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

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Some things to be happy about!

Thank you to everyone who gave input and suggestions about what could be wrong with our Japanese Maple tree.  I love that there are so many knowledgeable gardeners out there willing to help.  I'll keep you posted if I'm able to find a way to save the tree, but it doesn't sound too promising for now.  I'm pretty sure it is Collar Rot or Phytophthora.  It sounds like there isn't a lot that can be done aside from pulling soil away and treating with a fungicide, but that seems to be only slightly effective.  I guess we'll just enjoy it while it's here.  It surprising how fast you can get attached to a tree.
But, luckily with one disappointment in the garden there are usually several things to help cheer you up.
I found that there are some Zinnia seedlings, not many but a few at least.  I discovered that a Dahlia has sprouted, I had given up on them but one has decided to send up some foliage, so maybe there's a chance for a bloom.  The Pink blueberries ripened but the Littlest Gardener and her little friends couldn't wait to eat them before I could take any pictures.  My Hollyhocks seeds from Tina are starting to grow too!

 The Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) has started to bloom and the bumblebees are very happy about that.

 Some of the Oriental Lilies are blooming.  They are smaller than usual this year, but I'm just happy to see them.

 The driveway garden has a row of Lavender blooming right in front of this area.  It is covered in just about every type of bee possible.  A very strange bee looking insect was "attacking" the other bees, it even came after me.  I tried to get a picture of it but it wouldn't land long enough.  I think it was a drone fly, which is a honeybee drone mimic.  It's interesting how many insects you can find just watching one small spot in a garden for a short time.

 Caryopteris 'Wocester Gold' was moved during the heat of the summer last year and survived.

 My very first Calendula which was grown by seed sent to my by Laurie.  This was another seed I had given up on ever seeing grow.  I was very happily surprised while out watering to see this pretty flower.

 Nicotiana 'Limelight' was something I saw in a seed catalog last year.  I ordered the seeds, started them by wintersowing and waited and waited and waited for something to happen.  Once the heat started the plants started growing quickly and now are blooming.

 Sedum 'Autumn Joy' always reminds me of broccoli when it's at this stage.

And this pretty flower was visiting from the neighbors yard.  It's hidden behind a Hydrangea in their yard and I guess thought peeking through the fence it would be admired.  I'm guessing it's a Crocosmia.  Maybe it knew that just a few feet away is the Crocosmia that Darla sent me is growing, although I don't think it will bloom this year.

Now today I need to get out and do some watering.  I've been very lazy about it this summer.  We started off so wet here and it hasn't been that hot so the ground hasn't really dried out.  But the poor containers and newly planted things still need regular watering.  It seems like when I'm standing there watering with the hose is often when I notice the new things happening in the garden.
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35 comments:

  1. I'm sorry to hear about your Japanese maple. But it looks like you have a lot to be happy about in your garden. I love your pink Rose of Sharon (mine are white with burgundy throats), and your oriental lilies are lovely too. Mine are all finished now and they were also short in stature this year for some reason.

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  2. Great reasons to be happy! Happy plants, happy gardener.

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  3. Happy happy.........love Ria...

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  4. That phlox/coneflower combo is just incredible!

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  5. G'day Catherine ~ Your florals are exquisite. I love the lime green one ...

    Have a beautiful summer's day ~
    TTFN ~ Hugs, Marydon

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  6. Plenty to be happy about in your garden.

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  7. Love that Rose of Sharon. Beautiful color. Driveway garden is blooming it's heart out. Limelight is also a beauty. Beautiful blooms Catherine.

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  8. Things are looking so great Catherine! I love the shot with the echinacea in the foreground...you have such great harmonious colors combos! I agree about the sedums. Every year at this time, when they look like that, it reminds me of when I first planted them back when I was a kid, living at home with my parents. One day, about this time of year, my mom walked out and saw them and asked me why on earth had I planted broccoli in the flower garden...still makes me chuckle!

    Scott

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  9. Hi Catherine. This has been the craziest summer for flowers. My dahlias have not sprouted yet that you sent and I checked them and they still seem fine.So maybe they will yet if yours have. The Calendula is so pretty and so is the green Nicotiana.

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  10. Catherine, I'm sorry your Japanese maple may be beyond redemption, but you really do have many plants in your garden worthy of rejoicing. I love your broccoli-like sedum. I miss having sedum around, it always seemed so popular with the butterflies!

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  11. All of your flowers are looking so great. It is so interesting to follow the different blogs around the US and see the kinds of flowers they are able to grow because of climate. Your photos are great.

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  12. Dear Catherine, Yes, many, many reasons to be cheerful in your garden. It is loking lush and healthy which is a great credit to you in what has been a very challenging season.

    I do so agree with you that the Sedum does look like broccoli. In many ways I prefer it now, as your picture shows, rather than when it has turned its autumnal shades.

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  13. So sorry about your tree Catherine. I know it is a big loss when something becomes an anchor in a garden or bed. I grew nicotiana limelight many years ago and loved the color. I am beginning to realize that you have such a longer planting cycle than we do, but I don't think I could stand this heat and rain to go on for many more months.

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  14. Wow, limelight is amazing!! I'll never look at autumn joy the same way again, I agree with you 100%. :)

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  15. I am sorry to hear about your maple tree and I totally understand the attachment. I love my plants and sometimes no matter how much TLC I give them their time is up. I think that the rest of your garden more than makes up for things..it's beautiful...especially the limelite!

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  16. Your Rose Of Sharon is so beautiful. And what is the deep purple in with the Coneflower and Phlox? Love the colors all together.
    Sorry your Maple tree may not survive. It would be so hard to lose a grown tree. I'm attached to my Crimson King Maple - in fact that's why I got another one for my anniversary cause the one I got for another anniversary couldn't move with us. ;-(

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  17. Such a joy to view all these lovely flowers Catherine. That's cute about the blueberries going so fast!!!

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  18. My little ones are too quick to eat the strawberries around here - they often eat them before they're even ripe, silly kids. I'm sure they'd love blueberries if I could get them to grow. We had one blackberry on the new bramble this year.
    Your flowers are looking good! It's been fun to watch so many of my flowers take off and grow when it finally got warmer.

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  19. Catherine, I am sorry for your J. Maple and for your loss. We do get so attached to our trees, especially when we have known them for years and watched them grow. Then again you do have such a joyous garden. What color and fragrance and lushness abounds there. I love the sedum, when it is wearing that green and I too love to look around while watering to see what is happening. I will hope for a miracle for your tree. ;>)

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  20. I love the Limelight one, it's so pretty! Your blooms are gorgeous, especially the coneflower. So pretty.

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  21. I agree that it's easy to become attached to a plant - and I'm so sorry about your Japanese Maple. We have a dogwood tree that we've been worrying over for several years.
    Love the limelight and the rose of sharon. You do indeed have many beautiful plants to be happy about!

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  22. So many lovely flowers! The Calendula is very pretty and the Rose of Sharon is gorgeous, the color is amazing!
    Have a great day!
    //Margot

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  23. You have such a beautiful garden. And I am just so jealous!

    Someone gave us Sedum 'Autumn Joy' this summer and I laughed when you said it reminded you of a broccoli. It was exactly what I told my husband! :)

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  24. Your tree looks so sad. I had a hydrangea die last week, within 2 days it went from being nice and green to dead! I need to find out what happened to it. I enjoyed viewing your garden.

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  25. I thought Rose of Sharon was a Hibiscus ...wasn't sure. Seen some the look like shrubs.
    Always like nicotiana...so dufferent.

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  26. All of your garden shots are just stunning and I especially love the photo of the phlox and coneflowers and also the lily! But most charming of all, is your header photo of the sweet little hummer!
    Visiting from the Blog Hop!
    Blessings from a fellow Washingtonian!

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  27. I hope your japanese maple makes it! I'm feeling rather jealous of those with milder summers than me. Native plants are looking good, but about everything else in my garden is somewhat fried! I always hold my breath in August, to see what survives. Your flowers are so beautiful! I love your Limelight necotiana!

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  28. wonderful hibiscus Catherine - and glad the calendula is flowering for you - it will seed all over the place but those blooms look lovely so even I wouldn't mind those in my garden.

    With school holidays I have not been able to keep up with everyone's blogs but I'm sorry to read about your maple suffering. I've lost things in August in years gone by due to a fungus in the ground...... just too wet weather I fear. But I hope that the treatment works for you.

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  29. Hola dear Catherine, how beautiful is your garden these days, love hibiscus by they don´t grow very well so high were I live.
    The roses you saw in my post are not mine, I have taken them from my nephew wedding on saturday and they are imported from Ecuador, we have many roses from there and they are so perfect!!! My garden is now sleeping, we are in winter time!!
    many hugs,
    maria cecilia

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  30. I've got some big "heads" of broccoli right now too Catherine. They are about the only thing thriving right now.

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  31. very beautiful blooms! the Rose of Sharon is quite lovely. i'm with you, it is amazing how many insects you can find in just a square foot of the garden - most of which weren't there before i planted the garden!

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  32. The 'Rose of Sharon' photo is so beautiful Catherine. I never knew bees liked it?? One of my neighbors has one and I hadn't noticed any activity around it. I'll have to pay more attention.
    I'm waiting on the dahlias I bought as tubers to bloom too. It's been slow, slow, slow. I'm so glad I bought a couple already blooming when I found that huge sale.
    Nicotiana 'limelight' is one of my favorite Nicotianas. I have some growing in my Tibouchina container ~ it self sows there and returns every year. I'm waiting for the Tibouchina to bloom before photographing it ~ the purple blooms look so good with 'limelight.'
    Hope your gardening spirit returns soon. Everything looks good even if you've felt differently. I feel those lulls too. Remember last summer ~ I hardly posted!

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  33. I know nothing about maple trees and I'm so sorry to hear about yours. Those Asian lilies are simply stunning. Beautiful shots.

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  34. Catherine, what variety of garden phlox is that with the coneflowers? Beautiful!

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  35. Beautiful, so many types of flowers I've never seen before!

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