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

Friday, June 4, 2010

Lot's of new blooms for Fertilizer Friday.

I love days like yesterday where walking through the garden I found quite a few new flowers blooming. This is why June is my favorite month in my garden. It's a constant surprise of new flowers opening, many of them are my favorites. The rain held off yesterday and after dinner I found myself going out to cut a few Peonies and that turning into a weeding session. I had scissors and a handful of Peonies in one hand while I crouched down and weeded with the other.

Peony 'Sorbet' was new last year and has just one flower this year. I can't wait until it's more established and I have more flowers from it.

I noticed something interesting about this Peony 'Festiva Maxima' this year. It's normally very white with a few petals edged in dark pink. This year most of the flowers are light pink. I wonder if it has anything to do with all the rain we've had. I have a white rose ('Iceberg') that turns pink when we've had a lot of rain. Updated to add that I just read about cool Springs causing 'Iceberg' roses to take on a pink color, I wonder if that's what happened with this Peony as well.

Geranium 'Rozanne' has it's first bloom. I planted two last year, but only one survived.

Penstemons are another favorite of mine. This is 'Red Rocks'.

Penstemon 'Catherine de la Mar'

Deutzia 'Pink a Boo' is loved by the bees.

My first Breadseed Poppy has bloomed. The color is a much more vibrant, deep red than shows in the picture.

Foxgloves have just started blooming. I've got them coming up everywhere. I love how the bees climb inside the flowers.

The rain really beat up my English roses and turned them into brown mush, but the others all seemed to handle the rain well. This is 'Honey Perfume', the colors of this continually change as it ages.

Rose 'Julia Child'

After seeing how well the flowers were doing it made up for all the weeds that have been growing because of all the rain. I am hoping that early next week I'll be able to really weed and start redoing one of the front shade beds. Once I get a project in my mind, I can't wait to get out and start digging!
To see who else is "flaunting their flowers" on this Fertilizer Friday visit Tootise Time.
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46 comments:

  1. Love that Julia Child rose. You have so many pretties Catherine. Foxglove is stunning. Love your poppy.

    When your poppie stop blooming do you do anything with the naked plant that is left.

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  2. I love Peonies. I'd like to grow them! Did you start from seed? I do however have a packet of double poppies that resembles Peonies, I'm thinking of planting them. Any advice is appreciated!

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  3. Boy, are your flowers looking pretty ! My foxgloves decided to be no-shows this Summer , love yours ! Gina

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  4. I love your pictures of 'Sorbet', 'Rozanne', and the breadseed poppy. Beautiful!

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  5. As usual, your flowers are just beautiful! And your photography is so good, you really do them justice. I don't know, that poppy seems to really pop out of the monitor, it's so bright!

    I love peonies and penstemons too, I have to get more for my garden. Maybe it's just because it's still getting established, but I am disappointed in the flowers on my Itoh peony.

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  6. So many flowers, Catherine. Good luck with your newest project!

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  7. Wow..super wow..you have dazzled me again!! Breathtaking Catherine..awesome!!
    Kiki~

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  8. I love peonies. But, they don't do as well in our zone 8, as they do in your zone 8. Strange how that works.

    Your flowers are gorgeous. It does make the weeding a bit easier, when you have those flowers to enjoy.

    Have a good weekend.
    ~~Linda...

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  9. That's interesting about the peony (which is gorgeous, BTW!). I noticed this morning that a peony I was expecting to be white is a very light pink. I'm SURE it was white last year. Things to ponder.

    I'm looking forward to a drier (everything is relative, right?) weekend. I need a machete to get through the lawn!

    -Meg

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  10. Spectacular Color!! A friend gave me some lily of the valley from her garden.... her's bloomed with a white flower, mine were more of a soft violet. It's been that way for years and we decided that my soil is just different... either more acidic or alkaline?? Just guessing, but she'd always say "I like your's better". :)

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  11. So pretty. That geranium is so BLUE! Love the peonies. Aren't they wonderful in a vase on the dining room table?

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  12. What a gorgeous peony! That color is amazing!

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  13. Catherine, I just don't know what I am more amazed at your flowers or your photography skills. I am trying to get better, but your colors are so lifelike. Do you use a special setting? I have a Canon also EOS Rebel XSI, and I don't think I am utilizing all the features.

    I have Penstemon for the first time this year and I love it. That Red Rocks is striking.

    Eileen

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  14. Becca - I just leave the poppy heads standing because I like how they look, and they'll dry that way too. Then you can just shake the seeds out and use the seedheads inside as a dried flower.

    Priscilla - Both of these were started from bare roots and so take along time to establish. Peony Poppies are great. I usually sprinkle them around in March and they seem to take awhile to get started. If it's too late to sow them now you could sprinkle them around in the fall and they'll be ready to sprout in the early spring.

    Eileen - Another blogger told me to try the foliage setting (it looks like a leaf)and I've found the colors show much closer to normal than just in auto mode. I bet your camera has that setting. Otherwise unless the light is perfect many of my pictures look very washed out.

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  15. Catherine, I read in one of my garden Magazines that the Festiva Maxima is a very fragrant peony and I have it on my future wish list.

    I too" am a fan of Penstemons..My favorite are the Husker Red..

    I'm loving your " Red Rocks,Lavender Foxgloves, Julia child and Honey perfume roses..
    What a Lovely Romantic mix of flowers these are...

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  16. Wow. Sorbet is the perfect name for that stunning peony. I love the Deutzia too, I've never grown it, but the flowers are so pretty.

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  17. What a fantastic garden! So hard to pick a favorite, however, that poppy is the first I've seen today and it is magnificent! Thx for the tour!

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  18. absolutely breathtaking...love the peonies...especially the first one. I feel like I'm looking into another world...or at least a lush tropical garden....amazing.

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  19. I always think that your pictures can't get any prettier but you always manage to outdo yourself. Lovely, lovely garden Catherine. It makes me happy to visit your blog!

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  20. You have a lovely blog!

    I have a 'Bowl of Beauty' peony that looks like your 'Sorbet' - I wonder if they are the same, but different names....I have a picture on my blog.

    Also I wanted to tell you that I had a peony one year that I am positive was white the first year, and then light pink forever more after that (at least as long as I had the house which was 15 years.)

    Hmmmmm. You are the first person that I've heard say something similar.

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  21. The peonies are amazing! Weeding at every opportunity is what I do too. Your flowers are so rare and fresh. Have a nice weekend!

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  22. I love the red poppy with the yellow center and your 'Honey Perfume' rose is a lovely shade of orange/peach. Your garden looks very lush. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  23. Exquisite photos...the flowers are stunning.

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  24. The deutzia is fabulous, Catherine! I'd not heard of it before. Love the penstemon and your Sorbet Peony too. Enjoy your gardens!

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  25. Hi! I'm visiting from Fertilizer Friday. Your garden is breathtaking and your pictures are stunning! I love gardening both vegetables and flowers....I have so much to learn. I'll be back to visit often!
    Sharon

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  26. Catherine all these pics are jumping off the screen. They are all so pretty but I love the Sorbet peony. That one looks good enough to eat.

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  27. You have so many beautiful blooms. I just planted penstemon for the first time. I hope mine will be as lovely as yours!

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  28. Everything is so beautiful! I've seen the Julia Child rose in several gardens and I'm always taken by the beauty of it.

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  29. The variety of plants you have is just awesome...I still have a few poppies blooming here..

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  30. Beautiful, just beautiful and with busy bees at work :) That peony is spectacular.

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  31. Hi Catherine. Your Sorbet peony is a deeper pink than mine. I wonder if that is because of the rain also. Your Deutzia is so pretty and I love the Honey Perfume rose. I was going to try a Julia Child rose but it was for zone 6 and up so I was afraid it would not make it here. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  32. I'm always so enthralled with images of your garden. Mine is starting to look a bit sad from the Texas heat.
    Brenda

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  33. Oh Catherine,

    I can see why June is your favorite month in the garden. Such gorgeous flowers. I do wish I could grow peonies...they are so beautiful.

    Noelle

    PS. Thank you very much for your kind comments.

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  34. Your Penstemons seem to flower much earlier than they do here in central UK. I wouldnt expect to have flowers for another couple of months. However I have all the other flowers you mention. I am desperate for some rain to soften the ground so I can do some more planting

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  35. Couldn't be any prettier! I sure enjoyed my visit.

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  36. Lovely - love your peonies! Paula

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  37. Dear Catherine, how beautiful is your garden today!!!!! I have loved that red poppie, those foxgloves and penstemon, oh the ponies!! and of course your roses!!!!
    Hope this year my foxgloves won`t be eaten by those ugly rabbits!!!! I saw none of them, all in the belly of rabbits!!! ggrrrrr!!!
    I want spring to come soon....
    Cariños,
    Maria Cecilia

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  38. Very nice as usual, Catherine! We've had so much rain and I'm so tired of it. The moisture was nice for a while but now the garden is just getting soggy. Oh well. Looks as though today will be the end of it.

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  39. Great post Catherine! You'll be delighted when your Sorbet peony expands. They are an eye catching show of color!

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  40. Stunning blooms; brings a big smile to my face.

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  41. Hi Catherine, you have a lot of commenters here, as plenty as the insects visiting your flowers. I specifically love the blue geranium and the Penstemon more than the roses, because roses are common here too. Your photos are also very clear and very nicely composed, thank you.

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  42. Okay Catherine, that's it. Deutzia 'Pink a Boo' is going on my wish list. What a gorgeous flower!

    My garden buddy Carol has 'Honey Perfume' and loves it.

    Interesting about the foliage color changes with the rain. Here's to many WHITE Icebergs and Festivas.

    A crystal clear shot of Rozanne!

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  43. Wow, everything looks beautiful!! I'm jealous you can grow peonies. They don't work here - too hot and humid. That first one is gorgeous!

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  44. Your 'sorbet' peony looks a lot like my 'bowl of beauty!' It's gorgeous. I would have bought that one too if I hadn't of seen 'bowl of beauty' first.
    The foxgloves are fantastic. Wish, wish, wish, I could grow them here.
    Everything is splendid Catherine, as always. Your neighbors must love living next to you and admiring your garden.

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