Today I am linking up with Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for July to share a few of the flowers blooming in my garden in lower middle Tennessee, USA, zone 6b/7a. It is summer and oh so hot. My daylilies are almost finished, just a bloom here and there.
This dahlia is my new favorite. My son Reese got it last year from a lady who was thinning her beds so he accepted some tubers and brought them to me. He said it was beautiful but I would have to wait until the next year to see what it looked like. I am not disappointed. Thank you, Reese.
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| Sweet Pea from a volunteer seed |
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| Phlox |
My coneflowers are blooming. These were given to me years ago and were supposed to be some spectacular new color. Nope. The seeds had crossed but I enjoy them anyway.
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| White Swan Coneflower |
Originally my purple coneflowers were planted in the empty spot in front of the fence below. I had a long row backed up against the fence and they were magnificent; however, they had other plans. The sun sets behind the fence which is why they are leaning to the right in the picture. They are slowly leaving my flower bed and are moving out into the field toward the sun.
We have been constantly harvesting our feverfew but I decided to let this one bloom because they are so pretty. The seeds will be planted.
My creeping thyme is creeping out of control!
My hibiscus blooms are lovely but the Japanese beetles have devoured the leaves. When we had chickens they kept them under control. I could poison the bush but hate to do so. Eventually, we will get chickens again and the problem will be solved. The only other things they bother are okra leaves. I go out early in the morning when they are sleeping and knock them off of the okra leaves into a jar of soapy water which kills them. I don't worry about the hibiscus plant; too many other things to do.
Which brings me to the progress I have made weeding my garden. Not quite finished yet.
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| Rudebeckia |
But the areas in the cool shade are shaping up nicely.
In keeping with my tradition of adding a picture of Scooter so Mom will be happy. I called him to pose in front of my flowers.
"NO SCOOTER!" I yelled. "I said IN FRONT of my flowers, NOT IN THE MIDDLE."
"You are smashing everything and we can't see you!"
"Am I in trouble?" Scooter asked?
"No, but Nana won't be happy unless the picture is perfect." I chided.
"Ha, Ha, Ha" laughed Scooter. "I am not falling for that fib! Nana likes me better than she likes you and thinks every picture of me is great. This is all you get unless you give me a hamburger!"
Beautiful Dahlia! I love coneflowers, and bees and butterflies love them, too!
ReplyDeleteHello, Scooter!
Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
The sweet pea on that picture looks to me like a perennial sweet pea.
ReplyDeleteThis is what we call a Staudenwicke (lathyrus latifolius) in German.
It is a quite modest perennial plant with scentless flowers and it likes to climb. But I am not sure. The smell of phlox is lovely!
Christel
You are right! It is a perennial plant and I got the seeds years ago. I was disappointed when I discovered it did not have a wonderful smell so I did not bother planting anymore. One plant survived and the birds plant the seeds all over my garden. Some I let live, others I dig up.
DeleteSweet puppy! Sounds like I need to get a chicken: The Japanese beetles are doing the same thing to some of my plants. Argh. Thanks for stopping by my blog for a visit. We have very pleasant weather right now in S. Wisconsin, but a heat wave will hit us this week. Stay cool!
ReplyDeleteWe bought one of the scent traps and put it in the chicken yard. It was fun watching the chickens chase the Japanese beetles around in circles trying to catch them. Free entertainment.
DeleteBeautiful blooms and cute dog, too! Happy Bloom Day.
ReplyDeleteScooter is adorable wherever he chooses to plant himself! I laughed when I saw your coneflower escapees - at least they have hospitable territory to run to. In contrast, my Lobelia, also prone to escaping, seed themselves between the cracks between patio pavers.
ReplyDeleteI am not happy about my escapees because I continue to replant any seedlings I find around the flowerbed. It is not working. They all keep running away.
DeleteThanks for visiting my site Jeannie. You have lots of lovely wildflowers too. I noticed wildflowers in temperate climes are bigger and more colorful than ours, we just have few with those characteristics. But of course our domestic flowers are more loud and bright in colors. I love those lilies, i collect hippeastrum but those like yours don't grow in hot climates.
ReplyDeleteMy brother-in-law was stationed in the Philippines YEARS ago and my sister was homesick. She wrote (long before cellphones) a sad letter home about missing watching the seasons change. My Mom mailed her a box of beautiful fall leaves to cheer her up; didn't work, make her cry when she opened the box.
DeleteGorgeous blooms but the cutest pictures are, of course, of Scooter. What a sweetie.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Scooter is a bit spoiled.
DeleteFirst, your flowers are lovely. I am envious of the space too! And Scooter is so very cute! What a sweety. Happy Gardening!
ReplyDeleteAbby, please come help me weed all the space! It seems to be expanding. Someone, don't know who, keeps planting more and more flowers.
DeleteScooter will even join you, until it gets hot then he moves to the front porch and stares at the door.
Your Daylilies are beautiful! I love the first one. Coneflowers do their own thing, for sure. They feed Goldfinches so they deserve a little leeway. I grow Feverfew but don't harvest it for anything. Can you tell me what you use it for? Scooter is a cutie......Grandma's favorite!
ReplyDeleteYou know Nana loves Scooter the best! He knows it too. I will stop acting jealous and tell you about Feverfew. I did a whole post back in January:
Deletehttp://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/2017/01/feverfew-plants-to-pills.html
It is an amazing plant. It has cured migraine headaches and improved my husband's eyesight. I pick every leaf and they end up staying chopped close to the ground. One was behind some tall weeds and escaped my notice until it was about to bloom. I had to let it bloom.
That Dahlia is beautiful! I love the colors in it. I used to have Dahlias in my garden, but they've faded over the years, they don't like our wet winters much. I should try them again, though, they're one of my favorite flowers.
ReplyDeleteDahlias don't like our winters here either and I should have dug them up. I took a chance and left them in the ground. Sometimes they live, sometimes they don't. This Fall, I will do better!
DeleteThat first big lily is gorgeous. I am partial to lilies of any type as you might have guessed. I forgot that I had a big hardy hibiscus blooming. It is pink. They are an old fashioned plant but I love mine. Such cheery blooms and they don't seem to be affected by anything except Japanese beetles that can be such a pain in the garden. Luckily I have only seen one in our garden this year. I must say the Milky Spore that we spread had helped tremendously. You might give it a try. It doesn't harm anything else. It just attacks the grubs. If my son brought me tubers I would be thrilled. What a thoughtful man. It is fun seeing my son plant a few flowers, then some tomatoes at his house. I see a gardener budding. I am with your Mom, Scooter is a sweet looking dog with such an expressive face. My dog Annie has certain places she likes to lay in the garden beds. I finally stopped fussing and let her have the area she wanted. We are both happy now. Happy GBBD.
ReplyDeleteLisa, the first big lily was in with a bunch of ditch lilies given to me years ago at a plant swap. It was a nice surprise.
DeleteI have looked at the Milky Spore at the co-op and have been tempted to get it. I was not sure how effective it would be and am glad to know it works. My husband (the math person) read the instructions and said it would cost at least a few hundred dollars to buy enough for our area. I choked. Then we wondered if the beetles would just fly in from the surrounding fields. My husband said we needed to hire a crop duster. I am sure THAT WOULD BE CHEAP!!!!!!
And yes, Scooter gets to pick his area first, usually in the shade, then I work around him.
Haha, Scooter is a cutie! The only photos I manage to get of my dogs in the garden are by accident; they aren't very cooperative about sitting still in front of the flowers, either:) Your hibiscus is lovely. I was regretting not planting one this year till the Japanese beetles came--they've been awful this year. I'm a country gardener, too, so enjoyed seeing your garden!
ReplyDeleteHello Rose, Scooter is not very cooperative about posing either. I have learned to grab the camera then put the words in his mouth when I see the picture. Creating stories is easier than controlling Scooter.
DeleteAnd, I do love living in the country.
I love all the flowers that are blooming at your house. I'm guessing that the extreme humidity you experience is good for some flowers and not for others. I think I would just wilt myself in all that humidity! We just don't experience that here in my part of Oregon. Thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteI love the dahlia. It is such a pretty color. It makes me want to go visit the dahlia farm and get some more tubers, but I'm not sure where I would put them. Right now, I have 2 short dahlias, and one small flowerbed with dahlias that the previous owner planted. I put some tubers my sister dug up from her flowerbeds in between the existing ones and they will be red, she said. I didn't dig the tubers up, either, and thankfully, they survived, despite a very snowy (for us) winter.
I've been working on the garden mostly, and canning green beans.
https://beckyathome.wordpress.com/2017/07/19/canning-green-beans-and-a-garden-update/
I do wilt in the heat and humidity! It makes me sick if I get too hot, which is a good excuse to come in, collapse on the couch, and cool down. It is surprising your dahlia tubers survived the winter. It is surprising mine made it also. When the red one blooms, you will need to get a picture.
DeleteTomorrow (at sunrise) I will be picking lima beans and canning them. It will be a hot day, but worth it come winter.
I've never grown or canned lima beans. Please put up a picture or two! I'm curious if you have to shell them out, or what.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should ask, I just came in from picking some and taking pictures. I will most certainly be posting pictures and giving information. I did not plant any green beans this year. Bill said he was tired of them and I still have plenty from last year in the pantry.
DeleteI decided to do more lima's this year for Nana also since they are my brother's favorite. Oops. She will read this post and call me wanting to know when she will be getting her beans...then Jim will read the post and want to know when will Mom get the beans so he can go over for dinner and eat them.
I didn't get everything done, never do, couldn't take the heat. The weather station says it is 92 degrees right now and feels like 110 degrees. Yes, I agree. Nope, I will not be going back outside today. It will be a good time to pop in a movie and shell beans.
Your lilies and Dahlias are gorgeous and the capture of Scooter playing peek a boo through he flowers is adorable. Happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteYou mention that you harvest your feverfew. What do you do with it? Are you harvesting leaves for flowers? I always thought feverfew looked cheerful in the garden!
ReplyDeleteYou dog is DARLING!
Rebecca, feverfew is an amazing herb. It has healed my brother's migraine headaches and helped my husband's vision. We harvest the leaves and put them in capsules because it does not taste very good. Check out my post from January of this year where I explain in detail how we use it.
Deletehttp://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/2017/01/feverfew-plants-to-pills.html
I told Scooter you think he is darling. He said he is even more darling when he gets a hamburger.