Cameron, once again, very impressive gardens!! Beautiful shots. I would love to see some more shots of your waterfall and how it is designed. One of the things on my list for the future! :-) Alicia, absolutly beautiful shots as always. I love colors in your garden! You are both very talented with a camera and your gardens are excellent!!

Nannerbelle, thank you very much.

Beautiful flowers, everyone - I hate to see things starting to get so stressed so early in the season. I just got a Bluestone order today and hate the thoughts of putting any of them in the ground yet. Hubby is bringing me up a bucket of dirt to the screened in porch tomorrow so I can at least pot them up into larger pots. They are drought tolerant plants but I sure don't want to start them out in this heat. Thanks for the eye-candy ......

Lynne

Daylily "Ah Youth"
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Foxi Pavement
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Scutellaria integrifolia
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Bayse's Purple
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Iris brevicaulis
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Daylily "Chocolate Splash"
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Very nice.

Loving the closeups, Alicia. That seedling iris is a scrumptious color. I really like chocolate splash too. i think when they ask for ideas for fair gardens next year i'm going to suggest a chocolate one. It sounds like too much fun. Have to do lots of research you know?

Thanks for the heads up Cameron, on the echinaceas. I'd already ordered a sunset and sunrise, i think, and received them when i found a good deal so i'll site them anyhow. Tiki, huh? Will watch for that one.

Alicia, I do love your pictures! I'm also in love with all of the Japanese irises.

I had one lone poppy bloom this year. It's snuggled down among some swamp sunflowers.
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Daylily 'High Blaze' last bloom and definitely the prettiest
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Here is a link that might be useful: more pics

WOW! There are some great flowers on display here!

Nannerbelle -- if you're close to Chapel Hill, just drop me an email if you want to see the waterfall in person. I'll see if I can find/take some photos.

Tamelask -- This is echinacea SunDOWN (taken this morning). It looks so much better than last year, so maybe the SunSET will do better this year, too.

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The butterfly garden is starting to wake up:

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Alicia -- I LOVE Japanese irises (and Dutch irises, too). I snapped this photo this morning. I've had a good show this year and all were 1 gallon pots planted in the fall 2006:

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Shari, that daylily is stunning!

Cameron- both of those echinaceas are gorgeous now, at least. We'll see how mine do. They're still in 4" pots. I know i don't have the kind of sun you do, but my purpureas do just fine.

Jealous jealous jealous! That's what I am! My lot is looking oh-so-sad right now. I have more weeds and bare spots in my lawn than the Fescue that's supposed to be growing there.
These photos are ALL so lovely and it's nice to see all the colors and the butterflies and fuzzy bumblebees, too! (p.s. what is the bumblebee climbing on?)
Cameron, how do you manage to keep up with all that loveliness and not have a single weed? If they were there, I certainly didn't see them! I, too, would love to see various angles/close-ups of the waterfall, when you get a chance.
I've been wanting to post an updated pic of my circle garden but it keeps drying out so fast it always looks horrid (except the crabgrass growing in between the flowers - that's doing fabulous!)
I'm so glad that even when my yard seems gloomy, I can hop on this site and "visit" your gardens. Thanks!
Sandi

There are weeds...but, my DH and I do pull them on our daily strolls of the gardens. It doesn't get overwhelming if we do a little everyday.

Cameron

I just found waterfall and stream pics. The waterfall is built into a berm so that it faces our patio for view and sound. It dumps into a stream that winds around the east side of the fence, then goes underneath and into the front fenced garden. We have two bridges in front: a wooden arch that goes up to the gable gate; a stone bridge up to our front porch.

Robert Radcliffe in Holly Sprngs built the water feature for us. When we need hardscape, we always use him (previous and current house). He built our Jerith fence, main pathway, gravel path, the east stone patio, stone on front porch floor/steps and our back deck. We built the patio in the fragrance garden, outer garden paths and dry streambed.

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Cameron, how much do you find you need to top up the stream? Because we have 2 small ponds connected with a stream, and 3 waterfalls total, and when the pump died i just procrastinated getting another. Without the stream we find we rarely, if ever, have had to top up, whereas when it was running we had to add some water fairly frequently. I checked, double checked and triple checked the system, and the conclusion i came to was that water loss through the surface movement and through splashing was fairly significant. We all still miss the sound, but amazingly the fish are doing fine (it's been almost 2 years) and the ponds have a nice balance. Certainly last year with the drought i was very thankful we weren't losing water except a little to evaporation. I cleaned the bottom one this spring and it was amazingly clean for a pond that hadn't been running with a filter for a year & 1/2. Still haven't gotten to the top one, and if we don't get rain i won't do it, since i take out some of the water to clean.

Cameron, what is the light blue flower to the left of the stream?

Sandi, the bee is atop butterfly weed.

Topping off the stream varies a lot. We tend to catch water in buckets in the shower and kitchen while waiting for the hot water and dump in daily. We still have one full rain barrel saved up in case this heat continues. We are on well water, but we consider the stream as decorative, not a necessity. We shut down the pump during the nights during drought last year, but the water actually went down faster than with the pump running because the deer decided the stream (outside the fence) was their water supply.

Alicia -- those are spring pics. The blue flowers are Hyacinthoides hispanica (Spanish bluebells). They last a long time. The foliage is just now yellowing enough to rake up.

Female carpenter bee
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Alicia i'm amazed that you still have poppies going with this heat! Mine are done. I noticed last eve that the scutellaria ovata you gave me is starting to bloom. My d. amurensis is blooming, too. I think it's the only dianthus i have that's not scented! I sheared off the seedpods from the fantasy mix a few weeks ago, and now it's got some sporadic blooms again. The grats are still going, though slowing down a lot. Pretty peach daylilies.

Thanks for the answer, Cameron. That does make me feel a bit better that it needs/gets topping nearly daily. For us it typically was a couple times a week, and i just ran the hose. I could only tell by the intake level in the bottom pond, and would typically need to add about an inch or 2 a week to keep it at the right level (if there was no rain). Reinforces to me that i'm not replacing the pump til we get out of this droughty spell for sure, too.

My first gardenia blossom of the season

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Can't you just smell it?

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Here is a link that might be useful: more pics

Shari,
Beautiful picture of Moonlight Masquerade. I really like Bahama Butterscotch and Little Business too. They are wonderful colors.

White Japanese iris. I grew these from seed received in a trade a
couple years ago and thought they hadn't made it.
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Larkspur with Blue Love Grass and Achillea
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Spiderworts are real workhorses in the garden.
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Spiderwort with Bidens and Panicum virgatum
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Spiderworts with Monarda, Swamp Milkweed and Panicum.
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A dahlia grown from seed that I received in a trade from
a GardenWebber who lives in Quebec. I ended up with
dahlias of all colors. Luckily for me these are heat tolerant!
This one is the first to bloom.
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Alicia, your dahlia is beautiful. I've never grown any dahlias or japanese iris. I need some spiderwort too. The only spiderwort that I have is Sweet Kate which struggled in the ground so I dug it back up and have kept it in a container for a couple of years. This year has been the first that I've seen good blooming out of it.

Alicia,
As always, your pics are beautiful!
What is the name of the daylily that is last in the set starting with the carpenter bee? It is a peachy, yellow-throated flower. . .
Thanks!
Rosemary

Thank you Shari and Rosemary. Shari I'll see if I can divide any of the dahlias this year. I've just divided 3 of my spiderworts and have the divisions potted up on the porch.

Rosemary the daylily is Ah Youth. It's a really nice pink, less peachy than it looks in pictures.

More gorgeous pics!

Alicia -- I have a lot of Love Grass. It's going to be time to divide it next year. Any tips? Divide in early spring, I assume?

Folks -- I'll need to give it away! :-)

Dividing in spring is a good idea. I have a lot of Blue Love Grass seedlings. I'm going to be pulling them -- does anyone want one or two or five? :)

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Mystery daylily
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Beautiful! Love the color of the yarrow. I don't think mine is that bright even when it first starts blooming.

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Here is a link that might be useful: pics

Shari, nice daylilies! I especially like Dreamcatcher and Jan's Twister.

Rudbeckia 'Goldilocks'
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Russian Sage and BFF
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Daylily from Mom and last of Digitalis lutea
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I finally made it out with the camera. The rudbeckias, coreopsis, and shastas have yet to hit their stride but I couldn't pass up their pretty little faces. The Russian Sage has been a star, and the bees are nuts over it.

Enjoy the "cool weather" today!

Meredith

Meredith, I love your passalong orange creamsicle daylily. Great shot of the bee too. Russian Sage has been a workhorse for me. I take it for granted because it performs so well.

Alicia, thanks! I told y'all I was addicted,lol.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Warning-more daylily pics

Meredith I like the picture of the bee with her tongue sticking out!

I don't know what this "weed" is. The flower is small but the
color is extremely vibrant.
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I find it ironic that a dianthus named "Siberian Blues" handles our
heat and humidity so well, lol.
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Marie Pavie
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Brazilian Blue Sage
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Shari the Angelonia is lovely. I'm not familiar with that.

I really like your garden shots. They're lovely. Is that Spirea tomentosa in the shot with the Artemisia?

LOVE Song of Singapore! What a beautiful deep rosey red color.

Alicia, that last bee shot is just awesome. Angelonia is (I assume) a tropical sold as an annual. That one came from the Lakeside Greenhouse at JCC- I splurged on some annuals this year for my birthday. I picked up the spirea at a swap,Karen brought it. Maybe she can enlighten us but I'm sure its origin must have been the JCRA since it's named 'Beryl Road'.

Alicia, that 'weed' is a dianthus. We had it all through the meadow back home and it was one of the first wildflowers i noticed and picked as a child. Not sure which dianthus- i have ID'd it before, but forgot since i didn't write it down.

I really like angelonia- esp the striped variety. They are workhorses. Though not winter hardy, they can be overwintered in a cool greenhouse some winters.

Shari, a friend of mine bought that spirea at the PAX sale one year. It's been a while and I haven't seen it offered for several years. It was just labeled 'Spirea Beryl Road', and I remember the blurb at the time noting that it came from the JCRA. I always figured it was in a border along that side of the arboretum, but I've never gone looking for it. It does look like tomentosa, I think. The deer came through last night in a big way and ate most of the alstroemeria blooms, luckily I have a few photos to comfort me.

Sweet Laura:
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A. psitticina
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Brugs
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Phlomis
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Aloe and guest
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Callirhoe
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Abutilons
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Echinacea species in meadow
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Digitalis
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Oleander 'Hardy Red'
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Spigelia
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Alicia -- how many acres of garden do you have? My goodness, you have so many flowers! Let's see a "big view" of your gardens, please?

Cameron

Why is my garden burnt to a crisp? Do you guys water everyday? Gorgeous pics though.

Beautiful pictures! You guys have given me a lot of great ideas. I have a part of my yard that was previously very shady, but the tree died and had to be cut down this year and I had the other two shaped and trimmed, so now I have a lot more sun. I have to dig my hostas asap and get them to an area with more shade and that will leave a lot of empty spots for some Russian sage, spiderwort and more daylilies!

Some more balloon flowers are also going to be necessary.. I am in love with this..

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Thanks Tammy for the ID.

Cameron, I can't show one big view really, because I have several different beds. One in front of the horse paddock, east of the house (neither photograph-ready yet), the beds around the house, a big perennial bed, a bed next to the neighbor's pasture, the "azalea bed" and the bed by the gate with the two swamp roses.

Most of these pics are from this spring because our mower is busted and has been in the shop for the last 10 days. Plus, a lot of stuff is looking fried.

Small view of bed east of house, looking back toward horse paddock.
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East side of house, looking through vegetable garden and down to bed beside neighbor's pasture
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View of vegetable garden and big perennial bed.
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From front porch, view of big perennial bed and part of the bed beside the neighbor's pasture. The azalea bed and the bed by the gate are hidden by the grove of pines.
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Azalea bed
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Bed by gate
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Karen, thanks for the id and those yummy pics. I'm glad you got those alstroemeria pictures although I'm sure you would rather still have the real thing.

I've taken tons of pictures the last 2 mornings but I haven't had time to upload any yet.

Shari -- what is the pretty ruffled, deep apricot color blossom? I love it.

Irislover -- that rudbeckia is really pretty. I'm not familiar with it. How long will it bloom? How tall is it?

Karen --- you have such special selections! I love seeing plants that I would never attempt to grow.

Alicia -- you do have a lot of gardens! I like how you've created the different areas. It's good to see the big view to see where your are keeping all those 'blooms'.

Jqpublic -- we had a lot of rain here up until 1 1/2 weeks ago. During the 100 degree heat, I've just been watering my potted plants, the newly planted perennials/annuals and have run a dripper hose on my roses/azaleas a couple of times.

Karen I love your photos, keep them coming.

Jqpublic, I am only watering the new beds around the house. Needless to say some of my plants, especially the Monarda Claire Grace, really look cooked.

Cameron our house used to be to the left and ahead of the big perennial bed, looking down the hill. It was moved a year and a half ago because it was in the floodplain. So we are really dealing with a changed landscape this year. I like it!

Here are some more whole garden photos.
Early this spring, view up to the house from the big perennial bed.
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Looking through the arch toward the pasture.
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Views of big perennial bed toward neighbor's pasture
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View away from neighbor's pasture, toward my woods

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Another couple of views, just as iris are getting geared up
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The rest of the big perennial bed, later in the year
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Back of big perennial bed
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Looking over big perennial bed toward neighbor's pasture again
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The dahlia at the front of this picture, Rothsay Reveler, has just started to bloom.
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Cameron, that is a double daylily 'Caribbean Reggae Moon'. This is its first year in my garden and I like it too. I'm partial to that shade of orange.

jqpublic, I'm on a well so can water without restriction but I've only run the sprinkler once this year. Alot of my plants are looking fried too.

Alicia, I like your dahlia. For some reason I thought that they mostly bloomed late season. So no vole problem with those? I always wonder with any corms, bulbs or tubers and there is no quick reference for that info that I know of,lol.

Cameron, I got the seed in a swap two years ago and have wintersowed them twice. They seem to be tender perennials, as I thought they had died back completely but I had two come up in the exact same spot. I love it because it is at least double the petals of my regular black-eyed susans but is the same nice yellow. It is right about 18 inches right now and won't get much taller. Last year, it bloomed from early June until September. I'll collect seed again so let me know and I can send some your way.

Meredith

Shari that dahlia is in a buried pot.

Alicia

That weed dianthus is one of my old favorites from Oklahoma prairies - Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria)

I have some 'Russian Skies' Dianthus blooming now that are supposed to be a hybrid but share a lot of the characteristic of this flower. My current favorite. I grew them from seed and may have shared them with you earlier in the year (I grew three types of Carnation, Russian Skies was one of them).

Thanks for the ID. It probably came in with some hay that was shipped from the Northeast. I like it a lot, I hope it sticks around.

The pinks I've got now are from seed that I grew in a trade with a GardenWebber. One is white with purplish veins and the rest are purplish pink. I have one pink from you that's not Dianthus amurensis -- it's coral pink and fragrant. It bloomed a lot early in the year, rested, and is blooming again.

Deptford Pinks may be native to some part of NC - they had a broad range back home but were most often found in damp grassy fields.

I grew Dianthus barbatus (Sweet Williams - mixed colors), Dianthus chinensis (annual dianthus - mixed colors), Hybrid Dianthus 'Russian Skies'. All of them took two winters to get to blooming. I had left over mixed color dianthus from somewhere else (I didn't grow them from seed). I may have to give you some of these Russian Skies - they have a very wildflower look and being a hybrid they should do well here.

That would be great. We should arrange a trade.