Yes! It is!
Anyone want some seeds from last year so you can grow your own?
G.
FIRST FLOWERS OF MID SUMMER 2015
Thanks G, but I appreciate it more in your garden styling than I would in my own.
Gita what a great pic of you as well. You are looking good there lady. Impressive plant
Euocomis bloom progression.
I love watching the blooms open up bit by bit.
Awesome, SSG. Thanks for taking the time to take the time lapse photos, very cool.
My yellow Daturas are blooming!
I have one purple one too--but that has not shown any buds yet.
They all were planted a bit late..so I am not expecting any miracles.
Benita (my traveling DD) was here yesterday with her BIG dog "Dublin".
He is a cross of German Shepard and Lab.
What a well behaved, obedient dog he is! Raised with a lot of love for sure.
He has so much fur! This weather s hard on him...
Benita has been an animal lover forever. Feeds him only top quality dog food.
Nice plant you've got there SSG!
Amazing Amaranth! I tried to eliminate all my amaranth seedlings this year becasue they are always full of shot-holes (flea beetles?)
Benita may need a more serious dog brush down here. This Furminator is the best on shepherd fur
http://www.amazon.com/FURminator-Long-Hair-deShedding-Large/dp/B0040QQ07C/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1439073805&sr=1-1&keywords=dog+grooming+furminator
Thanks, sally---
here is of whom we speak---Benita and a very heavily furred--Dublin.
Both are very cute!
Aww! So glad she's here.
post deleted
This message was edited Aug 13, 2015 8:17 AM
I planted my red Double Dream in the ground and was surprised to find it blooming on a very short stem.
The Minerva belongs to my Aunt Doris, she was surprised to look outside and see it blooming too.
Pretty! Why were you surprised to see them blooming? Wrong time of year? You can tell I'm not at all familiar with that type of flower (Amaryllis?). When I googled "Double Dream" to find out what it was, the first 3-4 hits (no pun intended) were about medical marijuana.
Yep, definitely Amaryllis. Beautiful blooms, Catbird !
That's great Catbird. They look very pretty. Mine are languishing in the office. I've decided it was time to pull their water for the season so they will go dormant.
Boogie Nights Dahlia
Razzle Dazzle Crape Myrtle - I was surprise to see it was dual colored this year
Zinnia
Lobelia x 'Sparkle Divine'
Lobelia siphilitica
Nice photos, Sequoia! The Mistflower makes a good backdrop for your Lobelia x 'Sparkle Divine'. The Mistflower and your L. siphilitica, are both much darker-colored in real life, aren't they? I find them frustrating to photograph, because they're such lovely shades of purplish-blue but always look washed out in pics.
Yes, the mistflower especially because it never looks as good in photos. The patch I have in the front yard is quite beautiful, especially with my Rozanne geranium going nuts with blooms too.
No reason to let amaryllis go dormant, unless you want to "time" blooms for the holidays. Keep them green and let them bloom when they want... you may even get blooms oftener than once/year. My Blossom Peacock gave me a bloom stem last week!
I didn't know that but I want mine to go dormant as the foliage has been laying over all season now and looks terrible. I'll have to come up with a better solution for next year.
I read this interesting article today at work: http://www.upworthy.com/how-an-artist-developed-an-unbelievable-tree-that-grows-40-varieties-of-fruit?c=upw1&u=c6379a52623a6e40e467011e82bf0cbb082bd997
LOL, to be honest by the time I get my amaryllises dug & potted for the winter, the foliage is pretty beat up and I let them go dormant for a bit anyway or at least cut off ratty or broken leaves.
jeeze, Catbird, it's all I can do the even TOUCH a fruit tree for half way pruning. What an ambitious thing.
Jill, my Blossom Peacock rebloomed earlier this summer. It was a wonderful surprise!
I won't be letting it go dormant, either, although I guess that means I won't have blooms in time for Christmas.
I think I'm going to leave my Amaryllis in ground on the sunny side this winter, and take my chances. Minerva is the only one that might have a chance of being worth the effort- if I still have a tag on it.
Mine are outside right now--growing leaves....
Come time to bring plants in--I will take them into my Shop, where they
all will promptly yellow and drop all their leaves. Then--it is time for
their 6-7 week snooze. Dry and ignored...
In about a month or so--I will cut their elongated necks back with a sharp knife.
This is also the time I may re-pot them or just re-fresh the soil they are in.
When I see signs of growth peeping out--I will start watering them and, in a bit more,
bring them upstairs to the LR. There they just go bananas!
Hey? How many people do you know that can still get such fabulous blooms as I do--
from the SAME bulbs--after 25-some years ?????
Usually, they bloom around March for me. That's OK--as my BD is in March.
Gita
What a fruit tree that will be when it matures! Sort of a freak of nature but still pretty awesome to see it in bloom. I liked the artist rendering.
This phlox is still going strong! None of the other phlox are still blooming this strong.
1 Felicia phlox ( or was it felicity) on July 15.
2. Same phlox this morning.
3 I got this gigantic elephant ear from Sally to hide the ugly ac unit. It's gorgeous! The petunia I had in there has been gobbled up by the sweet potato vines.
4 "Voles? What voles?" says the joe Pye weed.
This message was edited Aug 15, 2015 9:42 AM
Good growing on that EE! I'm looking forward to showing my DMIL (yes, Felicia) these photos... she's tickled that her phlox is being grown by so many now, and a garden favorite to boot!
I was just out watering, I must get out there with the camera, so much is flowering right now.
My Felicia is huge, fragrant and has bloomed tremendously for weeks now.
Phlox Katherine is the white one that has gone crispy brown now.
Sweet potato vines also ate the pink Verbena I had in my front door planters.
I cut one of my other phlox back--and in no time at all--it put out new blooms.
My Felicia's Phlox is quite tall and still blooming.
It's roots are not in the most favorable spot--as there is a huge ball
of concrete at the base of the light pole (the "Moon"). I know the Phlox roots
are right there. It has grown and bloomed very well--just not sure it will
expand too much.
I have yet to dig out any of the annuals in front of it--move the Pulmonarias,
and then i will plant the two dwarf Phlox on either side of the Felicia.
Haven't gotten to it...like many other things,.....
Been cooking a big batch of the garlic Lime Chicken today. if you have not yet
tried it--you are missing a phenomenally easy and amazing dish.
I make it with big, fat chicken thighs--NOT breast strips as it says in the recipe.
What that means is that I have to brown the thighs for a good long time--
flipping them over and over.
Here! Give this a try--you will be amazed how good this tastes.
GARLIC LIME CHICKEN
(VERY, VERY GOOD)
Submitted by Marylyn__TX of DG.
Ingredients:
1tsp. salt
1tsp Pepper
1/4tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/4tsp. Paprika
1tsp. Garlic powder
1/2tsp. Onion Powder
1/2tsp. Thyme
6 boneless. Skinless chicken breasts
2Tbs. butter
2Tbs. Olive Oil
1/2cup chicken broth
4Tbs. fresh lime juice.
To Do:
In a bowl, mix together the first 7 ingredients.
Sprinkle mixture on both sides of the chicken breasts.
In a skillet, heat butter and oil together over medium high heat.
Sauté chicken until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes
on either side or no longer pink in the center.
Remove chicken and add Lime juice and chicken broth to the pan,
Whisking up the browned bits if the bottom of the pan.
Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly.
Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat—and serve.
This is really good with rice (especially the packaged “Saffron Rice”.)
It is bright yellow, Also called Spanish Rice, found in the rice aisle.
Also good with noodles (which I would cook in water with Ch. Broth added.)
Note: If using boneless Chicken thighs, you will need to sauté them
for a longer time. Splay them open for more even cooking.
***Mix up the spice mixture in a larger quantity ahead of time. Keep in a sealed
container. Using an old spice jar, with a sprinkler head, will make it easier to
coat sprinkle it on the chicken pieces.
G.
SSG, that Felicia's Phlox is going nuts!! Very beautiful.
I finally got out there for a walk around with my camera.
The window box with caladiums and Gullivers Blue Bacopa
This is a grouping of mixed pots of caladiums and there are two pots in the back on either side filled with other plants.
Front Wall Bed.
Holly, everything is looking so lush. Annuals sure make a difference this time of year. I did window boxes this year, but kind of neglected them after the initial planting. The only thing in them looking lush are the sweet potato vines you gave me.
Gorgeous, Holly !
I absolutely love this Anemone "Hadspen Abundance" It is a good sized plant but so airy. My favorite new plant. Not sure who gave it to me, I think it came from one of the swaps. Another new to me plant are these adorable little yellow plants, I think they might be dwarf goldenrod from Coleup? A little past their prime but I like the mix of canna and cone flower. I don't know why it has taken me so long to put in the cleome but they sure are pretty, not sure which garden phlox this, have to check my notes and see if I listed it in my Jornal.
Thanks guys I am hoping for that end of the year growth to make it all look good for our Garden Club picnic on Sept 21. I am not sure I will ever offer to host anything in the Fall again. The last three years we have hosted some kind of Fall function in our gardens. Come Aug I just want to say I'm done and just let the gardens go, but no we "have" to keep them looking as good as possible till the picnic is over. LOL
I love that Guliver's Blue Bacopa. You've got some nice combinations there by the wall too.