What's Happening

I have been trying all season to get some photos of the black Swallowtail butterflies that flutter through the garden. I'm not the best at IDing these but I believe this may be the dark form of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. I've been very surprised that my Bronze Fennel is still untouched since it's a larval food source for the TSTs which are so plentiful here.

Daylily 'So Lovely' is an older hybrid that is a good late bloomer for me. It and Volcan Fuego are the only two registered daylilies still blooming for me now.

The Dave's Garden Round Up that I attended almost 2 weeks ago was planned around an Open House date for Plant Delights Nursery which is a very reasonable drive from LWG. Lucky for me my DH had given me a gift certificate to PDN for my birthday and I could shop;) This was one of my acquisitions~ Salvia 'California Sunset'. I've had my eye on it for quite a while and hope it will settle right into the garden to stay for awhile.

These are the very first flowers for me from Zephyranthes 'Grandjax', a hybrid rain lily that a fellow DGer shared with me last fall. I just love these little guys who are shaped just like Z. candida.

Exuberance

Brown Eyed Susan ~ Rudbeckia triloba~ is fairly new to my garden and this year it has really lived up to its reputation as a reseeder. I'm gonna have a hard time reigning it in:-)

High Summer

I realize now that to catch up on garden pics after a 3 month hiatus is futile- at least during the growing season. Maybe it will be fun to revisit what I missed when winter comes again. Heat has finally arrived in full force this weekend. I have to allow at least 15 to 20 minutes now for my camera lens to defog in the mornings.

Since I have failed to add almost any summer annuals this year, the garden is a little drab with high notes only here and there. This ornamental oregano has been very well behaved so far~ Origanum 'Rosenkuppel'.



This is the third bloom stalk this year on Crinum powellii 'Alba'



The last bloom of the year on this clump of Daylily 'Dream Catcher'~ a favorite Ned Roberts hybrid.



The beginning of bloom for this Pineapple Lily which blooms from the bottom of the stalk up.



A friend ID'd this guy as a Halloween Pennant dragonfly. I just love the coloring. He's resting on a spent larkspur.



Reflexed hybrid rain lily ~ Zephyranthes 'Confection' opened on a rainy day and I took this photo that evening after work.


This image will be available in many incarnations in my Zazzle Gallery. I was caught without a battery for my usual camera on this morning and grabbed DH's new Nikon D90 for this pic of Bog Sage and the ever present bees.



Ffo on Anisacanthus quadrifidus var wrightii~ courtesy of the D90.



As a finale I have a favorite shot from May of a Rugosa rose that a friend grew from seed with Bearded Iris and Gulf Coast Penstemon in the background.

Past and present cont.

My attempt at backtracking continues.... This is Geranium sanguineum 'Ankum's Pride' blooming on May 5th. Plant Delights Nursery says it's a blooming machine for hot and dry sites which remains to be seen. I love the tiny flowers and foliage but the blooms where short lived and have not returned so far this season.



One of my oldest and favorite salvias is Salvia chamaedryoides, Blue Oak Sage. I think I have the right conditions for it because it spreads with abandon in the tiny bed it's in. It normally blooms in spring and fall flushes- some years better than others but the silvery foliage is there year round.



These little guys are hard to beat for simple beauty and bold color. It's a shame that I can't seem to control them in any way,lol. California Poppy is a reseeding annual that is best started by seed in situ in the fall here in the Carolinas but in my garden they seem to just do what they please once started.



I posted a pic of the cool foliage of this Epimedium back in April so here are the flowers. I'm not sure which one this is right now but I believe it to be a species and no particular cultivar. I'm so happy to finally be able to grow some part shade plants successfully. From what I hear Epimediums were a good plant to start with because they're tough.



For the present part of this post I have a summer favorite~ Hibiscus 'Red Flyer'. I belive this is its third or fourth year in the garden and is not as tall this year as in previous years. If it ends up being one of those perennials that peters out I will definitely be repacing it.

Now where was I? Oh, April! LOL

I guess it would be an understatement to say that I haven't been a very good blogger. When it comes to my hobbies I pretty much have OCD and the O part has been at Zazzle since my last post. Life goes on in the garden though thankfully and I thought I would hit some highlights from where I left off.

This purple iris is a passalong from my mom that has been in my pot ghetto for at least a couple of years. I had no idea what color it was so I was thrilled when it blessed me with flowers this year in one of my favorite colors.



I have to say that this shrub has not been my favorite but I did notice this year that the flowers have a sweet cotton candy fragrance if you seek it out.

Viburnum pragense 'Decker' blooming 4.18.09



This Japanese Maple is located just off my deck where it's backlit by the morning sun. Taking pictures of it is irresistable. This is one of my favorites for this year taken on Easter morning.



The frilly flowers of Dianthus 'Bath's Pink' which are very fragrant. I have a love- hate realtionship with this plant because of it's frequent need for division which is a rather messy affair.



It's my intention during the dog days of summer to catch up on what I missed but here's a little taste of what's blooming now~ a Crocosmia that I got at a Dave's Garden Round Up last July. This year's RU is next Saturday and I'm really looking forward to it.