Love-in-a-Mist

I don’t usually plant flower seeds,
but this year I planted Nigella.

I’ve never seen this flower before,
yet instantly fell in love with it.

Before I knew it,
it was going to seed.

I’m thinking the dried seed pods
will look nice displayed in my vases
for sale this holiday season.

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Heather in Summer

Some of the first plants I purchased
for my yard over 30 years ago were heathers,
which bloomed faithfully every winter.

They are not bothered by deer or rabbits,
so I have acquired a few more through the years.

It is summer, and not all of my heathers,
but these plants are definitely flowering!

Lovely Lilies

Hummingbirds and me both
love these gorgeous summer flowers!

Above are my earliest blooming lilies,
from late June.
Below are Turk’s Cap style flowers.
These are my favorites – so distinguished!

Lilies are very low maintenance.
And reliable bloomers every summer.

Above flowers appear to be
what is sold as Easter lilies in the local stores.
Trumpet style lilies.

Last lilies of the season.
They look similar.
I have no idea why one is so much taller than the other.

Dog Days of Summer

I’ve spent (most) every morning this summer
at my vegetable garden,
before it gets too hot to work outside.
The flower garden has been on its own,
save for some deadheading of blossoms.
(It is called ‘survival of the fittest’ 🙂

Helianthus is a perennial sunflower
that grows at my house
as tall (or short, depending on your view) as I am.
Many years ago, I ordered it from a catalog.
The original location had its flowers attacked by bugs,
so I divided my plant and
moved part to the other (south) side of the house.
Bugs have not discovered these blossoms,
and the plant has flourished.
On the other hand, the rhizomes are quite invasive
and it is a battle to keep this plant contained.
* * * * *

Sunflowers in my garden.
I planted 2 packets of shorter sunflowers,
but none came up.
Was I surprised to see these volunteers
come up in a corn bed.
The sunflowers dominated corn seedlings
at a very early stage of growth.
As the flower matures,
petals drop off and seeds start to develop.
Long-stemmed flowers look beautiful in a vase,
but a few days later pollen falls and makes a mess.
(Just a forewarning!)
* * * * *

Rudbeckia or Black-Eyed Susan are prolific
late-summer bloomers.
Their rhizomes are also invasive,
as I dig them out from other plants annually.
They are beautiful cut flowers and last a week in a vase.