Monday, July 26, 2010

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


17 comments:

Suzanne said...

There's nothing prettier than a garden after a good rain. So beautiful!

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

Wonderful tour, Tracy. I was away for ten days - got back after dark last night, and you should have seen me out there with my flashlight!

Your echinecia is beautiful. And I love the rudbekia peeking out from the pool fence!

Our gardens seem to be in the same stage. What garden zone are you again?

Isn't it funny how some things will change colours. My red phlox was 'red' last summer, but seems a dark pink this year. I wonder if it's the bees that do it.

Anonymous said...

Glad you got your camera back Tracy. I love that variegated Phlox 'Nora Leigh', need to add that to my wishlist. Your garden is full of gorgeous blooms this week. :)

Diana LaMarre said...

Nice to have you back, Tracy. I am really liking the variageted phlox. I love to garden pics after a nice rain.

The Idiot said...

You got your camera back, and rain too? You are born lucky!

Bub said...

Re your previous post: My husband was DIY challenged too - great with socket sets and spanners, not so great with drills and saws.

So therefore I have another suggestion for you (because I'm helpful like that). Take carpentry classes, build yourself a few things, then set up your own hands-on landscape gardening design business. You'll be doing something you love and spreading the joy (this also means if you ever visit my part of the UK, you can do my garden. Ulterior motive? Moi?!).

Stunning photos, as always.

Darla said...

Everything looks so fresh after the rain...I wouldn't mind if some of my red monarda turned pink. I have obedient plant for the first time this year, I hope it's not too aggressive.

Tracy said...

Hi Suzanne - Isn't that the truth!

Hey Diane - Welcome back! I hope you had a fabulous vacation. LOL I can picture you outside with your flashlight checking your gardens. I hope everything looks even better in the daylight. I bet your babies missed you! I'm a Zone 5. What zone are you?

Hi Racquel - Phlox Nora Leigh is new to me. I just planted it last week, so hopefully it does well.

Hi Zoey - I was really liking the variegated foliage also. I have pretty much none of that going on in my garden, so I thought it would be a refreshing change!

Hey ING - You've got me thinking that I should run out and buy some lottery tickets. If I hit it big, I'll send you a commission payment for consulting services :)

Hello Bub! Hahah I love your helpfulness! And I think that's a brilliant idea. I have often contemplated a career change from accounting to ???? You may have just solved my dilemma and given me an excuse to travel out of the US.

Hi Darla - Obedient Plant definitely likes to visit the other plants in your garden. It spreads by runners, but it is easy to pull out if it 'visits' where you don't want it.

Lona said...

Hi Tracy. Wow, what a beautiful garden you have. I see we both have the love of phlox in common. Don't you just love Nora Leigh? Bright Eyes is a stunner too. I adore your Sundown echinacea too. Back to the list LOL!

shannon i olson said...

YOur garden is gorgeous. We have many of the same plants! Love your echinachea corner

Jean said...

Such bright beautiful colors after the rain. Love your collection of phlox. Must find the variageted one. Great post, as always! Jean

Unknown said...

Wow. Holy awesome photos! And I love the Phlox more than anything else.

ClevelandPoet said...

love after rain shots....very nice.
loved the Gaillardia
gonna have to go out tomorrow and shoot some and use the tip you gave.

Paula said...

Everything looks so fresh! love the sedum and your echinacia! paula in Idaho

Karen said...

Thank goodness your camera came home and it works! Your flowers are beautiful, you have such a wonderful collection artistically placed. I have to plant more phlox! Love the dianthus, too, wow!!

Karen

Rose said...

Fantastic photos, Tracy! The color is so sharp on these; I would try the sunset setting, too, except I don't think my camera has one.

I can't believe all the blooms you have right now; my Monarda have quit blooming, and the coneflowers are fading fast. A friend of mine gave me some Monarda seedlings and said they were red in her garden--guess what, they're pink in mine:)

Love the photo of the rudbeckias behind bars:) Glad you were able to get your camera back to share all these lovely photos with us.

chars gardening said...

Wow, everything is blooming beautifully. Your camera or should I say camera skills make great photos. ;)