What's Growing, Part 3

Raining violets, not the best picture.

Astilbe is starting to bloom too.

and "Lollypop" is going crazy!

Pixie, I like the astilbe. It's a much richer pink than mine. And I knew that 'Lollypop' was gonna be something! 'Elegant Lady' is aptly named...lovely. Your first fundraiser daylily is really pretty. The shape is perfect, nice color, too.

Well, if that's not enough to get you out of bed on a Sunday morning, I don't know what is!

Al, I wasn't familiar with helenium. I'll have to take a closer look.

gram (waiting for my stargazer with everybody else)

Pixie,
I like the Lollipops and Janni.


I was just tending to my flowers at work and took this pic of a hibiscus there.

Wow! I like that one Al.

The hail knocked it over, but bloom it did...'Ruby Giant'. The first couple of stems are a little floppy. The rest look very sturdy.

and my new gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' are hanging in there

my heather took a beating it's first winter, but one variety is blooming... a scotch heather, Calluna vulgaris 'Allegro'

Gramps - gotta love Ruby Giant - that is the top straight purple echinacea IMO. Gaillardia are great too - I just deadheaded mine today to test my patience - I give up later in the year.

'Hidcote' lavender (so you can get right in there and smell it LOL)

still waiting on the lilies and the rest of the daylilies. my monarda 'Petite Delight' has come back this year but is still tiny, about the size of a softball. that's a little too petite. but at least it's not gone. I planted 3 last year and there are 5 now. I think I see some buds.


al, the color on that hibiscus is spectacular!

gram

oops...forgot the lavender

Another Day Lily.
Andy P

wait...that's not it...that's a thumbnail of 'Munstead'...be patient with me, I've been out in the hot sun taking pictures and pretending to pull weeds all day

Al - that Hibiscus is incredible!
Gram - how many varieties of lavendar do you have? How does it do over winter? This is my first year growing it.

Anita

Anita, I have 'Hidcote' and 'Munstead' that have been on the south side of the house for 2 winters with no problem. I had 'Twickle Purple', too, pulled it out this spring because I didn't like where it was, but it was doing ok. Haven't given it any extra protection.

I just ordered 1 plant of 'Lacy Frills' from Burpee for fall shipping. It's a Burpee exclusive that they claim is the most cold tolerant white. And I'd like to try 'Pink Hidcote' because the 'Hidcote' has done so well.

What kind did you plant?

gram

I wintersowed Lavender Lady and True Lavender - I don't have any flowers yet, but the foliage is incredible! I love working in that bed!

I know what you mean. I'm hooked on them! Good luck.

You'll have to excuse the lack of photographic skill because what in the world was I thinking when I took this pic? Nice background - LOL. This is H. Sarah Joy. My kids handled the ruffled edges so much I think they flattened them out but its still a beauty. WIll have more blossoms in the next few days.

There is a volunteer dark pinkn nicotiana and the Campanula Cherry Bells in the background. What a thug that thing is. I may have to just tear it all out. But its pretty.

Maybe this pic is better of Sarah Joy

This is a combination I've been working on to get it right. The Lychnis arkwrightii is not always true to color - some of the plants are dark true red, some are very orange. It needed something to tone it down. The Sundrops are a bright clear yellow and there is a huge mass of them you can't see to the left. All in all it reminded me of a roll of lifesavers and I wasn't crazy about it. The Phlox David also towered above the 2 and didn't blend in. So I put in one Allium christophii that went between the Phlox and the sundrops, then Astilbe Red Sentinel which in my garden is more wine colored than red, and seeded a few Perilla - the dark purple leaf. The little peony in front is a true red single heirloom that came from an old garden. It blooms first of all my peonies. Its finished way before the other plants come on.

Thanks for the compliments on the stella yellow she is a very nice color........very cheerful!

djs

My first Balloon flower, Platticodon 'Sentimental Blue' a dwarf.
Andy P

Alyrics, not lookin' at the backround, lookin' at the pretty Sarah Joy. I LOVE the color and the ruffles just add to the appeal.

Andy, I had balloonflower at my old house and I miss it. thanks for the pic.

gram

Hi gram - she's a beaut isn't she? Now here's an oddity - the color must bleach a little in sun or some kind of different pH? 4 ft away is another plant of Sarah Joy, but only gets early morning sun. The peach color is less prominent and you can see definite lavender streaks.

I see the difference, but still very pretty. I am drawn to peach, though.

My platycodon has dropped seed so this year I will have 5 plants I think. I love that blue. Nothing else like it except maybe Campanula persicifolia, which for me is almost finished. Thanks for sharing the pic Andy. How tall is that dwarf? I prune mine hard by mid June per Tracy Aust's book The Well Tended Perennial Garden to keep it from flopping.

Aly, This particular plant is maybe 6 inches. It's a volunteer at the edge of a perennial bed in the lawn. They usually reach about 10 inches.
Here is a shot taken before sun set.
Andy P

Great pics and Gorgeous plants everyone!!! I really enjoyed them!!!
Here's a few that I have recently taken ...

......................Hazel Sawyer....

Cranberry Cove........

Siloam Little Girl..

Iris,
Glad to see your back!! Love the color of "Cranberry Cove" and " Hazel Sawyer". I have "Siloam Little Girl" but she's not blooming here yet.

Beautiful pics everyone. I'm afraid that I have nothing to compare to those, but here's a picture of some of the nasturtium that have self-seeded in the veggie garden. I used to plant some there to help draw the aphids away from the vegetables (and also because I love their cheery look, the great scent, and the fact that they're edible). Now they just come up every year on their own and I spend days out there digging them up and moving them to the sides of the garden instead of planting veggie seeds. Besides the usual bright orange and deep yellow, I'm getting some peach colored ones and a nice pale yellow. This year I've also got one plant that's a strange mauvey brown!

One of my more uncommon coneflowers "Sparkler" has a flower and still holding the variegation

Ooooh, I like that 'Sparkler', Al (appropriate for the 4th!). Will it lose the variegation in the heat? I'll buy almost anything with variegated foliage. Keeps things interesting.

gram

gram,
they say it will, but I'll find out when this summer I guess.

Al

Here is my pink perennial hollyhock. They never get very tall.

I bought this rose at one of those "liquidator" store to replace a rose my neighbor had lost last winter. It was really scrawny and didn't look very good - but heck - it was 3 bucks! In talking to him he said that he had been planning to buy a J&P rose for that spot. So then I felt bad 'cause I planted a cheap rose. So I went to WWF and bought an Heirloom rose to put in it's spot and put the sad sack (which I thought would just die) in between the spigot and a hydrangea. The fancy rose is doing great! And then this little guy pops up - even prettier that the WWF rose. Most of the roses have black spot - except for the WWF rose and this, $3 rose.

YankeeCat, is that hollyhock a true perennial? do you know the variety? I'd like a dwarf because we have some pretty fierce winds year round. I could stake them, but the blooms would take a beating, too. It's confusing, if you look at one variety at different sites, some list them as annuals, some as biennials, and some as perennials. Not that I would necessarily rule it out if it's not perennial, I'd just like to know what to expect.

gram

I bought both my hollyhocks at WWF's sale a couple years ago. They were both supposed to be perennial hollyhocks. They didn't flower the year I planted them so I moved them up around the porch so that they would have support - if they bloomed. I guess this is their second year by the porch. The lighter colored ones - pale yellow with pink trim - get 6 or 7' tall. The pink ones grow further back from the front of the porch and only get - maybe - 4' tall - at the most. The same plants come back every year - so I think that they really are perennial. I will try and keep the seeds separated so you can have the kind you want.