Sunday, July 20, 2008

LOTS OF COLOR

Today I would like to share my blooming beauties with you. I garden as a hobby and don't take it seriously enough to learn the Botanical names of plants. You will only see the every day common name from me. Maybe you Avid Gardeners can make a game of this posting and see how many proper names you know...
Trumpet Flower, in full bloom now.

Butterfly Weed, 1 of 2 Voluntary plants I never planted, Tina had to identify it for me. Don't you just love surprise?
Black-eyed Susan, not sure if it is a black eye or not but what I call them.

Rudbeckia, I call these Susan's also. A strange thing is happening with them this year. Stay tuned for more...

Yellow Cosmos, thanks for the seed Tina!

Crepe Myrtle, 5 blooming in my yard at the time being. Look at the size of that bloom compared to my hand!
Purple and White Saliva, intermingling together and blooming so pretty.
Hyacinth Bean,thanks for the seed Tina!
Multi color Lantana, loving this heat and drought and blooming so pretty right now.
Purple Emperor Sedum, new addition to the garden in late spring. I have to keep this area treated with smelly stuff to keep the deer off the blooms! Still blooming.

Pink Dreams Cat Mint, accompanies the Elvis Hosta we talked about yesterday. I planted this because I love cats! Still blooming.
White Yarrow, grows all year long in the garden from wild flower seeds tossed a few years ago. Very invasive but I like it.
Pink Wave Petunia & Blue Daze, pink and blue are so pretty together. I wish the blue daze would stay open during the afternoon hours.
Liriope, Monkey Grass. Deer eat the blooms and the rabbits eat the foliage; Ah, Team work! They are currently blooming.
Purple Homestead Verbena, loves our yard and stays green all year long. First blooms in the garden this year and continue to put on a show for me.

Dwarf Lily, a gift from the Saint. My first Lily! No longer blooming.
Hibiscus, purchased for a turtle I was Fostering. Turtles love the blooms.

Dahlia, Garden Princess; new addition to the garden this summer. Not doing too well in this drought. I have already lost the mate. Planted them too late. This one is hanging on with little hope. Sniff sniff...
Hybrid Sage, bees love this plant! It has been blooming for several weeks and continues to do so...
Cat Nip, planted for my kitty cats pleasure!
Moonbeam Coreopsis, new (late) addition to the garden and not minding the heat and drought at all... I need more of these!
Canna Lily, my first Canna's! Late to pop up but putting on a pretty show for me now!

Red Gladiola, I planted 12 bulbs two years ago but they keep disappearing. Voles are not my friends! Of the 6 remaining only two bloomed for me a few weeks ago.











Purple Wave Petunia, You cant go wrong with petunia!
Yellow Lantana, another drought/heat loving plant! Keeps blooming and spreading all over the place!

Mexican Heather, I have two that continue to pop up each year! They bloom until frost and I love them as much as the bees.

Periwinkle (Vinca ) My favorite annual in the garden! I only planted purple this year but the pink, white, etc from years past have seeded and provide me with color from planting until frost! They don't mind a drought!

Liatris (Gay Feather), their color has come and gone. They do not last long but I enjoy the green foliage each year. I have to keep the bunny at bay on this one also...

Yellow Sovereign Cape Fuchsia, Planted 3 of them too late during this drought. I lost all three of the beautiful bloomers. Sniff sniff The hummingbirds loved them!
Red Yarrow, Does not do nearly as well as the white yarrow in my garden. Must be different varieties but it returns each year. Still showing some faded color...

Blue Saliva, Bees enjoy this one. Still blooming and will continue until frost.

Drumstick Allium, still blooming and I cannot believe how long they last! Canna Lily, Came in the package with the red one. A mix and they are so pretty. Stay Tuned for more on this one!
I have never considered myself anything more then a hobbyist while playing in my yard. I don't add a lot of new things each year and I try to keep it simple by planting heat loving, drought tolerant with bloom longevity type plants. Over the years I have added just enough to create LOTS OF COLOR, in the Garden...

28 comments:

  1. Good morning,

    You're up early. Or is it a pre-date?

    You could do with some more flowers in your garden :-)

    What a lot. It is taking a long time to unfold. And I am going to get myself a cup of coffee. What I have glanced at this far looks great.
    I don't know any Latin names of plants I don't grow, which seems to be most of yours.
    Sipping now.
    I'd like some of that verbena please, and the pale catnip, so much nicer than my deep purple one, and, what do I see?? PINK periwinkle? Never. What a treasure to wander through on a Sunday morning.

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  2. Abby,
    Good morning to you also! I did schedule this to show up at 4:00 Georgia time. This way all early risers from the East coast have something ready to read...

    I do have a lot of color around me but with having 2.5 acres of land, it does not look like we have much. So much more land to develop in time! LOL

    I have been to England twice while living in Europe and I had lots of inspiration with gardens. The beauty of the English Gardens will remain with me forever! We went to the London and York areas and of course being a bit of a country gal, I preferred the York countryside! Beautiful lush green country dotted with beautiful white sheep!

    Sorry for your bike accident! That sounds awful painful. Hopefully in time, you will completely heal. Our next door neighbor is an avid bike rider. His team recently rode in The Race Across America. He was part of the Van crew which follows the bikers. His 2-man team past the finish line first but came in 3rd place over all with time! The amazing thing was they were on special bikes which never let the feet stop peddling going up or down hills! Everyone was amazed they finished the race at all. They went from California to either Boston or Maine (?) in 8 days averaging about 15 miles per hour!

    Enough babble now, glad you enjoyed the pictures while sipping your coffee and thanks for stopping by to see us...

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  3. Hi Skeeter, lovely flowers and most of them I call by the common names also, just put the botanical when doing a post. I find that by googling the common name and many entries have the bot name and a photo to make sure it is the right one. I am pretty sure your hybrid sage is veronica spicata, there are several named cultivars, I have Sunny Border Blue and Royal Candles. Love thema all.

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  4. Morning Frances! I try to keep tags on file as reference. My powerful Paper Shredder grabbed the tag out of my hand while shredding old papers! So the only thing I could see was Hybrid Sage. LOL…

    I must get outside; I see the neighbor’s cat in the garden near the birdbath! If only he would catch Moles and Voles instead of always messing with my birds! Now he has his hind leg high up into the air doing yoga! LOL…

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  5. Very beautiful flowers you have there. I enjoyed each and every one.

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  6. Goodness Skeeter! You have more than enough to rival me-and I never knew! You should do a GBBD post too. Yes? It is all beautiful and I am glad to see the seeds are doing well. I agree with Frances on your veronica. I love this stuff even more than sages! Very easy to start from cuttings too. It is all very lovely and I just planted a Cape Fuschia too! But sadly it is not doing well. They are supposed to be hardy-comes back for you? You are up early this morning and so are a bunch of others! Good morning all!

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  7. You definitely have "lots of color" in the garden this year Skeeter. Lovely blooms.

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  8. Good morning Laurie, Glad you enjoyed the pretties! So do the bees, butterflies and hummers!

    Hello Perennial, Yes, lots of color. Sometime's one does not realize how much they have until snapping pictures to document them.

    Tina, Yep up early again. I reckon age or hormones or both are getting me as I dont sleep well these days! LOL.

    I did not think I had enough to partake in GBBD but after seeing how much I have going on, maybe I had better rethink that one. LOL....

    I was excited to pick up 3 of the Capes and enjoyed watching the hummers sipping sweet nectar but they are no more! I was so sad to loose them. Two went within a month while the last one was with me for a bit longer. I can only assume the heat was too much for them or they did not like my soil. I may try them again next year if I can find them... I have 4 hanging fuchsia on the front porch that are not doing so well right now also. I am not too happy with them anyway as they are messy. The hummers love them but I think we will go back with Spider plants or Wandering Jew next year!

    Saint is finally up; sleeping beauty needed his rest this morning! Ha… I need to make breakfast then we will lock ourselves up in the sun room and give the cats hair cuts! Oh boy, looking forward to that fun! LOL…

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  9. Hi Skeeter and Tina --what beautiful flowers! I love all the color --such a variety. Supposed to have a heat advisory in this area today Tina --and I think for the next few days. I guess we got over and now it's time to pay up on the heat, hahaha. Good luck with the kitty cats Skeeter --sounds like something they'll have to go get treats for. Like when your done --take them and let them pick out a new catnip:0) Have a great day everyone.

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  10. Fabulous photos - I love your garden enthusiasm and the beautiful flowers.

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  11. Anonymous, I am TRYING very hard to stay inside. You too? The weeds are calling my name though.

    Skeeter, How was Wal-E? A tearjerker? I forgot that is what you said you were going to see. I always remember these horror flicks or drama from when I was a kid and my father would take me.

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  12. Anonymous, I think WE will go for treats and leave the cats home! LOL, actually the cuts went fairly well this go round. they squirm and wiggle but we got the job completed. We are good to go for another 6-8 weeks. Their fur grows so quickly....

    Too hot for us to get to the lake today! Humid too which makes it worse, but hopefully it will cause a pop up shower....

    ilona, thanks for your comments and for stopping by....

    Tina, the movie was a cute robot love story with hidden messages. Saint wants the computer so must get off now....

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  13. So much color with all the great blooms for all us to drool over.

    Good day here....rain started about an hour ago, a nice steady, gentle rain. Was only susposed to be showers tonight....good ole weather man. Hope it lasts till tomorrow night. Now it is raining harder so it may add up to a good measure in my gardens. It has been so darn dry here that I have a white birch that half the leaves are yellow and the other half are a brittle green from being so dry. Some yellow on others but would'nt you know the really bad one is right outside my puter window.

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  14. Beautiful pics, Skeeter. I go mostly by common name & doing good if I can remember those. I just know what I like & can afford. I started a canna bed this yr. I have yellow, orange, red, tropical & beige. I hope they bloom before winter so I can be sure where I have what. I also have more in large pots. I think I need to put those in the ground. I think they would do better. What do you think?
    Tina those weeds will wait till it gets a bit cooler. Stay inside when it's so hot.
    Jean glad you are finally getting some much needed rain. We have had some but not for last couple days. Grass is growing like all get out. Needs mowing again but will have to wait till Young'un does it. Arrrgg.
    Hate having to wait for someone else to do it.
    Hi Anounymous. Hope you have something cool planned for the kiddos. Too hot to be outside.

    Hello everyone. Hope all are having a lovely day. Stay cool.

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  15. Lola, Hello there! I am staying in and stripping wallpaper. Fortunately it is coming off easy. The weeds are waiting for a better day for sure. Hope you are staying cool in sunny Florida.

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  16. skeeter,

    hello, so much bloom! So lovely! The red Yarrow is a fine color. I read that some folks have planted the white yarrow as a lawn alternative. It is evergreen and has a soft texture, spreads nicely and mows to look like a green carpet. Boy have I been tempted! I have liatris and love it and found it didn't bloom as long as I wished it did..then i discovered it blooms longer when I water it! Too funny! I think of it as a prairie plant, but prairie soils are deeper than ours and may hold the water better! Someone with more liatris knowledge can answer that one! Altogether skeeter some really wonderful flowers for the middle of summer with low rainfall! You've done good girl!

    Gail

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  17. Jean, I am so glad you are getting some much needed rain. I will not ask you to send us any because I know you want to keep it for yourself! Don’t blame you, so would I.... LOL... We have a tree that started turning yellow about a month ago but that tree is not in view of my office window, that must be the pits....

    Lola, Since this is my first attempt at the Cannas, I am learning as I go along. Ha, I had them in pots early on to get them to start but they did not do a thing for me. When everyone kept talking about how theirs were coming up, I put them into the ground. It was still a long time before they started to pop up. One appeared then a few weeks later the othesr popped up! Strange behavior if you ask me but I did buy cheap ones from Wally World so who knows...

    Tina, Vacation is not for climbing up on roof tops and stripping wall paper! You are too funny woman! LOL...

    Gail, the white yarrow is so durable! I had tons of pine straw and leaves in it from last fall and winter. I took a small hedge rake and raked it all out and hardly lost any foliage to the rake! I was so shocked! It was as if I just combed its hair! I would plant it where the ivy is (deer are munching) but since the bunny likes it, they would eat it before it had a chance to do anything... I dont put much water on my Liatris either so maybe you are on to something with the water... If you only knew what I have been going through with this drought to keep everything watered for the pretty I have, you would be amazed with me! Saint thinks I am crazy out there watering all the time but I do not want to loose any more then I have to the drought. We had good rain Friday so I may be good to go until we get another pop up shower. Temp was reading 98 in car and 99 in sunroom temp with humidity on the moon so really a hot one today.

    My naked Sheba is lying in the sunbeam on the puter desk as I type. Poor thing is freezing without her fur! Cheetah is curled up in a blanket on the futon as I type! They are such babies you would think they are human! LOL They are happy with full bellies of wet Salmon food.

    Yuck. We ran over the border into South Carolina Welcome Center to pick up some brochures for a Myrtle Beach trip this fall. While out, the Saint decided he wanted Mexican food so we went to our fav Mex place. The cold iced tee and ac were wonderful...

    Remainder of the day will be spent digesting the food while lying in the sunroom hopefully catching an old movie on TCM channel or snoozing...

    Lookie here, another book...

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  18. I totally get the watering frenzy...last year I made sure my favs survived...and the trees. This year...I have watered but not as much since we have had some occasional relief. But I finally said enough and put a soaker hose on the sunny garden! My gosh it watered everything and I am not letting water evaporate. I am going to Lowes to buy what ever they have left!

    We are inside and napping..the heat and humidity are certainly screaming summer in the Southeast!

    Gail

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  19. Told Dawn that I would let all know she is not talking today as her puter will not let her. Silly puter!!! Don't know when she will be back on.

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  20. Gail, Those soaker hoses do wonders! As hot as it was today, I heard on the news more heat-hotter-is coming. Sigh.

    Mom, I hope Dawn gets her puter fixed soon. I am sure she is suffering withdrawal, but the good news is that maybe Jack of all Trades will get his fax back now!:) Early night for me tonight. night now.

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  21. Gail, I have been the soaked one in the garden with this humidity, Each day I have water rolling off me! LOL, I got about a 10 shut eye on the futon. Sometimes things just dont go as planned, mail needed tending, cats dishes, furry clothes from Fur Cuts, ah the list goes on and on.... LOL Maybe I will sleep in tomorrow... ha....

    Jean, Tell Dawn we will miss her and dont worry, we will still be here... Maybe you can take on the job of being her translator, you can ask for money$$ LOL...

    Tina, I want a play by play of the new decor of the wall paperless room....

    Hope everyone had a great weekend! Night...

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  22. I love the trumpet flower. It grows wonderfully here in California too!

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  23. What great flowers. Thanks for sharing.

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  24. Beautiful flowers Skeeter, I agree with Abby, have a cup of Java while it loads, 'cept in my case....do a load of laundry! I've got better edcaution on the cape fushia, I want something soooo bad for under my stained glass window, that looks pretty nice esp. with the hummers.

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  25. Gardengrrrl, I like the trumpet vine also but a very invasive vine. I have a posting coming up soon on it so stayed tuned....


    Aunt Debbi/kurts mom, I enjoy sharing so passing the pictures along was my pleasure!

    Dawn, the fuchsia would be beautiful in front of the Stained glass window! If you chose it, I hope you have better luck with it then me.... I am still upset I lost them. Just heartbreaking. Saint was even upset at loosing those since the hummers liked them...

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  26. Skeeter, your blooms are really lovely - such a nice variety, and so much color! Whether you call them by their botanical names or their common names, they're pretty either way.

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  27. Ah yes, the garden hobbyist. That's me too, I can't even come up with some of my plants' common names. I don't know many and I'm lucky if I can match the picture from the tag to the plant growing in my yard. I do try though, but mislabelling and loosing tags makes me go bonkers. No matter what we are we can still enjoy blooms, bugs, and birds!

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  28. Thanks Garden Girl, we do enjoy the color around here.

    Cinj, some days I have to rack the brain on a plant name! Memory is not what it use to be. Sad thing, I am too young for that to be happening! LOL...

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