Garden Bloggers Bloom Day July 2012

The last six weeks has seen very little rain so blooms are not abundant. This is my first time to join May Dreams Garden Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I wanted to post a few things that are blooming now to remind myself that even with little rain the garden can still reward us with blooms. My mother who is in her 80's visited yesterday. I have been bemoaning the fact that my garden is suffering and doesn't look very good. She walked around a little and remarked that there was still lots of things in bloom, which made me get the camera out this afternoon.

Blooming in my garden today is a white Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacusa) that came as a pass along plant from my mother in law many years ago. There are others in the group that she gave me but this solid white has always been my favorite.

The blooms are just beginning on my Hydrangea 'Limelight'. There are two of these in the garden planted last spring and they are quickly becoming favorite plants. I purchased a third plant that is also a hydrangea paniculata but I do not remember the variety.

I am so pleased to see the blooms on my crepe myrtle 'Natchez' this year. They were leafed out in our abnormally warm early spring when the temperatures dropped below freezing in mid April. When all the leaves turned brown I was worried that I might see so much die back that I would lose a lot of this years bloom.

I am equally pleased to have a few blooms on this hydrangea macrophylla. It was purchased many years ago and I don't know the variety. It leafed out and had so many buds from the warm spring that I was so excited since this is one that blooms on old wood. Some years it doesn't bloom at all. After the freezing weather in April I didn't expect it see any this year either, but some of the lower buds survived.

There are other blooms in the garden but I keep getting chased inside by light showers. So far they are not enough to make a huge difference but I an thankful for each drop that falls.

Hope you are out enjoying your garden today!

Red in the Garden

"If one says 'Red' – the name of color – and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be fifty reds in their minds. And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different." -- Josef Albers

H. 'Places in the Heart'

I have been drawn to red daylilies since I started to collect them a few years ago but it is very hard for me to describe the color. Reds can be so different.

H. 'Round Red Ruffles'  

Red is considered a warm color in landscape design. Its appearance in the garden has an energetic effect.

H. 'Sanford Code Red' 

When I first began gardening warm colors were always dismissed in favor of all the cool colors.

Age has changed my thinking since I find myself drawn more and more to the vibrant and warm colors.

H 'All American Chief'

Choosing red daylilies is the easy part for me. Choosing the best companions for them is much harder but is something that I want to accomplish as I continue to garden.

An Inspiring Garden

This past weekend we had the pleasure of touring four beautiful gardens during our Region 10 Summer meeting. One of the gardens had not only a collection of daylilies but also a beautiful display of hostas. So many of them were growing in pots and I loved the way they looked.

The pots were every shape and size and the hostas were growing so well in the pots that I definitely want to give this a try.

Hostas weren't the only thing that she had in pots. I loved this hanging teapot planted with a heuchera. I loved the imaginative use of containers that weren't the traditional pots. I am busy mentally planning to start searching for things that I can use.

There were beautiful display gardens containing daylilies. This section contained an unusal water feature.  I realized when I went through my pictures that I hadn't photographed nearly as many of them because I was so enthralled with the hosta gardens.

Wordless Wednesday

Consider the lilies, how they grow....

Lillies in Bloom

Three years ago while attending a garden fair I purchased a few lily bulbs. I guess I didn't have much faith that they would survive. I don't think I even kept their names so that I could tag them. They survived and I am so glad they did! These are planted with the Double Red Knockout Roses.

Asiatic Lily 'Elodie'

When I have success with a type of flower there are usually more added to the garden. so that fall I ordered several of the Asiatic lilies. Elodie is described as a double and it is planted with Verbena bonariensis. 

You can see the second row of petals which create the "double" effect.

There is much for me to learn about growing these flowers, so I want to continue to experiment with them. Any plant that can add this much beauty to the garden will be worth the time I spend to learn.