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pixie_lou

What's Blooming in your garden - photo thread - PART 2 July 2013

pixie_lou
10 years ago

This is a place to post photos, and to discuss, what is in your garden. This is the SECOND thread for July 2013.

Here is the link for the
July 2013 part 1 thread

Here is the link for the July 2012 part 2thread and the July 2012 part 1 thread.

For previous 2013 threads:
June 2013 part 2

June 2013 part 1

May 2013

April 2013 part 1

April 2013 Part 2

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

To see all of the 2012 threads, please click on the December 2012 link. The first post will have links to all previous months.

I am (still) in process of moving all the 2011 threads over to the
photo gallery
. I need to look up who IâÂÂm supposed to e-mail. Plus I have to make the list.

This post was edited by pixie_lou on Fri, Jul 12, 13 at 22:32

Comments (75)

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago

    This garden still looks halfway good, but perhaps for not too much longer, as the beetles are feasting on the marigolds and nasturtiums in the pots. I'm thinking seriously of not growing either again next year. The gerbera daisies (also in pots) and daylilies do not seem to be bothered as much. I've not had great luck starting gerbera daisies from seed, so I guess I'll just continue to buy them.

    In the garden up the hill in the background my monarda is flourishing, along with weeds. I'm hoping to devote this week to weeding, if the sun continues to shine. Thus far we've used the only (partially) sunny days to mow...priorities.

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago

    I've been enjoying all the photos from both of the threads for July. Lobster claw mushrooms?! How COOL! I've never seen anything like that before.

    I like Aralia 'Sun King' mixed with this hydrangea whose name I don't know. It was a little cutting my mom gave me years ago. Didn't even know it would bloom with flowers that matched my house color! Bonus!

    Oakleaf hydrangea is always one of my favorites this time of year and in the fall when its leaves turn color.

    Cottage/veggie garden is kicking into full gear.

    I like this daylily/hypericum combo.

    Annabelle as lovely as ever. I had to put a girdle on her to keep her looking prim and proper!

    I really like this hypericum with tiny flowers.

    The daylily border is getting going.

  • Tina_n_Sam
    10 years ago

    terrene, I like your field of natives.

    PM2, the Annabelle bloom is impressive and very pretty.

    Claire, you have the best phlox(es). I got some short purple ones that bloomed earlier in the spring. They smelled wonderful. Do all yours have the same good smell?

    spedigrees, I love that bright Primal Scream color. As for the bug, I wonder what it is. I saw one in the garden. It's cute and has this pretty iridescent green color with bright spots on the antenna.

    I want to do some planting of my rose cuttings since they rooted. Yea, they rooted! Too bad my Daphne transatlantica 'Summer Ice' did not. :-( I think I'm loosing my calycanthus too.

    Do you think it's too hot in CT right now to plant the rose cuttings? It's in the 90's and will be so for the week.

    I guess I could ask the Rose Propagation forum but I'm more comfortable with my friends here in New England forum. And, some of you live only a couple of towns over and know what the weather is like right now.

    -Tina

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    thyme2dig, your garden is looking lovely! That Sun King Aralia is in a great spot and look at those clean leaves. Is that your Oakleaf today? Mine is already starting to turn pinkish brown. I really like the shape of that daylily and the texture of it. But my favorite is your Annabelle, what a great shot! It looks like a little pocket of light. What a difference it makes to give it support. Mine is such a mess. What did you use to girdle her? And how is your vegetable garden coming? It looks very full in your photo. Such a great full sun area!

    Thanks, Tina. :-) Propagating is so exciting to me when I manage to have success with something. Congratulations on your rose cuttings! Which rose did you root?

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    PM2 and T2D: Your Annabelles are such show-stoppers, it's hard to believe those are real flowers. I could see ordering something from Victoria's Secret to control the plants in bloom. T2D's lacecap hydrangea and the aralia look so calm and sophisticated in comparison.

    spedigrees: Your Primal Scream daylily is also in the category of "Exuberant Flowers"!

    Tina: Ever since the first phlox paniculata bud started opening I could smell them, and walking by that garden the scent is almost overwhelming (and my sense of smell is muted by allergies). Smells great.

    Claire

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    10 years ago

    Tina, I don't think I would plant anything right now. It's just too darn hot. Especially rooted cuttings. It is supposed to cool down a bit next week, but who knows for how long...?

    Well, tonight I noticed that my aster Purple Dome is blooming! Isn't it just a tad bit early?

    Dee

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    Claire, now that is an image I won't get out of my head every time I look at Annabelle. lol

    Claire, I have Phlox 'David' but I haven't found it all that fragrant. Are some more fragrant than others?

    Dee, do you cut back your Asters? I sometimes do mine and my Chrysanthemums twice. I read that the last time you cut them back should be by July 4th, to get Fall Bloom. I did that exactly last year and they were a little late blooming in October. This year I trimmed them back once in June. I don't see buds forming yet.

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    10 years ago

    PM2, I don't always cut them back - I intend to, but it doesn't always happen, lol. But even without cutting them back, I've NEVER had blooms this early! I think even not cutting back, they still bloom in fall....

    Dee

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    PM2: I don't know about the fragrance of other phlox paniculatas. I used to have two Davids but the woodchuck got at least one of them and I don't remember any fragrance. There's a couple of tall ones in the Phlox Protection Zone that are not blooming yet, which could be David's Lavender, Franz Schubert, Blue Paradise or David, depending on which survived the evacuation from woodchuck territory.

    Dee: No asters in bud here either - that's really early!.

    My doublefile viburnum, which bloomed so nicely in May, is now forming berries. It's never fruited this much before and I'm thinking that the new little Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake' may have pollinated it. Summer Snowflake is still small and not very showy but it has been flowering nearby along with the big one.

    I saw a cardinal yesterday checking out the berries so I suspect the birds will be picking them off as they get ripe.

    Claire

    This post was edited by claire on Wed, Jul 17, 13 at 11:23

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago

    Thyme2dig, I absolutely adore your cottage garden! It's so colorful! Your daylily border is very pretty as well.

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago

    Lol! Well, Annabelle is quite foxy and voluptuous, so maybe a nice little number from Victoria's Secret could really jazz her up!

    PM2, I put in 4 stakes around her and then strung some jute around the whole shrub. My sister in law helped me with cinching it in enough, but not too much. I sometimes cinch in grasses and shrubs a little too much so they can start to appear a little deformed! It was helpful to have a second set of eyes while we were doing it. Also did the same with my oak leaf which tends to really droop with the big flowers. Mine have not quite started turning pink yet. Veggie garden is doing well. I threw in soooo much stuff between veggies and annuals. I always have to share with a woodchuck so figured if I over planted it would be just right. It may be a bit out of control in a month though!

    Claire, how old is your 'summer snowflake'? Mine is growing very slowly here, although the deer have not exactly been helping. I have a 'pink beauty' which has never bloomed pink, but also gets berries like yours. Fortunately, one year I purchased a bunch of red one-dollar daylilies. It wasn't until the viburnum finally put out berries that I realized they were a perfect match, so I moved them all under/around the viburnum. Here's the daylily and I've yet to take a pic this year of the combo but will try to post one at some point.

    {{gwi:248595}}

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    T2D: I bought 'Summer Snowflake' from Forest Farm in June 2011 as a size 1 so it was a little thing. It's now about four feet tall and seems to be in a growth spurt, but it's nowhere near as fast-growing as the big one. It's not in full sun but the exposure is the same so it should be OK. It had flowers and some berries last year.

    It looks like it's had a few berries this year also and should continue alternating flowers and berries all season but it's still a gawky kid.

    Those daylilies are indeed RED and look like a good match.

    Claire

    This post was edited by claire on Thu, Jul 18, 13 at 9:37

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago

    Claire, what year did you buy it? I think I'm confused because it doesn't look like it could have out on that much growth in a month.
    Mine has been in for about 4 years and look almost exactly like yours. It's actually quite uncanny as to the similarity of them.

    Here's a photo of the daylily/berry combo. Sometimes it does pay to plan!

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    T2D: Sorry, I need to proofread more carefully. I bought it in June 2011, not 2013. I just edited my post.

    This is from July 31, 2011 about a month and a half after planting:

    Next year, May 17, 2012:

    This year, July 17, 2013 (pic reposted), it's heading upwards.

    Today, July 18, 2013:
    I think the lighter leaves on the bottom half are the new growth this year.

    Claire

    This post was edited by claire on Thu, Jul 18, 13 at 10:34

  • bill_ri_z6b
    10 years ago

    Terene, thanks for the compliment, and for the kind words of sympathy.

    The gardenia is still going strong. This is the most blooms it's ever had (so far about 15), probably because this is the third season in its final location. I had had to move it after only two years (2009-2011) during the 2011 construction. Now I just want it to get tall enough so I don't have to bend to smell the flowers! (OK well I picked one that was near the ground at the rear of the plant to take indoors for a few days, but I don't want to be cutting any of it yet.)

    {{gwi:5901}}

  • Tina_n_Sam
    10 years ago

    T2D, I love, love your garden. So nice to step out of the house to see all that. I'm still envious of your purple garden trellis.

    Bill, what was the size of your gardenia when you first got it? Is it correct to say that its a slow grower?

    -Tina

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago

    Thyme2dig your colorful garden with the sunshine stake and the red daylilies under the color coordinated berry bush is splendid!

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    Finally, my first lily this year!
    L. 'Casa Blanca'

    Monarda 'Jacob Kline' with Pieris 'Little Heath' and a berberis:

    Ditch lilies and hosta flowers:

    Double ditch lily (Hemerocallis fulva cultivar) from my mother's garden:

    AKA orange daylilies:

    Rose 'Carefree Delight' and ditch lily:

    Phlox 'Purple Kiss' in the Phlox Protection Zone:

    Claire

    This post was edited by claire on Sat, Jul 20, 13 at 16:59

  • bill_ri_z6b
    10 years ago

    Tina, the gardenia was less than a foot tall. As I recall it was in a quart container. It grows fairly well, but I can't really say it's a slow grower because I had to move it after two years in its original spot. Now it's been in the new spot for two more years, and it's doing well. I think I can judge better next growing season, since it has now had a chance to get established. It had more flowers this year than ever before, maybe 18 or so and has more buds forming too.

    {{gwi:5901}}

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    And the second and third lily bloom this year. Viewed from my porch, I've been watching those buds for at least a week now. I thought this was late but I checked my photo files and this is almost exactly the same time as last year.

    L. 'La Claridad'

    Claire

    This post was edited by claire on Sun, Jul 21, 13 at 12:14

  • corunum z6 CT
    10 years ago

    Claire, As a tiger, ditch, day lily lover, yours look lovely. It wasn't until you labeled one a double that I realized I may have one of those in my 'hell strip' street garden. Is this a double?
    I'm sure the former gardener of the estate would be so pleased to see what you have done in her garden. Who among us would not want loving hands make our gardens joyous for several generations? Well done, it's beautiful. I really like the pieris combo.

    Jane

    This post was edited by corunum on Sun, Jul 21, 13 at 18:07

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    Jane: That looks like a double Hemerocallis fulva. There are two different kinds that I know of.

    I found a post I saved from the GW Daylily Forum back in 2002:

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Posted by: JudyannZ7 z7aOK (My Page) on Mon, May 27, 02 at 8:42

    There was a discussion about the KWANZO daylily some time ago. I've searched two forums so as to be able to post a link to it, but fail to find. So I have copied from my personal records the explanation that Sue ... top of Virginia gave. It cleared up so many questions. And it is as follows:

    "There are two "double" forms of H. fulva.
    KWANSO is very invasive and has "scrambled" petals.
    H. fulva var 'flore pleno' is shorter than KWANSO, less invasive and the flower is quite attractive. It has a hose-in-hose arrangement. Variegated clones of H. fulva var kwanso exist, but have never seen or read about a variegated form of H. fulva var flore pleno.

    'Flore Pleno', 'Kwanzo' and 'Kwanzo Variegata' are classified as clones of Hemerocallis fulva, not as subspecies. 'Flore Pleno' not only has a more symmetrical flower (hose in hose) but also the eye colour is much stronger than that of 'Kwanzo'.

    While 'Flore Pleno' was found in China before 1830 both 'Kwanzo' and 'Kwanzo Variegata' are Japanese forms from Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushi and were first mentioned in 1712.
    **************************
    Hope this helps unobfuscate the "KWANSO Konfusion".
    Sue...top of Virginia"

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It sounds like yours and mine are probably H. fulva 'Kwanso' (non-variegated), and the daylily that Tina found might be H. fulva 'Flore Pleno'. If you Google you get lots of images of both.

    Claire (who thinks ditch lilies/orange daylilies deserve more respect)

  • pixie_lou
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The lilly photos on this thread are amazing!

    I also have double ditch, and must admit it is probably my favorite day lilly.

    The last of the trumpet lillies are fading away as the orientals are starting to open.
    Easter Lily

    Simplon

    CTS - the red and white one reminds me of a candy cane!

    And I have tiger lillies open! You can see how sad the stems are. I'm hoping to save seed this year and grow more from seed. I had good germination with a stray seed pod from my Easter Lilliles last year.

    My phlox is the healthieast it has ever been. No sign of mildew.

    And mixed in the border gardens with day lillies

    An adorable rudbeckia I grew from seed this year.

    Hydrangea Paniculata Tardiva trying to bloom!

    And lastly - a 4 year old gerbera daisy. I have good luck breaking the plants at the soil line, and just putting the containers in my unheated garage. I get about 75% of the plants to regenerate each year.

  • Tina_n_Sam
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the ID on the daylily, Claire!

    As for your gerbera daisies, you overwinter them like a perennial or deciduous plant?

    I have a datura from last fall CT swap. I was told to put it in the garage (cold but not freezing temp) and in the dark over the winter and water it sparingly.

    Is this how I could overwinter the daisies?

    If so, this would be great. I have four to try overwintering.

    -Tina

  • pixie_lou
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Tina - 4 years ago I was lazy in the fall - my gerberas had died back - I hadn't watered them in about a month. So I just broke off the plant at the soil level and threw the pots in the garage. My garage is not heated, has no windows, and is only opened a few times a week - to put trash out or to get the snowblower out. I was totally surprised when I noticed new growth, in particular flower buds, the following May. So now that is what I do every fall. It really takes no effort on my part. The few plants that have not survived, I just dump the soil in the spring, put in new potting soil and buy a new plant. So I say give it a try.

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago

    Thank you for posting about overwintering your gerbera daisies, Pixielou. I am definitely going to attempt to get at least one more year out of mine. I particularly prize my gerberas because they have been one of the annuals to withstand the Japanese beetle invasion.

    One question: Do you water the pots with the cut back daisies during the winter? Or let them dry out until spring?

    The beetles' voracious feeding frenzy seems to have slowed down now, and my sunflowers are making a rebound. I actually have new flowers that are attracting pollinators instead of beetles.

    My marigolds are shot except for one pot of marigolds on my front porch that survived the beetles pretty much untouched. Perhaps because it is up off the ground and out of the JB's home territory? Whatever the reason, my porch seems to be a marigold protection zone, similar to Claire's phlox protection zone. So next summer I will grow marigolds only on the porch.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    Yay, spedigrees! So happy some of your sunflowers have pulled through for you. I've seen a sudden reduction in beetles here too. Maybe they are done for the year? We can hope. That last photo with the three bees just about hanging off each other is a great shot. Which variety of sunflower do you grow?

    Pixie Lou you have some very pretty lilies there!

    Claire I like your La Claridad. I have Casa Blanca still but it is shaded by a growing shrub and I need to move it. I think there might be a bloom on it but I'll have to check, I can't see it.

    I saw yesterday that the blooms on 'King Kopper' Hibiscus are open but I haven't got a photo yet. I'll have to try for one tomorrow.

  • Tina_n_Sam
    10 years ago

    Yes, I will definitely try overwintering in the garage.

    spedigrees, oh, beautiful healthy looking sunflowers!

    I am so hoping that the beetles are done. However, I haven't notice any rebound in my plants.

    -Tina

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago

    I'm sorry to hear that your damaged plants haven't made a resurgence since the disappearance of the beetles, Tina. They may still surprise you though.

    Prairiemoon, the sunflowers that are blooming for me now I bought from a girl on ebay a few years ago. She just called them tangerine sunflowers, so I'm not sure if that is their correct name. Some are pure yellow and others have red halos.

    I'm hoping that my other sunflowers which have not yet bloomed will at least produce one flower this summer so I will have seeds for next year. They are 'red sun' sunflowers, an old heirloom variety that I bought from an online organic seed place that has since gone out of business. They are really pretty; the petals look like red velvet. I should have reserved a few seeds this spring instead of planting them all. The plants are up, but they are severely stunted from lack of sun, so who knows if they will flower.

  • corunum z6 CT
    10 years ago

    Hi Sped - I was thinking that next year I should plant something totally different in my big veggie bin on the deck because I have one (1) watermelon and some cukes all with lots of yellow leaves without me having to water anything; that's when I Googled the 'red sun' sunflower that you wrote about. I had not seen a red sunflower before. It is beautiful. Eden Bros. has seeds so I may click and have a packet sent. So tired of half-baked veggie failures every year. I think for a 2 person household I'll stick to the CT farmers markets and grow sunflowers for the birds! Thanks for mentioning the red sun - what a beauty - hope yours develops.

    Jane

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    Jane, I experimented a little this year and I had a six pack of peppers with 2 each of three varieties. I put one of each variety in a pot and the second one in the ground. Those in the ground are shockingly better. It's been awhile since I tried vegetables in pots, and now I remember why I stopped doing it. Tomatoes, the same story. Those in pots are doing nothing and the Tomatoes in the ground, while nowhere near where they normally would be are at least 3x better than those in the pots.

    I've tried CSAs, I've gone to at least four different farmer's markets and I just can't find enough organic produce to keep us happy, so I keep trying the veggie garden at home. We had a fair amount of snap peas, a LOT of bush string beans and that's about it so far. I'm still waiting for some summer squash that are slowly still growing and for the tomatoes and peppers to put on some more growth and push out more flowers. I have some onions that are almost ready and plenty of parsley and basil. We had asparagus in the spring and I am planning to put in some fall crops soon. Broccoli and greens and lettuce at least.

    I'll try to take a photo of the difference between the pot and the veggie beds tomorrow.

    Spedigrees, well I hope you are able to get at least a few of your heirloom sunflower seeds. Or you might try to see if anyone on the seed trading forum might have one. They're often full of surprises.

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    pixie_lou: It looks like your double ditch lily is also H. fulva 'Flore Pleno' like Tina's. Your true lilies are lovely; I particularly like the candy cane one.

    My lilies are just now showing up one at a time. Today Lilium 'Arabesque' opened.

    And another daylily, H. 'Autumn Minaret'. I moved it into better sun last fall. That's Carefree Beauty rose in the background.

    I moved another daylily last year but I made the mistake of planting it next to the birdbath and something has been biting the buds off as they get within reach. I'll move it again this fall.

    My wisteria has seedpods, placed so I keep hitting my head on them as I walk by.

    Claire

  • pixie_lou
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Sped - I don't water them at all. I keep them watered and healthy thru the end of September. DDs birthday is the end of September, so I like the patio to look nice for her party. After the party, I ignore them. We go on vacation the 3rd week of October every year. When we get home, I'll tear off whatever is still above ground, and stick the pots in my garage. I do not stack the pots. It still amazes me when I see the flower buds poking up every spring on really sick looking whitish stems. But I put them outside and they green up right away and bloom.

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago

    Thanks Pixie. :-) I will try this!

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    Claire, âÂÂArabesqueâ is very colorful and I like the way it opens down that way. Is it fragrant?

    Jane, I did get some photos of my peppers at least, to illustrate how different they grew in my vegetable bed and in containers.

    Here is is a pepper in a container, it had a free draining potting soil, with organic fertilizer added and has had fish emulsion /seaweed fertilizer a number of times.

    This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 14:01

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    And I have two others that although aren't duplicates of the varieties in the ground, they aren't doing as well either....

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    Here is one pepper that looks pretty good in a container, it's a Chocolate Habanero and I don't have a duplicate in the beds either. It hasn't any peppers on it yet, but has a few flowers...

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    And here are the pepper plants in my vegetable bed, and they also received the same amount of seaweed/fish emulsion that the containers did, but I don't use any fertilizer in the beds beyond compost.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    The yellow peppers are called 'Gypsy' and they seem to be doing the best....

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    I think this one is 'California Wonder' that is the only pepper on the plant so far, but the containers have no peppers coming along...

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    And 'Kopper King' is opening buds and always amazes me how huge the buds and the blooms are.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    It is lanky and flopping from the weight of the wet flowers right now, but I think next year, I'm going to try to prune it back once to try to get a denser, sturdier plant.

  • pixie_lou
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    prairiemoon - interesting comparison of your peppers. In my garden, the peppers do much better in pots. I only grow hot peppers. Not sure if that makes a difference.

    claire - i really like your casa blanca lily. I may need to add that to my white garden.
    Simplon is in full bloom It is very fragrant. Since I've had the doors and windows open the past few days, the scent just wafts through the house.

    More CTS - NOID lillies. The one I've named candy cane is still my favorite.

    I "borrowed" these seeds heads while hiking in the Comanche National Grasslands last summer. I wasn't sure if they would grow here. But they have. And I don't have to water them!

    Part of the rudbeckia border

    Ozark Coneflower

    Double Decker Coneflower - that isn't double decker! With some butterfly flower.

    An overall view of the Tithonia Planter that was overtaken by monarda. Unfortuneately Charles has eaten the tithonia.
    And I planted all my tithonia seed this year.

    The seed pods are abundant on the Lunaria this year.

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago

    Enjoying all the photos and info on this thread.

    Here is a hydrangea that usually has white outer sepals but they are quite pink this year. It is planted near our foundation so not sure if that is making the soil near it a bit basic.

    There was a thread on perennials about daylilies and a lot of dislike of them and ratty foliage. Maybe I'm just lucky, but the foliage on mine doesn't get brown until well after they're done blooming. I love the daylily border.

    One of the backyard beds.
    {{gwi:262366}}

    Some of the cottage garden.

  • corunum z6 CT
    10 years ago

    PM2 - at least you have some veggies! Thank you for the pictures. To date I have 1 green watermelon, 1 yellow watermelon and 1 yellow squash. Tomatoes are happy, green beans are just vines. Next year, farmers markets.

    I don't have tons of perennials to show, just my streetside hellstrip full of monarda, lilies and cone flowers (and asparagus) because I've intentionally planted more flowering shrubs and trees and the odd bit of wild lettuce for entertainment. However, this morning I found a perfect sunflower in a wonderful place. Naturally, it's 10 feet from the bird feeder, but it's a flower!

    And, I'm starting a new fad: Sedum Hoops.


    That's sedum frosty morn in the peony hoop. Its tag reads 12"-18" tall. Uh-huh. Try 45" and nearly ready to bloom on 8/1. But, last night a faint whiff of Autumn crossed my path, so maybe the sedum knows we're running a good 3 weeks ahead.

    Jane

  • spedigrees z4VT
    10 years ago

    Pixielou, I'm sorry to hear of the demise of your tithonia this year! It was such fun last year to watch it grow! I adore the red monarda though. Your planter really pops with all those red blooms. I guess we'll just have to substitute Jane's wild lettuce weeds for the tithonia for entertainment!

    What a nice surprise that sunflower must have been, Jane. Ivy looks totally at home on your garden path. She's such a pretty cat.

    I love your daylily border, Thyme2dig. I read the thread too on the perennial forum about dissatisfaction with daylily foliage. My daylilies, like yours, keep their green leaves until fall, at which time I think the yellowing foliage blends well with the turning leaves. In fact daylily foliage is one of the best attributes of these plants in my eye.

    Speaking of daylilies, my daylily bed is so overgrown with weeds right now that I had to hold this lily out away from the tangle of bindweed to photograph it. (Yes weeding out this bed is on my to-do list!) As far as pleasant surprises go, my lone tigerlily to survive the past years of the red beetle invasion is now blooming! I assume that the parasitic wasps must have spread to my area.

    The tigerlilies were/are the only true lilies in this bed of daylilies, and I think I am now getting brave enough to plant some other true lilies in a sparse patch in this same garden. Everyone else's lilies are so lovely.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    Pixie Lou, you have a lot of nice lilies. I only have a few because of the RLLB. I just couldnâÂÂt keep them clean if I had too many. As it is, the âÂÂOraniaâ this year looked fine until after it bloomed I noticed the foliage has a fair amount of holes in it. You canâÂÂt cut the stalks back to the ground after blooming, right? I would like to have enough to smell them in the house, but nope. The âÂÂOraniaâ does make the whole front walkway a very pleasant trip when they are blooming.

    And thanks, glad the comparison of peppers was interesting. I think growing hot peppers does make a difference, they seem to be a more vigorous and shapely shrub that produces more and smaller peppers. The large sweet peppers seem to be more difficult to get more than a few per plant.

    Thyme2dig, what a pretty daylily border! IâÂÂm not always pulled to purchase a daylily and some of that is the way I see them being used. The way you have planted them all together that way without competition from other plants and with that great shrub border behind it, I really like it a lot. What is that dark shrub in photo #3? And is that Nasturtium at the base of your purple tripod?

    Jane, I donâÂÂt blame you about the FarmerâÂÂs Market next year. I took a couple of yearâÂÂs off from the vegetable garden and I missed it and here I am still doing it. :-) But is this year an exception? I think some years are not the greatest and this year just wasnâÂÂt. IâÂÂm going to try to salvage some of the season and go for some fall crops of Broccoli and Lettuces and Kale and other greens. This weekend IâÂÂm probably going to start. I have three squash plants without a squash between them. *sigh*

    Spedigrees, thatâÂÂs a good looking lily and the foliage is a lot cleaner than mine. :-)

  • corunum z6 CT
    10 years ago

    Amendment to above post: Currently this year's crop is as of now, 1 yellow watermelon. This morning I found the green melon had cracked open and the 1 yellow squash rotted on the vine.

    thyme2dig - forgot to say how beautiful all your gardens are. Lovely.

    Jane

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    10 years ago

    Jane, we've had some real downpours in July, Veggies and fruits react to a lot of rain at once, especially when the fruit is growing. My Black Cherry Tomatoes are splitting too. I've never seen a watermelon do that! Wow. And you had it growing so nicely on that trellis.

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    10 years ago

    That watermelon looks like a big green Pac-Man.

    Claire