Gardening Flowers & Foliage

I concur, wholeheartedly.

 

My false indigo is loaded with seed pods (link gives more info than I present here). If anyone wants any, I would be happy to harvest and send them out. The link says that using fresh seed is best, but gives tips on starting seeds that have been chilled. It grows 3-4' tall, is a beautiful blue, bees love it and apparently it is host to many butterfly species.

 

Sure, I'd like some seed, it will fit right in to my jungle. Thanks.

 

I stopped at the local Agway and found another Coneflower (Echinacea) to go with the reds and gold in the roadside garden. It is call Sombrero Flamenco Orange. The pot is just sitting in the mulch right now, to hot and humid to do anymore work outside.



I also stopped at a nursery and got a Floristan White Gayfeather to go beside the purple one by the steps. the potted one hasn't started blooming so should bloom after I get it planted.


I just took a picture of this label at Agway because it also shows Gayfeather as the common name - it also happens to be the same as what I already have. I am unsure why no one else knows the common name of Gayfeather as every type of Liatris I looked at (at two different nurseries and by different supplier) had that in the common name.


While I was at the nursery and Agway, I also got a couple of Day lilies (American Revolution and Rainbow Rhythm 'Nosferatu') along with a Crocosmia (Lucifer). Not sure the Lucifer will stand the winter, but it's always worth a try. I should plant everything tomorrow morning.

 

So, the third picture probably really is the Double Scoop Manerin. It just starts with the single row of petals on the outside, then fills in - at least that is what I saw happening while I was at Agway today.

 

My parents had a lot of chewed leaves on their Dutchman's pipe the other day. The culprits were loads of these caterpillars.



A quick ID put them at Pipevine swallowtail's. The Dutchmen's pipe is a host plant. The vine being toxic is consumed by the caterpillar, making it toxic for defense. The vine took at hit, but it is healthy and loads of leaves. Some were already forming chrysalis. I have never seen them in all my years around here.

This should be the butterfly.



I also saw a hummingbird moth on the wildflowers yesterday. Pretty neat to watch.

 

Pretty neat!
There is a weedy patch with milkweed between the neighbor and us, and I've seen a couple monarchs.

 

I haven't seen hummingbird moth in a couple of years - they are so cool to see.

Those will be beautiful butterflies when they grow up!

 

A few pictures from the planting I did this morning.

The crocosmia plant, and then the flowers






I thought I was going to plant the Sombrero Flamenco Orange coneflower behind the red coneflower on the right, but decieded to place it between the two red coneflowers

Planted the white Gayfeather to the right of the purple one. It should bloom soon.

 

Thanks everyone!

I don't really plan out my gardens, except the basic shape and materials (timbers or rocks and bark mulch or stone). Unlike most of my gardens, this one at least I had an idea of what I want for starters (in this case a burgundy background - which turned into the Laceleaf Maple and the Ninebark), but after that it was just perusing garden centers / nurseries until something caught my fancy and "felt" right. I'm still looking for a couple of small "fillers" for the other end, but that will probably wait until next year after I've seen how the sedum looks when it blooms.

 

Late to the thread but here's my wife's garden.

 

Your wife has done a great job! She used a lot of my favorites - Hostas, tall phlox, Day lilies and Hydrangeas

 

Each time I'm up there I have to go around and admire your gardens!