The Obsession Resumes

Hallelujah!  My camera came home on Friday.  And this is what it looked like outside:

That's OK Mother Nature.  I waited out Canon's special kind of Customer Service hell, I can outwait you.   I feel like a Blog Postin' Maniac now that my camera's back.  First my post on my trip to the Tower Hill Botanic Garden earlier today and now this. 

Once the coast is clear I was able to take some new yard pictures to show what's blooming for Bloomin Tuesday.

I have to share this photo taking tip, which I found by screwing up and forgetting to change the setting (don't you just love when things like that happen?).   Set your camera to the Sunset setting, if it has one.  It will bring out the real color of your flowers.

Sedum Autumn Joy after the rain:

Delphinium Chinensis:

Monarda.  When I first planted them, they were red.  A year or two after they were planted, they decided to go all chameleon on me and came up two different shades of pink:

Our first Monarch butterfly of the summer!

Phlox Bright Eyes:

Nepeta Walkers Low.  This is a new baby this year; I planted six of them around the yard.  I didn't expect them to bloom this year so this is a nice surprise:

Pentas Graffiti Pink:

Echinacea Big Sky Sundown:

Phlox Nora Leigh is blooming - woo hoo! 

Phlox Laura:

This is the best mistaken mish-mosh in my garden right now (aka: complete accident):

Knock Out Rose Radrazz, looking a little beat from the rain and the $#@!@#$ japanese beetles.  Rose Campion is still blooming and snuck into the second photo:

Rudbeckia:

My little corner of Echinacea:

Volunteer seedling of Echinacea.  I love free plants!

Achillea Cerise Queen, Queen Anne's Lace and Rudbeckia:

Hosta and Geranium Rozanne:

Can you believe this?  Pansies are making a comeback!

Dianthus Garden Spice, still going:

Heliopsis, Rose Campion and Obedient Plant:

Obedient Plant.  I know, it's naughty and spreads everywhere, but I just rip out the ones I don't want:

Rose Campion, Heliopsis Summer Sun, Peachleaf Bellflower, Obedient Plant and Echinacea Big Sky Sundown.  Peachleaf Bellflower has been blooming since June 1st:

Campanula White Clips, begging to be divided: 

Gaillardia, also blooming away.  Long bloomers are my favorite:

The containers by the pool.  Containers are new to me and I just learned something a few weeks ago..... fertilize them and they'll look so much better!

More coneflower, a different part of the yard than the previous pics:

Coral Bells Firefly, they have been blooming since Memorial Day weekend.  This is the second flush of blooms:

Rudbeckias on the outside of the pool fence... the far side where nobody wanders.  They look like they're in jail:

And to wind down the Flower Fest,  here are a few overall yard shots to show everything blending together:

That concludes today's tour.  Don't forget to stop by Jean's! 

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston MA

My camera arrived home safely on Friday so the trip to Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA was on!   (thank you Canon Repair - although I was never able to track the status of my repair and I ragged on you for using the phone # for Directory Assistance as your Customer Service #, once they actually retrieved my camera from The Receiving Department Black Hole, they repaired it super quick and at no charge and shipped it back Fed Ex 2-day Delivery)

We got there early before it got too hot and the weather was beautiful - around 80 and sunny with a nice breeze.  There was only a handful of people there, so it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.

The grounds are beautiful. I never gave a lot of thought to incorporating statues and things like that in our yard but after seeing so many things at the botanic garden, I have definitely changed my mind. 

Here is the entrance from the parking lot. I would like one of these in my yard:

Entrance to the Visitors Center, restaurant, Orangerie and entrance to garden paths.  There were containers of flowers everywhere:

Double pergolas. I definitely want these in my yard:

Hey, it's Hubby!  I asked if he would build me a pergola like this.  He said probably not.  It doesn't hurt to ask, right?

I loved the name of these daylilies "Cherry Cheeks":

From the Double Pergolas there were steps down to The Secret Garden.  This was my favorite place:

Last picture of The Secret Garden.  The sitting area below looked out over their Apple Orchard:

A pretty butterfly that stopped to visit:

There were brick walkways and gravel paths all over - so pretty.  Hydrangea PeeGee.  I had seen pics of these on some blogs recently so had to take a pic:

I don't remember who this guy was but I liked him:

There were benches, chairs and areas to sit and enjoy everywhere :

The Orangerie.  It's filled with plants from September through April so even during the dreaded winter season, you can still escape to summer weather here.  They are in the process of building a Winter Garden area in front of it:

Pictures from the Systematic Garden are next.   I have no idea what my gardening style is because I love the cottage garden look, but then I see a formal garden like this and love it just as much.

Cool fountain - we stood in the mist for a minute to cool off, then noticed that the mist was creating a rainbow in the pool (I would also like one of these in my yard):

This is from the Systematic Garden, looking back at the Orangerie:

From here, the remainder of the paths wound through the woods with many places to stop along the way but basically no more flowers until you got back to the beginning areas.

I definitely want one of these fountains in my yard.  (this wish list is getting extravagant and at this point, I will need a mansion to go with all of these things, so Magic Blogger Genie better get on the stick and start granting some wishes):

The perfect place to bring your picnic - this little hidden area overlooks Wachusett Reservoir and Wachusett Mountain.  Very pretty and peaceful:

More areas on the wooded trail:

They have a bird viewing area in the woods with several birdfeeders outside.  We caught a picture of this guy:

Pan statue in the woods:

This is the Moss Stair area.  It definitely had a far-east kind of feel to it:

Next to the Moss Steps were these flowers.  There were no markers so I have no clue what they were, but they were very cool:

Another butterfly or two:

After looping through the woods, we came back to the beginning.  This is The Farmhouse, where the offices are, with the vegetable / cottage gardens.  They overlook the Double Pergola area:

This was the prettiest non-flowering plant I have ever seen - Persian Shield.  I had never heard of it before, but fell in love with it:

That concludes the tour for today.  Thanks for coming along