"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Friday, August 21, 2009

Fertilizer Friday - Hold Still!

I missed last week's Fertilizer Friday, but I wanted to try to join in this week.  Tootsie at Tootsie Time hosts this each Friday.  A lot of flowers seem to be winding down now, producing fewer flowers, but I'm happy with how many different plants are still in bloom.   
Yesterday while I was taking pictures we had the most wonderful breeze, it would usually kick up just as I was about to take a picture.  So I would stand there ready with the camera and as soon as the wind stopped I would quickly take my pictures.

Verbena bonariensis is coming up everywhere and I love it!

Cosmos 'Sensation'

"Lazy Gardener" dahlias, some have these yellow centers, others don't.

Hardy Fuchsia 'Queen Eshter' has done well it's first summer here.  Except for some insect damage it came with it's been healthy with lots of flowers.

This container is finally beginning to show some growth, maybe it'll fill in before the first frost?  It was planted in May, the same time as the rest of the containers.

 Lobelia (I think siphilitica, it came with no tag) is the only lavender one I've seen.  The red one growing in the pond is so much bigger and has a lot more flowers.  I just might move this one into the pond too.  The red Lobelia cardinalis is very similar, only with red flowers.

Rose of Sharon 'Minerva' loaded with buds is much happier after the rain we had last week.

The littlest gardener likes to follow me around with her Diego camera and help take pictures.  She helped me plant the Sunflowers beside her.  Cosmos 'Bright Lights' are blooming next to her.

Sunflower 'Mammoth', this is the one to the right of the littlest gardener in the previous picture.

Rose 'Abraham Darby'

The unknown pink rose by the driveway.  Since I fertilized it a few weeks ago it has noticeably improved with the amounts of flowers it's producing.

Pink Flower Carpet rose is just beginning to rebloom, these are tough roses, never any sign of disease on them.

It's raining this morning which means I don't have to water, Yeah!
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34 comments:

  1. I love it all...but the color of that dahlia makes me shiver!!! Your flowers are gorgeous...and yes..things are getting close to ending...makes me sad...thanks for sharing this week!!! see you next???

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  2. The Littlest Gardener is a great advertisment for the difference in size next to the Mammoth Sunflower. I love the Verbena bonariensis - I really do need to remember to add flowers I like to my list. I guess by forgetting the list won't stretch from here to Florida.
    Loving this weather!!!

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  3. What an amazing explosion of colour! Love it!

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  4. I love that 'Lazy Gardener' such great colour it has. We haven't got any Sunflowers this year, depending probably on bad seeds. Yours are enormous! Have a great weekend / gittan

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  5. thanks for sharing those splashes of color with us today...all most all of my garden is almost done. Rain has taken a lot of the petals down.
    Loved those roses, I could smell them.

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  6. Oh, Catherine your roses are so gorgeous and I love that Dahlia.I just have to learn how to grow Cosmos somehow, I just love them.
    Your little gardener is following in your foot steps. She's a cutie.

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  7. Catherine, the littlest gardener is so precious. I have Verbena bonariensis growing wild, in limestone banks. I'm glad you're getting rain and I know what you mean about not having to water!

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  8. Your garden looks glorious! And I especially like your little helper. She adds a lot of sparkle the the garden!

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  9. Those sunflowers are gorgeous!!! So big! Do you not have to stake them? I can't even get cosmos to stand up, so i can only imagine what a sunflower would do for me!

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  10. What a great shot of the sunflower head! The colours in your photos are always so saturated. Everything looks great :-)

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  11. Great post sorry i have missed so many. The V.Bodnariensis looks lovely it doesn't do well through my winter except where I don't want it to grow such as in a path.
    All the flowers look great especially against the blue sky. The sunflowers are huge and great fun for children to grow.
    We had rain too today and it is such a relief not to have to water.

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  12. Catherine these blooms are just incredible. I'm not really a big fan of Dahlias but that is gorgeous! The blue lobelia is very nice.

    Have a great weekend!

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  13. I'd say that all your fertilizing is working because everything looks so pretty. Usually, I'm not a fan of dark colored blooms but your Lazy Gardener dahlia is really good looking. And to your little gardener I say, "Go Diego Go."

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  14. Beautiful blooms and gorgeous photography...and a cutie following in Mom's footsteps....

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  15. Beautiful flowers..the sunflower is gorgeous! You should make note cards out of your pretty flowers.

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  16. My goodness. That dahlia is a knock out. I love that deep color. The littlest gardener is cute with her camera. I grew bright lights cosmo this year and am very pleased with it. I also love the cupped shape of the unknown pink rose.

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  17. Amazing, Catherine. I love those airy verbena..they self seed and spread like crazy. Your littlest gardener is the most adorable little helper ;)

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  18. Love the Lazy Gardener dahlias! The colour is so deep. I like the name too!

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  19. Your verbena looks most wonderful. I bet there are tons of butterflies in your garden. The more for the littlest gardener to snap some pics of them. She looks too cute!

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  20. Oh my gosh, that picture of your daughter with the giant sunflowers is precious!!

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  21. Hi Catherine! Everything looks great in your garden, but the best little flower of all is your "Littlest Gardener!" I'm sure she's thrilled by the size of her sunflowers! :-)

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  22. You do have a lot of flowers still blooming. I love the lobelia plant and the rose of sharon,not to mention the deep color of the dahlia, oh heck, I liked them all. Thanks for showing them

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  23. Your flowers are just stunning to see. The assortment and colors are amazing to me.

    I have the issue of "breast feeding" on my main blog today Pick a Peck of Pixels

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  24. Beautiful flowers as usual Catherine!
    Those Dahlias are gorgeous, Happy FF!


    -Cathy

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  25. This post is fantastic - well done - a veritable feast for the eyes! It's a really joy to see, thank you!

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  26. Looks like a crayon box exploded in your gardens...heavenly!!! The last photo looks like it should be part of a wedding.

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  27. It is always a pleasure to see your garden out there on the west coast. I am beyond having just envy. I first thought your cute little girl was a law ornament. I thought how life like. She is such a cute little one and I am sure a joy of your life. Enjoy those kids before they get too grown up and move away. Your weather looks like it is keeping you growing in great shape. Great blog.

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  28. Catherine,
    I have an extra unopened packet of black krim tomato seeds if you would like them -- I know you probably couldn't use them until next year, but their seeds are so good that I know they'd be fine. Send me your address at ginger_gibson at comcast.net and I'll stick them in the mail (if you want)!
    Ginger

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  29. Beautiful flowers! I love the dahlia. Its petals look just like velvet.

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  30. Hi Everyone, thanks for visiting, we've had a busy day today. Hope to get around to visit you all today!

    Tootsie - yes, I plan to join in again next week :)

    Dirt Princess - I haven't had to stake them yet, but I usually end up having to when the seeds get bigger.

    Ginger - Thanks, that sounds great!!

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  31. I love them all, too! You wouldn't know the season is coming to an end. But wait- there are still some that will bloom until frost. For us, that's over at least 6 weeks away. I'm afraid that will fly by.

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  32. They are all breath-taking and I love that the Little Gardener is your photo assistant!

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  33. Awww, your littlest gardener is SO cute! Your garden still looks so wonderful. I'm very, very glad I started verbena bonariensis from seed in June. Maybe next year it will take off in my garden too. The photo you took of it is just great. I also love that lavender lobelia. I wonder if it would be hardy here? I've never tried one that color.

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  34. LOVE the pictures! wow! so pretty! I ecspecially love the abraham darby! I want one SO BAD!

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