Friday Flowers

While the hydrangeas pout about the weather I have tried not to complain. They are doing a good job of complaining for me. They appear as I feel in this record setting heat we have been having.

The daylilies on the other hand have not sucumb to the elements.

They put on their cheerful faces.

Bloom their little hearts out.

Not one complaint is heard from them.

Even though their foliage doesn't add a lot to the overall look of the garden, I can't deny that their cheerful blooms put a smile on my face.

Even the small ones that flirt with the gazing ball.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Stay cool. Enjoy all those smiling faces in your garden.

Hydrangea Heaven

At this time this year it seems to be hydrangea heaven.  I believe it is the best year I have ever had for my hydrangeas. I attribute this to no late spring freeze this year. Now I don't have any of the new fancy hydrangeas with the bicolor blooms but I have a variety of lacecap and mopheads that I just dearly love. Come stroll through the hydrangea path with me.

Here on the left are some of the lacecaps. You can see their blooms are a lavender. They are supposed to be blue but you know how hydrangeas are.  They color up by the nutrients in the soil. Here we have sandy clay so there isn't much to make them blue. I just can't get over how many blooms these plants have. To be truthful they have been a disapointment for some years. They used to have varigated, white/green, foliage. They even lost that for the most part but at least they still have their lacy caps.

Just past them is a nice sized Oakleaf Hydrangea. It also is full of blooms. You can see the Nikko Blue mopheads peeking around the Oakleaf hydrangea. I have been giving them a bit of Azalea food and they have responded well.

Across from this hydrangea is the climbing hydrangea. It is full of blooms at the bottom of the plant. It is just now beginning to climb the arch that was built for it.

After we leave the hydrangea walk and walk around to the front of the yard barn you can see the small pink hydrangeas blooming.  The poor little things have almost been swallowed up by the big old fashioned hostas behind them.

Out front one of my favorite hydrangeas is blooming the best ever. I can't remember the name of this hydrangea but it has varigated yellow and green leaves.  It isn't known for its blooms but for this varigated foliage. Of course in this soil it is losing its varigation as it is going to some white and green leaves but if it continues to bloom like this I won't mind much. The delicate blue hue has not been altered by any additives. It just is.

If you haven't had your fill of hydrangeas here you can pop over to Phillip's blog Dirt Therapy and see what he has blooming. He has some fancy ones. He also has a lovely garden to wonder and admire.  Do you have hydrangeas blooming this year?

Squirrels Viewpoint

Elizabeth wrote a post here about her garden as she sees it from her second story window. I don't have a second story window but I liked the idea of looking at my garden from that high. So my DB got the extention ladder out so I could take a few photos before the sun got too high the other day. I thought I would show you around from a squirrels viewpoint.  I must warn you this is picture heavy and not a lot of narration. Don't get dizzy and fall off the ladder.  You can see here how the knot garden was revamped after I lost so many bushes last summer.  It still needs work of course.  Don't worry I am working on it, or at least thinking about it.

As you have noticed I have made many flower beds as circles so the Mowerman doesn't complain too much about having to stop, back up etc. Luna is under the apple tree.

When I first started taking these photos Luna was wondering what in the world was going on. Here she is looking towards the east side gate where my DB has stepped out of the photo.

Looking straight down from where the ladder was standing you can see a little pathway off the patio toward the east side gate.

If you look off to the west of here you can see the length of the patio.

 

Straight out from the ladder is a half round at the E end of the patio.

Excuse me, I need to move the ladder. Here I am looking back toward the east.

Now we are going to look straight out from the west end of the patio.

Another look just a bit Westerly.

At the West end of the patio there is the path that leads out toward the Casa if you take the left fork or toward the West gate if you take the right fork.

The pathway.

Excuse me again. I must move the ladder. I took it out under the Locust tree to show you the back side of the garden. Looking East you can see that the sun is getting up. You can see the back side of the knot. Luna is now thinking that this game isn't much fun and it is getting hot out here.

Here we are looking back toward the house. You can see the back side of Lincoln and where the new Tricolor Beech is planted.

When you look West you can see the path that takes you to the Casa.

This is the path that runs behind the blackberries. Sort of a no mans land. Poop patrol is ran here regularly as Luna thinks that no one sees her back here doing her duty. She is right of course because the shrubs and blackberries are growing thick here.

Excuse me while I get off this ladder.  I can't photograph this last part becasue of the trees hanging over the path. This wide open area is in front of the yard barn and the big back gate. I have visions as to projects that could go in here but my Mowerman starts shaking his head no and turning purple at the mention.  However I don't give up easily. 

I hope you enjoyed the Squirrels viewpoint of my garden.  Do you have a squirrels viewpoint of your garden? I would love to see it.  Be careful if you get up on that ladder.

First Pea Blossom on Sky Watch Friday

I was so pleased this week to find the first blossom on the Norli Sweet Peas. I may get some peas yet this spring.

A bonus is the beautiful blue sky that I can share with you today. Happy Sky Watch Friday.

With our area having a couple of days of record breaking heat I will surprised if the peas hold out very long.  Here is hoping for a good crop.

Tricolor European Beech Fagus sylvatica 'Tricolor'

Just look down through here. Do you see anything different? 

Lincoln said "Yes, look right behind me. See that pinkish looking thing peeking above my back?"

It is a beautiful 6'tall Tricolor European Beech.  I can't tell you how thrilled I am about our latest acquisition. This tree has been a long time coming to our garden.

Ever since we toured Missouri Botanical Garden several years ago and saw a mature Tricolor Beech I have wanted one. They get pretty darn big, 25 to 35 feet tall, 18 to 25feet wide.  I don't mind this. It is in the middle of our back garden.  It is a slow grower so I figure I won't have to worry about it too much. Ha...  In the mean time I am going to enjoy its striking foliage.  It is pink with some white rose borders.  It will have the protection of the other trees and it can just grow and spread to my and its delight.

We had noticed that several Tricolor Beeches had been planted in the park that we walk in frequently. That got us to thinking about it again.  I am so happy that my Dearly Beloved found this tree at a local garden center.

We lost a tree out front in our garden.  A big beautiful blue spruce blew down in a  wind storm in 07.

We thought we would try the beech out there. However at the time these trees weren't as available as they seem to be this year.  The only one I could find was marked $175, and it wasn't as pretty as this tree. I just couldn 't face paying that much for the tree since you never know if they will live.  So once again my resourseful DB looked for a cheaper one. Well, he found one through a mail order place$25 and $25 for shipping. A $50 tree sounded a lot better at the time. When they sent it I about rolled on the floor laughing. It was a stick in a one gallon pot.  Here is a photo after we planted it.  Obviously it didn't look very good. It did put up a valiant fight but the rabbits thought we were just setting out refreshments for them so it didn't survive.

I want to thank you my Dearly Beloved for pursuing this dream of mine even after I had put it on the not so probable list.  All I can say is that if you have room for one of these beauties I would highly recommend it. 

Foliage Follow Up - May 2010

I was looking out my office window and it seemed that the ferns were waving trying to get my attention to remind me to make a foliage follow up post. Our host for this meme is Pam at Digging. 

Since my garden has so much shade I rely on lots of shade loving plants.  I don't want you to be shocked at all the hostas in my garden. I love their structure and they aren't the least bit demanding so they are sprinkled librally around my garden.

Walking some of the pathways you will see other plants of course.

If you keep seeing arbors and wonder if you have been that way before...

you can always take a seat under the apple tree and just wonder about all those hostas.

If you look closely you will see other plants. Daylilies are such charmers to me. They don't mind some shade. They do like to wait until it gets hot to show off their blooms though.

I also have quite a few ferns.

I am quite like Kim when she said that this spring she planted some things before other sprouted and they are too close together. However I can't claim it as a rookie mistake. I must say it is impatience that causes me to do something like this. I knew there was a hosta there but the Cigmafuga needed a home and I knew the colors of the leaves would look good together. Well, I am going to leave this dark cigmafuga and see how it fares with this hosta shading its roots.

You can click on any of these photos to enlarge them so you can see that I do have something other than hostas in the garden. Don't be surprised at what might pop up in the foliage though.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - May 2010

When I think of what is blooming in my garden at this time I think of Honeysuckle. Of course there are
many other things blooming in the garden now but what catches my attention now is the honeysuckle. I guess it is because the hummingbirds are back in the neighborhood setting up housekeeping and they are often see at the honeysuckle vines dining. Their favorite seems to be the native Lonicera sempervirens.

I could think this because it is the honeysuckle growing closest to the house and I tend to watch it more often. The next favored is the Late Dutch Honeysuckle 'Serotina'.

 

The honeysuckle that is planted out front where I don't wander near as much is the 'Mandarin'. This poor thing has nearly died to the ground a couple of times. It doesn't seem to thrive but it won't completely give up.  So I haven't given up on it either. I have decided to try to make it a topiary. So far so good. It will have sporatic blooms after this flush. I will keep the ball of foliage at the top of the vine trimmed  after it is finishe with this flush of bloom.

My one and only climbing rose is blooming. I can't find any paperwork on it to tell you what it is called. You will just have to enjoy these fleeting blooms as I do. It only blooms through the first of May then it just stands there like a sentinal in the garden.

The white and blue combine blooming. My favorite and the favorite of the bumble bees is native columbine which are blooming up a storm.

The beared Irises are winding down.

The White Siberian Iris 'Seagull' is beginning to light up the shade garden. I know it isn't supposed to do very well in the shade but this Iris is fantastic. I have it growing in the shade full sun, wet and dry areas. It just insists on being beautiful where ever it is planted.

The scentsations are beginning in the garden too.  I have two Mock Orange shrubs that smell devine. This one is planted by the patio where we can enjoy it most often. It has a single bloom.

The one with the double bloom is further away. It isn't as pretty as a bush but the blooms and fragrance is worth the space it takes in the garden.

I want to thank Carol at May Dreams Garden for starting this habit of mine of writing down what all is blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month. You can join everyone listing here.  I have listed here just a few things athat are blooming in my garden. The full list is in my hand written journal. I hope to be able to pop around the net and see what all is blooming in your garden now.

Also blooming in my garden now: 

Meadow Rue

Comfrey

Cranesbill

Spiderwort

Golden Alexander

Creeping sedum

Ramona Clematis

Jackmanii Clematis

Amsonia

Baptisia

Hellebores

Astilbe

Bleu-eyed Grass

Black Elderberry

Water plant

Cordyalis lutens yellow

Spirea

Pyracantha

Weigelia

Viburnum

Japanese Kerria

Blackberries

Raspberries

And all those things I have forgotten.

Please forgive the misspelling and the lack of scientific names.

Cheers.