11 January 2024
Double Delicious
Notice the multiple blooms on one stem, and the second, shorter stem coming along. Also, althrough these are beautiful abd plentiful, there are other buds along the top waiting to take the place as these die off.
28 June 2023
New St. John's Wort
St. John's Wort seems to be liking the additinal sunlight. I find that the plant has begun spreading its wings into the turf grassy area, and the new growth has really started to glow yellow like never before. A little sun makes it shine!
I also discoverred the older growth remains the evergreen color and is where the flowers are coming from. Flowers are still 'few and far between', and tend to pop up at verious times throughout the spring. It would make a more serious garden statement if they all appreaed at the same time.
I am going to replace the photinias with Swamp Magnolia - a Virginia native. I will need to wait a few years for it to grow to a size that can shade all the plants that were previously happy. I hope the hostas can survive that long - they are the ones most suffering. Maybe a move for them to more hospitable locations is in the cards this fall.
18 June 2023
Poppies
The pink peony poppies were runts. They began germinating in spring as the temperatures were setting records in the high 80s (high 20s C). For the past weeks, however, the weather has been a bit cooler that normal, but they still did not liek the hot April. There are blooms and I will save the seeds for next eseason and hope for mor appropriate spring weather.
06 April 2023
All Daffodils
I really like these daffodils. First, they are reliable. No coddling or special treatment is needed. They multiply. I can't count how many of the orange/white I have given away. Third, they smell great -- especially the orange ones. The other regular typical daffodils I have do not have much of a fragrance.
The latest addition to the collection (the other two) was a gift of about 10 bulbs each a few years ago. They also multiply and now have formed two sizable clumps. I am sure dividing them this spring would result in another gift being passed on to more gardeners.
27 March 2023
Not Open Yet
28 February 2023
Spring Begins
23 July 2022
Summer Coneflowers
04 June 2022
Crossed Daylily
I like the colors but do not remember what two I crossed. Its flowers are larger and more numersous than the other resulting crosses, one of which is blooming for the first time this year. Its colors are similar, but the stalks and flowers are a bit smaller, and the colors a little duller. It may be because of the plant size because the bigger plant propduces the larger blooms - it has been blooming longer and had more time to "leap."
Two others will bloom soon, but the buds are smaller and fewer. Maybe these plants need a few more years to develop.
I believe these two were the parents.
15 August 2021
August Bloom Day
What's blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month
I scrounged through my phjotos I have saved for Instagram postings, and took a few tonight before the sun went down. The 15th sneaked up on me this month.
Interesting story on this. If you snoop through past years of posts, you know I like growing different dwarf sunflowers. The last cultivar tried had some seeds I saved for the birds. I planted a few the following year, and saved these seeds and planted this year. The blooms are a nice manageable size, but they are not very drawf, stading at about 5-feet (1.5 m) tall, and do not match the original hybrid. I like the flowers though.
Tithonia is new to me this year. I am impressed by the pollinators that constantly visit it, and it's preference for poor soil, and a hot dry environment.
Cutleaf rudbeckia last week, Now, after some rain storms, it's falling over but still blooming up a storm.
This is the only ruby red zinnia 'Cherry Queen' I photographed so far. Hummingbirds stop by, but I don't really know how much they get out of the flower. Beautiful color.
Just starting to bloom now, the cardinal flower lobelia was labed as 'Blue Lobelia' at the spring plant swap. Oops.
Late summer blooming garden phlox. Another pollinator love.
Find more ther garden bloggers' blooms on May Dream Gardens.
15 July 2021
July Bloom Day
What's blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month
I wanted to wait until dark when the moonflowers open before taking the last shots for this July. These are some of the blooms at this time of year.
Datura arrayed along the entry to the house where I enjoy the intoxicating fragrance every summer evening. They reseed themselves every year.
Rudbeckia hita native loves the sun. They last about two years, but easily reseed.
Rudbeckia laciniata picked up at a plant swap, it grows 6 feet (2 m) tall and easily falls over. Thanks to Janet, Queen of Seaford in identifying for me.
I thought a closeup of the balloon flower would be interesting. Platycodon grandiflorus reseeds but they're difficult to move because of their deep tap root.
Phlox paniculata 'Jeana' giveaway at the Washington DC Garden Bloggers Fling. Pollinators love it as much as I do.
When echinacea purpurea is planted in part shade, it gows 5 feet tall (1.5 m).
Echinops ritro is about ready to bloom and inviting all the bumbles to it.
Will it go round in circles? Watch bees on coneflowers go around the ring of pollen on the flower.
Find more ther garden bloggers' blooms on May Dream Gardens.
15 June 2021
June Bloom Day
What's blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month
I want to highlight some blooms that are not the usual ones I post every June.
Lychnis coronaria, Rose campion is such a work horse. It blooms in heat, reseeds well, survives winters, and the color combo of silver and magenta is striking.
Coconut lime echinacea is a hybrid that is lower in height, and not as attractive to pollinators as the native. Here, some little guy poses on a petal.
Speaking of lime ... this is lime green nicotiana. As thick as ever at this time of year, and a proflific reseeder. I keep it separated from the white in another garden to keep it from intermixing, and to maintain the green color. This year the fragrance at night is incredible.
I was lazy and did not cut off the seed pods one year. A whole lot of different hostas sprouted the following year. I kept about a half dozen including this one.
This lavendar was free at the Garden Bloggers Fling when it came to Washington DC. Lavender 'Phenomenal' is exceptional in that none of it died back in winter, and the amount of blooms is awesome.
\Once I figured out what this low-growing iris was (picked up at a plant swap), it was moved from the sunny garden to damp part shade. My native crested iris (Iris cristata) is now flourishing and I am rewarded with flowers.
An impatient visitor waiting for pollen to open.
Daylilies I crossed using the orange ditch lily with 'Night of Passion'. Very proud and pleased with the results, but the colors get washed out to a dull pale rust in bright hot sunlight.
Find more ther garden bloggers' blooms on May Dream Gardens.
15 May 2021
May Bloom Day
What's blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month
The smaller perennials are still growing, while some of the larger ones are blooming.
Siberian Iris are in full bloom. I picked these multipliers up at a master gardener plant swap, and now have 3 stands with 100 blooms.
Columbine Aquilegia from my mom's garden years ago.
Pea blossom. Hey, veggies have blooms, too.
Mountain Laurel Kamlia latifolia. A very red 'Sarah' cultivar.
White camassia -- not as popular as the blue.
Bearded Iris. This reblooming cultivar 'Clarence' was purchased from Walmart many years ago.
Geranium sanguineum close up.
I don't know the name of my black bearded iris. It's really hard to get the color right, when taken with a cell phone camera.
Spiderwort grows well although in a sunty location.
The white ruffled bearded iris came from another plant swap.
The tree peony 'Garden Treasure' that closes up at night.
Find other garden bloggers' posts at May Dream Gardens