area where you have to see your blooms before 10 am or they are done! Mom has Wild Horses and I have been drooling over it for a few years, and my Francis of Assisi has not managed to be as lovely as yours is! Just wonderful!

RC, Your coreopsis is great! I am starting to learn that if they are happy, they can kind of go crazy....

Willow, Isn't it awful how beautiful the garden munchers are? Your pics are wonderful, even if I'm not really a deer fan!

Pony, Your froggie pics are great! I so hope that they hang around for you as the summer progresses!

Mom, I'm glad that you could at least post a mountain pic for me as now that I finally have a few minutes to post I left my camera at work!!!!

Linda, I am so glad your daylily is blooming. I had two on mine today, and if I HAD MY CAMERA I would have posted a pic. Now I am relying on Mom to post the pic we took on our walk tonight. It makes me happy to know that you like it, and it means so much to you. My first bloom was two days ago, a day after Judi's (which we are still babysitting) had it's first bloom. I held it and I cried, but it also had me thinking of the wonderful group of people that we were able to share it with, and how much it must mean to him to know that every time one of us looks at his flower, we are not only remembering him, but the wonderful circle of friendship that he surrounded himself with.

Had some pics to share, but they will have to wait until next week. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Julie, The Wild Horses and St Francis are near my pond. They have received dosages of pond water
over the past year when they look a little parched and I am sitting looking at the frogs and Koi. Maybe its the pond water that is making them so pretty!



Pink noid after a drink.

Bea, Another very pretty noid! Hmmmm...home made "fish fertalizer"... might have to give that a try! I have several of my new favorites by one of my ponds as well!

Having coffee with Mom this AM, so can share the pic that we took of Remembering Bill's Hugs in my garden last night.