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

Friday, June 11, 2010

This, that and the other on Fertilizer Friday.

We're looking forward to a change in our weather this weekend. It's finally supposed to get up into the 70's on Saturday. We have just broken an all time record for the latest for it to reach 75 degrees (the highest it's been so far is 72) and 24 of the last 26 days have given us rain. I'm planning to get Sunflower and Zinnia seeds sown this weekend and hopefully the struggling seedlings will finally get a chance to grow. Unfortunately a lot of what I started by winter sowing has either been eaten by slugs or has drowned in the rain. I also noticed that my Oriental lilies actually have mold growing on them and have begun to bend. But, I'm not going to let those things get me too down. It's all part of gardening, because on the other hand plants like Hydrangeas, Clematis and Hostas are looking the best they've ever looked. I guess I have to take the bad with the good.
Now to the good part of the garden, things that are growing and thriving in the rain:

Canterbury Bells (Campanula medium) were bought last year as seedlings. I started more seeds this year so I will have them blooming yearly in my garden since they are biennials. I've always loved these flowers, but for some reason have never grown them before.

Penstemon 'Mystica' blooming behind the pond. I've been finding seedlings of them around this area which is fine with me.

Bachelor Buttons 'Blue Boy' which reseeded from last year. The seeds I've sown this year haven't even sprouted yet, hopefully once it warms up they will. My oldest daughter said there are lots of these growing on the other side of our fence that faces the schoolyard, glad to know they reseeded there as well. I was thinking about sprinkling some Cosmos seeds over the fence too, just to make it colorful for the kids or teachers who pass by.

The Blueberry bushes I was worried about being late to show flowers are loaded with berries.

The Littlest Gardener spotted peas on her bush pea plants. Sweet Pea's Sugar Snap Peas are growing like crazy. The peas have loved this cool wet weather.

This is how much Gracie loves being outside. She would rather be inside watching us unless it's very sunny and warm. A few weeks ago she had pretty major dental surgery and seems to be healing well.

A corner of the deck where I have some of my containers. My husband bought the wire bird for me on our trip to Portland in a garden shop with lots of garden art made from recycled materials. The Meyer lemon tree on the right still is hanging to the little lemon.

Just to the left of the containers are the steps down to the gravel path. Catmint (Nepeta) is blooming along the edge of the bed.

Clematis 'Jackmanii' is the vine that you can see in the bed above. It's just begun to bloom and it will be coated in bright purple flowers soon.

To see who else is flaunting their flowers on Fertilizer Friday visit Tootsie Time. Hope you all have good gardening weather this weekend!
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40 comments:

  1. Gravy! I would love to have the 70's visit us, we have been flirting with triple digits here. Your flowers look beautiful despite your rain. I like how your plants have reseeded over the fence, a bonus for the walkers. Let Gracie in the house for pete's sake, lol. Congrats to the girls on their veggies!

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  2. I love those canterbury bells. I tried them from seed and they didn't do anything. I also tried lobelia but it didn't do anything either. The patio is looking good. Poor Gracie. Buddy is staying in due to the heat and is sleeping so much of the time. Have a good weekend Catherine. Becca

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  3. Hi!
    Beautiful blooms! Love those Canterbury Bells. Beautiful. Have a great day!

    Sherrie
    Sherrie's Stuff

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  4. I love your Campanula and peas and blueberries! Catherine your garden is so lovely ... I envy how everything has it's place... sans any unwanted plants. Your planters are beautiful too! ;>)

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  5. Your Gardens are Beautiful! Love the Canterbury Bells!! Enjoy your weekend :)

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  6. I love letting things seed around the garden but I don't have anything as special as that penstemon - they struggle in our winters and my soil.

    I love nepeta..... and so do the neighbours cats here. Its in full bloom in my garden too and I'm sure there is such a hum from it with all the bees just now.

    Have a lovely weekend Catherine :) Rosie

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  7. Hi Catherine

    It's not been a good start to the Summer over here as well. Parts of the Dordogne have had 6 inches of rain in the last 72 hours.

    My Clematis are looking good for it though. I've fed them with Rose fertiliser and it's paid off.

    Lovely blooms Catherine, have a great weekend

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  8. The trees on the other side of the fence are so massive. I just love the scale of them. Glad your dog healed. Mine is 15 and recently had an infected tooth. He got antibiotics and pain meds. Not sure if we'll go the surgery route as he is so old and not doing well as it is. Poor things, they just don't understand pain. I wish it were in the 70s here! We have a heat advisory in effect for our weekend-calling for feeling like 100! We'll be at the lake swimming I think. You stay cool and watch those blueberries-they look to be close.

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  9. I have the same Bachelor Buttons self seeding around my garden. Such a lovely color of blue, saw the chipmunk jumping up to eat the flowers and soon the goldfinches will start eating the seeds. Amazing how they self seed with all the wildlife eating them. Hope you have a great gardening weekend.

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  10. So beautiful! your C.Bells are awesome!! I love yoru wire bird..and Gracie is waaay too cute!
    Have a happy day!
    Kiki~

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  11. I can barely wrap my mind around those cool temps, Catherine. It is 90 every day here with oppressive humidity. On the other hand, the zinnias never germinated so quickly. Like you say, when one thing is down, another is up and your garden is really UP! The photos are so crisp and the colors so brilliant, it looks lovely. Hooray for the girls peas, too. Such a wonderful veggie. :-)
    Frances

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  12. O wowwwwwwwwww amazing !! your garden.....and how sweet that doggie gRacie !!!! and that clematis!!!.i love it all...........happy weekend hugs from me........

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  13. All the flower photos are just so pretty but I love the pic of Gracie best. I'm glad she is getting over her dental work. She is just precious. Glad the girls' peas are doing well in all the rain and cool temps. Hope you have a nice weekend.
    p.s. the wire bird gift from your husband looks great among your potted plants.

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  14. My wintersown plants were also killed off, between chicken trampling, critter munching and the weeks of drought. Oh well, next year... The wire bird is wonderful!

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  15. Despite the rain, everything looks great in your garden. It even rained here again today, and close to 90 degrees, the humidity is a killer.

    Those Cantbury Bells are lovely. I haven't had them in such a long time.

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  16. The canterbury bells are so sweet. I like your selection of containers. The different materials go well together and the little bird is darling. I hope I get Jackmanii to bloom like that some day. Mine is making new leaves but I think one of the hot windy days roughed some of it up a bit. Have a good weekend!

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  17. Everything in your garden looks super happy and healthy! Loved it all. Great post.

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  18. I hope you get some good weather soon. Hot here but rain also.I think that is why my seedlings are getting eaten up.
    I think your oink Canterbury Bells are so pretty. I did not know they were bi-annuals though.I learn something new from you all everyday. Glad Gracie is doing good. I lost my Pomeranian when I took it in for teeth cleaning. I was so sad and mad. Your little turtle is so sweet.I was moving roses today. I will never learn LOL! But I got rid of all those Dr. Huey Reds. They are going to be growing in the woodland bed now. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  19. The Bachelor Buttons is adorable! I'm waiting for my peas, waiting for all kinds of veggies to grow for harvest. By the way I was wondering, do you know much about insects, or direct me to anyone who do. Please visit my blog if you have time, thanks! :)

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  20. Oh, I just love your Penstemon and the contrasting stems and flowers. We have been having a cooler then normal late spring too. Although, in our area it is more then welcome :-)

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  21. The catmint is lovely. It adds such a beautiful soft edge to that bed. Although I am rather taken with the Campanula too...as I have a soft spot for those.

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  22. Catherine - your garden and pics are beautiful! I grew canterbury bells for a couple of years. Funny, until I saw your pics I forgot how beautiful they are. I had one that had pink and purple flowers on the same plant. For some reason the earwigs loved them. The penstemon is amazing!

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  23. Love love love that garden path! IT is beautiful! Paula in Idaho

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  24. Interesting............love to read.
    Thank's for sharing with us


    Regards,

    Nikey Maniz
    Wire Fencing

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  25. Catherine, It sounds as though you have been having the kind of gardening season that we had last year -- cool and wet. It seemed as though summer didn't begin to arrive until mid-July, bloom times were well behind normal, and all kinds of plants had fungus growing on them (not to mention the fact that tomatoes in this part of the country were pretty much wiped out by late blight). Mother Nature seems to be compensating this year with an unusually warm and early spring and summer, lots of sunshine, and flowers blooming 1-2 weeks earlier than normal. I hope your weather gets more summer-like soon. -Jean

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  26. I sure miss the 70's...we probably won't see them again until September :/

    Some parts of the country have too much rain, and here we have too little. Funny how each year is different...

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  27. Those Canterbury bells are cool! Aaahhh! The Bachelor buttons! I've been waiting for the weather to cool down to sow the seeds and I think now is the time to try them again! Hope I get them this year...
    Your garden seems to transform itself beautifully every year!

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  28. Catherine - it's always a pleasure to stop by and see how things are going; hope the warm (+70F) sunshine is on it's way... -Shyrlene

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  29. I love the campanula, but haven't tried it here, thinking it would not like our heat and humidity --like 95 degrees and hot sun yesterday, then rain last night!

    Same with penstemon. I came so close to buying that very one at the garden shop last week. I've grown them successfully before, but were short-lived when it got too hot and humid.

    Love the nepeta along the path. It's one of my favorite edgers, too.

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  30. First, Gracie is adorable. Those bachelor buttons with that deep blue color is so gorgeous. Love all of your flowers.

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  31. Lovely as always Catherine. It's gone from January to June overnight. And a little on the toasty side. But I think everyone is feeling a lot better about it. For me the most obvious sign of too much rain has been the rotting roses. The petals aren't falling off, just turning brown. Ick. Other than that, everything is happy. My fingers are crossed for your seedlings.

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  32. Your garden is looking lovely Catherine! How I envy the catmint, i love it but one of my cats just eats it until there is nothing left!I have raised some lemon scented catmint seeds this year to see whether he will leave these alone.The Canterbury bells always reminds me of my childhood(being a fair maid of Kent(lol) and Canterbury being in Kent)And i love the penstemon, i havent heard of that one yet. Hope your weather keeps on improving, we have had pretty decent weather here in southern England, betty xx

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  33. Your garden still looks spectacular! Mine is starting to look limp with heat stroke.
    Brenda

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  34. I had no idea how pretty a blueberry plant can be; love that photo and all the others. I'm still waiting on my Penstemon to bloom; they're still at least a week away.

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  35. Hello Catherine! Your Canterbury Bells look gorgeous!
    I am in Washington too... and I so feel your pain! The rain and the slugs, my roses are rotting before they even open! This weekend has been gorgeous though, I hope you had time to enjoy! I know I did!
    Bella

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  36. Bloom heaven.
    Love it all.
    New to poppies didn't realize the Oriental Poppies are so large.
    You have a few flowers I have to look into. Thanks.

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  37. I would do anything for some pink canterbury bells!! All mine are purple. Now that I've seen yours, I can't wait for mine to open. They are loaded with buds but no flowers yet.
    Your dog and mine think alike!
    So pretty there Catherine. Love the view from your deck with the containers and path.

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  38. I would love to have some warm weather too. Rain gets depressing doesn't it?
    Things there are really looking good in spite of it all...do you have any weeds???? I have to be a bit jealous...cuz that is all that seems to be healthy in my yard!
    Thanks for linking in...hope to see you again next Friday!

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  39. I'm glad I came back this far, as I was able to see more lovely blooms, wider views, and get the name I was trying to think of, "Canterbury Bells." I grew some for a few years, but I guess they quit reseeding.

    Yours sure are putting on a wonderful show!

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