Garden Gems 2012 #7

Mittsy, looking at the cultivers even flowerheads on the miniature are 24 or 26"

there's ruffled ones called 'cool white', 'ivory flare' 'ruth ann' 'warm white'

looking great JoAnn!!!.. love that dark EE

no carbon monoxide detector Teri????... sorry to hear about your babies you lost.. I will see if I can root some honeysuckle for you.. if you want

I've been taking a break from these threads for awhile, as well as taking a break from gardening, as it's been so hot and humid, and I always get burnt out this time of year. Been busy doing other things, but this weekend I need to get weeding and mulching done. The weeds are taking over big time.

So many pics here. Everyone's flowers look great.

Celeste, this year I tried Ortho Bug-B-Gone for the lily beetles, as well as anything with caterpillars and such. It's a system pesticide, and it worked really well. I sprayed it after the first sign of the beetles, and had no trouble with the from then on. Worked like a charm! I just love your blue phlox. I must get some to add to my phlox garden. I really like that Cradle Of Bethlehem daylily. That Leda's Lover is really pretty, too. Looove Indian Ripple! I also love the Peppermint moss rose mixed in with the solid color ones. Really pretty combo there! Great photo of the spider in the heather.

I like that interesting pond plant, GG. I don't know what it is, but would like to get one. I have an area where the soil stays fairly moist where it would do well.

Neat spider web, Ronnie! When I lived in Fallon, NV we had soooo many spiders in our gardens and on our screened in porch, including black widows. I sure didn't mind all the spiders in the gardens, though, as long as they were the poisonous kind. Love your canna, MG and hibiscus shots.

Jo, I like the 'Ruby Slippers' lobelia. I have no lobelia in my gardens....yet! I must rectify that. That article on Gardening Gone Wild was great. Would love to have my gardens as part of a tour, though would have to do it after I retire, I suspect, as it would be so much work to get everything ship shape for that. Your deck garden looks great!

Celeste, I believe your tall ligularia is the one they call 'The Rocket'.

Congrats on the blooms on your lotus, Bill! Really pretty! I wish I had a big enough pond for them. I'm wondering if horticultural oil would work on the sawfly larvae on the hardy hibiscus. I used it successfully on the spider mites that were destroying a brugmansia of mine, as I had read that most conventional pesticides wouldn't work on them, and it worked really well. Only had to spray 2 or 3 times, a week apart each time.

Mittsy, for your white bed, how about some white creeping phlox for spring bloom? And some tall garden phlox 'David'. Plants with silver foliage look great in a white garden. Lamb's ear looks good, just cut off the blooms, which are purple. Makes a good ground cover, too. Also snow-in-the-summer (actually blooms in spring), which has silver foliage and white blooms. Candy Tuft is great for spring bloom. Also get some white crocus and white daffodils. If you have room for it, get a white butterfly bush. A good white daylily is 'Ice Carnival'. You're wise not to put in more than you can take care of. Hope you can resist putting in more. I couldn't, and am overwhelmed every year. I did not know that carbon monoxide could kill plants. Sorry you lost them. Good thing you're okay.

Doestaker, I like your glads and the Candy Cane mix zinnias. Also love that Leopard Lily. Are they the same as Candy Lilies? I have not grown them before.

Allison, your gardens and planters are looking so nice, and I love all the shots of the hummers. You have a great zoom lens. Do you set your camera on a tripod?

Karen

thanks Karen.That tour looked pretty casual.I was approached about one but declined becaus of the work and in this country of sue happy people there is the liability factornot to mention paying someone to weed for a week.
No thanks
I do have a group of friends who come in June for a afternoon of beverages ( they bring their own ) and cookies .Friends are forgiving of a weed or two.
This years gathering

Karen, thanks for the list of white flowers.

The squirrels are constantly digging and hiding their seeds and nuts. I thought I recognized the leaves on this one, so I left it and look what it turned out to be. I also noticed an unusual huge pale blue morning glory. The 4 o'clocks are beginning to bloom. And there are lots more buds on Prairie Biue Eyes!

Allison, I can see that the honeysuckle will slowly be coming back. The fumes from the generator were something other than carbon monoxide because of the terrible odor. The generator fumes do not get into to the house since the unit is stationed away from the exterior walls just off the lawn. Thanks for the offer of a new honeysuckle, but I think that I'm going to be ok with that. I can even see new grown at the base of the Crape Myrtle that I was going to pull out. I guess the fumes just kill what's above ground, but the plant is actually still alive.

Karen.. I don't use a tripod.. this camera has great stabilization on it.. even with my shaky hands.. makes life so much easier!!

love those cookies JoAnn!!!.. looks like a nice day!!

Mittsy I am pouting I didn't get to plant any 4 o'clocks this year... just forgot about them.. MG is very pretty

Yes, it did look very casual from what I could see, Jo. I like your idea of having friends over for beverages and cookies. Those cookies are so cute. I remember you posting pics of them before. It's too bad that people have to think about suing others. So far I have not had any problems with the customers who come here to buy plants. It's always a concern, but I just pray that all will be well.

Nice, Mittsy! I like all of those.

Roses, fumes can have carbon monoxide as well as other stuff that stinks, just like your car exhaust. That stinks, but it also has the odor free CM. It's good your plants are coming back.

I'm gonna post some pics later.

Karen

Yes, tripods are a pain to have to use. Do you have a DSLR with interchangeable lens? What kind of camera do you use?

Karen

yep.. it's an olympus evolt e-510.. they don't make that model anymore but it can be found online here and there

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_archived_product_details.asp?fl=&id=1295

That looks like a good one, Allison. Sure takes some clear pictures.

Here are some stuff from my gardens. These were taken July 23. I'm pretty far behind on posting.

2 shots of my tropical hibiscus, the first with the 'Pretty Much Picasso' petunia, NOID daylily, 2 shots of Lovely Girl Asiatic.

Raspberry seedling of Mom's, another seedling of hers with a bluish eye (out of Prairie Blue Eyes), Lady Liz, moss rose.

Karen

August Flame, Pink Super Spider, 2 shots of a cute NOID red daylily, Holiday Joy.

Karen

2 shots of Emerald Joy , Janice Brown, Emperor Butterfly, Starstruck.

Karen

Punk, Hot Ember, Shola, Techny Peach Lace, Bandito Rojo.

Karen

The first 2 shots here are of one whose name I constantly forget, Black Moon with Seal Of Approval, Hazel, Ruffled Amber.

Karen

lovely girl is awesome!!!

wow - still bloom'in in Halifax

here are a couple shots while fooling around with a new telephoto lens up on the deck

Blackberry Candy, Duke's Mixture, Bright Sunset, Flasher, Bittersweet Destiny.

Karen

should have known you were not finished karen :)

LOL.. just awesome Bill.. I wanna rummage in your squash patch!!!

Such wonderful pictures.
Karen, I just love that raspberry seedling. Love the color and the amount of blooms.

Bill, That butterfly is so beautiful against the white of the hydrangea. Super photo.
So awesome how you softened the effect by blurring the edges.
Did you intentionally mean STOP by stacking the stones next to the pond. (One of the things I learned when I was researching Japanese Gardens).

We patterned our fence and gateway after the Japanese Garden in San Francisco. Dardom or White Dome hydrangea.

That hibiscus is a real eye-catcher, Karen....I like the photos with that lens, Bill....should put one on my wish list....Interesting hydrangea, Mittsy...don't think I've seen one like it.....

I like the hibiscus to Karen, luscious color!

Cool shots Bill, what lens did you get?

it is a canon 70-300mm L series with stabilzation lens.

misty if you are talking about the stones in the foreground those are cairns built out of beach stones. here is a picture of them.

the blurred edges are from some petunia boxes on the deck that gave the blurred affect - did not touch the pictures up at all afterward - never do.

nice gateway.

Nice Bill!

Great shots, Bill. I was almost done. Stopped after that last set to watch some movies with my nephew and then did some reading, then watched some Dexter with my nephew. Lazy day for me.

Mittsy, I like the fence and gate. I've been to that garden in San Francisco. Really nice place.

Here are some more shots from July 23. Two shots of a Goldner seedling, All American Chief, a salmon colored seedling with pinched petals, Rainbow Towers.

Karen

Nice morning to pix blooms
http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a49354d7a63324f54633d0d0a&blogview=true

love that monarda.. and sedum!!!

Thank you for a cheery greeting to the morning.

Great DL with the pinched petals, Karen....Jo, if you're yanking the sedum soon, I'll take some home!

Its yours and I hope it does better at your house.Just remind me before we go to lunch.

OK, thanks....I've got plenty of space for it.....

Cianty sunflowers are blooming along our front walk this week..

pretty!!!

Nice color.....

Nice sunflower! Squirrels ate all mine this year...grrrr...

Ronnie, you need some of the squirrels from my yard, they plant sunflowers for me, and peanuts, too!

Time to change the garden flag. Love this one but the Sunflowers are great, too.

cool shots, Bill
Glad to see more DL blooms, I need to get more late bloomers
Love that sunflower
was thinking about that too, changing the flag...2 more weeks and all the apple decor comes out

Very late blooming Glad, was floppy so wove it thru the rose bush, sedum Lynda Windsor, Rose of Sharon, this was a surprise Cyclamen

Oh my goodness...buds on Sweet Autumn Clem!!!!