Flowers for Friday

I've been so busy this summer trying to keep up with gardening and housework, that I haven't done much else.  The Special Olympics National Games have been in my city this week, and I managed to go to a few of the events Tuesday and Wednesday.  I was disappointed not many other locals took advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity.  I wish I'd have had my camera there.  Well, I did on Thursday, but then remembered the batteries were low, so I left it in the car.  I did get it out when I saw a butterfly.  I'll post the butterfly Saturday.  (I got some event  photos taken with my cell phone, but haven't looked at them to see if you can see what's going on in them.)

I going to have fewer photos than usual this week for Tootsie's Flaunt your Flowers/Fertilizer Friday.  I am sad that the daylilies are almost finished, but some of the annuals are finally starting to grow and bloom.  Some of the goldenrods are blooming, too, and the rest are forming buds.  The asters are forming buds, too, but they hold on to theirs awhile before they open.

The phlox, 'Orange Perfection' is blooming later than last year.  It almost looks orange in this photo.  The first time I saw it bloom, I thought it had come with the wrong tag.  When I looked it up, I saw it's not really so orange.

I did make it to a few garage sales last Friday, and this hen is one of the things I got for the yard.  It has a nice little drinking area for critters.  I wonder if you're supposed to put bird seeds there.  The annual black eyed Susan is blooming nicely.  The German statice looks good, even when it gets dry.  I had enough to cut for drying inside, and still have some for color in the garden.  It looks like I need to deadhead the Veronica.

I planted flower seeds in some of the tubs to save money, then got impatient and planted other things in them.  I was glad to see this gomphrena up awhile back, and now, it is blooming, quite close to the strawflowers I planted.

Some of the strawflower blooms are past the point to pick for drying.  I need to get out there and harvest them.  I use the blooms in baskets or other containers, and put other dried flowers in with them.  The gomphrena is in the lower left corner of this photo.  I'm glad I had extra sweet potatoes to plant in some of the tubs, because most of the ones I put in the ground were eaten by rabbits, and now, they've discovered the ones they had missed. I need to get the little fence material I got at a garage sale up around them.  I actually have some of it next to the fence, but need to do the rest of it.

Larry got some snail, also called corkscrew vines one year, and ever since, has gotten 3 or more of them every year.  He loves them, and I don't mind them.  The problem is that the lows need to be around 60 or else they don't do well.  Some years, they get a disease and don't do well no matter what the temps are.  When they do well, they are quite pretty.  I told him to just get 2 this year, but he got 3.  I put 2 in this pot, and one is in a hanging container.  This is the one in the back yard, with 2 plants in a pot.  These are the first blooms, so I don't know yet if this will be a good year for them.  They had to spend a lot of time in the house before it was warm enough to be outside this spring. 

The love lies bleeding has grown tall enough for the flowers to drape over the leaf burner dealy instead of growing inside it.  I got this hibiscus deadheaded yesterday. 

Well, each week there is always something different going on at Tootsie Time.  Go check it out, and find out what else is blooming in others' gardens.

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Flowers From Across the Street

I have a flower bed across the street, at the same neighbors' where I have a vegetable garden that the rabbits think is for them.  I need to do some work there, and will soon.  I am in the process of cleaning out the room in the house that is full of clutter.  I have made progress, but it's very difficult and emotional.  There have been tears of frustration, and some items I've come across bring back good and not as good memories.  I am pleased to have found the remote to the TV, some shorts that fit, and the last several years' of bone density scores to compare to the most recent one, when I find it.  Plus, I can walk on most of the floor now.

I did go out this morning to take some photos to post for Tootsie's Flaunt Your Flowers/Fertilizer Friday.

Here is the view from our dining room window:

Before the current neighbors moved in, this area was overgrown with trees and weeds that overtook the smoke tree that had been there before.  I started this bed last summer, at the same time I started the vegetable garden, which is on the other side of the garage.  Most of the plants are from my yard, but some I bought last year.  I only added three daylilies this year.  Some of the plants that I thought were annuals, came back this year.  I am still battling weeds and the trees still want to grow.  The green to the left of the knautia is a group of trees I've been clipping back.

Yes, the knautia is from my yard.

The butterfly bushes were supposed to be dwarf, and they are smaller than some, but they are larger than they got last year.

I got one of these to put in the garbage can area, too, where it is about the same size as these.  I don't remember their name.  I wonder if they are 'Blue Chip'.  I found that by looking up dwarf butterfly bushes.

I am going to have to move the 'Fireworks' goldenrod  (from my yard) closest to the smoke tree, because when I told the owner of the home that it was coming up, he asked me to let it grow.  I was glad to, because I always liked it.

I wonder how long it will take for the smoke tree to get big again.  I sure like the color!

Here's the view from the side.  These daylilies are from my yard.

There's a locust tree trying to grow here.  This is from a different plant than the similar bloom above.

Here's the view from the house side.  I need to get a plant support for one of the rudbeckias that's falling over.

The black-eyed Susans are blooming a bit sooner here than where I dug them out from last year at our house.

These rudbeckias may be 'Prairie Sun'.  They were sold as annuals.  I hope they come back next year.  The coneflowers may be 'Ruby Star'.

I don't remember if this liatris is from my yard, or if I found it somewhere for a good price.

I bought three daylilies this spring from a sale put on by our local community garden group.  The tag on this said it was red.  It's more orange, but I like it.

The tag on this said, 'Strawberry Candy'.  I looked up images, and it does look like them.  I'll have to get a start from it in the spring for my yard.  The third one hasn't bloomed yet.

The catmint came from our yard, too.   The small plant in the middle is a snapdragon that came up from last year.

This bed gets minimal care, and I did not water it much last year.  It's rained a lot this year, so I haven't watered it at all, except for the new daylilies, which only got watered a few times after being planted.  I'd say it looks pretty good for a two year old bed.

I've cut back the couple clumps of boltonia, and they keep growing back tallish.  They will add lots of blooms later in the summer.

When I walk back across the street, if I have my camera, I always take photos of our house and yard.

I will be back upstairs, working to get rid of the clutter tomorrow.  I would appreciate prayers for me to make good use of my time, and make good decisions about what to do with things.

If I had Tootsie's energy, I'd be finished by now.  Be sure to see what's going on her way, and see who else has linked in this week.  Oh, and be sure to read her Tuesday post.  That woman is more creative than anyone I know!

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What's Blooming in the Side Yard for Friday

I can't believe how quickly the weeks go by in the summer.  I checked my last post on the side bed, and saw there were enough changes to post again.  I'm joining Tootsie's Flaunt your Flowers/Fertilizer Friday.  The link is in my sidebar.  I did get the last of the coop poop put around the newer plants, and used some of what was left on the tomatoes and peppers.

This is the east side of the house.  After the long views, I will get closer, showing areas as we head north.  After showing a group of plants, I'll show close ups from what's in the previous photos.

Here's a view facing south and west.  The flag on the left is in the middle of the big front bed.

The dianthus in the pot needs to be clipped back so it can bloom some more.  There are lots of little blooms on the bridal's wreath.  The black and blue salvia is blooming, and taking over the space of the gazania that is in the same pot.  The pot doesn't show in the photo.  It's right next to the bird house decoration.

This photo of the daylily next to the bench was taken the day before the other photos.

The spiderworts are still blooming, but the buds are not always open.  The alliums are blooming, as are the threadleaf coreopsis.  The amsonia is regrowing since I cut it back after it bloomed.  It's to the right of the ladder with the lighter colored leaves.

Here's the mountain mint that's behind the amsonia.  It's about to bloom.

There are several daylilies blooming in this bed.

The tall plant is rudbeckia 'Herbstonne'.  It's not blooming yet.

I think this is gray headed coneflower in front of the 'Herbstonne'.

The small pinkish blooms are hyssop.  It was supposed to be a blue blooming one, like I'd had for a number of years before it died.  The soil has been wetter than the yarrow likes, but the blooms are still pretty. 

This may be one of the daylilies I saved from a site where the house was going to be torn down.

I think I bought this from a guy selling daylilies from his yard.

The cherry bells campanula are one of my favorites.  These are lighter colored than the ones I found on the internet.

I don't remember where I got these, but they sure are beauties.  They are in the back, next to the house.  I think I need to move a clump to a different spot next spring.

I just looked up moonbeam coreopsis to make sure that's the right name of this taller growing one than the one in the other side of the flower bed.  I read that it is considered somewhat invasive.  The size of the clump gets larger every year, but I just pull out what I don't want, or give some away.  It doesn't creep all over the place here, anyway.

This is the daylily next to the barbed wire.  The blooms are huge, and it's one of my favorite daylilies right now.  This may be the one with a number, but no name that was one of the few left when the local daylily grower went out of business a few years ago.

The balloon flowers were one of the last plants that emerged from the ground this spring.   This is the second spring for these.

Here's the splurge from a number of years ago from the local daylily growers.  I wish I'd have been into daylilies more before they closed.

The back yard is on the other side of the fence.  This false sunflower plant was moved out of the vegetable garden as a seedling, which was sown by birds or the compost pile.  It gets taller than the others.  Maybe it just likes that spot, or is competing with the amsonia and false baptisia.  The amsonia, I cut back a couple weeks ago.

This daylily is 'Little Grapette".  I didn't think it was going to get as big as this, but I like it.  I think the veronica is 'Sunny Border Blue'.  Spiny Bear's Breeches are in the tub I haven't had a chance to sink into the soil to keep the plant from spreading.  I cut the sides of amsonia (to the right of the veronica) and other plants I shear back, shorter where other plants could use the room. 

The globe thistle blooms are turning blue.  I need to get some cut to dry before they all go to seed.  They do self sow, and one only has so much room for a plant that size.

Oh, I forgot I included a close up of the amsonia.  I'm doing this post in several sessions, while eating or taking breaks from gardening and cleaning.

The globe thistle:

The daylily clump closest to the shed was Larry's mom's.

Did you see this purple milkweed plant in the above photo?  It has grown and gotten straighter since I last posted about it.  It's one of the milkweeds I bought from our university's arboretum.

The bulb foliage is still in the process of dying.  I should have gotten the whole wire egg basket shaped like a chicken in the photo.  I guess I included this to show the pincushion flower.  This is a problem area that I am trying to figure out how to keep full.  The amsonia had been taking up the room where the pan with the marigold is, before I cut it back.  I planted the black and blue salvia, which is next to the purple milkweed, before the globe thistles got so big.  'Hello Yellow' milkweed is in bud next to the pincushion flower.  The smaller variety of goldenrod in the lower right corner keeps wanting to bloom early, as have some of my other late summer bloomers.  I originally planted it next to the shed when Larry's dad was still alive and living here.  I divided it and moved one to this spot when we had the shed repaired a couple years ago.

Here's a view looking back south and west.  Larry wanted to plant grasses in the garbage can area.  I was never a big fan of them, and over time, have added flowers to the area as well.  I've decided I like them, but don't think I want more at this time.

I can't believe I didn't get the liatris in the area next to the house in a photo.  It's in front of the bed frame.  This is a clump that I planted last year, from a division of that plant. It seems to like this spot.

I have salvia, 'Purple Rain at each end of the border.  There is a butterfly bush in this photo, too.  Oh, and the wash tub of the beautiful pink 'Spooky' dianthus was sheared back to deadhead it.  It should be blooming again in a couple weeks or so.

I think this phlox was a passalong, or else bought from a yard sale.  It kept gettiing mildew or something on it, so I thought I had dug it out, but it has been coming back the last few years.  Sometimes the foliage gets discolored, but not always.

This hollyhock has probably doubled in size since the last time I showed it in a photo, saying it should hide the garbage cans.  Well, there probably is no hiding them, but at least it draws the eye.

Our grandson had surgery to straighten his right thumb Wednesday.  If he wouldn't have had the surgery, it's a condition that would have caused him pain.  We wanted to have him Thursday, so he wouldn't get it bumped at daycare.  I tell you what, it didn't slow him down.  He put weight on it, and didn't favor it.  He did say, "ow" a couple times.  When he saw the band aide on my leg, he asked me if it hurts.  I said it does when it's bumped, and asked him if his hand hurts, and he said it didn't.  They are giving him ibuprophin or something like that, so maybe that has prevented it from hurting.  He's such a sweetie!

Oh, and he knows what daylilies are now.  The yellow blooms on the other side of the driveway are some of my daylilies that are planted next to irises.  I like that.  The irises bloom early, then the daylilies show off when the iris are finished. 

Go to Tootsie's and see her beautiful yard, and find the links or link your blooms.

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