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| Coneflower ‘Fragrant Angel’ |
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| Rose of Sharon ‘Lavender Chiffon’ |
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| Daylily ‘Joan Senior’ |
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| Feather Reed Grass ‘Karl Foerster’ |
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| Russian Sage |
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| Switch Grass ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ |
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| Swamp Milkweed ‘Ice Ballet’ |
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| Joe Pye Weed ‘Gateway’ |
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| Northern Sea Oats |
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| Hibiscus ‘Kopper King’ |
OK … maybe a slight exaggeration … but it makes up for last week’s Friggin Furious Friday post.
Another early morning (about 5:45 AM) out in the yard granted me oodles of positivity and these are the photos to reflect that. It was sunny and warm and I gobbled up that shit with a spoon.
This is a Sedum ‘Matrona’ and I fell in love with her at the nursery yesterday. The shape of the leaves, the reddish/pink hue of the leaves and the fact that it is an upright Sedum had me at “hello”. The plan is to plant these along with some good ol’ Rudbeckia for a sweet late summer display.
The Russian Sage foliage is looking sweet and I think it looks great even without the flower spikes. The gray/green color contrasts well with other green-foliaged perennials. I have three of these planted next to Daylillies and Purple Coneflower. This is also the only area these have thrived for me because there is good drainage.
A lesson I have learned in the past year or so. Do not immediately pull weeds until they have developed and they can be further inspected. This is a bonus Russian Sage that emerged a few feet from the others. Welcome to the world little guy, we promise to make it a safe and secure place for you.
The Daylily blooms are coming, the Daylily blooms are coming. And so starts the task of daily deadheading to keep things looking nice and to promote further bloom. Maybe I’ll take a short video on how to properly deadhead these. Sweet.
This is a shot only a parent could love. It is an Achillea and it is all about perseverance for me. I have dragged this poor bastard all over the place and he continues to survive under adverse conditions. Mom and dad are so proud of you little guy.
Echinacea/Purple Coneflower bloom. There is nothing more reliable than these and I have made it a point to deadhead regularly to keep them looking fresh longer into the season. And of course you have to enjoy the bee orgy that ensues once these are in full bloom.
The whole family has been chowing down on this Red Salad Bowl lettuce for a a few weeks now. In the words of one of my all time favorite personalities “Isn’t she a beauty”. RIP Croc Hunter.
More lettuce – regular Salad Bowl. Almost too nice to eat. I am going to get more creative planting these lettuces next year. The colors are tremendous and the leaf shape begs for mixing with other veggies.
This is an example of a typical ONG gardening practice. This is a Sambucus ‘Black Lace, google it and you’ll see how gorgeous these are. The problem is I have no room for it where I don’t think the deer will get to it. So the solution is always to pot it up and wait until some creative idea comes to mind.
I know I know … wow Rudbeckia foliage … have never seen that before … how friggin unique ONG. Well, I don’t care, come deal with my water logged soil and then we’ll talk. On second thought, maybe it really isn’t all that riveting … oh well …we move on.
I will continue to post photos of the Knockout roses because even though they are care free, they are still rose blooms. I do hope, however, that my Grandfather is not rolling over in his grave. He had the most unbelievable roses and tended to them night and day with supreme precision. Love you Pop!
An Echinacea ‘Fragrant Angel’ bloom. As I’ve mentioned before, I have virtually no sense of smell but I can get a whiff of these if I stick my nose right in there. Real real incredible scent.
God I love Astilbe foliage. So unique and yes, I am going to say it, dainty. Now I should be shot.
“Before” shot of one of my front beds. Also “before” I had my new camera. Like the pinkish hue do you?
Well I have since replaced the three shrubs in front with three Ilex ‘Bennet’s Compact’. These are much more full and compact (imagine that) and will grow to 4 x 4. I like them as foundation shrubs as they are evergreen and make a nice back drop for the perennials, bulbs and grasses that will be in front of them.
That is all for today folks. I will be spending all day Sunday making over my parents front beds so you can bet there will be a post early next week with the results. If not, you know I bombed bad.
Enjoy the weekend.
I am a day late to the party, but better late than never, right? (never mind, don’t answer that).
Before I show you some bloom photos, it would be a crime if I didn’t provide you with links to other bloggers who have unbelievable gardens with off the charts bloom photos:
Thanks for Today
That Bloomin Garden
Garden Thyme with the Creative Gardener
If these sites are on par with Madonna, then I’m Milli Vanilli.
If they are Chariots of Fire or The Godfather, I’m Gigli.
If they are Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts, I’m Pee Wee Herman.
OK I’m done, but that was fun and I could come up with a lot more but you get the point.
I look forward to a new week with a ton of plants still sitting in the garage that need to be given a home.
Good night and god bless.
I got outside early this morning before it was too hot and too sunny and snapped some photos. It seems like we advanced two months in the last two days and dag nabbit (actually looked up the spelling) I am loving it. We reached the upper 80’s today with a nice breeze so it was the perfect day to be working from home with all of the windows open.
On to the photos:
The Weeping Cherry is in full bloom and it rocks my world.
We got tulips and what a welcome sight out on the deck this early in the year. Seriously, there may be upwards of 50 tulip pots next year now that I know I can overwinter them easily in the garage.
An actual bloom from a bulb planted in the ground in Fall. Dreams do come true! This is a Snowbell and survived the wet winter clay as advertised. Consider me a fan!
Here come the Crabapple ‘Prairie Fire’ blooms and we would like to offer them a warm welcome. You may stay as long as you like.
There may only be one bloom on the Viburnum ‘Aurora’ but I couldn’t be more excited. Big expectations have been put on this one … she has two years to deliver the goods.
Literally overnight, this Astilbe ‘Deutschland’ emerged. It is in one of the few areas that gets afternoon shade so will hopefully continue to thrive. I love the foliage on these and would keep them even if they didn’t bloom. The only issue is that they can crisp up quickly if let to go dry so you have to stay on top of watering these.
Emerging Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’ (St John’s Wort). Wonder if I could just eat these leaves and get the effect promised by the over the counter stuff? Anyways, great green/purple foliage, yellow flowers and berries later in the season that for me, persisted into the Fall. Need to get me some more of these.
More Viburnum buds (Shoshoni) that will soon explode. I’ve raved about these previously so won’t bore you again. But remember … these rock the party.
Narcissus … enjoy them while they last … and remember to always let the foliage die down naturally as long as possible to rejuvenate for next year.
I kicked it old school and did the “Worm” when I saw this today. It is Eupatorium ‘Chocolate’ and planted it late last year and I am thrilled to see the return visit. Great/awesome/fantastic/killer foliage color that is a great contrast to all the green in the garden. I just need to remember to keep the Liquid Fence nearby these … they are prone to Bambi damage.
Spirea ‘Goldmound’. I jumped on the chartreuse foliage bandwagon two years ago and have yet to drop off. The color just pops and works so well with almost any other color. Again, I don’t even care about the pink blooms on these babies, foliage is all I need.
Admit it … this stone RULES! Look at that texture and color and just all around awesomeness. I found a bunch of these when I was digging out our front bed and what a gem (other than the physical torture of getting these out – this is one of the smallest ones). Just adds so much to a garden bed when interspersed with plants.
That is all for now. I plan on getting outside later today to start digging out the sod where I am extending the back bed around the deck. I am so ready for some serious manual labor even if it is only for a short period of time. Photos of the experience will be included in tomorrow’s post.
Bye
