Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August 2010

August in the gardens is Phlox, Agastache, Golden Glow, Gloriosas, Coneflowers, Cosmos, Cleome, Dahlias, Zinnias......

and so much more!
Wonderful color everywhere!

Now that the daylilies are finished in the Lily Garden, that large clump of Agastache foeniculum/Anise Hyssop is the main attraction. It's been blooming for weeks!

In the Lower Rock Garden there's plenty of Gloriosa Daisies/rudbeckia hirta and other lovelies.

Coneflowers are still blooming happily with Phlox and Gloriosas.

The Phlox in the Driveway Garden have had a spectacular season, with blooms more abundant than I've ever seen. I took lots of photos and will have to do a "look back" post to show you some of them. Is it just me, or does summer get busier every year? I just can't seem to find time to blog lately. 

The Golden Glow/Rudbeckia laciniata "Hortensia" (aka Cut-leaf coneflower, Outhouse plant) falls all over the place in gay abandon and still manages to look beautiful. Hubby's rustic fences are meant to keep it upright, but it creeps out beyond them and I haven't found time to dig it up and put it back where I want it.

The red shed makes a perfect background.

Hannah and the other cats think it's their own personal jungle.

Let's wander down to the Lily Garden where there are some pretty annuals blooming.

Cleome in glorious shades of pink.

Aka Spider Flower

Coreopsis Ruby Frost was a gift from Terra Nova nurseries for helping to name the new plant through a Birds and Blooms magazine competition. What a lovely surprise when 4 plants arrived in the mail! Isn't it beautiful?

I love this Dark Opal Basil paired with Zinnias, and it smells wonderful whenever I'm working near it and brush against it.

I left this one Gloriosa seedling where it planted itself and am very happy that it's turned out to be a double with some rusty tones in it. I haven't seen many of them this year. They're mostly the more common school bus yellow.

I'm so pleased with my beautiful Verbena bonariensis growing in the Lower Rock Garden!
Thank you, dear Barbara of Abenteuer Garten!
A few of them self-seeded from last year but most of these were started from seed indoors in the late winter.

It also pairs well with Zinnias.

We are lucky to have a small, local nursery owned by friends, and it's a real treasure chest of new plants to try. I was excited to find, among other things, 2 salvias that I haven't seen in these parts before. This one is Salvia greggii "Desert Blaze"/Variegated Autumn Sage.

And this one is Salvia coccinea "Coral Nymph"/Hummingbird or Texas Sage.

Bright orange nasturtiums are blooming with calendulas and marigolds at the bottom of the Rock Garden.

Speaking of bright orange, the lovely Oriental Tigerlily has been blooming up near the butterfly bush in the Driveway Garden for weeks!

Windowboxes are overflowing with petunias! This one has "Pink Morn" paired with Scaevola/Fan Flower, Alyssum, Vinca and an Ivy Geranium.

Soft mounds of Cosmos glow in the morning sun outside the back door.

Across the driveway, Dahlia "Park Princess" is pretty in the Pink Garden.

Daylily "Summer Wine" is the only one still producing blooms. There aren't many buds left now, but it's been blooming for more than a month. This is a late July photo because I forgot to take a current one.

August is the month for my overwintered geraniums to really come into their own. The Ivies are blooming like crazy and looking glorious.

We've had some cooler weather and a couple of good rains lately. One recent misty morn I caught the geraniums sparkling with jeweled drops after an overnight rain.
This is "Belladonna".

and  "Chirocco".

Vancouver Centennial Geranium is beautiful once again with Sweet Potato Vine "Blackie" and Calibrachoa "MiniFamous Tangerine".

There are many more blooms - too many to mention, so this will have to do for now. Thanks for visiting and happy Bloom Day to you!


I hope you'll manage to find the time to visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens and have a look at what's blooming in other gardens all over the globe on this August Bloom Day.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2010

Hot is the word that comes to mind on this July Bloom Day: hot weather and hot colors in the garden.

Although not so much here in the Lily Garden, where several daylilies are blooming exuberantly. 

We've had a taste of Texas weather this summer, or at least that's what the oppressive heat, humidity and dry conditions of recent weeks put me in mind of. As garden bloggers congregated in Buffalo, NY for the Buffa10 Meet Up last Thursday, upstate NY was experiencing one of the hottest days I can remember. I'm sure those southern gardeners weren't expecting to be sizzling in an upstate NY summer!  I was disappointed that I couldn't be there to meet all the wonderful bloggers and see the beautiful gardens of Buffalo. Judging by the posts I've read so far, they had a fantastic time.

Today is cooler and much more comfortable, for which I'm very thankful...

perfect weather for a little tour of the gardens to see what's blooming.

Persian Market is one of the earliest daylilies to bloom, and wow, does she put on a delightful show!

The lovely yellow Atlanta Moonlight and pink Mariska are not to be outdone.

Looking over toward the Driveway Garden we see a riot of color.

Beautiful Cleo is one of my favorite daylilies. She never disappoints with her tall stature and abundant blooms.
Yarrow, Monarda, Phlox and Gloriosa Daisies are providing plenty of color in the mid-July garden. 

The Lilac Garden in the background is mostly red and white,

but let's look the other way for a moment.

Reds and yellows are the stars in the fence garden at this time.

Ellen's Lily (named for my friend who generously shared it with me) is gorgeous next to the self-sown Gloriosas.

Now we're up behind the Lilac Garden trying to beat the heat in the shade of the big sugar maple.

Red Monarda and white Shasta Daisies compliment each other nicely.

Chicago Star provides some hot contrast.

I found this black swallowtail feasting on the Monarda. It's a big favorite of the hummingbirds too.

Centerfold, an Asiatic lily, is stunning with the other colors.

Hannah prefers to wait in the shade while I do my photo tour.

This shot of lilies at the top of the Driveway Garden was taken after a welcome early morning shower on July 10th. The reddish-pink Asiatic was just finishing its bloom.

The bright orange-red lily is gorgeous at the moment. I don't know how it found its way into this garden but I'm becoming reconciled to the gaudy contrast...mainly because I haven't had time to move it. Might as well just enjoy the beauty :)

Let's walk over toward the south lawn.....

Coneflowers and Phlox are offering some lovely pinks here.

I spotted this friendly little skipper feasting on the coneflowers.

Charles Johnston and an unnamed purple daylily are adding their beauty to the other bloomers.

Over here by the side porch Summerwine daylily is a stunner alongside Shasta Daisies and Gloriosas. Please try to ignore the brown daffodil foliage that still needs to be cleaned up. A gardener's work is never done!

Clematis Jackmanii is always a star, and Clematis Carnaby continues on throughout the summer with a few blooms after the big show in June. The perennial Sweet peas are particularly pretty in pink this year.

Lamium has gone wild in this garden and needs to be ruthlessly thinned out to make room for some colorful annuals.

Queen Elizabeth is one of only 2 of my roses showing much growth this summer. They were off to a very slow start and the hot, dry weather has not helped them.

Pink Morn Petunia and a purple calibrachoa (Million Bells) are good companions in the window box.

If we look behind these enthusiastic Gloriosas and Shastas....

.....we find Joan Senior blooming her heart out.

This daylily is a wonderful performer. 

Several Dahlias are still in pots, waiting for a space to be cleared for them. This pretty pink one is Park Princess....a real beauty.

The afternoon light is delightful in the Top Lilac Garden, where Phlox, Daylilies and Monarda are blooming. 

This was a blessed sight yesterday afternoon.....rain in the garden! The welcome showers continued into the evening and gave us relief from the heat and humidity of the day. I imagined the plants sighing happily as they soaked up the moisture.

Here is Jasmine sitting on the front porch watching the birds after that early morning shower on July 10th.

She is fascinated by their antics as they feed safely out of harm's reach.

A female hairy woodpecker enjoys a breakfast of suet, and do you see that beautiful plant?

It's Lophospermum/Creeping Gloxinia and new to me this year. I've admired it from afar for a couple of summers and decided to give it a try.

Aren't those wine red blossoms gorgeous?

The Pink Morn Wave Petunias were so beautiful in this basket last summer that I repeated them, but this time I added a white trailing Lobelia instead of the lavender one. Do you see the downy woody on the chain and the purple finch on the tray? Jasmine isn't the only one who enjoys the feathered entertainment.

Much more is blooming in the summer gardens and I hope to find time to share more with you in the following weeks. Isn't it ironic that when we have the most to share our gardens keep us too busy to blog? I'm hoping to find time to visit you all and catch up with your summer activities and gardens soon!

Many thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for bringing us together for the Bloom Day show on the 15th of each month. Visit her for a list of beautiful blooms being shared for our enjoyment by gardeners all over the globe.

Busy bee on Cranesbill Geranium

Happy Bloom Day everyone!