Photo thread two. It's peak season, share your pictures:

Really beautiful entrance, Katye. I also really like Niobe.

Here is a photo I just took of the volunteer hollyhocks at the north edge of my main veggie garden. This is the first high clouds day we have had for a long time. Still very warm and today muggy , as no wind, which of course helps the wildfire fighters. There is a serious fire across the river from me, not close to being under control. They closed hwy. 20 last evening due to smoke.

Donna

Here are a couple of pictures of a volunteer melon growing on one of my compost piles. First the vines then a pic. of a melon. Don't know yet what it is.

Donna

This is the small melon, now about 2 " x 3"

No volunteers (I say with an envious tone) but here are some pics from today:
Blue girl rose

I also love your waterlily, James. No equivalent, but blooming here today:

Some cupid's dart (loves the backyard):

Evening primose with Strawberry Candy (and a stray bindweed--have to get those indigenous plants in here somewhere):

My favorite daylily, Janice Brown:

A reblooming hardy geranium (has a name but who remembers?).

Katy is lucky she lives too far away for me to come digging up her glads!
I'll end with Scatterbrain!

Scatterbrain is wonderful! And the Blue Girl rose. You know, that bind weed looks quite nice with your primrose and strawberry candy. Maybe I have to give it a bit of a reprieve.

Ruth - i hope you are well & your property is not in danger. Fires are scary, especially with the winds. I really am envious about the Hollyhocks - I see NO rust on them - that's a bonus affliction when they are grown on this side of the Cascades! I am checking mine every day, so far, no rust...yet.

MM - Blue Girl rose - stunning. Does the colour wash out in the heat? Very nice, and would probably go purply-blue here.
A speckled Campanula? or what?....
Janice brown - looks peach with a rose eye & green throat - is this accurate? This is a serious look into soon acquisition! And is Janice fragrant? always a plus...
If you would like some of the 'Chantal', let me know. I have plenty. I don't dig them up for the winter, & they return just fine. I was surprised that they were so prolific this year, especially after the atypical extreme winter temps. By the way - they are tall!

Does anyone know if the Echinaceas come true from seed? I have wee ones, and will separate out if necessary, to see what kind of surprises they bring.

A truer shot of Lily 'Pink triumphator' - shows the colour better:

Blueberry surfing via Ridgeback: she is quite methodical in the selection process, unlike my Lab. Ruby only eats the ripe ones. Good thing I have lots of bushes!

Katye, how in the world have you avoided rust on your Hollyhocks???!!! Mine have been just awful for months - especially in one bed. I keep picking the bad leaves off, but will soon have only flowers at the top of a 10 foot stalk.

These are the "good" ones - one stalk had been growing under the eave, so I pulled it out and now it is all curvy up on the roof.

The best way to avoid some at least rust is to try to garden here on the, this year especially, the very dry east side of WASH. When my daughter was her in late May she transplanted about 20 hollyhocks to the north side of my south deer fence. They are all growing and one has bloomed and there are bud stalks on a couple more.

Donna

And these are the ones that suffer ferociously from rust . . . next year I need to plant taller things in front of them! Obviously, this photo doesn't show just how bad the rust issue is - only a couple bad leaves show here. Lower down, I've taken off tons of diseased leaves.

I'm so going to plant more hollyhocks for next year. We have several species of butterflies that need malvacea for their cats, and I have been planting rose mallow for them. Hollyhocks would make a nice back of the border plant too.

What is rust? Ha Ha. Living in 2 to 8% humidity is easy to keep roses, hollyhocks, etc. Though we did get about an inch of rain yesterday. Thank you Donna for not using all of the water that passed over you. Today is beautiful and a little muggy. Yes!

Soferdig, actually I tried to extract all the moisture but was unsuccessful. We didn't get any rain until about 2:00 am this morning. Then at about 6:00 I could see a black cloud to the south, not the terrible smoke we have had. Then heard the Thunder. There was quite a lot of T & L and thankgoodness rain. Rained really hard for a bit along with the wind. Everything is beautifully wet now and still sprinkling a little.

After I found the guinea hens nest, with Blues help, ( she got too close and they really gave her a scolding). So when I set the sprinkler there last evening I was careful to keep the water away from the nest area. Actually I had decided that 2 guineas are all my garden can support, so now I don't know what to do. There are 28 eggs in the nest and she is setting on it at least part of the time. But maybe since this is the hens first attempt to set she will not be successful.

Donna

Donna,
The eggs are beautiful! But what will you do if all 28 survive? Sell guineas, I guess. Give them to friends? LOL. I don't think I would have 28 friends who would want guineas! This is a crisis I would not have anticipated! Can think of worse ones, though. Would your children like some guineas?

Betty, thanks for seeing the beauty in my bindweed! I bought Scatterbrain (orig.) for my youngest but I seem to be its poster child, nowadays. Blue Girl was the 1st purple (ish) rose I found for my oldest. Each bud is perfect.

Katy, the dotted one is cherry bells (yep, campanula family)...can be invasive. Blue Girl does not fade but I have that one on the east side of the house. Janice Brown is more pink with a deep rose eye and the most beautiful contrasting green throat. I wish I'd kept more when I divided "her" last year--I'd just send some your way. If you wait a couple of years, I'll need to divide again.... As for your beautiful glads, I'd love 'em but they should stay where they don't need digging...they are safer there (sadly).

I'll be offline for a couple of weeks so will lift up your safety in prayer, Ruth.
Diane

Daylily Fairytale Pink. The first time it has bloomed in my garden. I love it.

Now the picture.

paja, nor would any of my three children who all live in the city. Actually I don't really expect a very good if any hatch of keets. This is the first time for the hen to try setting, and I am not sure she knows what she is doing. But I will not interfere and see what happens.

The fires are pretty much out, and thankfully not too much damage. One house burned and the fellow who works for me was really lucky as his place was pretty much surrounded by the fire, but he only lost one outbuilding.

We had such a good rain yesterday, a little more than 1/2 inch and this morning a little more. Today was much cooler, only reached 80 degrees for a short while.

Donna

Donna, I'm so glad all is well near you - fires must be so scary.

Paja, I planted three of the Fairytale Pink Daylilies this year - probably won't bloom until next year, but seeing yours makes me extra happy that I got them!

It's raining here - has been off and on for a couple days, heavier today. And very cool for late July.

Murmur,
I planted mine last year and am so glad I did. They are my favorite so far.

Went to teh Cat Lady's Daylily sale today at her display garden.

This is what 3000 varieties of daylilies on 1 acre looks like

Daylily "Coral Gem"

daylily "Prickled Petals"

daylily "Ed Brown" -- justifiably one of the top judged daylilies of all time

Not your beautiful picture but this is why I keep wasps around in the summer. This ninebark was covered with eggs and emerging bugs. Today they are almost gone with the wasps swarming around the banquet of bugs. Yeah Wasps. Oh I took 7 pictures without getting stung.

Greenjay,
Those are magnificent daylilies. I would love to have seen that! Under your influence I will soon be running off to Denver every couple of weeks.

My daylily of the day is Siloam Double Classic ( I hope I got that spelled right.

Steve I couldn't tell from the picture, are those aphids that the wasp are eating??. I have a Prunus Okame that is very prone to aphis in festation, also my Lapins cherry had/has lots of aphids. I try to be pretty much organic and I do have quite a lot of bees including wasps, but am not sure of which ones.

No there are no aphids on this plant but it doesn't matter because the wasp will find anything to eat that is meat. These are probably only harmless otherthings. The aphids don't have a chance even with the ants planting them on the bush.

Here's a real reliable bloomer.. cosmos.

I love this sweet pea. Bought a package for last year and the red blossoms grew so big that I saved seeds for this year. It was called a 'bush' sweet pea, but I stick a tomato cage around it as it seems to need some support.

Last but not least.. my ash leaf spirea. I love it, but boy, does this ever grow. I took a 6 inch start from my daughter's bush about 5 year ago. It's now at least 6 feet tall (the fence is 4 feet) and I prune it back every fall and cut out all runners before they take over the whole flower bed.

Very pretty, Florae. I was not familiar with ash leaf spirea.