July is Blooming!

I guess July is my big month for my perennials.  

 I did a walk around the yard this afternoon and snapped off a lot of pictures! 

I have been watching some Delphiniums that were taller than me since last week. 

  Unfortunately the morning rain broke them over so I had no choice but to bring 

them indoors!

As you can see they were fabulous.  They were so heavily

laden with flowers the just broke over and I couldn't leave them like that.  

I stuffed some Yarrow in the center for filler.

I wanted to let them hang over like big branches to show how long they are!

~This area is out front of the house~

I like how this is looking like a cottage garden...I like it when the

plants start to mingle with each other.

I do wish the Delphinium would bloom all summer!

I love seeing their spikes of color.

My Shasta Daisies are getting close to blooming and I see a lily has appeared in the middle of them!  I wonder how it got there!  Must of had a little help from a critter!

 The cone flowers are just starting too...

I put in new Coreopsis last year and they've all come back nicely.

The other ones I had slowly disappeared.  I blame it on the variety, but it 

could have been the voles too.  

Love the (Speedwell) Veronica

These lilies have a fabulous color- they seem to glow.

I love how the purple and yellow look great together!

I never posted the Columbines when they bloomed.

These Columbines bloomed back in the middle of June.

The Stella de Oro Lilies are finally blooming.  

This is the part of the island people see as they drive by our home.

I created the island to add privacy and sound absorption. We live close to a main road and it can be noisy.

~To the side of the driveway~ 

Boy these guys are vibrant!  Makes me think of the Southwest!

I moved them from the back of the deck area last year and they seem to be quite 

happy here!

I'm glad I moved them over here they were really getting large and this area can 

handle it better.

~Out back~

I made this my pink garden area last year.  

I bought up a bunch of lilies that were on mark down last summer.  

I stuck with shades of pink.  It looks a little haphazard right now, but each 

year it will improve.

I really love this coloring the best.  They didn't all have their labels so I'm not sure what they are called.

This is another one with similar coloring but it has specks highlighting the center.

These are a peachy pink color that I placed either side of my 

Queen Elizabeth Floribunda Rose

This one is hiding behind my Iris

The birds love the bird bath- it greens up really fast though.  A sopping wet Baltimore Oriole jumped up on the deck railing the other day and I had to chuckle.  

They're so wary though it's hard to get a picture. 

Just in front of this bird bath you can see a big granite stone.  I had three of them 

set there but I've taken one away and...

I moved it to this corner of the pathway to the patio.  I've planted some sedum around it and a white Bell flower-Campanula.  There is a perennial Salvia next to it but it looks terrible right now.  Once these sedum plants fill

out it should look more interesting.

I should have been smart and cut this in half before I planted it!  Oh well....

Right next to that are some very orange lilies!

When I bought them from Lowe's several years ago 

they were labeled as yellow... ha- so much for that!

This year they are the largest I've ever seen them.

These white ones used to be where the orange ones are.  I thought that the voles had eaten them all and then they appeared again, so I decided to separate them last year.

My Hydrangeas are starting too but I better wind this up and I'll save that for my next post.

 I hope you are enjoying your gardens and plants too!

Thank you for visiting!  

Please leave a comment so I know you came by!

Got the Blues....

Yep, I've got the blues...

I've been so excited about these Delphiniums and

  I was planning to take pictures with my

good camera but I got beat by the rain!

I took this picture on the 2nd with my iPhone.

 I put plant supports out to help them but these were over 5 ft. tall and my stakes proved to be too short.

Today they were filled out beautifully but

 This morning we had a lot of rain!

I looked out the front windows and saw they

had broken over so I had to bring them in.

 I decided to display them in this dramatic fashion

to show how big they are. 

The one on the right is 3 ft. long

I cut some of the yellow

Yarrow (Achillea) to fill in the center. 

I'm getting a lot of use out of this vase

I got from my Mom's.  It's a very heavy vase and 

capable of supporting this bunch.

 I've got the blues...on top of my table!

I'm joining
Kathe with an E
for
Your'e Gonna Love It!

and

Have A Cup of Mrs. Olson
for
Share Your Cup Thursday 
 

Today We Celebrate Our Independence Day!

 I hope you all have a 

Happy 4th of July!

A little vignette 

(Agapanthus, White Sunflowers, Queen Anne's Lace)

With the 4th falling on a Thursday this year it will allow for a nice long weekend of celebrating!  

Lots of good cook outs and fireworks!

 I'm Proud to be an American

God Bless the USA

  If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife,
I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom
And they can't take that away.

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.
From the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee,
Across the plains of Texas from sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston and New York to L.A.,

There's pride in every American heart
And it's time we stand and say:
I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.

(Lee Greenwood)

Peonies and wild life!

I've gotten behind on posting.  

My peonies are just about done already but I took some pictures of them last week when they were in their glory.

The evening sun provided perfect lighting!

There is something about white peonies that seem

quintessential summer!

My favorite shot...

You can see the salvia is blooming too.  Everything is reaching towards the sun.  My spruce tree has gotten so much larger since I planted the perennials.

I ended up using stakes because the peonies were 

on the ground.

The Max Frei Cranesbill comes back reliably every year.

I sure like this plant.  It provides a great border at next to no maintenance.

The reds that weren't quite open

A bouquet I gathered for my daughter to take home with her.  

A few iris were still blooming along with the Donald Wyman lilacs.  I'm real pleased with them! Third year in and they bloomed like crazy this year!   

There are three of them here...it's all part of my 

plan to make a "green" wall to provide more privacy in this side part of the front yard.

My one Alium that made it.  Not huge this year like last year. The others got nipped by the frosts and it knocked them down.

While I was outside early evening a few days ago I spotted this little fella coming out of the woods.  He was a little worried about the lawnmower action going out out front.

We stared at each other a bit and then he ran towards 

my garden area.

He's just a young one.  I did my best with my iPhone. 

This female turkey seems to have made herself a regular around us lately.

  We get a nice variety of birds here.  I managed to

catch a shot of these Cedar Waxwings that arrived.

I've never seen them here before.  When they flew off

a few more of them were nearby and went with them.

A quick shot with my iPhone again. This is the best I've seen these Neon Star Pink Dianthus so far.  I guess they are maturing!

The weeping larch is doing great too.  

The two planters were new this year.  They're just starting to fill out.

The Dusty Miller is turning into a bush!

Straight ahead is my lilac topiary tree which has grown beautifully but I'm struggling to keep it a moderate size.  I'm questioning my choice of where I located it because of how I have to keep trimming it back so much.

When I got it- it had a lopsided shape which I've been trying to help straighten.  All the weight was on the right side.  

I really cut into it this time and now it looks more even.

It looks a big naked right now, but it will fill out again.  

As you can see my roses are blooming on the arbor.

I seem to have all but lost my Sweet Autumn Clematis this year.  There are a few leaves coming on it but they are way down at the ground level.

  

I've got some morning glories that are starting to climb complete with bird pooh!

The arbor is a favorite landing spot.

Well, I'm long winded today so I better stop.

I hope you are enjoying your gardens 

and keeping busy too!