End of summer blooms

Coming from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1322897/

butterflies

Hummingbird moth

My favorite Coleus this year
Mini sunflower under bird feeder

Thank you FlowA, that last thread was getting a bit long in the tooth.

I just love those hummingbird moths, they are so pretty!! We get swarms of 'em around our Vitex at work, among other critters. OH that reminds me, I should take some shots of our Vitex and critters, too! :) (and I'll get some better shots of that crape myrtle and pampas grass, they are lovely!)

Gita, YES PLEASE, about the seeds for that Datura. Whenever, or however is most convenient for you to share them, and in whatever quantity is most convenient for you, YES PLEASE!!! And THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Catmint, CONGRATULATIONS on your crape myrtle Springing to life!! Now the big question is, will you keep it shrub-like, or will you prune it into tree shape when it grows up? =)

Nice pictures Jen, Our yard is filled with butterflies this year.

Will do, Speedie....
Please D-mail me your address.....I will mail them out to you.

The seeds may be 2-3 years old--but they should germinate fine.
I will also include the Primer so you can feel comfy growing these.

Off to work to water the garden all day. Bummmer--that we have not
had a heavy rain lately. That would help....
Might even wear my "new" hat and see how it feels...

Gita

I can't remember the last time we had so many butterflies. They are everywhere this year. I have had two other people, unprompted, say the same thing. 2013 - the year of the butterfly?

I second that, Paul--even in my garden--they are all over the place....

How's by you? Don't see you posting a whole lot...
You must be on other Forums....
G.

Will do Gita.. and yeah, we've had tons of butterflies here too, both at work and at my house. They're just EVERYwhere.

Gorgeous photos, FlowA! I've also been enjoying the many butterflies this year, but can never seem to get a good photo.

thanks, Speedie! :-) I was planning to plant it in front of the house (on the strip of grass between the sidewalk and street) once it's big enough to put out there.

Right now I have too many baby trees. A friend gave me two baby Japanese maples (Higasayama) that were sprouting from parent trees in his yard. They like shade, and I don't have a lot of available shady spots around my house, so I am puzzling over best placement for them. I also have my Rose of Sharon baby tree which I got at the nursery; I'm still trying to figure out where to put it. It didn't like the spot I initially chose for it so it's in a container now. There are some boxwood hedges from the previous owner that I plan to have removed, and then I think I'll put the Rose of Sharon there, but will need to amend the soil somehow to make it more acidic; the hydrangea growing there tells me the soil is alkaline.

I'll have to put up with the flies if its the same weather that gave us so many butterflies. Here too, lots.
Thanks Jen for the new thread and pictures
Casa Blanca is about done but I have this picture from earlier
NOID daylily in vivid pumpkin orange
Hosta 'Golden Tiara' en fleur avec le nez de chien

enjoying reading all the posts and admiring the pics =) I finally got the clematis stans from greenthumb planted and still planting other plants as well, even more homeless cherry tomatoes.

Jen your fav coleus looks similar to one that I just took a cutting of from our church garden that has burgundy speckles.

only started a few zinnias from seed this year
Phlox is pretty - looks the same as Critter's Felicia's phlox
Oregano is blooming
Gita's canna is growing
Clerodendrums blooming and naturalizing

Oh OH Wind, are your Clerodendrums perennial for you??? Please say yes!!! This year is the first year we're carrying them at work and I think we might have 1 or 2 left... if we do, I'm sure they're scraggly looking things by now and I'd love to bring one home CHEAP! =) (if not free via BossMan saying "Take that home with ya, wouldya??" like he likes to do) =)

Sally, I was reading about your Hosta and then read the French... "with a dog nose...?? Huh??" then looked at the pic.. LOL LOL!!!!! YUP, dog nose included!! You are tooooooo funny!!!

Whipped out the iPod for a few more pics at work today. The butterflies were still swarming the butterfly bush in front of the store, even though at least half the blooms are dead.. I'll share a shot or 2 here and hope it does them justice.

Another, more close-up, shot of the blooms on that Crape Myrtle out front.

Another shot of that Pampas Grass.

A shot of 2 more Crape Myrtles... a smaller pink one closer up front, a taller white one farther back (and MAN that thing smells good!!), a few red double knockout roses toward the right, and the BIG Weeping Willow all the way in the background.

A few more.... Some of the Purslane is still looking particularly lovely. This one is Rio Scarlet.

This really cool, but now rather tired, tropical Hibiscus... I love the different coloured blooms on it!

Now, this is really neato. Over the years, we have used 2 particular rows of tables in the greenhouse for the Petunias. Well, they apparently really like it there 'cause they have self-sown and this year, with NO encouragement whatsoever, we have a new crop... and we never even PUT any Petunias there this year!!! These are self-sown from last year -- amazing!

Y'all might remember that I had to cut most everything in my own front bed waayyy back for the Orkin man... that was just at the beginning of this month. Well, the Platycodon's were cut back to about 5" tall or so. Look at them now!

Speedie, that is pretty amazing about the petunias! And looks like you found a spot the platycodons love! I just put a small plant of them in my back garden--hope they like the sun there okay.

The purslane is beautiful! And the hibiscus looks great to me! My Plum Crazy hasn't done much for me this year, and I'm wondering if it's healthy. :-( Maybe it needs a sunnier spot? It gets only part sun where it is. I planted it in May and it has about tripled in size, but the buds are just sitting there. Only about 4 blossoms so far.

it's POURING pouring rain here w/thunder and lightening!! I think our gardens are being seriously drowned... feel sorry for outside cats...

Gita, yes our clerodendrums are perennials ^_^ They will naturalize once established, but very slowly and are easily removed if they pop up where you don't want them. We have a nice row along the side of our porch.

Speedie, I guess purslane comes in ornamental too? I have just the weed in my mind. I like your bubblegum purslane

inky fingers
lady in red salvia
cleome volunteer
comphrey from HollyA
blue phlox from Pixie

Just lovely pictures everyone.
Some of my caladiums.

Here are a few more,
Caladiums, Crepe Myrtle, EE's, two Hardy Hibs.

Some of the glads & African Mask

Here are a few from inside the GH.

Loving them all!

Love the window box of Caladiums, Holly

Wind, thank you for the info on the Clerodendrums... will search the yard at work today for left-overs. Wheee!!! Cleomes volunteer in your yard... WOW, lucky you!! =) They're so happy-pretty!! Oh, and yes Ma'am, Purslane comes in ornamental too. (Portulaca oleracea) It is edible, and they come in lovely pinks and yellows. (not sure that ALL varieties are edible though, so do be careful!)

Holly, such gorgeous blooms you've got there.. and no wonder those Caladiums are your favourites! LOVELY!! In picture grouping "Here are a few more,
Caladiums, Crepe Myrtle, EE's, two Hardy Hibs."... photo #2... wonder what those 2 are talking about. ;) heeheeheee

wow, love all the caladium, Holly!

LOL, Hard to see but there is a little buzzy bee in there on the yellow flower maybe he is telling them a story.
A few more
Sweet Cream Marigolds planted in with the nandina hedge, Gita's broken colors 4 o'clocks, the hardy banana grove there are 5 of them in that group and they are about 6' tall now.

Holly, I've got to see your garden in person someday--such tantalizing photos! :-) Bees can be so hard to capture in photos, darting around quickly as they do.

What a lovely shade for Marigold! And I didn't realize we could grow bananas around here. I thought they were more tropical?

jasmine,passion flower, gloriosa lily, couple of other lilies.

There are a few hardy varieties, That one came from Coleup last year and this was my first year to try and overwinter one. Those are my favorite marigolds and we get them every year as plugs they are very pretty and get huge.

What beautiful lilies, too! Unfortunately, my Stargazer hasn't put out any new buds since its first profusion a couple weeks ago. It's my first lily. Is there a secret to getting them to rebloom?

flowAjen, I hate the title "End of" it's only the end of July! Can't we wait till Sept 1'st. LOL

CONFESSION-----I am falling in love with caladiums!!!!
Love--Love the pure white one! Also--the deep pink/re/purple Glad!

Holly--yours are beautiful! Do you buy your bulbs from a catalog?
Do you dig them up and save them--and re-plant them the following year?

Share any secrets you have at successful overwintering...
Of course--you can start yours early in your GH.

Maybe next year--I should just order one of the assortment bags
and take my chances in colors...

Remember the box you were walking around with at Jen's with the
huge bulbs in it? I took only one--(bummer)--and here it is in my BIG pot
in my "stump bed"
...Love the pattern on it.
...Aaron looks great as well

Gita, Holly often bulk orders caladiums and usually has them to distribute by the spring swap. Our's were not really here early enough this year to start in the GH, but once we did get them started, I pushed them in there with bottom heat, using a heat mat and Corian slab.

LOL, only 1 month left, thread will fill up fast....kids start school in 4 weeks

I'm in no hurry! LOL

We have lots more stuff planned while it is still summer! Vacation, and a "Family and Friends Get Together" on Saturday, August 24th at one o'clock, to which you are all invited (need to have RSVPs by August 8th. Really wish I could see some of you here once more this year. Won't be attending any fall swaps because we have lots of commitments this fall.

Gita, They all come from Bill in Caladiumbulbs4less. Bill usually runs a special in Jan with a discount for DG Members.

Holly--
Do you order on your own--or do you participate in Jills "Group Buys"?
I kind of doubt that.....

I find the "Group Buys" too huge--too complicated and too busy--and,
sometimes, one does not get what one has ordered because of all the
necessary numbers needed to make a bag of whatever, the substitutions
and all that,,,some stuff just "falls through the cracks".....
There are 2 or 3 things I ordered--and never got.

I think I would rather pay the shipping and just order directly from Bills.
Or--Holly, if you are just ordering on your own--I could add to yours....
makes a good reason to come visit you to pick them up.
Gita

Gita, I do a pretty big group buy myself. I order for several different friends and a few members of our HGHA.

Ric, my thoughts exactly lol Jen "end of summer..." I'm still planting!!

Gita, I'm in love w/caladiums too. My late cousin Bob, who got me into dahlias used to always order them for my Aunt's LBI beach house. I started to take notice of them back then. I accidentally overwintered a pot inside one year, forgot about it, left it on a table inside... and was shocked to see it sprout "from the dead" in early spring. Now that is all I do with our caladiums. I bring in the pots every fall before freezing temps. - let them die back - leave the bulbs in the dirt and stop watering for the most part. Then I start watering the "dead" pot in early spring and wait for the magic.

thanks for the invite RRR ^_^ I'll check with Harry, maybe we'll take a drive (or motorcycle ride {{did I say that?}} since we don't have to bring plants) to come say hi. We most likely won't be making it to any fall swaps either.

coral nymph salvias

You all have inspired me to move my caladium into a pot for this winter also! They are beautiful plants. I have just the one.

I'm wondering, with fall beginning to loom now--which annuals do you all like to keep through the winter? Just special favorites? With the ones you don't keep, do you gift these or bring them to the fall swap or--? This is my first winter following a gardening season, and I'm beginning to mull over this question about my annuals, and am wondering what others do.

I either keep the bulbs in the pot and stop watering them just like Wind suggested or I dig them up and store them in brown paper bags.
Most of the annuals we just let go but there are a few like the coleus and Persian shield that we took cuttings from. I will try to over winter the bush violet again this year. Of course we have so many tropicals to try to keep going.