Friday, August 15, 2008

Bloom Day-August 2008

Geraniums, botanically known as Pelargonium hortorum. A reminder of my days in Germany. These are in a window box on the porch. I love red. Can you tell?

Late summer and fall are the best times in the garden, in my humble opinion. I love that all or most of the plants are now fully grown so the garden looks lush and full. You can't say this about spring no matter how hard you try to spin it. Spring gardens are bright and welcoming and very green, but not usually so full because the plants are small. But they grow so fast and soon summer and fall are upon us.

Late summer is also a super time to be a gardener. Since the plants are mature, rain slows down a bit and it is hot, weeds tend not to be a problem. Yahoo! There is no planting to be done in August (you really shouldn't), no leaves to rake, just the lawn mowing, doesn't August sound like an ideal month? This is for all of you out there sweating and cursing the weeds and lack of rain-can't you see the possibilities in August? Well, if not, let's take a short stroll around my garden in honor of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (GBBD) and see some color and mature plants.I think these are of the Profusion series of zinnias.
Annual salvias, started from seeds. These salvias are very tall, unlike the kind you buy in flats in the big box stores.Sweet Autumn Clematis, a sweet vine indeed.'Lavender Perfection' dahlia. Also blooming is 'Garden Wonder' dahlia. In the background are 'Goldsturm' and melampodium and some passed by 'Annabelle' hydrangeas. Dahlias are not hardy here. I will dig these corms in September/October and store for the winter.
'The Fairy' rose. This is the only rose I will not garden without.Mystic Spires blue salvia. Salvia 'Balsalmisp'. A fairly large and vigorous perennial salvia.Unknown pink sedum. This sedum was one of five perennials on the property when we purchased it seven years ago.

'Starfire' Garden Phlox; which was supposed to be red but appears a deep reddish pink to me.
Orange cosmos stealing the show and attracting TONS of butterflies and hummingbirds. Indigofera amblyantha is in the background and to the left in the vegetable garden, showing its multitude of pink blossoms. This is a GREAT shrub.
Verbena bonariensis with a Gulf Frittilary butterfly (thanks Skeeter), and 'Biloxi' Crepe Myrtle in the background. Biloxi is a rather tall and robust pink flowered crepe with attractive mottled bark.
Joe Pye and Goldsturm in the perennial bed. This garden is so full you absolutely cannot see the ground.
Rose of Sharon or some type of hibiscus. I never know what these are called and get confused with althea, Rose of Sharon and hibiscus. I have several colors and a double as well. Margie down in Dickson kindly allowed me to dig half a dozen or so from her beautiful garden. She also shared some red peonies and surprise lilies. Sharing peonies with others is rare and I was honored.
Moonbeam coreopsis. The other plant in the running for August's Plant of the Month. Great plant that has been blooming for more than 6 weeks!
Helenium, August's Plant of the month, blooming with red bedding begonias.


Also blooming in the garden: Vitex, impatiens, hostas, unknown helianthus, hydrangeas, zinnias, torenia, mums, kerria, dianthus, oxalis, crepe myrtles, delphiniums, azaleas (Hino blooms sporadically all summer), a couple of daylilies, cranesbill, agastache, toadflax, cape fuschia, cannas, cleyera, begonias, 'Adagio' ornamental grass, catmint, Russian sage, sedums, Veronica spicata 'Sunny Blue' (it has bloomed for more than two months now!), butterfly bushes, crocosmia, melampodium, 'Summer Snowflake' viburnum, surprise lilies, coneflowers, oregano, dill, parsley, scabiosa, potentilla (yellow), impatiens, toadlilies, and gaura.

Some things that are now out of bloom are: gladioli, balloon flowers, racemosa, Queen Anne's lace, and shastas.

I have chosen not to post all pictures of blooming plants in Tiger Gardens for two reasons. The first being that many blooming plants have upcoming posts or have already been posted about, and the second is this post would be pretty long and it would take so much time loading them all!

in the garden....

25 comments:

  1. Hi Tina, beautiful, simply beautiful. But did you say "When the rains slow down"???? What rain would that be? ;-> Your dahlias are so wonderful. Your soil must be rich and luscious, for the abundance you have. Well done.

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  2. Lovely GBBD post today Tina. Way to celebrate the month of August. I have Sweet Autumn Clematis too, in fact had it for years and just identified it this year. lol I love the plant of the month Helenium, pretty & cheery. Your Red Geraniums on your porch look great too. I bet they really are a punch of color at the front of your house.

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  3. Goodness Tina, you have an abundance of flowers! Lots of lovelies! Sweet Autumn is a beauty and smells delightful! But I haven't any blooming this summer, when we re-did the front bed I had to move her, she hasn't returned except a volunteer here or there! I am so glad to see the red geranium! You don't see them out as much with all the new wave petunias etc muscling in on the container world!

    gail

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  4. Thank you for helping me identify the flowers I posted on my blog yesterday. I posted another one today that I don't know what it is.

    I love your blog and the wealth of information you provide on it - it's an instant favorite of mine!

    ~ Sophie

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  5. Good morning Tina. Beautiful garden photos. You have a huge variety of plants.

    Compared to you my garden is drab this time of year. I didn't consciously create my garden for only May, June, and July. Maybe subconsciously because I hate the extreme heat and especially the bugs. I need to rethink some plantings.
    Marnie

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  6. Oh how I miss the beautiful German window boxes full of geraniums! I wish we had that type here in the states. They bloomed forever and were so full...

    You sure have a lot of color in the yard Tina, my stuff is starting to fizzle out in this heat and lack of rain.... You have been busy with the hose!

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  7. Beautiful blooms, Guess what? I have a giant joe pye on the edge of the pond, how pretty. Have you tried these from seed? I want it elsewhere, but it can stay there too.

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  8. Good morning all!

    Frances, You are too kind as always. Dahlias seem to like it here. I have to dig them though:(

    PG, Love those geraniums for color. Non stop bloomers too.

    Gail, Let me know how your Sweet Autumn does. I have to move mine too. A silver lace vine died and I though the clematis would do well. I am scared though as it can be hard to establish them. Once established though you know they go to town!

    Sophie, Your post today is the funniest I have read in a long time. You all need to go visit Sophie's blog for a really good laugh. Don't peek ahead though!!! Very fun blog.

    Marnie, Thanks for the kind comments. I work ever so hard to have interest 12 months of the year. It is a goal. I am pretty much on my way. I really like summer and fall as I think they are the easy months because of the heat. Sounds counterintuitive but works here for me.

    Skeeter, Too busy with the hose. I am watering now. But, believe it or not the only thing pictured that I watered recently was the red salvias. The rest are on their own. The things needing water are hydrangeas. What was I thinking planting so many?! And two newly planted Muscogee crepes that are not happy with the planting. I hope they shape up by next year because I have decided no more watering unless the plant is in danger of dying. Wilty foliage will just have to do. The geraniums are great. They would look good on your porch too. I think in Germany everyone had the ivy leaved ones, but these red ones do just as well and do get large. Lots of fertilizer is the secret. ttyl Go visit Sohpie's blog-you'll love it!

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  9. Pretty flowers but as far as the geraniums go, and I have said a few times, they sure do not hold a candle to the ones in Germany. No way, no how!!!!

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  10. Beautiful blooms Tina. Your garden is lush, varied, and gorgeous. Red geraniums are a sentimental favorite of mine, as is sweet autumn clematis.

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  11. Lovely photos! One of the things I love about this time of year is that the rush of planting is done and we're into maintenance mode. Time to enjoy the fruits of all our spring labours :)

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  12. Your pictures are absolutely stunning!! I am a red geranium lover too. (forgot to include a picture of mine with GBBD) Everything looks so healthy. Wow, I sure did enjoy visiting you!!

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  13. Hi Tina --loved the garden phlox --that pink was beautiful! This is a great time of year --kind of just maintenance only --well ...except for the lawn mowing and weed pulling. Boy 1 says thanks:0) He ran about 8 miles today for c/c practice. I managed to mow the front and sides last night and trimmed the hedges --maybe I'll pull red beauty out for the back tonight:) hahaha The kiddos are happy --it's finally Friday --but three have homework --hehehe. I need to get back down to check on them. Have a great night everyone --this weather has been great!

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  14. Great post Tina. Lots of color. I wish I had more color in my garden. Cannas, Geraniums {red & white}, Pinecone Ginger & a couple flowers in pots. I need to plant more next yr. that will carry me into Fall. The clematis I planted may be about 6" by now. Hopefully it will survive.

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  15. That first picture just knocks your socks off. I love it. I think I am going to look for more vines to grow. I really like them. Everything does look so lush and full. You are an amazing gardner.

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  16. I like the picture of the Sweet Autumn Clematis. I was given one as a gift and planted it next to our fence. I noticed today it had many tiny buds on it--I can't wait for it to bloom. Somebody told me they'll look like hundreds of little white stars :) I enjoyed looking at your pictures-I have several of the same flowers in my garden-- I especially like the picture of the dahlias! Very beautiful.
    ~Susie

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  17. Hey all! Just got off the phone with Skeeter-new record for me on the phone! It was fun Skeeter!

    Mom, Thanks! These geraniums help to get the feel of Germany a bit!

    GG, Sentimental flowers are the best I think!

    Amy, Exactly! Time to relax and enjoy the garden before fall kicks in!

    Meadowview Thymes, Thanks! Glad you could visit and hope Texas is keeping you nicely! Never been there, but someday I hope.

    Anonymous, My guy was complaining about running 1/2 mile-sore legs! lol He stopped complaining when I told him about Boy 1 and hasn't complained since! Well deserved! I know how proud you are of him. Yeah! Lawn mowing slowing down? I only mowed ONCE this week! So happy. Have fun with homework. Jimmy claims he has none. Can't wait to get the Power password so I can check on him.

    Lola, You have LOTS of color in your garden with all those beautiful cannas! I can't wait until my pinecone ginger blooms too. It is doing VERY well.

    Eve, You make me blush. Thanks for such a nice compliment. Gardening is my passion for sure. Vines are great! I favor clematis, but there are also great annual ones to try. Hyacinth bean and brown eyed susan vines are super.

    SusiesQs, Welcome and glad you could visit. Your sweet autumn will take off. They can grow fairly large-very large-and quickly. That fence will be history-good spot for sweet autumn. Sweet autumn also self seeds so look for the offspring to move around or give away. Fragrant too. Where you are I bet it will be pretty evergreen. Mine keeps it leaves and blooms for a long time nearly into December.

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  18. Ouch, my ear hurts! lol.... Tina we cannot do that often but it was fun to chat without a keyboard for a change!

    Humidity is back and with a vengeance! We did enjoy the break for two days....

    I hope everyone has a great weekend! We will probably play more Pick-up sticks...

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  19. Tina, Sophie's posting of Dog verses Caterpillar was too funny!

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  20. Tina, we have a few similar plants--the coreopsis, the Profusion white zinnias, and the red geraniums:) But, oh you have so much more ! Beautiful! I haven't planted cosmos in years and years; I think I need to put that on my planting list for next year.

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  21. Hi, Tina--I'm so behind in my reading, you already have another posting up! I loved the tour of your garden. I think the white flower with the deep red center is Rose of Sharon, or Hibiscus syriacus, a hardy relative of the tropical Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. In my books, althea is a synonym for alcea, which is hollyhock. (To complicate matters, some people call St. John's Wort "Rose of Sharon"--that was my first lesson in Latin names, when I went looking for hypericum and the clerk took me to hibiscus). But I feel silly writing this--your blog is so helpful to me, and this posting has given me some great ideas for sprucing up my August garden.

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  22. Great post! The Rose of Sharon is a hibiscus - Hibiscus syriacus to be exact. I have that same one - it is called "Helene". I like red too and am about to redo one of my borders in nothing but reds, orange and purple. Reckon I'm gonna have a mess?

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  23. Happy Blooming Day, Tina - your garden looks so colorful and summery, with a frosting of Sweet Autumn clematis. In Illinois, August used to be the month for digging, dividing and replanting Iris - don't know if that holds in TN.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  24. Rose, We share good taste in plants then as these ones are easy. Those orange cosmos are hummingbird and butterfly magnets-easy too!

    Cosmo, I blog to learn and to share. There is no other way in life but to learn and share. All people on here and with their own blogs teach me something and I am so appreciative! Hibiscus syriacus it is-finally. So I will call it hardy hibiscus. Thanks!

    Phillip, Like Cosmo you guys have helped me out with my hardy hibiscus. I never really could pin it down. It is Helene? I saw a picture of it on one of the bloom day posts. I like it and now that the J. Beetles are gone, it is coming on strong. Reds, oranges and purple will be stunning, no mess in my opinion. Will be interested to see the progress.

    Annie, You are very sweet. Love the 'frosting of sweet autumn'. This vine is great. August is usually a good month to dig and divide everything-if we have rain. But not for the last two or three years. Now I try to wait until September or whenever rains come. We've had such mild winters that even in October replanted irises, hostas and mums usually do well. Bring on the rain-got lots of dividing to do! I am relaxing for now though. The good thing is, no new plants anymore. Just divide.

    ttyl Thanks everyone for the nice comments-much appreciated!

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  25. You always have next year for all the new plants!!! LOL

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