Monday, July 29, 2019

Late July, Already!

Oregon has the best summers and this one is no exception. Sunshine, temperatures in the 80s, cool nights, slight breeze. I think we've had only three or four 90 degree days so far. I'm really thankful. 

Just because it's summer doesn't mean I quit buying plants. Check out this newbie. It's a tropical so I'll need to move it inside during the winter but aren't these leaves gorgeous? 

Breynia nivosa 'Roseo-picta'

Also on the tender side, I'll have to take care not to let this one (below) get exposed to too much cold. I bought it from Annie's Annuals this spring. It just started blooming.

Lavatera assurgentiflora

Clerodendrum bungei just started blooming.

Gardenia 'Frostproof' has been blooming for about three weeks.

I have a new fascination with hardy Geraniums. There are some really rare varieties for sale at Robin Parer's nursery called appropriately, Geraniacea located in California.

Geranium nodosum 'Clos du Courdray'

I'm growing most of my new hardy Geraniums in pots so I can really enjoy the flowers.

Geranium himalayense 'Plenum'

Geranium x oxonianum 'Tanya Randell'

I've got a few others that haven't started blooming yet. Stay tuned.

Check out this new to me (last year) Fuchsia 'Nettala' from Secret Garden Growers. Easy and hardy!

Fuchsia 'Nettala'

Fuchsia 'Nettala' 

Lily from a bagged of mixed bulbs from Costco

Lilium 'Stargazer'

Another newbie this year from Annie's is this white-flowered Cupid's Dart. It had been on my wish forever and I nabbed two of them when I saw them for sale. It mingles really well with other flowers. 

Catananche caerulea 'Alba'

Also from Annie's... this Heracleum is just starting to bloom.

Heracleum sphondylium 'Pink Cloud'

A Dahlia called 'Mistral'

From Far Reaches Farm in northern Washington this sweet Codonopsis. I didn't expect bloom this year because the plant was so small. But check it out. 

Codonopsis convolvulacea subsp. grey-wilsonii

 And my other Codonopsis from Dancing Oaks:

Codonopsis pilosula

This Rhodochiton is a tender but wintered over from last year in a protected pot.

Rhodochiton atrosanguineum

And the Anemonopsis is blooming too. I love how plants just have there own unique blooming time table. 

Anemonopsis macrophylla

I bought this Scabiosa at BiMart (variety store) last year. I really hoped it would winter over and it did.

Scabiosa 'Gelato Blueberry'

This is a small pond but you can't tell because it's so full of plants.

 A few wide shots.


















And now for some critter shots:

A baby robin waiting for dinner

A towhee parent and child
You know you're a (weird) gardener when you're more excited to see a rare critter on your basil than you are to eat the stuff. Below is a gray hairstreak caterpillar. It is pink because it's been eating purple basil flowers.

Gray Hairstreak caterpil
I saw the mother a few weeks ago and thought she was nectaring but apparently she was also laying eggs. (I took this butterfly photo last year but shows what this little thing will become.)

And this is a gray hairstreak. (Not the best photo)

Finally, we saw twins this morning. This little one, her sibling and mama visited my front garden. Unfortunately when I opened the door to get a better picture, they scurried off.
Photo of baby deer through a very dirty window.
Thank you for visiting.

5 comments:

  1. Luscious, all of it! I don't know where to start. That Dahlia with the variegated foliage is special...well, everything you show here is special. Your summers sound like ours. Some folks think it's too hot and humid here in the summer, but I love it. When we start to have dew points in the triple digits, it can be tough, though. Thanks for sharing your new bounty. This is a beautiful post!

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  2. Everything looks so wonderful. 80 degrees? Oh how I wish we had those temperatures here. I would even be thrilled with 90 degrees. I have the Clerodendrum bungei too and I really dislike the smell. The flowers are pretty. They also spread like wild fire here. How do you keep them under control?

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  3. What a wonder your July garden is, Grace! I grew Breynia in my former tiny, shady garden and it did great. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as happy in my current garden, which can run 10 degrees hotter in summer than the old one just 15 miles away. I may try it again, though - you simply can't beat that foliage. Your photo of the white Catananche got me excited too, although I also wondered how I could have missed it when I placed my own sale order with Annie's a couple of weeks ago, but a quick check reminded me that, while the blue cupid's dart will grow in my zone 10b/11a garden, the white form isn't rated for my climate.

    I loved all the critter pics.

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  4. Grace we are just too hot here (Canadians can only take so much heat ;-)
    I love that white Cupid's Dart and the Anemonopsis to bits .. those critter shots are really special .. you have so much going on and here I am hiding in the house from the heat ? LOL "Gardener in Hiding"

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  5. Hi! Check my blog to see my dahlias. I wish you a nice day :)

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