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

Friday, June 25, 2010

First Fertilizer Friday of Summer.

Well, it finally feels as if Summer has arrived here.  The sun has been out for several days and the temperatures have finally made it to the mid 70's.  Perfect gardening weather!  I've been doing some weeding and clean up in different parts of the yard and it really felt good to be out there.  The plants have really responded to the warmer temperatures and are looking great.  I bought more Zinnia seeds to sow since I have a feeling the others may not come up.  I've also noticed the Dahlias are very slow to come up this year.  I dug up some tubers to see what was happening and saw that there is new growth, they just seem to be taking their time.
 
When we first went outside a couple of days ago Sweet Pea was excited to find two of these Dragonflies in our front yard.  We usually see the large Blue Darners here, these ones are a little less common in our yard.  I couldn't figure out what type they were.

 Campanula 'Pantaloons' finally made a comeback.  I planted it two summers ago, last year the slugs wouldn't leave it alone and it never bloomed.  I moved it earlier this Spring and was happy to see it blooming.  The inside is covered in purplish polka dots.

The new David Austin rose 'Lady Emma Hamilton' is getting close to opening.

 Oxalis crassipes rosea surprised me in bloom.  It tends to stay closed up on cool overcast days, something we've had a lot of.  The clumps of bright pink flowers really stand out.

 Linaria has just started blooming.  It reseeds quite a bit, but is easy to pull up in unwanted places.

 Veronica spicata

Yarrow (Achillea filipendula

 I thought it was interesting to see how similar the center of the annual Breadseed Poppies (Papaver somniferum) are to

the perennial Oriental Poppies (Papaver orientale) 'Princess Victoria Louise'.

To see who else is "flaunting their flowers" this Fertilizer Friday visit Tootsie who hosts it each week.
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36 comments:

  1. Oh, so many beauties! Love the veronica and poppies and what an amazing rose! Mid-70's sounds wonderful. Glad it has warmed up for you.

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  2. Yes, our summer at last arrived! Beautiful blooms Catherine. The oxalis is remarkable!

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  3. So very pretty! I think your poppies are gorgeous...and the vernnica, too. Together, your flowers make a very cheerful appearance. It's a joy to visit your blog.

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  4. Oy! I'm blinded by that Breadseed Poppy!

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  5. Love the photo with the dragonfly. And the Oxalis crassipes rosea is simply breathtaking!

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  6. Wauwwwww...such a nice flowers !!! happy summer days weekend !! hugs from Ria.......

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  7. Catherine, that oxalis is a winner. I wonder if I could grow that in zone 5? Also, thanks for naming my veronica. I have this on the warm side of my house and I could not remember the name.

    Eileen

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  8. I'm so glad the sun came out to brighten up your day"..

    Yay! I certainly understand how it feels because I live in Michigan.

    The dragonfly on the Sweet pea photo is very pretty.. So are all the others... Have a wonderful Day"

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  9. Hi Catherine, I know you are loving spending time outside in your beautiful garden in the warm sun. Everything is so pertty, especially the poppies. Thanks for sharing such nice photos of all your blooms. Have a great weekend.

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  10. I love your poppies so pretty. It's definitely summer where we are! 90 degree weather.

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  11. You have to enter one of your flower photos in my June free photo contest...PLEEEEZ????

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  12. Your oxalis is like wow! I had dug up the dahlias you sent me to see what they were doing and like you, I found they have some growth but are very slow. I'm still holding on with them and made a neat thing for them all. I need to post on it one of these days. Have a great weekend.

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  13. Hooray for some sunshine..right?!! I love how your yarrow sits so gracefully around your bird bath, very serene. Have a great weekend!

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  14. Okay, all I can say is gorgeous. Wonderful flowers and I can't wait to see your Lady Emma Hamilton Rose opened fully. How pretty.

    Have a wonderful day,
    Susan

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  15. Beautiful flower photos, and I'm glad you are getting some sunshine for your garden. I know this sounds crazy, and I don't know how close you are to Seattle, but we arrive on July 5th for 6 days and I can't help but hope to see a little rain. I'm drying out here in the Las Vegas heat and desert! Can't wait to get to your beautiful state. :-)

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  16. What great blooms. And the dragonfly...I saw one like that the other evening too. Big and bold he was.

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  17. Your poppies are wonderful. Love the dragonfly shot as well.

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  18. I love the blue spikes of the veronica. Is it also used as a herb in the kitchen?

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  19. Oh, that Oxalis is so bright it just about knocked me blind! Very pretty flowers today, love them all. I winter sowed two kinds of Veronica, one pink and one blue. I hope they are as lovely as yours next year (or maybe the year after).

    I had one of those dragonflies here too yesterday. But I was outside without the camera and I just knew that if I ran inside to get it, it would be gone by the time I came back to take a pic.

    Thanks for posting, you always have something new for FF!

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  20. Thanks for showing your flowers. That is an amazing picture of the dragon fly. I hope to plant some David Austin roses when we move to the house in Connecticut this summer. I've always wanted to have roses. The time has come!!

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  21. Oh My Gosh!! Such vivid colors! Wow.

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  22. sounds like we are both finally getting the gardening weather we do so love to have! Next week is supposed to be super hot...so I did manage to get a lot of weeding and other things done...your garden is gorgeous friend...thanks for sharing it with us this week and for linking in!

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  23. I miss my beautiful David A Roses. Left them in the garden at Robe Valley when we moved. If I ever get the structure and big $$ plants of my edible garden to somewhat reflect the picture in my mind, than the DA row at the nursery is where I am headed.

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  24. Great Dragonfly capture! Catherine, your lovely garden is in full swing. I do believe my favorite roses are the David Austin ones.

    Stay cool over the weekend. It looks like we are to be in the low 80's.

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  25. I just love your garden Catherine. Now I have dragonfly envy too. We have them here, just can't get them to sit still to photograph them. Lady Emma Hamilton looks like she's going to be a stunner, and that pink oxalis looks impressive en masse!

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  26. I love the pictures of the poppies! I wish I had more of those. Chuck's always afraid we'll get busted for opium production or something LOL

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  27. That large dragonfly looks like it can eat a lot of mosquitoes. The Veronica spicata has a wonderfully vivid shade of blue, and I like both of your poppies. Their crinkly petals are very appealing.

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  28. Lovely blooms. I saw the Campanula Pantaloons at a plant sale yesterday - nearly bought it just for the name

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  29. What a FANTASTIC capture of those dragonflies, WOW! These poppies are amazing. Your garden is paradise.

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  30. Catherine - your garden looks as lush as gardens in the warmer parts of the country; the dragonfly picture looks like something that should be published! -Shyrlene

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  32. sorry about the comment deletion..fixing a typo that is important!....

    The 70's sounds so refreshing! The poppies and others are so gorgeous.

    I've had trouble getting zinnias and cosmos going this year due to our heat. I just can't keep the seeded areas moist enough.

    Is that a PURPLE linaria? I have a pale pink. I'll have to search for purple seeds. I have the space.

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  33. First I envy the temps you're getting.
    Never realized how pretty poppies can be...must have for next year...have seeds already.
    The Oxalis crassipes rosea stopped me in my tracks, what a eye catcher!

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  34. Dragonflies, and David Austen roses, your garden is a magical place.

    Jen

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  35. Gorgeous!
    Our dahlias have taken a beating - between the cool, wet weather and the slugs it's been hard for them!

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  36. Beautiful photos. I searched around, and that gorgeous dragonfly seems to be a 12-spotted skimmer, and most likely an immature male. Very nice!

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