More------
1--A bright combo in my tiny bed--just in front of the Proteus Clematis.
2--A Cuke bloom...ahhh....
3-A HUGE bloom (~10" across) on my Endless Summer hydrangea.
4--Kitchen side bed starting to fill in nicely. Aaron caladium is coming up very nicely.
5--At the unused kitchen door's landing--all kinds of stuff makes this a special spot.
Nothing changes here--year to year--I pretty much plant the same stuff....
Why fix what ain't broke?
Tomorrow--the first bloom on my First prize Rose will open--
and i won't be home... :o(.
Hope it holds out until Sunday evening.
There are 4 buds on this Rose now showing color---but this one will pop--
I just know it.
1--The Rose in it's new home spot. looking good, compared how it looked
when I brought it home. but I could see that it had promise....
All that other foliage is from Dl--and such. next year--it will be cleaner...
2--The bud today--ready to open.....WOW!
Beautiful G! I think that lily might be a trumpet lily? I like your monarda as well :)
We will see---Here it is from last year....
Will take new pics--of course.
Beautiful! I bet it smells awesome too.
It all looks beautiful, Gita! Love the contrasting colors of your coleus. The lily is so striking and your pink hibiscus looks great! That is such a huge hydrangea bloom! :-)
Fingers crossed on your First Prize rose--hope you get to enjoy the first blooms.
beautiful Gita! like your wrens front door! love the coleus. I love dragon wing begonias and somehow didn't buy any this year... only have a couple that I overwintered
Northern sea oats grass getting shapely
we've been leaving small clumps of milkweed here and there
hard to believe pansys are still around in a few pots
our first echinacea bloom
white stokesia
Nice blooms, Wind! The Northern Sea Oats grass is very pretty--very graceful looking! My viola are still blooming, too--love to see them. They're so cheerful.
Some blooms from my roll call this morning:
1) 1st celosia baby bloom of the year. This one's a bit of a 'cheat' since I purchased the plant at a nursery this spring. ;-)
2) Yarrow 'Strawberry Seduction'--came back huge this year although it was the last to bloom of my yarrows
3) Balloon flower 'Sentimental Blue'-- first blooms open this morning. Very happy about this because this plant just *was not* happy last year and I had so much trouble finding a good spot for it. Then it was quite delayed coming up again this year and I was sure it had died, then all of a sudden, much later than everything else, there it was! :-)
4) My very first Clematis 'Rooguchi' bloom--yay! Also thrilled by this. My daughter saw a photo of it last year and decided she just *had* to have it, but we couldn't find it anywhere. Finally found it available online somewhere and it arrived as a very tiny plant and grew very slowly. Glad to finally have a bloom...
5) 2nd flush of dianthus at last--always a joy to see it
Wow, so many gorgeous pictures! I've been checking them out on my phone, and the small phone screen doesn't do them justice!
Some of my caladiums are only now showing up. All of the Gingerland are up, but the red ones are just barely breaking the surface.
Playing a bit of catch-up here... those head-planters are so cute!!!! (nice pot-heads ya got there, heh heh)
And Ooooh, what a cute little baby cucumber!!!! Really gorgeous Daff too!!
Karen, BRAVO!!! That bed looks magnificent, LOVE the combos you've got in there!!!
Catmint, keep running over your Verbena Homestead with the lawn mower from time to time to keep getting fresh flushes of blooms! ;) (well, it sure worked for me when I was growing it!) =)
Gita, Aaawww, a very pretty Cucumber in the making! And I do love your un-used kitchen door bed, that Creeping Jenny is great!
All such great photos everyone! Since I was working today (and pooped when I got home), I'll wait to go outside and play tomorrow; then I'll get some new pics of the Caladiums n' stuff. :) (BOY I'm soooooooooooo loving those Caladiums!!!!!)
I have two Kim's Knee Highs growing next to each other with very different coloring. The difference isn't do dramatic on the computer screen, but in person, one is a drabby faded pink and the other one is a bright neon pink.
Does anyone else grow Veronica Royal Candles? Mine isn't blooming all that well. Do I need to feed it?
SSG, I don't think yours looks much different than mine. I really like it but I wish it would spread more and have bigger blooms. I was just thinking that maybe I need to fertilize some of the beds.
Speedie, My caladiums are just staring to show, too.
I took a few pics today might get time later to download them. We have company coming soon. Very laid back. Ric is out there grilling, a little swim in the pool and a little wine.
Oh that sounds so nice Holly!! Actually, my Caladiums aren't "just" coming up, they're quite spry and spiffy now; it's just so darned exciting actually having them! < =) (yes, I am a Caladium newbie) ;) Funny, as much as I love pink, it's the one colour I have not particularly liked in gardening.. and what do I have this year? The Paeony is pink, and nearly ALL my bloomers out back are either pink or pink/white. What the heck happened to me!? ;) LOL!!
Love the Knee Highs, SSG! Your Royal Candles doesn't look too different from my Sunny Border Blue, except that yours has more blooms! :-)
Swim in the pool, grilling, wine, and company--sounds like a wonderful evening, Holly!
I have about 10 caladiums all coming up at once--the first leaves have unfurled so I can tell what colors are where! Speedie, does this mean you are officially a pink flower person now? ;-)
Here are my pics of the Veronica Royal Candles. I think they look rather small. I also have these pink ones that I just love. The pink ones are much bigger than the Veronica Royal Candles. I know I got them from one of the swaps. Last years I think so very pretty. I think they are looking pretty nice with the pink petunias. That is a tall sedum Autumn Delight in the background of the second pic.
Anyone have water plants blooming? First Water Lily, Water Hyacinth. One of my favs Justicia Americana (water willow). I think the blooms on this look like tiny Orchids. It is a serious invader I wouldn't put it in just any pond or bog garden but I have done well controlling it in my small ponds and if anyone is interested in some at the Fall Swap just let me know.
A few of my containers.
Begonias, Poka Dot Plant, Party Time.
Pink Petunas in a Pink Pot, Mothers Day Gift. LOL
My Favs, Ferns, Astiles, Heuchera, Dwarf Hosta, Dwarf Begonias. Those Astilbes are from the ADR sale.
This message was edited Jun 28, 2014 10:28 PM
My Water Hyacinth and Water Lilies aren't blooming, and I'm not keeping my fingers crossed because my pond is in a shady spot. They're doing a great job of hiding and shading my fish, though. That Water Hyacinth multiplies so quickly that I've started pulling it out and tossing it on the compost pile!
Your ponds and planters look wonderful by the way, Holly.
This message was edited Jun 28, 2014 9:40 PM
Holly, the water lilies and containers are gorgeous! I love the combo of plants you have in the containers, especially the polka dot plant in with the begonias, and the heuchera with the astilbe and ferns!
Thanks everyone that pond area is still a work in progress.
The pond looks beautiful, Holly--I'm really looking forward to seeing it in person! :-)
Holly, your Royal Candles are nice and short, like the ones I've seen on line. Mine are at least 2 feet tall! I don't fertilize that part of the yard, but I wonder if the soil is naturally high in nitrogen. Or it could be the location, since it only gets around 5 hours of sun.
I love your water plants! I'm getting more and more interested in having some sort of a water feature. I'd love a disappearing fountain but they require a lot of digging.
beautiful pics Holly. I love your water gardens too! And, love how you've combined perennials with annuals in your pot arrangements. Looks like a path at Longwood Gardens!
ssg- some things are crazy tall this year, with the frequent rain I guess. I have larkspur at eye level.
Sally, that is amazing about your larkspur! My one baby delphinium from the swap has 3 whole leaves now! ;-)
Enjoying some blooms on this beautiful morning:
1) My borage is in full bloom now--I really like it
2) 3 of my viola cultivars, all of which are still blossoming away. The viola has been blooming steadily since March--it was one of my first plants to open up this spring and is still going strong.
3) Sweetshrub 'Hartlage Wine', lone late blossom--thanks to Coleup for lovingly overwintering this for me--it's done great
4) "Raspberry Truffle'
5) Beautiful coleus selection from Holly and Ric, growing well
pretty blooms Cat
I took a few pics this morning too
1) a new hydrangea that I bought yesterday 'Glowing Embers'
2) closer look
3) Spotted Bellflower from a neighbor
4) either from last years swap or maybe from Ruby? not sure of ID
5) canna veggie garden border up to the fence line now
Wind, that is an amazingly gorgeous hydrangea behind the cannas. What kind are they? I got a noid blue hydrangea from you last year which is already blooming and the blooms look similar. Is that just one hydrangea that's gotten that huge?
Looks like that new hydrangea will bloom nicely for you, Wind! The spotted bellflower is very pretty.
I think the Spotted Bellflower may be Campanula takesimana 'Bellringers' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/285075/
A few pictures from my yard:
1) Turkish Sedum, just got it this year
2) View of half the yard I did last year, convinced Steve to keep the stone wall
3) Veronica spicata Sunny Blue Border with Coreopsis Red Shift to the left almost ready to bloom
4)Red Carpet sedum in front, Coreopsis, Veronica, Yellow Knock out rose
5)Leucanthemum 'Banana Cream'
More:
1) Tomato volunteers from last year, not sure what variety
2) Sunflowers from the bird feeders
3) Other half of the yard, the plants are too close together, was going to spread them over the entire half but now have some veggie plants growing in back half of that portion.
4) Balloonflower Sentimental Blue and a yellow ? volunteer, have about 4 of them growing
5) Blanket flower Burgundy. There is a pot with annual Dusty Miller and a blue Clementis.
Catbird, The yard looks great!!!!!!!
Lovely pics guys! Catmint, I really like that Borage, and your Sweetshrub blooms is beautiful!
Holly, what gorgeous water plants, I love your pond set-up. And what GREAT containers combinations!!
Wind, what a beautiful Hydrangea!!!
Catbird, your yard is wonderful, LOVE the selections you have in there! Not sure what your yellow volunteer is, but it sure is pretty. :)
A couple of my Hostas are blooming now, yay!! Got a few pics today after being outside playing for a bit. Sadly, one of my "playing" activities was to dig up a volunteer maple that had sprouted in the middle of a VERY inconvenient spot in the back. Sadly I could not just move her, she'd been in there for far too long and was too deeply (and largely!) rooted for me to do a proper digging job. Literally every single one of her leaves had been partially eaten by the inch-worms earlier this Spring too... a very unsightly mess!
Anyway... some pics of some pretties today:
1: One of my Caladiums is blooming!! < =D I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I had no idea that they boom. So, is this common, should I expect the rest of 'em to bloom at some point too?
2: A side view of all my white and pink (and lavender) pretties on the back tables. I rather like this angle, makes it look all lush n' stuff! ;)
3: The blooms from one of my Hostas, with Coleus and ... I think a Columbine in the background.
4: I just love how these 2 leaves are 'spooning', they look so happy together! :)
5: This is a neato fern-looking .. tree, I guess, that grows along the edge of my side yard. I don't know what it is, but I love the fern-look. This "frond" is eye level to me (about 5' high), though the trunk arcs up then downward. Full height.. I dunno, maybe 7-8 feet or so, I guess. There are 2 small "trunks" of this stuff, both about 7' tall.
Anyway, that was it for today. Mawn lowing, pruned a tree, dug out that Maple, a bit of weeding, a bit of seeding, watering, and cleaned those leaf-hopper thingies off the Hostas with a really hard spray of the hose. Found a couple roundish looking things on 1 of the Hosta bloom stems.. was weird to watch, they'd lift their heads and I could see this tiny little spike thingy plunge into the plant. It would stay there for a while, then lift its head and plunge the spike in again. OH NO YOU DON'T!! SPRAAAYYYYY - AWAY WITH YOU!!!!!!!!! < =D
Gorgeous stuff, all.
CatBIRD, you read my mind. Last night I was hoping you'd post updates soon on your great yard project. Looks super!
speedie- Albizia julibrissin....aka Mimosa
Carbird, your yard looks SO DIFFERENT! It's beautiful!
Speedie, I read somewhere that you should cut off the blooms but I'm a fan of them as well.
Catbird, it looks great! I love the veronica and coreopsis--they are huge!
Speedie, thanks for your kind words! :-) And I love your blooms! I had no idea caladium bloomed, either--it is really stunning. And the pretty pink spikes--is that liatris taking off??
This message was edited Jun 29, 2014 7:33 PM
Wow Holly, I love that water willow, so gorgeous!
Catbird, what is that spiny thing in the third picture of your first set? I love that rock garden, it's so beautiful!
Seq, I have several of those spiky things in my compost pile right now--they are the spent heads of Allium schubertii (or maybe christophii?)! :-)
A few pics from over the weekend:
NOID DL
Cupid's Dart
NOID Veronica
NOID Asiatic Lily
NOID Shasta Daisy
Sorry for all the NOIDs :(
And some more:
Zebra Malva
NOID Veronica
Callirhoe digitata
Coreopsis Star Cluster
Nepeta Blue Dragon
