Monday, August 11, 2014

The Garden Thrives Despite the Heat

I'm writing this on the evening of the hottest day of the year. At 8 o'clock PM, the thermometer outside my window still reads 90 degrees F but that's ten degrees cooler than it was at 4 o'clock so I guess I shouldn't complain. 

High temperatures are the one part of summer that I really do not like. Not only does it make me and my kitties uncomfortable, it can kill a precious plant in a few hours. But thanks to my diligence, I believe all of my plants were adequately hydrated throughout the day. I'm ready for tomorrow's cool-down. 

Here are the latest goings on in my garden. 
I'm very pleased with this new Dahlia called 'Junkyard Dog'
from Swan Island Dahlias. It's almost 4 feet tall.


Years ago I grew Crepis rubrum from seed and thought I'd give it a go again this year.
I love the pink, dandelion-esque blossoms. 

In early July, on a nursery jaunt with my garden buddy Carol, I saw these variegated Impatiens.
Typically I don't grow Impatiens walleriana but because these were headed to the compost
heap, you could say I rescued them. They are performing superbly in a pot in the shade.

Last year I purchased the miniature climbing rose 'Jeanne LaJoie.'
Here she is putting out her second round of blossoms. I took several photos. 



I wish I could adjust my camera so it would do a better job on capturing the color
of this rose. It's a much softer, prettier pink than is depicted here. 

This composition combines the variegated foliage of Weigela florida 'My Monet'
with the perky pink flowers of Potentilla fruticosa 'Pink Beauty.' 

Despite several hours of unrelenting sunshine my
Himalayan Honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lantern') looks stunning. 

About a month ahead of schedule, my Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia 'Supersonic Dwarf Pink')
is in full, lovely bloom.
I got this as a tiny plant from my friend Carol in 2007. It's over six feet tall
so I'm not sure if "dwarf" applies, but "pink" sure does. 


Sorry. This is a little blurry and hard on the eyes but I love it.

Here it is behind Joe Pye on the right and Eva Cullum Phlox on the left. 

Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' is such a stellar plant. 




Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain' and white-flowered Garlic chives give the bees something to buzz about. 

I recently redid the back portion of this island bed. The golden plant is Cistus
and the Fuchsia is Fuchsia magellianica 'Thompsonii'. It is supposed to get only two feet tall and the flowers are teeny tiny too.
Later on I'm going to do a post on all the new hardy Fuchsias I purchased from Fry Road. 

a
Another Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'. I bought two more this spring because
I was so happy with the first one surviving last winter. 

Here is Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy.' I love it.

I realize this photo is blurry but I am terrible at bird photography.
Do you see her perched on the top of the spiral pole?
Well, she and her hubby are raising a family...

In the Jasmine and Clematis at the top of this arbor. 

Yesterday, I watched them deliver takeout to their young while I deadheaded
the carpet of Lemon Thyme in my new lawn-replacement terrace.
The thyme is filling in faster than all of the sedums and I'm happy with it. 

In the acquisitions department, on Saturday, my son brought me home
another vintage watering trough--$10. I'm sure you could hear me squeal a mile away. 

The first trough is now doing duty as a container for a 'Sun Sugar' cherry tomato and
a Pineapple Tomatillo ground cherry. The new one is even bigger. I know. My son rocks. 
Before I sign off, I need to apologize for not visiting everyone's blog. 
I promise to get caught up soon. I'm really missing you all. 
Happy gardening!


14 comments:

  1. I enjoyed seeing your garden looking so lush and beautiful. Your new area with the thyme and such turned out very well. Do you deadhead your garlic chives so they don't self sow all over the place? I made the mistake of letting them sow themselves around at the place we used to live, and when I decided to dig some out, they did not stay dug.

    I have not been visiting blogs much this summer, either. I have had a lot going on, but also spent too much time on Facebook.

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  2. Oh Grace I feel hot just reading your post. Hope that the temperatures are coming down to a more comfortable level. You've trained your son well :)

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  3. What a wonderful son, who knows exactly what his mom loves!
    I love that Crape Myrtle! Everything else is looking lovely, of course, as well!

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  4. Your garden does look very good, despite the heat. We were away in Massachusetts visiting our son during our hottest heat wave here, and even though I left a few sprinklers on timers, there were areas that didn't get covered and some of my plants turned very crispy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they just decided to go dormant early, and didn't just give up the ghost.

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  5. $10 for a vintage stock tank!!! Your son is a hero, nice score.

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  6. Beautiful as always! So full and lush! So much color! I just love your yard!

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  7. As usual, I could just get lost in your lovely flower gardens! You have such a wonderful variety of plants and the vintage pieces add so much interest to the area.

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  8. Your lawn replacement area is filling in fast and looking great. Garden: fabulous...Son: over the top!

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  9. Great find! You obviously did a great job raising your son! Your garden looks glorious!

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  10. Your garden looks fantastic! The lawn replacement terrace is filling in quickly. I'm sorry to hear about the heat - the PNW isn't supposed to get like that!

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  11. Love that leycesteria. That's so weird, that you guys in Portland seem to have hotter summers than I'm getting, and yet I couldn't keep that leycesteria going in the shade a few years ago! Glad it's cooling down for you.

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  12. I was gonna go on and on about the plants. And then I saw the trough. I kinda hate you right now. But only in a fit of envy sort of way. :)
    You know, if you wanted to take a Sunday drive, you could head my way on Sunday for the neighborhood garden tour. It's not a fancy Dulcy tour (that one is Saturday and I'm devastated to not be going), but in a, hey, we all love to garden and this is what we have to show for it, way. I know it's a long drive for something so silly, but it would be cool if you came.

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  13. Gracie girl I can't believe the heat you are having .. it must be driving you a little crazy ? .. We on the other hand are having such cool weather that John had to wear a jacket to BBQ last evening .. too funny! Today is cloudy, cool and rain is to fall at some point.
    Love your garden girl ... Cherry brandy really stands out !
    That tub is amazing and what you do with them is perfect ;-)
    Garden on girl !
    Joy : )

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  14. I find those pink "dandelions" quite charming! If you play around with your white balance on the camera, you may be able to capture the true pink. I also found that charming variegated impatiens, isn't it lovely? I wonder how we can propagate them so we can enjoy them again next year.

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Thank you for being here! Your comments feed my soul.