One of the great things about Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is that it keeps you honest. If you are going to post pictures of your garden, then you need to make sure the garden looks well tended. It also sends you back to your blog. And, because a community has arisen around this meme, you get to visit other gardens and get a peek at other aesthetics.
This month I decided not to focus so much on close ups. Today my hope is to give visitors a feel for what I experience when I go out into the gardens. Sadly, WordPress would not cooperate with me today. The images below simply would not go in the order that I wanted them to.
Here in the magnolia bed in the front garden, you will find Golden Tiara, Guacamole, more Lakeside Beach Captain, Bressingham Blue, and Elegans.Another view of the hosta bed underneath the old magnolia, this time showing off Francis Williams, Lakeside Beach Captain, and one of my favs, Pineapple Upside Down Cake.This Nikko Blue in the foreground is sending up the first bloom this plant has had in years. I’m not sure why it only produces foliage. Next to it are several favorite hostas: High Oh Silver seedlings a friend gave me, My Friend Nancy, and Deep Blue Sea.Stained Glass, one of my favorite hostas, is sending out its fragrant blooms. Not all hosta flowers are fragrant, but Stained Glass makes up for those.The day lilies have finished blooming and the last of the canes will come out this week. I’m in the process of taming this Tardiva hydrangea because it looks a bit lopsided. As soon as the flowers fade, I’m going to give it a hard prune in the hopes of getting it a bit more symmetrical.The sunny border by the garage in the Secret Garden has gone through some revisions this summer. I took out a lot of the Zagreb coreopsis and complete removed the Friesland salvia. It just got too floppy, no matter how I staked it. So, marigolds and annual salvia are filling in the bare spots. I’m hoping the blanket flower takes off. That is Moonbeam coreopsis in the upper part of the picture.This gorgeous hosta went in late last summer. It is On Stage and the foliage is particularly lovely.Looking east toward the Kousa Dogwood in the Secret Garden shows the power of snapdragons. I didn’t plant these this year. They are volunteers from last year, and I rather like their tenacity.In the Secret Garden the echinaceas are finishing up. That is white phlox in the back.I’ve been using the rose medallion as a watering spot for various potted plants that I bought early in the summer. That began when I went to a conference and wanted to make sure everything got watered. And there those pots have remained for the rest of the summer. That is a Limelight hydrangea sending out more blooms than it has ever produced before. The red you see in the foreground are the wonderful hips on the hansa roses.In the lower garden behind the house are more hostas and catmint. I love that the bees love the catmint. And its long bloom season provides a constant supply of nourishment for both native bees and honey bees. The rose of sharon is still blooming.The red Knockout Rose and the red Carpet Rose provide consistent color in the rose medallion.Looking east from the lower garden to the entrance of the Secret Garden you’ll find the Annabelle hydrangea blooms turning green. In a month I will pick them for winter bouquets. This week the Zagreb Coreopsis will get deadheaded.Again, though nothing is blooming here (except the rose of sharon and a couple of stems on the white dome hydrangeas) I want to show off my lewd hosta bed. It includes Seducer, Obscene Gesture, Naked Lady, Boyz Toy, Stiletto…I’m looking forward to watching this bed mature.Looking west and into the entrance to the Secret Garden is another border with Walker’s Low catmint. The white asiatic lilies are spent, but they were so wonderfully fragrant when they were in bloom.I trimmed Walker’s Low catmint in the entrance garden a couple of weeks ago in the hopes that it would sent up new blooms. It is starting to do that. In the meantime, I am enjoying the Rudbekia and the blackberry lily.
