All of you seasoned gardeners who are familiar with Ixia, I ask your indulgence. You newbies or seasoned diggers-in-the-dirt who are not familiar with Ixia, it's to you that I address this bit of excitement. Actually, I'm addressing anyone who'll listen. :)
Back in February when I was in the thick of flower-starvation, I ordered bulbs. My intention was to have nice little clumps of hardy species gladiolus popping up randomly throughout my borders. Well, here it is, the middle of June and those glads, although diligently planted and tended to, are a no-show. Maybe later? Who knows?
But I was also enamored of these pretty things called Ixia. Lured by the photo on the
Bulbs Direct website, I went ahead and purchased two, twenty-bulb packages of this one called 'Mabel.' When they arrived, I planted the little buggers, then forgot all about them.
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| From Bulbs Direct |
Within a month, little green pointy things were popping up and getting taller. Then buds... then blossoms! Here's what they look like in my garden.
A few weeks after planting Ixia 'Mabel', I found a box of mixed colored Ixia at the Dollar Store so I grabbed them. Here is the only one that is blooming so far.
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| Yellow, Dollar Store Ixia |
So, now that I've seen Ixia flowers with my own eyes, I'm wondering where they've been all my life. I'm completely sold. If the reluctant hardy glads make an appearance, I'll let you know.
Clematis!
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| Clematis 'Multi-Blue' |
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| Clematis texensis 'Pagoda' |
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| Clematis integrifolia 'Andante' |
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| Clematis integrifolia 'Aljonushka' |
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| New to me this year: Clematis 'Haizawa' |
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| Clematis texensis 'Princess Diana' |
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| And my favorite: Clematis viticella 'Confetti' |
Other bloomers:
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| Diascia integrimmus |
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| Buds on my Butterfly Weed (Asclepias speciosa). |
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| Campanula punctata 'Pink Octopus' |
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Campanula punctata 'Pink Bells'
My sister gave me a start of this plant last year.
Wouldn't it be fun if both Campanulas interbred and created a new, unique plant? |
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It happened with Monkey Flower.
Mimulus lewisii x cardinalis |
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About the only Salvia that I can successfully winter-over in my winter-wet garden...
Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain' |
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| I know I post too many photos of Alstroemeria 'Tri-Color' but I love it. |
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| Borage--for the bees! (Borago officinalis) |
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| Parahebe perfoliata in bloom |
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Phlox paniculata 'Red Magic'
Maybe the "magic" is in the fact that it's purple, not red. |
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| Sweet Peas, blooming from plants purchased in April. |
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| Potentilla fruticosa 'Pink Beauty' |
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Pleiboblastis sp. (Dwarf Bamboo) ... purchased during the fall plant sales, has made a
complete recovery. |
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| What to grow where nothing grows... |
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| Lamium 'Anne Greenaway' love it! |
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| The Banana (Musa basjoo) is happy |
Look who has been visiting the garden for the past several days:
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I think she's got a thing for these Mock Orange flowers.
(Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile') |
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| Zip with one of his pots of kitty-pot! |
A few days ago, while I had my camera handy we had a cool fly-over--seven helicopters, in perfect formation. I wasn't sure if my photos would turn out but they did!
And finally, there is a song sparrow that has made its nest in the neighbor's bramble. In the evenings, s/he likes to sit right here and sing. It's adorable.
Isn't life grand?
