Back to earth

After yesterday's excitement, the rest of the garden seems rather blah. But there are pretty pictures of pretty flowers to show.

'Lucifer' crocosmia

Lemon yellow daylily of unknown origin

Volunteer sunflower

Blazing star

'Aphrodite' Rose of Sharon

'Black Beauty' zucchini

Those zucchini illustrate what happens when one turns one's back on the squash plants for a moment. I did a search on my blog for 'zucchini' and found lots of references for zuke recipes. Today it was zucchini and basil over pasta.

NEXT!

The blossoming continues. Unfortunately, the light is not always ideal and I am not the best photo editor around. So while I am documenting the progression of the flowering, some of the pics are not the most flattering. Not that the plants care.

I keep trying to capture the way the purple-leaf plantings in the front yard enhance the rest. An example is the hawthorn and the 'Crimson King' maple trees.

The hawthorn is peaking blossom-wise.

The 'Wentworth' highbush cranberry is coming on strong.

I love the delicate details of the flowers.

Behind the highbush cranberry is the easy-to-neglect 'Alabama Crimson' honeysuckle vine. It has been blooming for a while. I keep meaning to provide it with a trellis so it can show off more.

Just getting to the honeysuckle is a challenge.

The sad looking shrub on the right is the 'Aphrodite' Rose of Sharon. It is always late to the dance, but is looking particularly peaked this spring. I think I will cut it back severely and see if it recovers. And while it is in a smaller size, maybe I will get that trellis installed for the honeysuckle.

I am not sure if the catmint in the milkweed bed is 'Walkers Low' or 'Six Hills Giant'. If you look closely, you can see a milkweed plant sprouting in the midst of the catmint. By the way, I spotted a monarch today, fluttering around some milkweed on the south side of the house, but alas, it did not land.

I'm glad this catmint is doing so well because the Russian sage planted at the corners of the bed is not.

A few plants of dames rocket spot the yard. This is a non-native invasive that I have mistaken for some kind of phlox in the past. Sometimes there is a lot, sometimes a little. I let it hang around because I like it.

The false indigo gets bigger every year. When I planted it I had no idea just how big it would get. I'm happy with it, though.

There is some volunteer columbine mixed in with it this year.

This poor 'Niobe' clematis keeps trying but has never lived up to its reputation of being 8'-12' tall. It adds another shade of purple to the front yard, though.

Meanwhile, my efforts to get rid of the yucca is turning into a game of whack-a-mole. The roots keep sending up more shoots. I snip them off and they come back. I'm beginning to wonder if a yucca is forever.

My immediate goal (besides moving the giant pile of mulch in the driveway and keeping the lawn mowed) is to get the rest of the transplants into the ground. There are the ones I bought, which are waiting rather patiently. Then there are the ones I grew, which are moving on as best they can despite my starting them too early and transplanting them too late, like these Profusion zinnias.

For the record, three 'Luna Red' hibiscus are in their own raised bed; I started more plants, as I want at least four. Today I planted some zucchini and cucumber in paper cups, to get them off to a good start. Last year's hollyhock did not all come back - it looks like some of them rotted in the ground - so I transplanted some 'Torch' sunflowers into that bed, to keep the survivors company. I've neglected the alyssum I purchased earlier (and it shows), so I've been moving it and some of the Profusion zinnias to containers.

I was wrong about the climbing rose being dead, as it is sending up some new growth from its base; it probably heard me musing about planting a honeysuckle in its place. I whacked back the forsythia again, as it just won't stop growing. I'm beginning to wonder if forsythia is forever, too.

And I have been weeding, weeding, weeding, especially the Canada thistle. How about you?

I can't keep up

It has been almost a month since I last posted. Not a lot worth noting happens in the yard in August - bean picking, a bit of watering, mowing - but by September things are starting to fade, including me. Already I can feel myself shifting to indoor hobbies.

The rudbeckia is just about finished for the season.

The heads on the hydrangea are so HUGE this year, they droop.

'Limelight'

The Rose of Sharon is the last to bloom in the spring and one of the last to stop in the fall.

Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite'

I was afraid I had inadvertently pulled up all the volunteer goldenrod, but some persists.

The marigolds are putting on a late show.

Zinnias are one flower you can depend on, all summer long.

'Red Scarlet'

The sunflowers are at various stages, from bloom to droop.

Despite the dogs rampaging through the south bed, some asters are still standing.

This sweet alyssum made a late showing, to provide a lovely contrast to the coleus.

Sedum is another dependable provider of fall color.

'Autumn Joy'

I added some anonymous hardy mums to the big pots. If I had realized how low they would sit, I would have left them in their pots.

The dahlias, planted as a source of dye, continue to pop out one or two blossoms at a time.

'Black Satin'

It's almost time for fall cleanup. It's also almost time for a post mortem, to rehash what went right and what went wrong this year. I'll wait a few months before starting to plan for next year, as that's a good mid-winter project.

Almost bloom day

Mid August, the light begins to change and school starts (at least around here) even though technically it is still summer. The all-summer-long flowers are still at it, especially the zinnias, but the fall ones are starting to show up.

First up are the asters, who are just beginning their show. This one is a smooth aster, Aster laevis. It's not very showy, but attracts butterflies. It also tolerates dry conditions such as those on the south side of my house.

I had forgotten about this pink aster, 'Wild Romance'. I thought maybe I had lost it, so I'm glad to see it is still going. Or it will be, once the blossoms open up.

This is a New England aster, 'Purple Dome'. It's shorter and more compact than its native cousin. Speaking of which, I moved two of the native ones but they are not looking very happy in their new location. Fingers crossed.

The late hostas are just starting to bloom, too. This is 'Royal Standard' and it gets quite tall and tolerates sun more than some of my other hostas. Hummingbirds like these.

This volunteer sunflower is just opening, unlike it's 10-foot-tall cousin in the backyard, which is not ready yet. Usually I have a lot of sunflowers in the garden, but not this year.

Well, I should amend that statement. I started a dozen or so something flowers, then promptly forgot what they were. I thought maybe they were Mexican sunflowers, but the first one to bloom is definitely not that.

Then there are the midsummer staples. The rest of the daylilies are done, but this lemony one blooms a little later and a little longer. If it weren't so close to the fiber optic cable (which is about 2 inches below the surface), I would divide this clump and spread the joy.

This year I finally got around to planting the short toothed mountain mint plants (Pycnanthemum multicum) I brought home from the Garden Bloggers Fling last year. They seem to be doing well despite my ignorance. I've never grown these, had never heard of them, but hey, I'll take free plants almost any time. They are attractive to butterflies as a source of nectar and pollen.

This is the time of year the Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite') comes into its own. The shrub, which is feeling a bit crowded these days, is covered with blooms like this one. And the blooms are covered with pollinators.

I really whacked the 'Limelight' hydrangea this year and wondered if that was such a smart move. But I think the blooms are bigger than ever. That may be from all the rain we have received, or it may be the pruning helped.

We'll skip the flowers I have highlighted before that are still going: zinnias, butterfly bush, rudbekia, honeysuckle vine, etc.

Flower power

My yard is on the large size, so while I have lots of plants in bloom, they lack visual impact because they aren't planted in drifts. This year I have been moving things around, so the nomads are not blooming hot and heavy yet either. Here is what's in bloom right now.

The tiger lilies are done, but daylily season is here.

Midsummer is also coreopsis season.

'Zagreb' coreopsis

'Tequila Sunrise' (I think) coreopsis

Lanceleaf coreopsis

The clematis is hanging on.

'Avant-garde' clematis

'Betty Corning' clematis

The first Rose of Sharon is shy, facing the wrong way.

Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite'

This is the first year for smooth hydrangea. I guess this is as good as it gets bloomwise.

The catmint is basically done, but the catnip is making up for it. I checked my wildflower book - catnip is an alien, so I have started eliminating it from the yard. Don't tell Finn.

Some volunteers are native.

Pokeweed

Fleabane

Other volunteers are a mystery, but I'm guessing this is a weed.

The coneflowers have been up and at 'em for a while, but the rudbekia is just starting.

Despite my neglect, some bee balm and yarrow have survived.

My prairie smoke didn't smoke this year, but the smoke bush is.

Can anyone explain to me why sweet alyssum continues blooming when crowded in a pot, but if planted by its lonesome, the blooming stops?

Gardening is always full of surprises: some columbine continues to bloom while the early flowering hostas seem sparse this year.

And last but not least, some butterfly attractants.

Common milkweed

Buddleia 'Miss Violet'

I actually saw a butterfly today that wasn't a paper white. Maybe a black swallowtail? It flitted around, not settling on anything despite my efforts to provide a variety of choices.