Monday, June 14, 2010

Mother Nature Has a Sense of Humor....


I posted earlier today in my excitement that it was finally a sunny day.  It was even sunny at 4:00!  (Mother Nature loves to blow in a rain shower at 3:55 because she knows I will be making a mad dash to my car to get home to my gardens.)  Unfortunately, we had a fashion emergency in our household... my teenage daughter has to dress up to present for her final exam tomorrow (classic teenage planning ahead move... 5 minutes ahead that is.  Anyone out there with a teen will completely understand).  After inhaling a quick dinner (thank you hubby!), we sprinted to the stores (literally 1 minute from where I work.  How cruel is that?!?)  In record time we found everything she needed, walked out of the store to a black sky.  Before we even made it out of the parking lot, downpour.  HaHa Mother Nature, aren't you hilarious.  I think she read my blog post earlier, saw how overconfidant I was about the sunshine and decided to teach me a lesson.  (Some days it's all you can do not to give her the 'You're #1!' hand signal).  She was kind enough to stop the rain by the time we got home so I could run out and get some shots for Bloomin' Tuesday.  I just discovered Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day so will join in there also.   Again, the mosquitos were ferocious.  When I finished, I made a quick call to the Red Cross to see if they could set up an emergency blood drive for me. 

And the Garden Tour begins now!

Containers on the deck with Lobelia, Geranium (was supposed to be pink - turns out they were red!):

Hanging baskets under the deck (there are 8) with Calibrochoa and Euphorbia:

This one is for my gardening twin Diane  :)  Lychnis Coronaria (Rose Campion):
Yellow Loosestrife (circle flower) and Delphinium Chinensis 'Blue Butterfly':
Lychnis Coronaria and Peachleaf Bellflower:
Delphinium 'Magic Fountains', Foxglove and KnockOut Rose Radrazz:
Asiatic Lily (I don't remember what kind):
Overviews of the side garden.  The Dianthus 'Ideal Mix' needs to be deadheaded badly:

Climbing Rose (I think it might be 'Blaze').  It is apparently very happy here - it has never had so many blooms in the 7/8 years that I've had it.  Two pics, one from each side of the fence:

Back bed behind the pool fence.  I finally got it weeded and edged, but still no mulch yet.  Six KnockOut Roses are planted here (three Radrazz and three Double Pink).  I'm hoping that they someday grow large enough to become a sort-of rose hedge.  Right now it's a bit messy because it started off as my 'I have no clue where to plant this so I'll stick it out back here' bed:

 
Clematis 'Jackmanii' is starting to bloom on front railing:
More KnockOut Rose 'Radrazz', Salvia 'May Night' in the back, Salvia 'East Frieland' in the front and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' in the middle:
Lavender 'Blue Scent' and Gaillardia 'Goblin'; Coreopsis grandiflora is ready to bloom any day:
White Foxglove (all of the foxgloves in the yard are seedlings from eight plants I had two years ago):
 

Happy Gardening!  Don't forgot to visit MsGreenThumbJean's blog and Carol's May Dreams Gardens blog

23 comments:

CosmoGirl Carla said...

Wow! Your gardens and borders are amazing! I hopped over from Jean's Blommin' Tuesday link party. Can't wait to check out more of your blog.

Thanks for sharing!

Chloe m said...

I am drooling over that fence and that Clematis. Just amazing!

Anonymous said...

Wow where do I begin, your garden is fabulous. I think Mother Nature gave it an extra sparkle with her wicked sense of humor. ;) I really love that Rose Campion, must put it on my to add list. And the long shot of that huge island bed really showed off all the stuff that is blooming right now. :)

Katie said...

I LOVE your perennial borders in the middle of the yard. I might need to dig one of those. BECAUSE, I'm always having issues trying to work up against walls. That gets boring after a while. PLUS, a center of yard border is SO much more interesting!

Thanks for showing us your garden!

Sherry said...

You have amazing gardens. Ours are pretty large, according to me, but to have so much to care for and have it look that good is super. I will be following your blog so that I can come back and be inspired. I am going to plant a clematis of two very soon. We have had them in the past but have not planted any in the 5 years we have lived here.

Darlene said...

WOW what beautiful gardens!! I LOVE your climbing rose (I want to get one) and your white foxglove are fabulous! All of your baskets look great too. Well, can I just say I LOVE it all!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Absolutely gorgeous - I am green with envy! I just love the Delphinium 'Magic Fountains! So pretty- Thank your fro sharing your little slice of heaven!

Bonnie said...

Wow! Everything looks amazing!

Alea Milham said...

Your gardens are so lovely. I love the asiatic lily - so striking. And I really need to add some loosestrife to my garden. I saw some earlier and meant to check if it could handle our cold winters, but I am sure if it thrives in MA, it will survive here.

Alyssa said...

I love how gorgeous your gardens are - they are an inspiration to me! I love the various heights and textures and colors.
Happy Gardening!

Jean said...

White foxgloves, lovely! I love pictures after a rain when everything is so green and bright. Your yard is just abloom with color. Love it! Jean

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

Your gardens are like a feast for the eyes. It's all so great! Love the 'twin' reference! You are just a couple of weeks ahead of me though. And I find that here we are about two weeks ahead of where we were last year at this time.

The colours and textures of your side garden are just gorgeous!

Is the idea of Garden Blogger's Bloom Day to show what we all have blooming on the 15th of each month? Or every Wednesday? I haven't figured that out yet.

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

PS, Tracy: One of my American friends sent me seeds for a white lynchis. The same as the magenta, only white. She told me to make sure I planted them as far away from the magenta ones or the bees would cross-polinate them and they will all be light pink next year.

I planted them last summer and they are still pretty short, so I'm not sure if they will act as first year ones or second year ones.

Paula said...

Lovely Blooms and I love your pots! Paula

joene said...

Beautiful gardens and containers, Tracy. I enjoyed your photos. I also have lots of foxglove in my south central CT gardens - love their independence, height, and the fact that deer don't eat them. Most of mine are pink but I have one white foxglove this year on don't know where it came from but I will surely help it spread its seeds around to other spots in my gardens. Glad you found GBBD - lots of great pics and shared info.

Tracy said...

Hi Diane - I think Garden Blogger's Bloom Day is just posting whatever blooms you have or have had in your garden and is hosted once per month. Thanks for the info on the white lychnis! I saw pics on someone's blog yesterday too but had no idea they would cross pollinate like that. I would have planted them with the rose lychnis and then been completely mystified when I had a yard full of light pink! hahah

lynn'sgarden said...

Oh WOW, Tracy! Your garden is chockful of color...love them all! But those asiatics...awesome! I also love your last photograph of the foxgloves with raindrops...beautiful!!
Lynn

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Tracy,
I went back to see what your comment was to me, and saw that was about what I was going to say to you. You have a nice variety of beautiful blooms. I love seeing the photos up close and from farther away. (I am scatterbrained, and know I recently said that to someone. I wonder if it was you.)

Well, your flower beds and blog are both quite lovely. I'm thinking about going to one of the new templates, but it looks like if I do, I won't be able to switch back to my current one if I do. Did you do a back up of your blog before putting it one here?

My peach leaf bell flowers are blue, and my lynchis is white. It's actually descended from a white and magenta one. I had them in too wet a site, and they died one winter. We must have put them with seed heads on the compost pile, because they come up in the veggie garden from time to time.

Diana LaMarre said...

Oh, how I wish I could grow a climbing rose like that one! Your gardens are beautiful!

Tracy said...

Hi Sue - Thanks for stopping by and for such nice comments! I didn't even think to make a back up copy of my blog. Darn.... guess I'm stuck with the new one! haha Those lychnis will grow anywhere, won't they? Two yrs ago I let one of mine go to seed and I must have had 200 seedlings in a 3 ft square area.

Sylvana said...

I love your delphiniums! And the wide shot of your gardens are amazing. Mine look like a big dog-pile of vegetation.
Your hanging baskets are beautiful too. So much to look at and enjoy!

(GBBD is awesome!)

Cheryl said...

Hey Tracy your photos are drop dead gorgeous, thanks for posting them. your clematis is'Dr. Ruppel' he is a dark beauty, Nelly is much lighter and reminds me of candystriping(I will post a photo of her on my blog). It is amazing what you accomplish, kids job and all!

Tracy said...

Hey Cheryl - Thanks! And thanks for straightening me out on that clematis. My poor decrepit memory.... :) Just saw the pic on your blog (which I love to read - so funny... and my sympathies with your $#@!@#$ bunny troubles)