Some of the July garden

 It's hard to believe we're already this far into July!  It has been a fun and busy summer, seems like there's barely been a day without something going on.   The temperatures finally warmed up in July and the watering has begun, nothing like what many of you other gardeners are going through though.  We've had quite a bit of thunder and lightening, not very usual for our summers.  It's kind of fun listening to the thunder rumbling while the doors are open.  It's also finally been warm enough to sit outside in the evenings.  Recently we heard an owl up in a tree right by us.  I knew there were owls around, but we've never heard one here.  We also found a small fire pit for the front yard and had fun roasting marshmallows and making s'mores.

Here are some pictures of what's been happening in our garden:

 Asiatic Lilies have already bloomed, at least the ones the squirrels didn't steal the bulbs of.  This one was my favorite.  Purple Canterbury Bells are blooming behind.

 I planted several Astranias last summer, some were on a clearance table for just a couple of dollars.  They are the coolest flowers!  I found a light pink one this year to add to the garden.

 Campanula 'Samantha' is covered in flowers for months.

 The path garden is mostly filled with green this time of year, except for the Hydrangea 'Pia' in the container on the deck.

 This is the back corner behind the pond.  The Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' is finally blooming.  To the left of it is a very tall Bugbane (Cimicifulga or Acataea).  It's probably close to 8 feet tall, I had no idea it would get that big.

 Echinacea 'Sunset' or 'Sundown', I can never keep it straight.  It has reseeded and I'm so happy to get more of these flowers!

 The front Butterfly garden which is more full of territorial hummingbirds than butterflies right now.  They are busy fighting over the tall Monarda 'Jacob Cline'.

 Daylily 'Strawberry Candy'

 Gernaium 'Rozanne' is now my go to plant for any area that needs space filled in quickly and something that blooms for months.  I planted this as a gallon plant about a month or so ago, it's huge now!  To me it is worth every penny.  I have some climbing up in and around roses and they looks so pretty, especially the lighter pink roses.

 So many Sweet Peas!!  I planted them months ago and after thinking the first set of seeds rotted, I planted more.  I think both sets germinated and it's so pretty and smells delicious!

 A new Echinacea 'Hula Dancer', I love the skirt.

 Gracie is plotting her next escape here.  Originally we had climbing roses in the blue pots on either side of the gate, they hated being there and were moved elsewhere.  I now have a Clematis in each and they are doing great.  I think they grow a few inches every night.

 Gladiolas are starting to bloom.  The Clematis texensis on the fence has only been there one year.  It has been growing and blooming for months, I love the bell shaped flowers.

 The Hydrangea 'Preziosa' that I moved last year when we did our front garden is looking the best it ever has.  It's difficult to see the flower color here, it's a light lavender that continues to age to a pinkish color.  I think it was in too much sun before and seems to love being under the Dogwood tree.

 Daylily in the backyard.

Sweet Pea with Sunny.  Sunny is a Brown Leghorn and seems to be the only chicken that doesn't mind being picked up.  She is also the one that sneaks into the blueberry bushes every time they are let out.  We are hoping we'll seem some eggs in the next couple of weeks.  They are almost 18 weeks and that is the early side of when they can start laying eggs.  As a new chicken owner I can still say they are so much fun, not much work and really one of the best pets I've ever had, and believe me we've had them all - dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, fish, hermit crabs, hamsters and gerbils.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

What's happening in the garden now...

We have been enjoying some beautiful weather here still.  Since it was so late in coming I've been sure to be outside with my family as much as possible, playing in the yard, going to parks and the beach.  I hate to miss a minute of these nice sunny days.  I've started paying close attention to the plants that seem to have handled the crazy weather we've had and plan to do a post soon of my top performers for this summer.  Anything that can handle lots of rain and cool weather and then keep on going once it gets warm and dries out is my type of plant. 
For now I'll share some of what is happening in the front, it was hard limiting it since there is just so much going on.

 Gladiolas and Agastache blooming.  I love the saying on this little sign I found.

 Geranium 'Rozanne'

 The entry garden where the Geranium above is growing.  This is where the Japanese Maple that died last year was growing.  The upside of the tree being gone is that the Hydrangea 'Nikko' has gotten huge and even more full of flowers than usual.  All of the plants in fact seem to be doing really well here right now.  The Rose 'Harlow Carr' in front of the birdbath is between flushes now.

 It was a bit bright here, but there are Asters, Caryopteris, Hollyhocks and Echinacea blooming.

 One of my top favorite bloomers this year is Agastache 'Apricot Sunrise'.  It has been blooming like this for months.

 The water garden in the old washtub.

 Oriental Lilies are blooming now.  I sure wish they lasted longer, but since they don't I try to go out and smell them at least once a day (and make everyone else too).  The tall one has to be about 6 feet tall.  I wish I knew what one it was so I could buy more.

 Up close and personal.

 A dahlia growing in a raised vegetable bed.

 For some reason I always plant red and yellow flowers in this part of the garden.  Coreopsis blooms by Sedum and Monarda 'Jacob Cline' is right behind.

 A new favorite is the Spanish Poppy (Papaver rupifragum), it has been blooming for months and has a nice scent.

 Daylily 'Strawberry Candy' was a new one last summer.  It seems to be a popular one on blogs right now.

 A couple of new containers from this summer.  The one on the left is full of Sedums and I love how it looks.  The other is a mix of all sorts of plants in an old washtub.

 Yeah for the Butterfly Bush finally blooming.  This is the latest it's ever bloomed.

 Phlox 'David' and a mallow.

 I just love how pure white the flowers are.

 A container my husband put together is so pretty right now.  It's hard to see the golden colored lamium that is also growing in the planter.

 A couple of months ago we bought a new potting bench to put on the front porch.  It just didn't look right to me here, too new or something.  So we traded it with the one from the back porch and they both are perfect in their new spots.  This one is old and it will probably last longer than in the rain while the new one will weather a bit on the back deck.

So, that's just a little of what's happening in the front garden right now.  I'm so happy with how it's looking and how much we've been able to enjoy it lately. 

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

The October pond.

Do you ever have one of those days where it feels as if a load has been lifted from you?  Today has been one of those days for me.  I'm not sure if it's that we got a big (and kinda boring) house project done (by someone else for once) or that the sun was out.  The Littlest Gardener and I were mostly stuck inside today while the workers were here but we decided to walk around the pond and see how it was looking.  The sun was shining and it even felt warm out, a perfect fall day.  I noticed more flowers reblooming that I hadn't seen the last time I was outside.  Maybe not getting everything cut back awhile ago paid off. 

 For late afternoon the lighting on the pond was so pretty.  The fish were very active today compared to the last few times I've been out.  I saw that both the Water Hawthorn and a Water Lily have buds.

 Geranium 'Rozanne' is still blooming.  It sure has lived up to it's reputation this year.  I added one more to the front yard I was so impressed.  More will definitely be planted next year.

 Japanese Anemones surprised me again this year, mostly because I keep yanking them all out.  A few sneak past me every year.  I do love these flowers, but boy do they take over an area - spreading through everything in it's path.  I don't know if I'd plant these again.

 American Beautyberry 'Profusion' has purple berries!  I planted this just about a year ago and hoped that where it was planted it would get enough sun to produce berries.  Looks like it does.

And one more shot from the other side of the pond.  I love how the Heuchera 'Marmalade' and the Japanese Blood Grass look by each other.

The forecast for the weekend looks pretty good and I'm so hoping I'll get to spend some quality time with my garden.  

Last Fertilizer Friday of "summer" 2010.

I can't believe a week has already gone by since I last posted.  I've been looking at my garden as I drive away or out the window while I do housework or am on the phone scheduling appointments.  I've barely had a chance to just walk around the garden and enjoy it.  Luckily earlier in the day yesterday I was able to get a couple of planters planted and did a little clean up before the rain started - again.  It's been a frustrating year of gardening around here (click here to read about the actual stats, especially if you live in the PNW).  I was listening to NPR on the radio the other day that has a garden show in the morning.  They were telling the listeners that if this was their first year gardening here not to give up, "you're probably a better gardener than you think you are."
There are lots of garden chores to be done this time of year.  I usually start cutting back some of my perennials now.  I've started on the job of cutting my Clematis group C's down, and have thrown out a tomato plant that is obviously not going to have any tomatoes ripen.  The yard waste bin was quickly filled with pine needles and annuals that were "done".
There isn't really much new blooming, many of the same plants continue to bloom and look pretty.

Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchaud'

Rose of Sharon is attracting lots of hummingbirds.

Geranium 'Rozanne' hasn't stopped blooming all summer.  I just added a new one to the front yard.

I bought this fuchsia many years ago as a container filler, it probably cost 79 cents.  It comes back bigger and better every year, it's now planted in the ground near the deck.

Toad Lily (Tricyrtis) 'Empress' is finally planted.

This could be my favorite rose now.  I've shown this a few times recently but wanted to show how many buds are still coming.  It's a David Austin rose 'Lady Emma Hamilton' and just planted this summer.

The buds start out orangey-red then as they age they become more of a lighter apricot color.

Calendula

Bugbane (Is it Actaea or Cimicifuga now?).  It's supposed to keep insects away, but the flowers smell good to me.  The little American Beautyberry is behind it and covered in little green berries that I hope will turn purple soon.

Will I ever see flowers on my Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) 'Golden Delicious?  It's probably an annual here, so I planted it in a container and plan to bring it in over winter.  I love the color of the foliage.

Fertilizer Friday is hosted each week by Tootsie.  Be sure to visit her and see what she and other gardeners have blooming.