Random Garden Photos

SUMMER is officially here and there is no doubt that the weather gods got the memo. It's been pushing (or topping) 90 degrees for the past several days. July is typically our warmest month so things seem to be right on schedule. I'm getting my exercise with hauling the hose around. I planted so many new things this year and I fear losing them if I don't keep them hydrated until they've established themselves. 

So here are some random bloomers: 

This Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' overwintered!
Behind it is a crop of Red Flax that I grew from seed. It's such a happy plant. 

Another plant that successfully overwintered despite our colder-than-normal winter is this
Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising.' Don't you love the plethora of blossoms?
Behind it are microscopic cannas. They are alive and I should be grateful
but they are sure slow to rise up and strut their stuff. 

I am totally gaga over hardy fuchsias
although I'm not good with remembering their names.
This one is several years old. It might be 'Checkerboard'. 

This one was just purchased at Fry Road Nursery a few days ago.
I wanted a foliage color echo and I got it. 

Here's another Fuchsia newbie. The flowers work well with the variegated
Pelargonium foliage. 

Here we've got a red NOID daylily, another Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
and a red-flowering Agastache.  

Here we've got my Artichoke flower getting ready to bloom
and a double Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum 'Ice Star') 

Newbie Eryngium 'Jade Frost' is a happy camper.

Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) is also a newbie starting to bloom.  

I just purchased these two black Sedums. Aren't they a nice contrast to all the chartreuse?
This weekend I plan to plant a bunch more golden Sedum 'Angelina' on that bare dirt beside them. 

I'm totally psyched about my Hollyhocks. They've never looked this good.
A few months ago, I noticed a tiny weevil sucking the life out of them.
I searched for a specific pesticide that I could dab on the little buggers
because none of the usual methods would kill them.
I hate using pesticides so I made a point to be uber careful.
One application worked and look at these beauties now.

I keep photographing my 'Sum & Substance' Hosta because it's such a stellar plant.
I've got it in a pot to raise it up a bit. Because I've got creeping Corsican mint growing
in several places in my garden, my daughter took small clumps and planted them beneath the
hosta. You can see how they've grown, blanketing the soil beneath the hosta. 

This is a random sampling of my quirky garden design.  

A baby froglet taking a siesta on a lily pad. Isn't he the cutest? 

And finally a photo of my newly-purchased cement water bowl.
I found it at the Corvallis (Oregon) Habitat For Humanity ReStore for $25.
The upper half is an aged cement naturalistic fountain which provides
the illusion of a cool waterway to help me handle the heat. 

I hope your garden is providing a sweet respite from life's many challenges. 

Everything is Coming Up Roses

I get that many of you are not terribly fond of roses. After all, the plants can be fussy, the foliage is susceptible to all manner of leaf uglies and then there's those dang thorns. Ouch!

But what can I say? Despite all the reasons not to grow them, I love roses. I adore burying my nose in those velvety, fragrant petals or walking into a room and being greeted by their heavenly fragrance.

However, contrary to my typical nature, I don't obsess over the genus Rosa. I don't have an unquenchable need to crowd my garden's borders with every variety known to humankind and have a succession of blooms from March to November. Believe it or not, I'm really happy with the few that I already have. Here are photos of most of them. 

Rosa 'Cinco de Mayo' ... Unfortunately leaf miners found a place to play. 

Gertrude Jekyll 

'Knock Out' with Geranium 'Jolly Bee' 

Another shot of 'Knock Out' and surrounding plants.

'Sophie's Rose' 

'William Baffin' 

'Sea Foam' 

Another shot of 'Sea Foam' 

And one more. I love the touch of pink in the buds

'Carefree Delight' 

NOID ... a miniature my youngest daughter recently gave me. 

'Lyda' 

Not the best photo, but can you see the tiny crab spider?
I don't like crab spiders. They eat bees and that makes them bad! 

In other news, the garden is in full-on mode. Here are some random shots.

I purchased Centaurea atropurpurea last year. These are the very first blooms. I love it. 

It's only supposed to get about 2 and a half feet tall but mine is as tall as I am,
which isn't saying much--5 feet--but kind of tall for a front-of-the-border plant.

My winter-surviving artichokes are looking perfect. I'll be letting them bloom. 

Being a lover of pink flowers, I swoon over these seeded (by me) rosy-pink California poppies.

What pink garden would be complete without pink daylilies? 

This is a horrid photo of Campanula punctata 'Sarastro'.
My apologies.

While the larger-flowered Penstemons have died,
Penstemon x mexicale 'Sunburst Ruby' has done really well in my garden
for several years, as has it's brother P. x m. 'Minaret Purple'.
I don't know why I neglected to get a photo of him.

The much-maligned Puple Loosestrife (Lythrum saliciflorus)
has never made a nuisance of itself in my garden. 

Sanguisorba tenufolia 'Pink Elephant' is just starting to bloom.
It looks better than ever this year.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I succumbed to the appeal of the "It" plant, Digiplexis.
Another, maybe not quite so popular "It" plant is Gomphrena 'Fireworks.'
Several weeks ago, when my sister and I visited Al's Garden Center, I found it
and there went my final few dollars.

I'm in love with Fireweed. (Epilobium angustifolium). Up close or far away,
those blossoms are enchanting. 

On the foliage side of things, finally I'm seeing some girth develop on my Tetrapanax.

Darmera peltata is really going places. 

Oops, back to flowers: the recently-purchased Geranium 'Double Jewel' is blooming.
Such a perky little thing.

I'm a fragrance fanatic.
Lonicera japonica 'Purpurea' is in full optical and olfactory splendor

As is Hall's ... Lonicera japonica 'Halliana' 

Finally, I'll finish it off with some wide shots.

As always, thanks for visiting.