Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August '08 - Late!

I didn't get this done on the 16th when I meant to (see previous post)....but here's my Bloom Day post at last. I'm holding fast to the old proverb: better late than never :)

The driveway garden is looking a bit scraggly, but there are still some bright spots of color.

The Butterfly Bush (buddleia davidii) lives up to its name, drawing plenty of the lovely 'flying flowers'. Unfortunately, I didn't happen to catch any on it when I took these photos.

The White Temptation daylily is still opening a couple of flowers each day, but its blooming days are almost over for the summer.

Catherine Woodbury is like the Energizer Bunny - she just keeps going and going! What a beauty she is!

There are several colors of phlox in the driveway garden, including this vibrant red.... Posted by Picasa

.....and this soft pink with the darker eye. The Cerise Queen Yarrow (achillea) blends nicely with it. There's lots of Bee Balm (Monarda) in this garden as well.

Looking past the Butterfly Bush to the lilac garden, we see more phlox providing the most eye-catching color there.

The red Monarda and white Shasta Daisies are still blooming, but are beginning to wane. These pink phlox spread very easily and must be kept in check. I dig out lots of the monarda and daisies too at the end of the season. Perennials save planting time in the spring, but thinning the spreaders can be labor intensive.

This pretty pastel Monarda goes well with the Yarrow. Posted by Picasa

The bees mix up the colors when they polinate, and I end up with lovely shades of pink and purple. There's a couple of ants sharing this bloom with the bee.

Tiger Swallowtails are abundant in our gardens.

The dwarf campanula (campanula carpatica) makes a pretty edging.

It's very easy to move pieces of this around to other gardens.

Here's a view of the driveway and fence gardens looking bedraggled after all the rain we've had. The garden in the foreground is filled to the brim with phlox which badly need thinning. I've found a few neighbors who want some :) Posted by Picasa

The Coneflowers (echinacea) are pretty in pink.....

......and the Gloriosa Daisies go on and on. They're both rudbeckias. Can you see the resemblance?

They're easy to grow from seed, and the birds sometimes spread them around. Posted by Picasa

Down in the lily garden a few daylilies are not quite finished blooming. Cherry Cheeks is still putting on a show....

...and Mariska, planted last year, is doing nicely her second summer.

Strutter's Ball, further up in a different garden, only had a few blooms this second summer. I added more compost so we'll see if this improves her performance next year.

Back in the lily garden, portulacas seeded themselves from annuals planted last year...

....and the wave petunias reseeded for a third summer. Other annuals that reseeded and are blooming in this garden are Nicotiana, Painted Tongue (salpiglossis), Snapdragons, Larkspurs and some pretty blue Petunias. I've never had so many annuals reseed before. Posted by Picasa

Aren't these rust colored Gloriosas pretty? They've been blooming for weeks in the fence garden, and really can't be beat for long-lasting blooms.

These bright Petunias are also in the fence garden. Posted by Picasa

I don't know the name of this Heuchera because it wasn't labeled. It's grown large in the clematis garden up by the house, where the soil is rich in compost. I've just pulled out all the Gloriosa Daisies that planted themselves here. Most of them were finally beginning to fade. I wanted to replace them earlier in the summer with some annuals, but didn't get it done before they bloomed, and then they looked too pretty to move. I have some other things I want to plant here to try and brighten it up a bit.

This lovely lady is Social Climber, bought on sale and planted at the end of the season last year. She was slow to start in the spring, but has done well since then, and given us some beautiful blooms. Posted by Picasa
There's lots more blooming, but this will do for now.
Many thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day. I hope she'll forgive me for being so late!

18 comments:

Roses and Lilacs said...[Reply]

Fabulous photos. You have so much blooming.

I love gloriosa daisies. They are annuals here but sometimes they self seed and return.

You have a beautiful garden and the pasture across the road provides a wild and lovely backdrop.
Marnie

Jane O' said...[Reply]

Kerri, you know where I stand on the better late than never idea. Maybe we like a little special attention, rather than getting lost in teh shuffle?
I love your Cherise Queen Yarrow and the Monarda in that color is perfect with it.
All of your daylilies are wonderful. Have you ever found a bad one? Some are better than others, but I love them all. Addicted? Lead me to the Daylilies Anonymous (didn't DA used to stand for something quite different in the 50s?) Will you be my sponsor?
On second thought I don't think I want to join; that would mean I'd have to give it up!

Mountain Mama said...[Reply]

Kerry your gardens and flowers are just beautiful! You certainly have a talent for planting the right things together too. The color combinations are perfect.
And the rust colored Gloriosa's by the fence are meant to be. It looks so 'country' wonderful!
I had Gloriosa's once and really enjoyed them. Everytime I visit your blog I want to plant more flowers. How easily I forget that it is so hard for me to take care of them these days.
Thanks so much for sharing your lovely flowers with us Kerry. I have truly enjoyed them.
HUGS!!!

Annie in Austin said...[Reply]

That lush and slightly overblown and over-the-top look is just perfect for mid-August, Kerri...it looks like Mother Nature has had a really good time at the summer garden party, with a few clandestine hugs to rumple her petals!

I forgot how cool those rusty-burgundy Gloriosas could look - mostly see the school-bus orange kind here, which do nothing for me.

Thanks for sharing!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Susie said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri,
Your garden is looking lovely. I think the rain you've had has just made everything more beautiful.
Hope you're enjoying your summer..
xo

Debbie said...[Reply]

Wow, Keri, your garden still looks great, so many different blooms.

Fantastic!

Beth said...[Reply]

Keri - I love looking at your photos. You have a lovely garden - so colorful.
Do you know the name of that rust colored gloriosa daisy? I just bought one this year but it's more of the yellow variety (which I still love). I hope they are hardy enough to survive our winters!!!

Barbara said...[Reply]

All these beautiful colours in your garden, dear Kerry! It's a feast for the eyes! And your perennials have a huge size with so many blooms. I love the colour of the Ch. Cheek daylily. It's beautiful. Here all daylilies have already gone.
Have a great weekend!
Barbara

Diana LaMarre said...[Reply]

Kerri,
I am just amazed at the variety of flowers you have and they all do so well!

I envy people who can grow coneflowers like you do. I keep trying, but they just won't grow in my soil. Maybe I should put some in pots on the deck. I seem to do better with containers.

That red phlox is beautiful. I have tried that twice, but it, too, keeps disappearing! I have plenty of the purple and white phlox, but can't get the red or orange to survive.

I have not been around in a while, so I have to catch up on your other posts.

Lisa at Greenbow said...[Reply]

Kerri, you always have so many gorgeous blooms they are worth waiting for. I love seeing the butterflies in your garden too.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

I've been browsing through all the posts that I missed and I must say that your flowers are beautiful.

I only have a few stragglers left, but my pink rose is doing well with many blooms at the moment.

We haven't had much rain here for a while and things are beginning to look like they might need a little help from my water hose. Don't hoard all that rain and send some down here to us, hehehe.

Sunita Mohan said...[Reply]

Gorgeous blooms, Kerri! And lovely photos, as always. I must say that your garden is looking much more colourful than my tropical one !

Pam said...[Reply]

Look at those coneflowers! I love mine, but the ones I planted last year died over the winter so I hope my new ones (a tiny clump) survive better or I may have to come and rustle some of yours...

Sunita Mohan said...[Reply]

Kerri, thanks for your tip about Picasa2 on my blog. I'll check it out. Thanks!
If I ever find out what my 'violent' caterpillars grow up to become, I'll definitely post a photo in my blog : )

Anonymous said...[Reply]

You do such a great job combining your colors, Keri. Does your area usually stay that green in August? We are this year, but not always.

Carol Michel said...[Reply]

You might be late posting, but I'm still later commenting. I like the look of your August garden, lots of color and variety!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Cris said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri, I miss coming here... You have portulacas!!! That's the flower on my profile... They are common here, they bloom in the morning and close in the afternoon. xoxox

w00ts up said...[Reply]

Love your garden! Just gorgeous! I love butterfly bush. I saw a bi-color one in a catalog and it still has peaked my curiosity. It's flowers were yellow and pink. Your kitties are cute!