FIRST FLOWERS OF MID SUMMER 2015

Local ordinance?

I was going to ask you if they were "Naked Ladies" AKA as "Resurrection Lilies".
Always so pretty when you least expect it....

My neighbor, Betsy, had them all over--until the Pakistani family moved in--
they dug up and cut down everything.

I could have dug up more of them--but the foliage takes up a lot of room in the spring.

Looking back to the carnage of Betsy's yard. All the pretty Hollies--a lovely Cherry laurel--
all kinds of other bushes--a nice Clematis--ALL gone!
May, 2008.

1&2--piled up cut down shrubs

3--Nice nandinas growing by back steps---GONE!

4--A most beautiful Verry laurel between our properties--GONE!
The man sait it attracted too many bees--as his GD was still young.

5--A nice green Acuba--GONE!

I could have cried--and did not talk to them for aa long time.

Wouldn't you????

That flower is very pretty Coleup. What's it called? A Naked Lady?

Henry Eilers Coneflower
Callirhoe digitata
Supposed to be tricrytis formosana but doesn't look like it to me
Plumbago
kerria japonica 'Pleniflora' - typically spring flowering but it was already done before I planted it

Lobelia siphilitica
Lobelia x speciosa 'Fan-Salmon'
Lobelia gerardii Vedrariensis
Aronia melanocarpa berries

Jeff, I think your plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) is blooming much more than mine.

Trycyrtis looks a lot like pictures of 'Tojen'

Oh, such interesting lobelia flowers. I'm only familiar with the deep-red variety.

Gita...Neighbors, can't live with them, can't live without them. Here it is the removal of 8+ mature trees that have changed the character and feel of my neighborhood. Naked Ladies do have abundant foliage at a kind of weird time, but I find it easier to deal with than daff foliage in Spring as it goes more quickly, maybe a week or so.

Yes, Jeff, Naked Ladies! Named commonly thus because the folliage emerges in early April and then dissapears. Later in Aug Sept just the flower stalk sans leaves (naked). appear. I like your lobelias I have Fan blue and Fan purple as well as Great Blue and Queen Victoria with the dark folliage.

Sally, my Plumbago hasn't bothered to bloom at all yet.

Anyone know how long lived trycrytis are? My favoriye is amethyst.

SSG, if the Lobelias Jeff or I have come true from seed maybe we can save some! How about if Seq?

Thanks for the offer, coleup! I may need to wait until next year for any new lobelia. I'll be moving a ton of perennials this fall.

Yeah I never saved any of my seeds but I can try. I have another one too that was too shy for the pics but it's a beautiful maroonish fuchsia color. I was surprised that they all made it through the winter because they are borderline hardy and I covered them with leaves in ignorance. Maybe that's why they made it. Ironically enough, the native siphilitica had the poorest showing from the previous year. My plumbago is blooming in the back yard but not even close in the front yard.

These pretty blooms greeted me when we got home

Coleup, I forget the names of these two crape myrtles and this lovely hydrangea. Pic 2 and 4

Pic 1 is Felicias phlox

Pic 3 is clematis Ville de Lyon. I think

1--My Great Blue Lobelia is (from David) starting to bloom .
(Not a good picture--taken in sunshine ....)

2--August Lily Hosta blooms..so pretty....

3--Begonias on front steps

4--Yellow non-stop Begonia on front steps

5--Vincas on front steps. Gotta love these flowers!

more--

1--Pink Canna--

2--This is the Dwarf Phlox i so liked at HD. Two pots got clearanced (No blooms)
and I snagged them up. Still sitting in their pots. Gotta find a place for them...

3--Side porch display..three window boxes buried there...

4--Pretty color combo--

5--Update---Bloom now starting to grow on the Amaranth. Now it is 95" tall.

You have a lot going on Gita! Where are you going to plant that phlox?

Jan, you have Felicia's phlox! It's becoming my favorite thing to see in these photos.

I have a small mystery to figure out....

I grew these from seed (obvious to me), planted seedlings in my sunny bed--
but as it grew bigger and started to sprawl somewhat--it was obvious that
it was a Petunia of some sort. But so different?
The leaves are rounded and fuzzy. The plant grew long stems--curling around
in the bed. Pulled straight--they were ~2' long.

It has blooms--very pretty blooms--but I do not recall where the seed came from.
Jill--did you give me these seeds?

SO--here are some pictures. What do you all think? Name???

1--This one is still small...
2--Here is the stem on one of them. There are bloom buds at the end-not yet open
3--This one has a pink bloom
4--This has a the patterned blooms.
5--Ckose-up of the parrerned blooms.

Love that veined petunia! Not sure that one is from me, although it could have been passed along from another trade... the solid pink looks like the one I'm growing this year (Aladdin Pink maybe?)

Jeff--I really don't know yet--where i will plant the Phlox.
It is hard to make a decision right now--as all areas are taken.

I planted several Daturas which grow huge!
There is one in the far corned of my S> bed--right in front of my
"Sweet Surrender Rose and my "Multi Blue Clematis. Neither of these have
bloomed--as the JB ate every bud as it was trying to open.

I am thinking I will just pull up the Datura. No biggie! I have had many of these.
This one has a bloom coming--a double yellow one.
Also- in the spring--there will be a bunch of "Tiny Ghost" oriental Lilies around there.

I may have to dig up the front area of this spot--as I know there is a pile of
Wood Hyacinth (mostly white) bulbs under there.

As always--something has to go for the benefit of a new planting.
I think it would be a nice spot for one of these Phlox. I have two......

Will continue this later----Having a bite to eat.......I see another option.

Yes, Jeff, Felicia's phlox is a beauty. I love how she is getting spread ALL around the mid-At.

OH...OH...brain storm!!!! I GOT IT!!!! Figured it out!!!
The Dwarf Phlox will have a lovely home!!!

At the corner of my patio by the grill--and where "The Moon" ( a 24/7 light on a pole)
is situated--is also a small bed--where the main resident is Felicia's phlox.

Lower down--in front of it--all I have are some annuals and , on each side, a ?????
(brain burp) perennial. You will see it in the picture...AHH--gotta love Sr. moments....

I will re-locate the shade perennials, dig up and re-plant the annuals (or get rid of them)
and i will have 2 wonderful spots, of dappled light, for the Dwarf Phlox.

It will be so cool! Tall Felicia's Phlox in center back--and the dwarf ones
on either side in front of it.
YES! Misson accomplished!!! I am SOOO smart!!!!!!!!!!!....:o)

Here are the pictures.

1--The bed in question--hence to be called "The Moon Bed"--as we have
always called the round ball light on the top of the pole "The Moon"...
There are 2 old Jap. Hollies on either side of the patio corner--and the Moon bed on the corner.
I even edged it last year! Looks purdy!

2--A close-iup of the plants at the very corner. Great spots on either side for the Dwarf ohlox.

3--This is the (2) perennials i wil have to re-locate. Hmmmm...where--oh, where?
The name of these????? I am just pulling a blank!

Will grt to it as tome and weather permit.....will take pictures.
g.

Pulmonaria?

AHH, yes!

I will move the two PULMONARIAS somewhere else.
I Just dug them up and planted them in the Moon Bed last year!
They were all cramped and squished under the Nandina and fighting
the Spearmint all over my Shed Bed.
Geesh! They sure grew fast...Hate to move them again...
Well, in this case...NOT really!
I also dug up 3 struggling clumps of my heirloom Primrose in this same bed.

****Gotta think of "lungs"....as in--"Pulmonary".....that will help.......
g.

Sally, you were right about your id on my Tricyrtis 'Tojen'. I got in touch with Lazy S&S where I bought it and they said the same thing. She said they'd send out a T. formosana once they checked their crop to make sure they weren't all incorrect. The 'Tojen' is quite pretty but I wanted the T. formosana because of it's spreading properties.

Gita, the common name is actually Lungwort... but Pulmonaria is much more attractive LOL, like saying Tricytris instead of Toad Lily when planting them for my MIL.

I used to think toad lilies weren't all that impressive. That was until my little clumps grew into large clumps. They look way better en masse.

yep... I like the tecture of the foliage also, esp with ferns and hostas

I love toad lilies - I have about eleven cultivars now. The only downside is that the deer have been destroying them, but only some of the cultivars and not the others. The one most affected by the deer seems to be 'Sinonome' - I have a large quantity of this one which I got as plugs from North Creek.

Stupid deer eat everything. I've been looking for some native shrubs to plant next to the shed we're planning on getting next spring. The one shrub I liked, Euonymous americana, is described as being very tasty to deer. Not like I care because I have no issues with that but I thought it was nice the website called that out.

Yes, Jeff, it's too rare for plant vendors to admit to flaws or weaknesses in anything they sell.
You can ask for visitation with my E americanus. I got a little sprout from a DGer about five years ago or +; it is over my head now.

Just some Coleus color for now.
These are all around my Stump Bed. The Deciduous Azalea Paul gave me
is in the middle and getting really big.

Gita

Seqouia, was that by any chance this site? http://www.nativnurseries.com/p-98-strawberry-bush-euonymus-americanus.aspx I've noticed them before; they don't come right out and say it, but they seem to specialize in plants that hunters can use to attract deer.

Haha Sally! I'll take visitation with your E. americana. I guess it grows pretty fast eh?

Sweet lookin' coleus mash up Gita.

I don't think it was that site Muddy but if that's their goal, that's disgusting.

Photo # 2 is my "purplish-blue" bed with Scutellaria incana, Conoclinium coelestinum (Mistflower) and Lobelia siphilitica (Blue Lobelia). I didn't specifically intend for all of the flowers to match, but the deer-resistant native plants that could take part-sun just happened to all be blue!

Number 1 is Joe Pye Weed grown from seeds from Critter, I think; I'm not sure what species it is.

This message was edited Aug 4, 2015 9:37 PM

I'll try that again...

Wow Muddy, that garden looks great.

Pretty, pretty!

Coleup, I believe you are right about the drapes and hydrangea. I was concerned about them after last winter.

UPDATE----
My Amaranth is now half way to full bloom.
Of course--the bloom added sone inches to the height of this plant.
It is now at 100"---or, about 8' 5".

Here is something that may help you visualize the size of it.
I am NOT short----5'7". And I DO have long arms.

How's this for now? Aug. 7, 2015.

Gita

That Amaranth must have a sturdy stem to be that long and still hold up that large bloom.

Impressive, Gita. I'd say it likes that spot pretty well.

Wow G! That thing is huge.