It was cool, very dark and gloomy from the heavy overcast yesterday (not haze from wildfire smoke). It has been that way all week. But, I was able to find some bright spots in the yard. The lupine is the same flower stalk I shared last Saturday, but this one has a bee in it along with peony buds. Root beer iris. My mother sent me some several years ago after I mved into this place. This is a miniature, or short plant, but the blooms are pretty good size and they really stand out. The weigala has started turning a darker pink (I also posted a pic of this last Saturday). The hosta is looking pretty good after getting sunburned last week on the two hot, sunny days last week. This is also one area that there is siberian iris blooming. Note that Burgundy Belle Maple is starting to get new leaves after the freeze a couple of weeks ago took out all the leaf buds.
Peony buds have finally broken open on the south side of the house. Pale pink is Alertie, bright pinkish/red double is Festiva Maxima, and white is Edulis Supurba: Had to snip some to take into the house - tehy all smell wonderful.
The bee balm (Dr Seuss flower) is flowering Not sure what's up with this mutant flower head. Never saw one like it before now
Daylillies Oriental lily that survived the vole invasion The mutant bee balm opened fully up I've been pulling these as they started on their own. After reading that monarch butterflies are drawn to milkweed, I decided to let them blossom. Long term, I'll move them to a different area in the yard. Tall spires of cohosh. The 1st of coneflowers opening up. Another vole survivor.
Milkweed is the only food for the Monarch's caterpillars, so thank you for not yanking them out yet. Your lilies are so beautiful, I can hardly wait until mine make an appearance to liven up the yard again. It is "shoulder season" for my flower gardens apparently, all blooms from spring have dropped, but the summer buds are still developing.
Everyone's flowers look fantastic! I thought I had posted these pics over the weekend, but I guess not. All pictures taken on 7/1/23 Buttercups. Or as I like to call them, little rays of sunshine. These are nearly luminescent with even the faintest amount of starlight and really pop out on these dark, cloudy, gloomy days we have been having. Butterfly weed. The main plant, the one I put in years ago, is the darker orange. The lighter orang are all offspring (and there are a whole lot of babies in the same area). The dappled willow really likes the rain and being behind the new shed (new as of early December). Before, it go just a bit too much light, despite being under trees. It would get several hours of the afternoon sun and it would burn the leaves if they were this light, or after a while, all the leaves would turn mostly green to protect itself. Foxglove right after it opened. I was looking at it yesterday afternoon and they are showing the faintest amount of puplr as the background color. Should have come in and grabbed my phone, but I didn't. Potted rose that I bought about 1.5 months ago. I usually only buy roses that have a decent amount of scent. But, this had one bloom on it when I was at the nursery and I was blown away so had to get it. May I introduce Rainbow Sorbet: This is straight from the phone, with no editing (except for reducing size). It shows the true color. It is such a beauty that I had to change my avatar from the rhodies to this rose.
Lilacs, Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea, and a cucumber bloom being visited by a worker who's smart enough to work in the shade.
bogieb we have a huge rodie too. Last couple years I’ve been pruning it after the bloom. It’s made it much more colorful every spring.
Nice! I had a huge lilac then the township tore it out for public sewer. I saved a small chunk that isn’t doing so great. I just thought about relocating. Is yours in partial sun, kinda appears that way? I sure do miss the entire yard smelling great from it.
Thanks. They receive sun all day except late afternoon. I drench them with hydrogen peroxide a couple times in the winter and then in the spring to keep the roots disease free and keep them feeding. One of those is common lilac that blooms late April here and the other one blooms a few times from April throughout summer. I always deadhead them right after the flowers fade
That is a beautiful shrub! The only pruning to mine is when I catch bottom branches while mowing, and the year that there was a bunch of winter die back from the harsh winds. I'll need to hire someone in a year or two to prune the top of the one near the power lines to the house though. Guess by default that will mean pruning both so they appear balanced.
Forgot about the yuccas. They are almost finished blooming for the year. And the rose of sharon are just starting.
My yuccas bloomed last year and they seem to be an every other year bloomer, so none this year. I know I posted this picture of the butterfly weed a few days ago, but I'm going somewhere with this. I had observed, "The main plant, the one I put in years ago, is the darker orange. The lighter orange are all offspring (and there are a whole lot of babies in the same area)." I have pictures of the matriarch blooming in 2018 (the garden was put in 2017), so there are several generations in that area and they have all been some shade of orange. Until last night. I introduce the (figuratively) red-headed step-child, a yellow sport growing amongst its orange siblings.
We have a butterfly bush, not near ready to bloom, if it does. Yours is great. Those color variations change with maturity? We added stuff to the soil looong ago to change the pink hydrangea to blue. It's just now turning this year.
