Garden Pics: Braving the HEAT to Save our Blooms!!

whaddya know.... another dahlia!

Lovin' those dahlias, RC!

I'm really enjoying mine, but I'll probably lose them all over winter- I'm way too lazy to dig stuff up and bring it inside. Don't have a good place to keep them, either.

Pony, last year was the first year I planted dahlias. I, too, am far too lazy (or busy) to dig them up, and guess what, most of dahlias came back this year and flowered earlier and nicer than they did last year. I was positive that the hard winter had killed them.

Yeah? That's good to hear. If they can survive a rough winter like this past one, then they'll probably be totally fine through a normal PNW winter. I'm just going to throw down a layer of mulch and hope for the best. ;)

Thanks Pony! I agree with you completely! I'm too lazy to dig anything up in the winter. Hence... I don't dig up my dahlias. However, I also buy only the hardiest of them. I plant them in a high percentage of sand for good drainage in the winter and also a layer of mulch in the winter. That usually works pretty well. I think that the ones that I've lost, have actually been lost to the moles and gophers.

Precious came out on the porch the first day that was below 95.

Here she is again after a walk under the petunia pot.

my lewisias sprung to life again!

Ohhh, Precious is a beautiful girl!

And wow, that lewisia flower is pretty- does it look as sparkly in real life as in the photo? It almost looks metallic to me.

Thanks! and Precious thanks you too! The lewisia does have a metallic 'lustre' to it. However, you do have to be up close and personal in order to notice. I might have been 5" away from it when I took the picture. I have a pic of a larger clustre from that same group of pics, but I'm not sure if I've resized it yet.

I haven't :-( It will be in with the next group of pictures then.

For now... on to echinaceas! My first tiki torch flower to open! thanks to Jan!!

tomato soup.

a faded tomato soup with a friend!

I've been really liking these "Tomato Soup" pics y'all have been posting. Might have to give those a try in the future.

If you see one for an even remotely reasonable price..... grab it!!! And the color truly is as bright as it looks in the pictures!! I was really surprised when it bloomed and was actually as saturated of a color that I had seen in pictures.

ok.... so here is a clump of flowers on the lewisia.

the heat seered this one as the blooms were turning colors.

light filtering through on the bed along the driveway.

a close up of that area.

I want eyeshadow that looks like those lewisia. :D

Your driveway bed is practically as big as my whole yard... LOL!

Lol... I have never thought of that lewisia color like that, but you're right! It would make a great eye shadow color!

You can see how I can get very behind in all the weeding then! That bed is the most managable one that I have, hence it is my favorite even though it get the minimal amount of light required to get hosta to bloom. Actually, most anything that I plant there ends up taking several years to bloom. But, I still like it since that seems to slow the weeds down!!

back to echies!

Pony, in hindsight, I wish that the property owners had never spread their garden plan out all of kingdom come! A bed the size of yours is about what I could handle without it beginning to seem like a chore. I can never keep up with this yard. not even close!!

I like the faded color of the tomato soup, but I can't stand the color that those 106+ deg. turned my magnus and dopplegangers (in the background of this pic). I think that it's that boring color that Katye was describing several days ago.

'Green Envy'

I'm still trying to decide exactly where that one is going to go.

I should've ended with the pic above. Oh well.

This is the last for tonight. I just liked the color and the lighting on that rhody and the plants below it when I took this pic.

my pot ghetto is in the background.

Yep- In theory, having oodles of space for gardening would be wonderful... but then I think about how hard it would be to maintain, and suddenly I'm very happy with my little city-sized lot. hehe.
I am planning more raised beds, though. Slowly but surely, I'll get rid of that stupid lawn! ;D

I don't think the color on those flowers in the background is boring... maybe it isn't as bright as it's supposed to be, but I still think it's pretty.

Thanks! I will try to remember your thoughts when I'm outside working around them. lol. At least they held up through the heat better than, well, really better than anything else in the yard that was in bloom when that heat wave hit. So, I really can't say anything because they are still hanging on to those blooms and they're not dried blooms!

I agree with your philosophy completely on putting in raised beds and getting rid of the stupid lawn!. Just think.... no mowing!!! You did a great job on your pond, so I'm sure that raised beds will be a breeze after that!!

Thanks! I wish I could afford to buy more of the blocks like I used for the pond and my "big bed" (hey, to us city folk, 19' x 6' qualifies as big... LOL) They are so easy to make beds with!

That is a good sized raised bed, even for the country folks! lol. That bed in your pic is really nice! I never would've thought that those sorts of 2' lilies would stand out in the back of a bed, but those go perfect there. What kind of lilies are those? oriental or asiatic. I sort of had it in my mind that it's the asiatic ones that come in a little bit of a shorter size that doesn't need any stakes.

Thank you! :) The pink lilies are "Vermeer" and the red ones are "Commander in Chief". That's all I know. LOL
There's a row of stargazers in front of them that hasn't bloomed yet. Several of those are kind of hidden behind the dwarf asters that forgot they were supposed to be dwarf. hehe. I'm probably going to rearrange the lilies this fall, bring them farther forward so I can plant more tall stuff behind them. I don't want to do the sunflowers in that spot again, they're all but bumping into the eaves now.

Those sunflowers are awesome!!! lol. That's enough info on the lilies that I can figure out what they are. Thanks. One thing that I learned well 6 or 7 years ago with asters.... happy asters always get at least 1-2 feet taller than the tag says!! maybe with dwarf asters, it might only be a foot taller, that would be good! I think that it looks good now, but your new plan should make it look even better and save you energy and work in the long run.

The sunflowers were supposed to top out between 4-6 feet, and they're over 7 feet. Whoops. hehe. I blame the awesome soil I bought from city of Tacoma. Everything I've planted in it has gone crazy.

I like the way the bed looks now too, but I've fallen in love with a lot of tall growers recently (columbine, daylilies, echinacea...) so I want to make sure I have a good place for them next year, and I'm going to skip the annuals like petunias in the beds- I'll do those in containers only from now on.

Sharon, that hanging begonia is LOVELY. The color is outstanding.

RC, I've fallen in love with echies. :) especially the 'hot' colors. I've been pleased with the Tomato Soup and its fragrance. I see more of them in my future. I have so much yellow in the garden that I need pops of reddy-orange.

1pony, your bed is looking great. You've done a lot of work.

redchic01 I so enjoy this thread as I am introduced to so many different flowers
I have never heard of the lewisias - absolutely gorgeous! And the echis -
Are all of these new colors as hardy as the white Swan and the Magnus
I haven't ventured into the new ones but do love the ol' echis and so do the
goldfinches during our winters

Mom, I drool over that begonia both in person and now on the puter too! It is wonderful.

RC, Such wonderful pics, and I had been missing your "water drop" accents! The dahlias are wonderful, and I really like the pic of Precious with flowers in her hair! My favorites though are the echies! I am definitely going to try Tomato Soup next year...I just LOVE the color! In regards to the coreopsis, I have lost American Dream a few times, and one dark bronzish one that I just can't come up with the name of right now. In my garden though, I can never be sure if it was winter, water, slugs, or dogs to blame the lack of survival on, so maybe if they had been planted in a different spot I might have had different luck.

Pony, Your garden is looking great! You have to be thrilled to see all of your hard work paying off! I am with RC and Lynn regarding the dahlias. I have a wonderful dahliah garden that has come back for me for 8 years now, with few losses in that particular bed. I have lost quite a few elsewhere, but I am certain that it was to bulb munchers rather than the winter. Mulch well and with good drainage you should be just fine! You may want to wait one more year before you decided to move your lilies forward. They can be short their first year and add up to a couple of feet the following (especially in Tagro!!). FYI, I don't have a single lily in my collection that I would consider under 3 foot, and my Stargazers are about 5 foot.

Well, I am supposed to be packing and watering, but figured I would post a few pics as I am cleaning off my camera card for our trip.

RC...I took another pic of my psycho "coreopsis from seed" yesterday morning, and I could FIND this one! It is the thing cheerfully taking over the left edge of my path. Also on the left side of the path is my "baby" moonbeam that just showed up last year (original is on the right side of the path in the same area).

Good Morning Pam! We crossed in posting. I will be curious to hear RC's response to your echi question too. I had a wonderful white one that came back for several years, but lost it this year.

A new DL to me this year...MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR

OK, so I should be packing too, but after getting up at 4:00, I feel I am ahead of the game. (Getting into the mode of fishing at daybreak!)
This is PAINTING THE ROSES RED daylily. Rarejem had two so she shared one with me. Now she thinks I have the better of the two plants! (Just might have to trade back.)

Hi, Pam. Glad to see you here in our part of the world. I will be curious about the hardiness of the echies also. I planted a few over in EWA this spring so will have some firsthand experience with a colder zone than the one here. One of my big problems with them is that the slugs seem to love them. I haven't been able to keep any alive here for who knows how many reasons.

Had my DH and my baby Phoenix pose for a pic last night, so I could take it along with me on my trip...

Notice the puppy chewing on his toes rather than smililng......

You were up that early too, huh Mom? Should have had coffee after all!

This is the last one for now...

Another new DL...PALACE GARDEN BEAUTY.

And as of now...Gone Fishin'! You guys have a great week!

PNWMTGirl and Rarejem
Good Luck on the fishing trip
Good time to escape from my "need" list from you two
Sorry I missed the blooms of Painting the Roses Red and Palace Garden Beauty
They are wonderful
It has been fun watching you, Pony1, creating your space... I was visiting PNWmountaingirl when Rarejem
delivered tadpoles to you - there is nothing like the ecosystem of a pond

Pony, you did a fabulous job on your flower bed. You can come here anytime and help me with mine!!!! I just cannot get anything straight and level. Everything I plant is a leaner, too. I definitely have the Eiffel Tower look going on here.

Rarejem and Mountaingirl, Have a safe and fun fishing trip. We will miss you while you are gone. Lovely daylilies, btw.

RC and Sally , are you coming to the RU? Love your pictures.

Cabindweller, with everyone posting pictures of their beautiful gardens, it is hard to not keep adding something to my list of wants.

Jan, sorry you can't make it to RU. But you will be with us in spirit!

Thanks, Lynn. Yes, I WILL be there in spirit. Someday.