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Helianthus 'maximiliani' cloaking the birdhouse
one of the last summer bloomers
Made even better by a pop of 'Brazillian Purple' Salvia
Dahlia 'Apple Blossom' glorious at a towering height of 6'
Don't even want to think about letting it go....
or Hollyhock 'Peaches 'N Dreams'
Holding on to these perfect fall days for dear life
Kirengeshoma palmata (aka yellow waxbells)
Toad lily
Zinnia 'Queen Red Lime' & Verbena bonariensis
The stuff of dreams....
September. Linger long.
exquisiteness....
Relieved to see it rebounding (let alone blooming) since after purchase it lost all it's leaves & had to start from scratch!
Planted in front of the 'Mojito' urn container, you can see the lone bloom in the center of the photo:
Hope it's smothered in blooms next year.
Along with 'Star Gazer' the David Austins are closing down the garden season more beautifully than I expected. Below 'Crown Princess Margareta:'
'Teasing Georgia:'
and 'Jubilee Celebration:'
Throw in a few 'Cinderella' pumpkins:
and the garden is dressing for fall...
I think I'm ready???? Are you???
Aster x 'frikartii monch:'
September stunner.
Along with 'Winston Churchill:'
the days couldn't be brighter.
Seriously P.E.R.F.E.C.T days.
The kind that makes every gardener reluctant to come indoors.
Bright blue skies. Highs in the 70's & low 80's.
Hoping it's not greedy to wish they last all month....
stunning addition to the 2012 garden:
deep pink/fuchsia quilled petals that are also upturned!!
Pure WOW.
Short too ~ less than 18" tall ~ making it a great "front-of-the-border" coneflower.
The second of only two "quilled" blooms in this garden ~ the first was Rudbeckia 'Henry Eilers' (added last year: )
Also an exceptional full sun perennial ~ reaching 5' in my garden (seen in foreground of photo below)
I usually end up gathering & tying 'Henry' to the birdhouse tuteur as he has a (bad??) habit of flopping.
Both were perfect perennials for the summer we've had ~ seemingly unaffected by the record breaking heat ~ 73 days above 90 degrees (so far) when normal is only 33 days that hot!
Heat and drought resistance will be necessary traits for all new additions if this hot/dry trend continues.....
The 2012 planting scheme was pastel-themed, with the idea that pink & yellow would complement the seafoam color of the vintage barrow.
Along the way, a wayward pop of orange somehow managed to squeeze its way in??
Maybe not all bad ~ could have been a bit too boring without it?????
A combination of Pink Pentas, Nasturiums, & Zinnias make up the planting mix.
It was an effort to best the zinnia & lantana duo that's been repeated the past three years.
I think however; I'll be reverting to the original format (once again) next year.
Because (although this combination is okay) why mess with success?? Lantana & zinnias together are just too difficult to beat.....
late season bloomer.
An impulse purchase ~ triggered by the uncertainty of "dusky orange & pale pink" working well together?
Now it's clear, they actually do....
In other garden happenings ~ the lights from the party fell down and are already being missed:
A good vantage point was lost...
A long awaited bloom (four+ years in the making) has finally appeared on Paph Orchid 'Jurgen Roth:'
ordered from Carter and Holmes Orchids.
Placed outdoors in early June ~ a last ditch effort to stimulate something. The change of scenery worked....
The excitement is two-fold since (as you can see) multiple blooms are in the offing. Maybe it was worth the wait??
New visitors have arrived (Black Swallowtail on Verbena bonariensis:)
and others are about to leave (baby Barn Swallow out of the nest:)
Ready or not, time is marching on in the garden....
were the stars of the garden party.
Not hard to see why...
The green globes, if left unharvested,
put on quite a phenomenal floral display.
(if you aren't interested in the "show," harvest when the leaves are still tightly clasped.)
When they begin to open & look like this:
it's a bit too late ~ they're almost ready to bloom!
As seen in the photo below ~ taken a day or so later:
Showy even at this early stage.
But it only gets better...
I love the way the petals unfurl from the outside in.... until finally, you're left with this ~ a "furry" center surrounded by blueish/purple (almost iridescent) spikes:
The bees go crazy ~ their whole bodies covered in pollen before they move on.
It's been such a positive experience, I can't recommend growing them enough.
Even if they aren't high on your food pyramid ~ you'll be blown away by the spectacular blooms and equally impressive foliage. An all-around fabulous architectural plant for the garden.
Not to mention the excitement they create for garden guests!
Convinced yet???!!!
I know I am fully converted ~ they'll be "staples" in all my future gardens for years to come!
p.s. My niece ate three & the aroma they created while steaming was almost as delicious as the meat. Sort of "nutty." Totally different than the store bought artichokes we've steamed before....
