Friday, August 3, 2018

August Arrived

I looked out the front door the first of August to find 1 6/10" of rain in the gauge. It takes only minutes it seems after a good rain like this to make everything look a bit perkier especially in August when it is typically so dry.  
I looked out the back and found that the rain had made the Surprise Lilies all bend over.
The Surprise Lilies pop  up in a lot of places around the garden. Sometimes worming their way into odd places.
 Sometimes all neat and tidy like a bouquet.
However you look at it there will be plenty to fill a vase for some time.
The big established Clethera in the back has it's fans too.
There are oodles of bees and other pollinators working over the flowers. Nothing is sitting still long enough for me to get pictures. I like to just stand here and sniff the air as the humming and buzzing goes on.
I can't wait until this newest little Clethera is fill with pollinators. The blooms are supposed to  be pink. We will see as it ages if these flowers indeed turn pink. It is in more shade than the big plant.
There are other plants to entice the bees and butterflies. Asclepias-tuberosa-butterfly-weed is a magnet for any of the butterflies that zip by.
I went out the other evening hoping to find moths coming to the Datura.  It was not to be. All I found was a late bee collecting pollen. The lightening bugs were flashing and the cadydids singing but no moths.
The above photo I took in June. I didn't use it but I sure like the look. Is there anything in your garden you are particularly liking now? 
Have a great weekend.




40 comments:

  1. Six-tenths of an inch of rain would be considered a deluge here, Lisa! There's nothing quite like a stroll through the garden after rain and I'm sure you enjoyed it. Coincidentally, I found a bud of a surprise lily (we call them naked ladies!) just this week. Three years ago I planted 2 dozen bulbs sent to me by a fellow blogger. Last year, I saw one or 2 blooms but maybe this bud is just the start. (I can hope.)

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    1. I can imagine in your area our big rain would be amazing. We on the other hand are behind in rainfall. If your naked ladies get established there will be plenty of blooms for you. They make great cut flowers. They last a long time in a vase.

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  2. Your blooms are gorgeous, and I'm rather envious of your rain.

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  3. Beautiful image of the butterfly on milkweed Lisa.
    So good to see so many bees. I have not seen so many, but plenty of butterflies.
    Your garden is looking pretty after the rain and I love the surprise lilies.

    Cyclamen are back in bloom. It does not matter how many times I see them I fall in love.

    Hot here, too hot once again.
    I am hoping that September will bring normal temperatures :)

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    1. Thank you Cheryl. There were other butterflies flitting around the Clethera but none would stop long enough for me to get a photo. I tried and tried. My patience isn't long enough. ha.. Wonderful that your cyclamen are back in bloom. I wish I could get them to grow here. They did for a couple of years then we had a really severe winter and the drought like weather seems to not encourage them. We have had too many years in a row with this weather. Bah... I hope you get some cooler temperatures soon.

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  4. After the rain such beautiful photos of your garden treasures!

    Happy Day to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  5. Left you a comment via my iPad but it does not seem to have gone through. So I will just say that I spent most of yesterday afternoon moving hoses around and just turned them off from this morning's efforts a few minutes ago. We keep having rain forecast but nothing happens. As you know, it's rain and not the hose that brings the garden to life. Love the surprise lilies standing up like soldiers!

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    1. Dragging those hoses around seems to be the story of my gardening life the past few years. UGH... I hope you get some rain soon.

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  6. I wish those lilies surprised me in my garden! Love them!
    I am glad you had some rain!

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    1. I could sure send you some bulbs if you want some Tatyana.

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  7. Your surprise lilies are wonderful. Just today I got a clethra because it's scent was so delicious wafting on the air at a nursery. I've never had one before so we'll see if it can survive in my crowded garden. It's surprising how fresh and clean a garden looks with a little rain. No rain here yet and that's okay, it'll come soon enough and will last for months.

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    1. Peter, you will love the Clethra. It is a tough plant. Maybe as I do you will forget about the plant and then be struck when you smell it wafting through the garden. Such a lovely surprise.

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  8. Looking good! I'm surprised at the overlap of blooms this summer--plants that usually wouldn't flower at the same time, or not as long. For example, the Liatris and the Swamp Milkweed seem to be blooming a very long time. I don't want them to stop! I always think of the Surprise Lilies as an end-of-summer bloomer, so I almost don't want to see them. But the fact that yours are blooming makes me think they'll be making an appearance very soon. I love the way they pop up out of nowhere!

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    1. Things are slowing down Beth. The days are getting shorter. The party is about to end.

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  9. Your surprise lilies are delightful. Nice to see the pollinators. August can be such a down month for the garden, but yours is looking good!

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  10. You must be doing something right with all those pollinators. What a joy to get the rain.

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    1. Yes, and like the little piggy that my garden is I want more!

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  11. What a difference a little rain can make! What is your secret for growing clethras? Neither of mine look great; one is probably 5 years old, and I swear it hasn't grown an inch in all that time. Although the coneflowers and lilies are fading here, I love watching the garden this time of year because it's full of butterflies, bees, goldfinches (who love the fading coneflowers), and hummingbirds. My own nature channel right in my backyard!

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    1. Gosh Rose, I haven't done anything special to the Clethera. It was planted as all else is then I hope and pray they make it. :)
      Yes, I love this time of year when the garden is hopping. I can already notice the birds are beginning to migrate away though. It makes me feel lonely.

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  12. I so love those surprise lilies!

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  13. Wonderful lilies, Lisa! I also love pollinators that are working hard every day in the gardens. Your photos show us summer days that are full of joy!

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    1. Happiness is a garden full of flowers and pollinators.

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  14. Oh my goodness Lisa girl ! You have lightening bugs ? how cool is that !
    I hear a few crickets but not many .. and i so wish we could have frogs .. but at least we finally got a little rain this morning, so that helps .. I love those surprise lilies, what are they ? so tall and straight .. I would love to have some too !
    Your garden is looking refreshed now .. sigh of relief ? LOL

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    1. They are lycoris squamigera. I wish I could send you a box of bulbs. I am thinning mine out this fall.

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  15. We didn't get any of that rain, but we did get some rain yesterday. I didn't think it would be enough to make a difference but it was enough to cure our Monarda of the droopsies.

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    1. It is amazing how just a little rain benefits the garden. I hope you get more soon.

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  16. Dear Lisa those surprise lilies are just beautiful. Years ago I grew them but over the years they disappeared. Hmm may need to add them back into my garden again. They are such a welcome sight in August when many of the flowers have grown a bit tired. Thanks for sharing your lovely garden. It is always such a pleasure to come visit. Hugs!

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  17. Love all the things you have growing. Other than a single rose, and a eighty some impatien plants I don't have anything other than grass growing for me this summer.

    Blessings~

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    1. Roses are many peoples favorite plants. I can imagine so many impatients blooming up a storm. Must be beautiful.

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  18. Your garden is BEAUTIFUL. My favorite photo is the one of Surprise Lilies and the bench--really pretty.

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    1. Thank you Beth. I too like the Lily poking its head up through the bench seat. Luckily I still have plenty room to sit there and commune with the lilies if I choose to.

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  19. The flowers in this post are lovely, but what draws my eye is your little lawn there that is so GREEN! Even the green lawns here are nowhere near ever that green, except for a few days after a rain in spring.

    I got rid of our lawn quite a few years ago, but always enjoy the ones in climates more appropriate for them. A flat plane of emerald is a beautiful thing. (Especially when you haven't got one.)

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    1. Our lawn is on its own. I don't usually water it. It goes dormant during the drought times and then comes back when the rains return. My lawn keeps getting smaller and smaller. "there won't be any lawn for me to mow" is my husbands lament. Ha

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  20. I like that I've managed to create a new garden in such a short amount of time! Your garden is beautiful! I've always wanted to grow clethra but never had the right soil moisture/light for it. My new garden is very shady, more so even than my last garden. The entire back is mostly all shade of varying degrees.

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  21. I wish I had some of these surprise lilies in my garden. I don’ n care where they want to grow. They are gorgeous. I will see if I can buy some bulbs. Groetjes Hetty

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  22. Hi Lisa. I am enjoying your beautiful blooms and love the photo of the Swallowtail on the milkweed. I am glad to hear that you were able to get a little rain. The garden must be rejoicing!

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