After a very busy weekend of soccer it was a welcoming sight to see the flowers in the garden. I didn't spend anytime in it at all, except to do some much needed watering on Saturday. It sprinkled a little, but not enough to do anything for the plants. Buds are popping open left and right and so many of my favorites are blooming now.
Monarda 'Coral Reef' the only monarda beside 'Jacob Cline' without mildew.
Echinacea 'Green Envy' which I am anxiously awaiting seeing in full bloom.
Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies' by the pond is at least three feet tall.
Hollyhocks in the backyard starting to bloom.
Trumpet Lily 'Triumphator' is the first lily to open. It's supposed to have 6 petals, and this one seems to be a little off in the spacing for some reason.
Clematis viticella 'Little Nell' has these sweet little flowers. It gets about 9 feet tall and blooms July - September. I think it looks really pretty against the blue of our house.
The first of my "lazy gardener" dahlias to bloom. It's what I would call burgundy in person.
Dahlia 'Lucky Number' is lucky because I didn't dig it up last year. The bee was napping, I gave it a gentle nudge and it moved around a bit.
Look at all the Echinacea 'Magnus' ready to bloom. I think these are my favorites still, I love how they look at this stage.
Another gray day without rain is predicted for today, and then the sun will return. The flowers blooming in the garden now are pretty drought tolerant so I won't need to water as much. Just my newly planted shrubs and flowers will get extra water.
I remember back to the grim days of early Spring when we all were so anxious for this time of the year to get here! Everything you photographed is spectacular. The coneflowers are so pretty! We finally got rain over the weekend and everything looks so much better.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flower photo's!!
ReplyDeleteYou always have such beautiful pictures of your garden that it makes be happy to come here and sad that I don't have more time to read every day but soon I hope.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks so great Catherine. Right now I think my gaura has taken a sabbatical!
ReplyDeleteRight now we are definitely having gray with thunderstorms. Yippee!!!
What beautiful flowers you have blooming. The dahlia's petals look so delicate and fancy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the echinacea! Spectacular! The dahlias look great...I don't know what it is about them, but I am captivated by them! I will definitely plant more next year. The Dinner Plate Dahlia was a test this year, and it passed with an A+
ReplyDeleteIt's all so pretty. I love the picture of the coneflowers!
ReplyDeleteAgain, Magnus is magnificent! I lost my Guara this winter. Funny I always said the blooms looked like butterflies. Wow your Dahlias are blooming. Mine will someday I hope. ;-) You sound like me liking certain plants that really accent the house like my Black Knight Butterfly Bush we put in front - that was exactly why I told Bob I wanted it there because it would look so good with the blue in the background. Your Lily is beautiful! Great and I'm envious of your beautiful gardens! as always
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful time you had taking these photographs, and what a wonderful time I've had viewing them! :-) Thanks for the visit to more of your gardening expertise! Catherine, does Gaura overwinter there? I once was able to keep a plant through three Winters and have it grow again each "next Spring." I did use a lot of mulch and cover, but at last I must have not done something right and it didn't return.
ReplyDeleteI really like the plant for it's airiness. Have a great day! :-)
Beautiful flowers and photography. The pic of the dahlia was magnificent! I've been afraid of hollyhock... any tips to help overcome my fear lol
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. I love the last one like a little army standing to attention.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great stage on the Magnus. Lovely lovely flowers in the background too. Great shots!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Echinacea Magnus. What a fabulous pic.
ReplyDeleteThe cone flowers look great, all standing at attention they way they do. Great plants for the garden. We love them! The goldfinches are beginning to visit ours already.
ReplyDeleteWe've had guara in the past. Not long lived, but beautiful in the garden. I need to acquire some more of those "dancing butterflies."
~~Rhonda
Beautiful flowers! I specilly like the green one. I wonder how it looks when fully in bloom.
ReplyDeleteShady - This Gaura has been here about two years, and I can't believe it survived this past winter. I think it must be a short lived perennial because I've grown them in the past and they only came back 3 or 4 years.
ReplyDeletesiteseer - I have no hollyhock tips other than to go ahead and try them. Mine all started from a seedling or two I started years ago and they just keep reseeding. They are in part sun and do get get rust, but I just ignore the rust :)
Beautiful, as ALWAYS!!
ReplyDeleteThe coneflower shot is spectacular. Looks like your garden survived your absence cause it's got good soil and all. They seem to grow a mile though don't they? I can be gone one day and miss it like crazy.
ReplyDeleteI use to haul my kids all over doing the soccer thing. I guess one day it will be grandkids.
I love flowers and the way you show them! gardening is one of my biggest passions
ReplyDeleteCatherine, I so hope you will post the green envy when it is in full bloom. I too love the coneflowers in that stage. Hollyhocks are gorgeous. We could use some rain here. It's either way hot and dry or soggy this year. My flowers have not performed to their best ability in these conditions.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is looking lovely. I particularly like the cone flowers as I cant grow them so it is nice to see them in other people's gardens
ReplyDeleteI adore Green Envy! As you know I adore green flowers...Id love to see it when it opens too .
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures as ever,Catherine. Simply lovely.
Looking great! I love monarda and it's new to my garden this year. I am so impressed by it's bloom! Your magnus coneflower should be spectacular too!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of your beauties in the garden! Love the last one with the textures and colors and height variations--gorgeous! Oh, yeah, and I'm green with envy for 'Green Envy' :-)
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are fantastic - and I can see that I'm going to have to try and grow some echinacea over here (as long as it isn't easily drownable!). Those monardas are great too :)
ReplyDeleteWhat color you have! I love the dramatic viewpoint of the coneflowers.
ReplyDelete