What\'s Blooming #2

Sooo beautiful! Please feel free to scatter all around my garden too!

Lol! Yes, please!

I'll scatter these Gaura 'Passionate Rainbow' around your yard...

yours too Loretta.

Robin - Your pretty Gaura photo looks like a magestic lily. Tricky photography. From you comment - let me ask - do the gaura reseed? Just curious. . . . .

Speaking of poppies - pretty poppies by the way. Does anyone have purple poppies?

Thank you, Robin! How pretty! How long have you had it? For some reason Gaura doesn't overwinter for me. A friend sent me some seed one year and they germinated easily but never returned. Neither do store bought plants not that I've tried many of them. May be time to try again!
As for purple poppies, I have Lauren's Grape at the community garden but I didn't catch it on film. I'll have to see how it's doing.

Hi Mipii, will enjoy some of your scattered Guara seeds in my garden and I will do the same with the poppies , Exchange is no robbery,LOL First time I heard of Guara,but it's a beautiful flower,

Lilium Blackout. An asiatic. I bought it as a gift from client and was so blown away by the intense color I bought a trio for myself.

The second is a beautiful upfacing trumpet I got from Faraway Flowers. I just write to her to get the name, which I will add. I have found that miscanthus 'Graziella' doesn't slice lilies, so I have a few in the center of them . I like the effect.

Loretta - Yes - check out the purple poppies??? I'm interested and would love to trade for them if that is an option. Also I think I may have learned something about the gaura. I have never had luck keeping it over winter either. I think I was planting it in the wrong places. I've read where it likes it high and dry. I think I had it previously planted where there was too much moisture. I bought 3 earlier this year and I planted them in the poorest - driest spot and I may have given them a drink when I planted them, but have since given them NO watering attention and they seem to be thriving. For what it's worth.

Keep gardening!

Have to share my results of overwintering a Calla lily that my hubby bought me for Mothers Day two years ago.Did lots of research and I'm so happy with the results.I have to show my group of Poppies in my front garden bed

Brenda, I haven't seen any reseeding of Gaura. This is the second one I've had, the first one didn't make it through the winter and this one is planted in a drier location and this is it's second year. I'm a happy camper so far. I've found the seeds are tricky to harvest but I'll do my best this year so I can share.
This is the early season foliage...

Great job overwintering the Callas...obviously, they're so beautiful!

Donna you've probably got the grandest Lily collection, you're jam-packed with those beauties. I've been lusting over your 'Royal Sunset' ever since you first posted it a couple of years ago. I might have one on it's way to me, I've got my fingers crossed!

Robin - That foliage on the gaura is beautiful. I'll have to pay more attention to mine. Reminds me of coleus.

#1 & #2 photo - My Rainbow Butterfly Bush is going strong. It was a freebie in 2014 when I placed an order with Michigan Bulb Co..

#3 photo - A dukes mixture from the bottom of the hill.

What a great freebie Loretta! A dukes mixture of what? You must have some rolling hills where you are...nice!

You mean Brenda, Robin. Yes, I agree. That buddleia has good color. And what is a dukes mixture?

As for guara, I do have dry soil in general but I'll try to find the driest possible spot next time. I do have a spot outside of the sprinkler's range.

Purple poppies, I'll see if I get seed. I should unless someone swipes the pods on me. Otherwise, I have seed left from this year. It might be safer to take some leftover seed because I have Cherry Glow growing right next to Lauren's Grape. I'll let you know.

Nice effect with the grass, Donna. You do have an incredible collection of lilies. I'm not sure how much more of a lily show I'll get this year. I've been picking off lily beetle left and right. I never had them so bad before.

cytf, I love the upside down poppies with the allium! And congrats on the calla lilies. I've also had success overwintering them. I wish I could get the caladiums to overwinter too.

Yes, I meant Brenda, lol. Thanks for clearing that faux pas up Loretta. I think a Dukes Mixture is a Daylily.

O.K. - I see that I have you wondering what the heck I am talking about. Dukes mixture - well that is like "odds & ends", not a name for anything but my mixture of this and that. Hum! Figure of speach.

I love all your Asiatics and Trumpet Lily and I'm sad that my luck has diminished with those babies. I haven't a ONE this year that I planted last year. I guess the earth just opened up and swallowed them, because I do NOT know what happened???? A mystery to me. If I had cut them off to short would the bulb have rotten or died away?

Look who was visiting my Rainbow Butterfly Bush when I went to pick cucumbers & blackberries this morn.

Some of my zinnia are in full bloom - what pleasure they bring.

If you look close you might see a blackberry or two in the #5 photo (on the left). That is my Verticle Garden area made of steel posts and cattle panels - my 12 arbs in the North Veggie Garden. I love walking through there (full of clematis - not many blooming now) and blackberries and red honeysuckle and pole beans and morning glory and keep my fingers crossed - I think I have a 'Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate". That last one totally new to me but apparently a Thomas Jefferson favorite. I planted two packages of the 'Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate' last year and I even soaked the seed and NOTHING every appeared, sprouted or anything. Now I have this strange (really strange) plant that has surfaced and I it is nothing like I have seen before though I began to think it was a weed. If it is what I think it is (I've been trying to Google the foliage) - it will WOW me and then I can WOW you with it.

Raining here - nice.

Enjoy your day!

But wait, there is no #5 picture. Your swallowtail is just beautiful and your photography sure did it justice.

Woops - Here is # 5 photo. THANKS Mipii for bringing that to my attention. Silly ME. . . .

WOW, that's so nice.

Rose de Rescht is reblooming. Also salvia viridis, salvia Rose Queen, woodland strawberries. Here are two pictures from the opposite sides of the front bed. I have been having fun filling it up. When I got there, it was empty!

spigelia marilandica.

I was always told that it would not overwinter in my neck of the woods but I have had two specimens for the past 3 winters with no issue. In fact because of their apparent hardiness in our garden I planted two more this spring. Hopefully I haven't jinxed anything.



This message was edited Jul 4, 2016 1:01 PM

In prior years this particular Sea Holly plant ("Big Blue") had several more branches with blooms. But it appears that this is it. (I wonder if there is something I could have done earlier to encourage more stems to grow from the base. For some other perennials one cuts back newer growth in the spring.)



This message was edited Jul 4, 2016 1:01 PM

Beautiful BLUE Sea Holly. I think that likes your zone more than mine.

We have have right at five inches of rain since Saturday afternoon and I was fortunate to take this picture ahead of the rains.

Awesome pics, beautiful arbor!
Something about those lilies that glow from within is really compelling.
I love oakleaf Hydrangea, too, and had an Alice that I killed, which is unfortunate since my civilian name is Alice...

My Scabiosa plant is blooming nicely I have had it for many years ..

Very pretty Scabiosa, it is blooming nicely. I've got some Cherry Yarrow, they've come a long way in hybridizing since the standard yellow.

I tried a Spigelia marilandica last year, just loved it it was easy and bloomed for months. Sadly it did not return :-( I may try again.

What beautiful Yarrow ,I was only familiar with the yellow ones . They make very good dried flowers because I have 2 pieces from my Garden club flower show from last year .I planted one in the Church garden in spring and it's doing well.Have you ever divided them?

I have a bunch of spigelias - never thought of them as fussy.
I would definitely try again Pistil.
It seems too weird to think that a plant would be happier in my climate than yours!

Robin - Cherry Yarrow is beautiful, must be happy. Have you seen Paprika? It is a pretty one, too.

I have seen Paprika, that one and a few others are on my want list. I haven't divided them but my neighbor divides her tall Yellow every year.

I'd also like to try the Spigelia marilandica, it's so different.

Rouge21, your Sea Holly is stunning. Do you think it needs dividing to get more blooms?

Robin - The Spigelia marilandica,(I know it as Indian Pink, a native in our area).Yes from what I have seen here - it is beautiful. I guess I did not realize it was such a beauty in the garden. I may have to give it a try one of these days, too. Also, Robin, you mentioned that your neighbor divides her tall Yellow yarrow every year. Is that the yellow Fern Leaf yarrow as in the photo below? Look hard, it is in among the coneflowers. The reason I ask is that every time I split mine it DOES seem to take off and do better. This year I do not have much and I have not split it in a couple years.

Keep gardening.

I sure do love looking at your gardens, Echinacea are perfect with Yarrow. The foliage of my neighbor's is the same only hers are about 4', just a little shorter than her Ditch Lily (that's a good combo too).

Rouge21, lol...no you can't divide a tap root very easily. Neptune is fabulous, I'm off to look at more pics of it.

rouge21 - I checked out the Youtube "Neptune" - Lovely, Lovely, Lovely! I had one SH and I guess I killed it. I was not familiar with the tap root. I'll blame my misfortune on that.

Robin - Yep - Same yarrow and it looks good with the roadside lilies. Glad someone else besides me like roadside lilies. I'll keep in mind to split my yarrow up more often. I sure would not want to loose it.

Lol Brenda,regarding the taproot. I cant think of anything your Yarrow wouldn't look good with. The picture I took didn't even show the Yarrow off, I was focusing that shot on the DL's (I like them too).

This lily was transplanted from the morning sun evening shade area last fall and I was happy to see it bloom. My fist red bee balm flower.