Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Finally - Summer Begins In New England - Revised

Ah, the thermometer has finally risen above 80 for more than a day and we have gone three whole days without rain!

Living in New England is sometimes wonderful (we only wish we had an air conditioner a few times a year, fall foliage is gorgeous), but sometimes it's not.  Like when almost all of June is rainy and raw, which means that our already short three-month summer has now been reduced to two months. 

In spite of my whining, I am thankful for where we live. 

However, when we hit the lottery, we will have our summer home here in MA and our winter home.... somewhere that doesn't get snow.  (It's nice to dream - somebody's gotta win, right?)

A few new things blooming around the yard for Fertilizer Friday:

Clematis surrounded by Circle Flower


Coreopsis Zagreb


Some unknown type of Rudbeckia:

 

And another unknown Rudbeckia:


Echinacea:


Astilbe Peach Blossom and Alchemilla Mollis


Clematis: Jackmanii and Niobe




For some unknown reason, my perennials like to self sow in our brick walkway.  I have been pulling out Bleeding Hearts for years.  This year it looks like a Lady's Mantle farm.  One of these days I want to lift the bricks, dig them out and transplant them but first I have to find somewhere to plant them

(REVISION: Yesterday hubby weeded the yard for me while I was at work, great guy that he is..... guess what else he weeded.  You got it - my Lady's Mantle seedlings.  That's OK, I'll have plenty more next year!)


Cheers!

17 comments:

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Tracy,

The clematis are beautiful. I had Niobe at my last home need to think of putting this one in again.

I have a lot of reseeding with Lady's Mantle also but not in the walkways.

Eileen

Karen said...

Volunteer plants are always nice to have and scatter about the gardens, but they love to come up in places that are so impossible sometimes.

I love the clematis and the circle flower (that's a new one for me). You have so many beautiful flowers blooming right now, your summer is probably as long as our Wisconsin one, it hurts to think we only have two months left to enjoy the color. I guess I have to appreciate each bloom more than ever.

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

Oh my gosh, everything looks beautiful. I have never had any luck with clematises, but this year I have a very healthy looking bunch of stems and green leaves. No flowers though. Do they take a few years to get established?

Tracy said...

Hi Eileen: Thanks! I don't mind that they reseed so much - I do love them.

Hi Karen: I so agree with you. It does hurt that our summer season is so short!

Hi Diane: Thank you! :) It definitely has taken my clematis a few years to get established. The jackmanii I have had for probably 10 years; it was pretty spindly for the first few years and then it just took off.

HolleyGarden said...

Your blooms are so pretty! I don't know Circle Flower. Will have to look that one up. I like things to seed in between the cracks. Just step on them a few times - that'll keep them down!

Darla said...

Your blooms are so pretty..makes me long for the clematis blooms here, they are finished for the season though. That burnt orange rudbekia is an eye catcher. Don't you just love help from the husband, sigh.

Pat said...

Beautiful variety of flowers, and the brick walk is so nice. Brick just goes better in gardens. The clematis is blooming so well.

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

I guess my wait will be worth it then!

Happy FF, Tracy.

Anonymous said...

Wow, your clematis is gorgeous. I love your variety of rudbeckia, too.

Lona said...

Tracy I love your Rudbeckia's.What a terrific color the second one is. Your Jackmanii clematis is so big and full of blooms. Looks so pretty on the railing.

Tootsie said...

this whole post is just stunning!!! ....but my favorite combination is the hot pink with the vibrant yellow...I haven't heard of circle flower before...but I LIKE IT!
Thanks for linking in and sharing your flaunt today!!! I always love seeing all the pretties everyone shares! Have a great weekend friend

Shirley @ The Gardening LIfe said...

I really like the astilbe flower amongst the lady's mantle. It's a very pleasant combination. Lovely photos.

~~Rhonda said...

Your garden has vibrant color! Very pretty! Do you find the circle flower invasive? I've never grown it, but would love to. Great color. ~~Rhonda

jason said...

Really nice flowers i had never seen these flowers before i had note down all the name of flower and i try if i get seeds of it.

Anonymous said...

Tracy, really beautiful flowers. Love the contrast between the clematis and some of your yellows. I have the same issue with a plant that spreads through a stone walkway. I've tried weeding, and now I have resorted to a gentle spray of weed killer to keep the path clear and clean. It would be nice if the plants just listened to us. Cheers!

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

Hi Tracy!

Hope you had a great vacation and I look forward to seeing some photos from your garden.

You mentioned that your phlox didn't do as well this summer. Mine seem to have smaller flower clusters than unusual and I bet it is from the lack of rain. I am also noticing that some of my fall asters look a little sick. I probably should have watered a lot more than I did. But Rita says if you don't water, the roots just go down deeper to find the moisture.

Plus we were away for a while as well!

Cheer, Diane

Karen said...

Hello Tracy, it has been a long time since we've heard from you, hope all is well!