Angel Time

A peak around the corner from the parking area reveals the unmistakable star of the garden this past weekend~ Brugmansia, Angel's Trumpet. I'm not sure if this is a named Brug although it could very likely be 'Frosty Pink'. This plant was left in its large plastic pot against the house over winter a couple of years ago and to my surprise it has thrived ever since- having rooted thru the pot. Benign neglect paid off this once.



Hibiscus 'Red Flyer' is going to bless me with another bloom after taking a brief vacation.



We have lovely spent blooms~ these from the Pineapple Lily~



and future blooms such as these from Hibiscus grandiflorus being guarded by a Green Lynx spider.



A shady spot is always welcome.



My all around favorite garden plant~ Salvia. This is a seedling from S. farinacea 'Henry Duelberg' In its many different forms Salvia pulls my sprawled out garden beds together with something in bloom from start to finish of the growing season.

Bloom Day August 2010

The past couple of weeks have seen a slight rebound in growth and blooms in the garden despite the continued above average temps. The most evident(and one of the most prevalent in LWG) bloom has been from the salvias.

Cherry Chief



Salvia chamedryoides, Blue oak Sage



S. greggii~ white



S. greggii~ Bright Pink



Even the shy flowering 'Diane' with S. uliginosa, Bog Sage



S. farinacea 'Henry Duelberg' peeking out over thyme and a floppy stem of Euphorbia corolata



Then there's the Budleias- lindleyana




and 'Potter's Purple'



My first Mexican Petunia bloom of the year...



...and the second place price for rooting thru the pot and growing in the wrong place goes to Crape Myrtle 'Natchez' as seen blooming here with the lovely princess Meike.



I hope you are enjoying lots of blooms in your garden this August. Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more Bloom Day posts.

Blasted Garden(Snowflurry in July)

It's not just me~ since the beginning of June this summer has been a real scorcher. The garden is crying out for attention that I can't give it. There will be casualties but some recent rain has helped many plants revive and a few plants are just survivors anyway.

A little Verbena 'Snowflurry' in July is a wonderful thing. This plant amazes me with its transient nature. It dies out here and pops up there with fresh blooming plants appearing at any time of the year~ willy nilly,lol.



This is what I would expect to see thriving in this weather. This sedum was a special trade with Gardenweb friend Nancedar. I'm afraid I haven't labeled it so its identity is in question. Have yet to see blooms from this one.



You can't keep a good wildflower down. Rudbeckia triloba is a welcome sight with fresh blooms and a visitor.



The bronze fennel has been a pleasure this year for the gardener and the insects. Black Swallowtail caterpillars in all stages were feasting on Tuesday morning.



A little less than perfect but the bees still love the Bog Sage~ Salvia uliginosa.

My casualties from last year's round of new plants from Plant Delights Nursery were numerous~ this new ironweed, Vernonia lettermannii was not among them.

The last of my Bachman seedlings to bloom~ this was the last flower:(

and the Energizer Bunny award for daylilies this year goes to 'Cripple Creek'~ I can't praise this one enough. Mwah!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day~ May 2010

This month's GBBD finds the garden parched. Some plants have gone on strike while a few stalwarts keep keeping on. My garden is high and dry and I haven't used the sprinkler at all so far this year. I was pleasantly surprised to see some daylily scapes have appeared also. If we don't get rain soon it will really put a damper on daylily season:(

And the bunny says...




I've gotten only two new plants this Spring~ Pineapple Sage and
'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia. I just love the airy & delicate blooms plus it'll take some abuse.


A short Nigella next to a Sedum whose name I've forgotten


Arachnid camouflage at work on the Blanket Flower


The second generation of this Sweet William is all white. I had never grown this before last year. All of my dianthus have born single blooms per stem.


There are a few holdouts on the last Siberian clump.


Salvia 'San Carlos Festival' is blooming in one location but not others.


I have a couple of variations of Larkspur blooming. Peak bloom hasn't come yet:)



Rudbeckia triloba blooms somewhere in the garden the whole season.


Lychnis coronaria with Asclepias tuberosa in the center getting ready to bloom. I need to pull all of the Lychnis very soon~ it has reached critical mass here and must be stopped. It even grows in the lawn!


My azaleas always wait until May to bloom. These were planted as foundation shrubs by the builder and I would love to replace them one day~ this photo is flattering.


Salvia 'Christine Yeo' is not a heavy bloomer but I like the overall habit of the plant.


Viburnum bracteatum 'Emerald Luster' ~ it bears repeating that if you want a full sun Viburnum in the south then this one is worth tracking down.


Open flowers on my one and only Knifophia bloom:)I hope that this clump will be a sleep/leap one for me.


Happy garden Blogger's Bloom Day to all of you! To see what's blooming in gardens all around the world visitMay Dreams Gardens.

Very Pink

The overcast skies of the last couple of days have made it very apparent that I have alot of pink blooming in the garden right now. some of it is eye popping, screaming pink actually,lol. I grew this Salvia greggii from seeds shared by a generous California salvia collector. It's been here for a couple years now and does seem to improve with age.



I acquired this Penstemon 'Elfin Pink' in my very first mail trade a few years back.



I have some more subdued pinks blooming as well but will share those next post- took some great pics this morning but had no time to prepare them for this post. The Rugosa rose is beautiful now:) Of course the perfect compliment to pink is purple...

'Titan's Glory'- my first ever blooms from a division I planted in summer of 2008




Another wonderful iris from Nancedar~ this one has smaller blooms than the one from Carla



I've never really noticed this Yaupon in bloom before. It's 'Shadow's Female' and it's really thriving now after quite a few years of settling in~ should be plenty of berries this year.



I accepted a few Campanula 'Cherry Bells' from a friend last summer thinking that maybe my dryish conditions would keep it in check. Apparently the bunnies find it quite tasty at the stage just prior to blooming:(



And here's one of the satisfied customers now...



I wanted to share with you some freebies I have to offer on my other blog
Little Wing Photography & Design. There are 5 different desktop wallpapers available for easy downloading. Two of them have May 2010 calendars for convenience. If you use one let me know what you think.

Happy Tuesday! back to work...:(

Late to the Party

I must admit that I completely forgot Garden Bloggers Bloom Day this month. In all honesty I had barely paid the garden any mind at all last week. I shudder to think what it will look like if I don't get up from this desk and get to work soon! I have pulled some weeds and removed some old stalks from last year but I have way too much garden for "some" to be enough.

What I have done is collected some images to share of what's blooming now despite my neglect:)

Dianthus 'Firewitch'



Coral honeysuckle



California poppy



An unidentified iris from a great lady



Viburnum bracteatum 'Emerald Luster'



American Fringe tree ~ Chionanthus virginicus



Sweet Betsy ~ Calycanthus floridus



Sweetbay Rugosa rose



Indigofera amblyantha



Salvia 'Maraschino'



Have a great week!