Friday Morning Flower Gazing

Happy Friday!

I hope you've had a good week and are happy to see 

Friday come.

We've been experiencing some rather mild temperatures and the nights have been cooling off into the 50's.  It feels like early fall at times.  The farmers are unhappy because the mild temps are slowing down the ripening of their crops.  All I can see is that it makes for good sleeping!

I buzzed out this morning (7:30'ish) with a jacket over my pj's and snapped a few early morning pictures.  I've been absent outside lately because of a few projects that have been occupying my time.  Forgive my lack of visits to your blogs, it's just been hard to devote much time to the computer.

  The wind chime post even got into the pictures

The begonias turned out to be a good choice for outlining the  fountain area.  The hostas have covered them up though in this area.  The Japanese Forest Grass are doing well this year too.  

I watched the hummingbirds dancing around these flowers earlier this morning.  There were 3 of them.  I wish I could capture their activity but whenever I try to take a picture they quickly fly off.

In a matter of moments the sun moves on...

These small hostas add a little interest...

I believe they are called Fireworks

Ready to bloom too...

These Gardenmeister Fuchsia are a favorite for the hummingbirds too.  

The Annabelles have been blooming for a couple of weeks.  I gave some of the blooms some help with some stakes.  When they get wet they lay right down on the ground.  Their are delicate for such a heavy flower.

This Alyssum has come back each year since I planted them and I do enjoy them.  They've jumped over the sidewalk into another bed and are blooming there too.  

I planted Alyssum in this window box but only this one made it.  The geraniums crowded out the rest.  I like how it's cascading down the side.  I've been very happy with the performance of the Raspberry Twizzle Geraniums.  The blooms are long lasting and frequent.

In front of the garage I have three planters.  I got creative this year and didn't use my usual spike type plant for the center.  The Mystic Spires Blue Salvia really got big....I have one on the other side that is much larger.  The are some Gaura, Belleza (talll white flowers) mixed in there and the Raspberry Blast Supertunias are spilling all over the bottom.  The bees and hummimgbirds really like the Salvia and Gaura.  There is some Bacopa in there too but the Supertunias seem to have gobbled up most of the space.

I cheated and took this from my window through a screen.  My favorite Limelight Hydrangea is just starting to bloom.

This little Cityline Paris hydrangea doesn't disappoint!

Love

So happy together... 

My little buckets of flowers took their time to get filled out but now they are blooming nicely. 

The Sonic Magic Pink New Guinea Impatiens are a favorite.

I love variegated flowers and plants.

Joy!

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

Liz

My Hosta Hill

We had a nice bit of rainfall two nights in a row. Everything looks so fresh so I went out early this morning to see how the plants are doing.

It looks like the wax begonias I used instead of the impatiens are going to work out just fine.  I gave each plant a boost of composted cow manure and a sprinkle of Osmocote fertilizer  when I planted them.  I hope they love it! 

This is a new plant I just added called Astrantia 

(Great Masterwort) 

Star of Fire

I put three plants in

this past week. 

The Siberian Iris opened up so as soon as the sun was on them I snapped a few shots.

This is the first year the Sum and Substance hosta (left side) has looked so grand.  I know it will become even larger as time goes on.  They claim they will get 30" tall and anywhere from 2 ft. to 6ft. wide.   I'm sure mine won't get that wide since our growing season is short.

To the back side of the hill is a hosta I've been patiently waiting to see it take off and show me it's stuff!  This is an Empress Wu hosta and they claim they will get to be up 4 ft. tall.

This is a new addition this year.  It's called the Wheee hosta.

I was drawn to it's curly edges.  I planted it in a location by itself so it could be shown off better.

It's been a cool spring and we just haven't had the warm temperatures that will get the annuals to start  filling out, but they are promising the heat is coming!

The hosta that primarily outline this area are called "Gold Standard".  They are very reliable and consistent. 

Here are some before and afters of the hosta hill.....

Before....

2010
This is a shot from a few years ago.  I removed the day lilies that are in the forefront because they were too tall and I wanted a little neater look.

2010

The overall look had become too mixed up and had a sloppy appearance.  I also raised the fairy on a pedestal to give her more presence.

2010

After......

I think the changes I made improved the

overall appearance.

2013

2013

If you'd like to read how some of this back yard area got started, please check out this link to my first post in 2010

Thank you as always for visiting!

I'm joining
Fishtail Cottage for
Garden Party #8

Tootsie Time for
Fertilizer Friday

Liz

Midsummer highlights.....

Greetings from "soggy" Michigan! Yep we're finally getting some much needed rain and I'm glad to see it! It rained all morning and I decided to jump out and snap some pictures!

 Our grass and plants have needed a lot of babying to keep up with the heat we've had.  I know some have had it worse but once you are in the 90's and higher it's tough to keep up with everything!

 Last year I planted an Annabelle Hydrangea

and the new Boxwoods that you see here.

I also planted Alyssum along the edge and to my delight it came back this year.  I'm always tickled to see an annual come back...it's a nice freebie!

The Annabelle Hydrangeas tend to flop over badly so I put some supports in there.  They say you can cut them right down each fall and the next year they will come back just fine and it should encourage even more sturdy stems!

Standing next to the Annabelle I took a shot of the patio from an angel I don't normally choose. We have a fire pit in the middle where the chairs are.

 Around the corner on the path to the patio is this little statue.  She's one of those Cicely Mary Barker pieces that popped up all over.  I really want one twice as large but the price tag is pretty high.  Maybe a Christmas note will be made for it! You can see my Astilbe popping through too!

I love the flowers from my hostas.  Some of them are exceptional and the hummingbirds love them too!

The Coleus in these pots took their time to fill out but they are finally looking good!  I kept pinching them to help them spread.

 In this little triangular shaped garden area near the statue is my Pee Gee Hydrangea tree.  I only had 5 small blooms on it last year and I am delighted to see it full of blooms that should be flowering soon!  It has some yellowing leaves with brown edges which I blame on watering issues.

Taking a look at my Hosta hill my Japanese Variegated Sedge grass has filled out nicely.  I decided to split up some plants and spread them across the border a few years ago.  It did not like being split and took a long time to amount to anything.  One thing for sure is it likes to be kept wet!  Not a great plant if you tend to let things dry out and not water a lot.

I could see from my kitchen window these tall hosta flower stalks which I thought seemed to be framing my fairy Iris.

The Impatiens plants really have filled in nicely.  I chose these because I wanted something hot and colorful that really feels like summer!

I put Caladiums, Begonias and Euphorbia-Diamond Frost in these cement planters.  

 Standing behind the fountain area.

These obelisk type statues were found at a garden/decorating store and I managed to get them for 75% off a couple of years ago.  They look heavy but are a blended fiberglass, stone product that come pre-aged!  I got two of them and often debate with myself whether they belong where I have them or not.

Back up by the deck I put these adorable Toto Rudbeckia in.  They will only be about 12" tall. 

 Just above them is my hanging coco basket with some hot red supertunias.

I put a mix of plants in it.  I try to find things that butterflies and hummingbirds are drawn to!

In front of the garage are the large planters we painted this spring.  The Sweet Potato Vines are going crazy now and the Red Supertunias are filling in and around!

By the driveway I planted some Red Canna Lilies.  I still haven't seen a flower on them but I'm hoping for some soon!  These are taking too long and I'm not sure if I'll bother with them again!

Lucifer

I planted some Crocosmia-Lucifer near the lilies that I moved over to the driveway area.  They have such a great flower- so tropical looking!

 Turning towards my front yard on the island is my first Limelight Hydrangea that has just begun blooming!

There are some lime Spireas planted at the base on this side. I had to give them a good trim because they got really large!

 Sometimes a picture standing back is better than one up close!

 A new Cone Flower in a reddish pink...very fragrant from the "Big Sky" series.  I just planted them so next year and the one after I look forward to a larger clump of them!  My Shasta Daisies are hanging in there too- I see I should have deadheaded a few!

 Some new Bee Balm next to the Rudbeckia. 

These cone flowers were planted last year and they've doubled up in size already. The Delphiniums are going to bloom again!  YAY!

I've been adding more perennials this year.  It's always fun the next year to see how they come up and look more natural in the setting!

  I almost forgot about these "Sunday Gloves" Day Lilies....they have a lovely fragrance to them. I love their color and size...great plant!

 So that's a wrap of my midsummer highlights! 

Thanks for visiting!