Summer flowers

hMMMMMMMMM......

Has anyone thought of a Flea market by us Folks on DG>
We could pick a Charity--meat at some close-by location and bring all our "junk"....
Make a few $$$ and see if we can help someone we know.....

Just a thought.......Gita

"Fall Color' for Rosemary is....well...green...LOL

Gita - what a sweet idea. The only challenge would be for any stuff that didn't sale having to haul it back...I know what a pain it is simply bringing it in from out front when my DD's done them before.

Yikes, have had enough yard sales to know that they are a lot of work and usually in my case, not a lot of pay. I am taking this opportunity while sorting through every item we own having been boxed up in order to have the carpeting installed last month to go through each individual box upon its return indoors to pare down on some things. I have three boxes of possibly sell on ebay, and so far three boxes for yard sale.

Please note that in my case, I am taking the easy way out and in both cases are having someone else do the actual work of selling, and I will split proceeds with them. Before finding Dave's Garden and spending so much time chatting about gardening, I did have two shops on line in which I sold antiquey and collectible types of items. This was in the days before any of my sons moving back home or in the days before having grand children, so I had lots of extra time in those days. I am lucky if I find a few minutes for myself these days. Anyway.....

A co-worker of John's is taking some of my better things and selling on ebay. He has about one hundred dollars for me whenever we can get together. When he arrives here eventually, I have three medium sized boxes of nice, often never a page turned new books for him to list. Another of John's friends has offered to hold a yard sale at his place with my belongings and split the proceeds with me. That should take place some time in September. I still have many storage totes to go through and decide what stays and what goes, so I am sure I will be sending even more things out of here eventually. Yippie!!!!

Gita, I do like your idea though. In the past whenever I have had large amounts of things to get rid of, I try to wait until I see an organization running an ad saying they are looking for yard sale items, and contact them and have them come here and get the items. I suppose a good way to find these organizations is on Freecycle or Craig's List, or to run your own ad on either of these sites and have folks contact you about taking your extras off your hands.

About two winters ago I took the opportunity to do what I called a major de-clutter here. Funny, how two years later, I am at it again. Anyway.....when I first began getting rid of things, I was just sending for charity. When I reached the point where I was getting furnishings and other larger items I contacted a local auction house and piggy-backed on some other auctions. This brought me in the neighborhood of about three hundred bucks. While going through old jewelry during that time, I took things to a pawn shop and came out with a check for over seven hundred dollars. Anyway......I was quite thrilled with both instances of cash in hand and haven't once missed a thing that went out of here during that time.

I suppose I should wish you better luck next time Sally. Very interesting topic and one that seems to be a theme in my life over the past fifteen or so years. Really love talking about it.

Hope you are each having a good Sunday. We will leave later to visit a three week old new member of the Watts family, baby Jesse. After that is dinner out to celebrate the almost completion of a new roof that John has spent the last month putting on here. Busy day ahead for us.

Ruby

Ruby congrats on the new family member. Bet Jesse is a sweetie.
Gita, Here is a pic of the Frans Hals you gave me, It really is beautiful. Oh and the big Brug that is doing very well but not blooming yet.

Holly---Nice!
Watch for the brug to "Y"----and you will have flowers...

Look at the positive side. You will have a smaller plant to store for the winter....:o)

Wow, so many beautiful flowers! Wind, your hydrangea is the most beautiful hydrangea I've ever seen. It is such a dark blue and it's so big! Gorgeous. My hydrangea's didn't last long, with it being so hot. Have your dahlia's bloomed yet? I try to get mine to stay blue, but they all turn pink after about a year.

Well mine's a LITTLE darker than it looks in this picture! I guess the picture was overexposed. It's not dark like yours though. This one started out blue but is now lavender.


This message was edited Jul 22, 2012 8:14 PM

Sally, jealous you had rain...we never got any accumulation, just a damp mist of not much. Everything is so dry. Even our usually hardy cherry tomatoes are cracking from uneven watering.

Enjoyed viewing everyone's pics will have to post some of ours...maybe next weekend.

happy gardening!

Was expected a storm this evening and it went right around us

Planted the extra caladiums in my fairy garden with Ajuga 'Sparkler'
Monarch on Buddleia
and a Viceroy

Jen I like the caladiums in the Fairy Garden.

Gita, I've been checking everyday to see if the Dr. Seuss is blooming. It's looking really healthy and growing well, and it's already "y"d, so I'm hoping it's gonna happen soon!

Holly, the cannas you shared with me are about to bloom! My first cannas! :)

I read somewhere that you should deadhead black eyed susans to encourage reblooming later in the season, but I have so many! Is this really necessary?

I couldn't even keep impatiens alive in the summer heat. What's doing really well for me now are caladiums, coleus, elephant ears that Coleup shared with me, Golden Jubilee agastache from donnerville, Dragon Wing begonias and petunias from the swap, and the purple oxalis Gita shared with me.

THose purple oxalis just never seem to stop blooming- How charming they are

SSG, So glad they are doing well for you

Is this the purple oxalis? It is very sweet. Hardy here?

HM, I think the purple oxalis is supposed to be hardy to zone 7. I can't get enough of the purple leaves and pink flowers. So pretty! Mine's already big enough to be divided (I think?) if you'd like one at the swap.

Sally and Gita, what do you do with your oxalis in the winter? Mine's potted, so I should probably bring it indoors, right?

Thanks, SSG. Let me wait to see how yours does over the winter!

Plant in ground or bring in

If I bring it in--I have two options.

1--Keep it watered (as a houseplant) and let it thrive--
2--OR---Let it go dormant for a rest period. No worry--if it loses all of its leaves.
That is what "dormant" is all about. Come February--or so---start watering.

Either way--it will survive and grow and bloom.
I keep mine outdoors all summer in filtered sun. Water as usual. Pull off dead stems and blooms.

I have heard that it "may" be hardy in our area. Not sure I believe it......Not taking the chance....

Gita

A couple pictures from my yard this summer.
First and fourth are cleomes, once you have them, you always have them.
Second and third, caladiums and coleus and zinnias.

Very nice Catbird!

pretty catbird. our cleomes are just about ready to start blooming =) And, we finally got actual precipitation last night!!! yay, so needed some rain

Diana- gorgeous pic!

Datura opening to greet the night sky after a brief summer shower
Wowzers Diana - THAT is a great shot

This message was edited Jul 28, 2012 9:52 AM

Some new bloomers for me:
-Spotted bee balm, Monarda punctata started from seed this year. Such interesting spotted flowers above a ring of pale lavender bracts.
-South African Foxglove, Ceratotheca triloba from seed this year from Gita. Thanks Gita, they sure are lovely.

David--The S. African Foxglove WILL keep growing and setting blooms till you get tired of it.

The one I grew out, till the end of the season, made me think I will never grow ir again.
Geez! It got to be 6' tall and wide--and sprawling all over the place.

Seed collecting is difficult--as the pods dry and become very woody.
The pods are made up of about 4 narrow, tubular growths and the seeds are inside these.
You can remove the pods when they are totally dry looking.

I actually did a photo primer where the seeds are--and how to remove them.
Sally used this picture in her article on S. African Foxgloves.

Let me find some pictures:
#1-The process of removing seeds from the tubular pods. Ger out your pliers!!!
#2--Here is one plant that has grown to about 6' tall--and is no longer flowering a lot.
The branches are all scrawly and bare. There are a few blooms stil forming at the tips of the plant.
Nothing pretty to look at. The blooms did host a slew of bees---and, if one had a good amount of
space--I would imagine this flower could be quite attractive.
Mine grew in a mini-bed (2'x3') next to my home's foundation--so I cannot say how well it would
have performed in free, rich soil in a bed with no boundaries....

It IS lovely--- Here is a link to Sally's Article....Gita

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2928/

Since the South African Foxglove is actually a tender perennial rather than an annual, I was considering keeping it in a pot and overwintering it inside. We did this with our American Bush Violet, Browallia speciosa, and it has rewarded us with continuous blooming since summer of 2010. Its blue flowers add a welcome splash of color to our kitchen windowsill during the gloomy months of winter. Apparently the South African Foxglove would require a much larger pot and a position on the floor by our patio doors rather than on a windowsill.

Love the Monarda punctata

Critter's heirloom tomatoes from Ric and Holly's swap all have lots of green tomatoes on them. I can't wait for them to ripen so I can ID which is which. TY Jill!! If it weren't for your variety pack, we would of only had cherry tomatoes. Love swaps!

Here are a few more pics. Hardy hibiscus are blooming. Our dahlias are too; they're small, but pretty. The cream marigolds behind the welcome sign came from Holly from her swap =) I don't have a pic of them yet, but I'm also loving the double bloom petunias from Holly's too. Thanks again Holly if you read this!!

Beautiful Diana! That Welcome picture is lovely composition. Write an article for it LOL. I have some of the same cream marigolds.
Robert Poore phlox- the plant is suffering terribly but a small part of the flowr head still looks gorgeous. Okra, Naked ladies

This message was edited Jul 30, 2012 6:48 PM

Peruvian Duffodil from Sally :-).

Sally D!!!
Congrats!! I'm soo glad! I haver never seen bloom yet. It must love you!
Does it smell nice t oo? Just tonight I fertilized mine with bloom boost, hoping that will push it toe bloom.

Petunia 'Double Cascade Orchid Mist'
One of our Hostas
Physostegia

Yes. Sally. The flowers do have a nice fragrance, but you have to get close to smell it.

Love your lily, Diana. Mine grew a while then turned brown again this year. Double petunias are just sooo pretty Greenthumb. What a lovely, exotic looking flower that Peruvian is, Donner.

Finally took some pictures of what's surviving our torrential wind and rain storms:
Orange Picotee Begonia, Pink Hanging Begonia, Blue Lisianthus, Tonto Crape Myrtle Asclepias Incarnata Soulmate

Gorgoeus!
Physostegia already?
Love the red crepe myrtle, don't love that ' whooshy' pink of many older ones.

Sally - Our white Physostegia 'Miss Manners' started blooming a week or so ago.

Uh Oh, that "red crape myrtle" is really a phlox. My red Crape is not blooming yet. This is "Tonto:

LOL! I did not enlarge the phlox picture. I saw a beautiful red crepe myrtle somewhere today and assumed it was the same thing, it was the same color of deep red!

Really enjoy the pictures. Ric and I have very spotty internet service. Wind so glad you like those Marigolds they are a real favorite of ours. I will say there were some really spectacular plants passed around at the swap. I took a pic right before we left on vacation I will post it as soon as I can. It is really beautiful and I have no idea what it is or who gave it to me.

Roses---

Your Blushing Suzy vine has grown to the top of her trellis--BUT--so far, not a bloom in sight!
It gets half day of sun--and then dappled sun through my Maple tree.
It is in a really big pot (not in a bed) and looks healthy. Just NO blooms!

What do you see wrong???

1&2--Blushing Suzy vine--
3--Morning Glory--Blue and Pink "Picotee". Very different!
4--One of the prettiest Zinnias. These are tall and sturdy stemmed. Bought one last year--
saved some seeds and now have them here and there....
5--Three new blooms on my Brazilian Plume....

Gita I'm thinking your BES is not getting enough sun