On – Going

For all the various flowers in my garden,
some of my favorites are the ones that keep on blooming.
On and on and on.

Roses should be on the top of the list, as they love the summer sun.

Bush with single red roses on the left shows flowers in different stages of bloom.
This plant flowers so profusely and continuously, it is near impossible to keep up with deadheading.
Mini-roses on the right are one of my most reliable steady bloomers.
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Oh, I must be losing my mind, as I cannot remember your name.
Your face, yes, but not your name. . .
Nevertheless, these two plants have been blooming continuously the last couple of months,
through the heat of summer.
Spent flowers were cut a couple of times, and they just keep on keeping on.
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My fuchsia is still small, so I almost forgot about it, but it bloomed all summer.
I need to be patient; it will fill out in time.
One of the last hollyhock blossoms at the top of its stem.
Sometimes these bloom horizontally,
as the weight of the flowers is too much to stay vertical.

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Mother Nature has Her Own Ideas

The 1/4 inch of rain was beautiful, much-needed and much-appreciated.
When I thought the flower garden was done for the year, what a nice surprise to see roses.  It is almost Halloween – pretty late in the season for here.
above:  single red rose
below:  miniature yellow rose

Red & White (no Blue today!)

Five years ago, I talked a reluctant plant owner into letting me take a few starts of red Crocosmia.
I had this wild idea that they would look good next to white Shasta daisies, since both flowers bloom about the same time.
Unfortunately, I planted them in an unfenced area with no irrigation, so they were at the mercy of all of nature.

These scarlet blossoms are a real treat, as I thought the deer had eaten all my starts years ago.  You never know when a plant will surprise you and come back to life!

Rockin’ Roses

A ‘single’ rose means there are only five petals.  Their beauty is fleeting, they do not last long on the bush.  When the shrub is full of flowers it is quite a sight.  Then there is lots of deadheading, to encourage more blooms.
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This small bush is a prolific producer of miniature roses
One of my favorites, sturdy and stalwart.
Again, lots of deadheading to keep it blooming & looking great.
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Our most aromatic rose bush, which is why my husband had to buy this one.
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Vi’s Violet is another miniature rose bush.
(I happened to find a broken name tag below.)
This plant struggles, but stays alive.  It gives a few blooms every year.
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This poor plant had been struggling for a couple of years, and almost did not make it through the winter.  I dug out chives that were threatening to overrun at the base, and dug in bark mulch and added more topsoil.
It looks so much better this year.  A climbing bush that bears miniature red blossoms, this had been one of the most productive roses here.  It now looks to be on the way back to its former glory.

Bursting Buds Update

April came in with showers, which is good for flowers to stay around.
When the sun is shining, spring flowers bloom very pretty and are done before you know it.

This is my only bi-color rhododendron, and the first one to bloom.
With bluebells and tulips it is quite a show from my kitchen window.
What a way to greet the time of longer daylight.

After years of being nibbled by deer, this azalea is slowly coming into its own.  I prune and thin the too-dense branches a little more every year.
As it now gets taller and more full, I find myself moving plants from the understory, so they have a chance to grow also.

The lilacs are getting tall enough to fulfill a long-held dream:  to be able to walk on the path under a canopy of blooming flowers.
White flowers are peaking while the purple are just beginning their bloom time.

Bursting Buds

My rhododendrons always bloom in the same order, and this one is always first.  I so look forward to seeing the first rhody flowers.  When the blossoms open, they will be a pretty pink and white.  Those are bluebells in front and a tulip bud.  Barring anything unforeseen, I will be able to show photos soon.

This is the only azalea here.  For some reason, the branches through the slats on the deck are blooming before the main plant.  Perhaps they get more all day sunshine.  In full bloom, the entire plant will look red.

I got excited to see the first lilac bloom.  White-flowered shrubs bloom before the purple-flowered ones every year.  In the photo, the purple buds are very full, and the white flowers are beginning to bloom on the very top of the bush.

Japanese Maple on the First Day of Autumn

Actually, autumn began at 7:30 pm last night, but today is the first day of the new season.  The color change of the leaves is very subtle, as it is just beginning, in this tree.   If you look on the upper left side, you can notice the leaves getting lighter, as they lose the deep red color they had all summer long.

Yes, that is a four foot high (122 cm) deer fence around the tree trunk.  Although the tree appears to be tall enough that the deer cannot decimate its foliage, I will not even attempt to remove the fence until spring.  There is barely enough forage for the deer at this time of year, and I have seen hungry animals stand on their hind feet to eat whatever they can.

Euonymous – Chicago Fire

This is another gem my husband brought home one day.  He wanted to fill an empty corner.  It is not early to get it’s leaves, and they are ready to drop off any day now, and it is only mid-September.  You are looking at the annual exhibit of the high point of its life.  Although the leaves appear very autumn red and colorful right now, they are a boring green the rest of the year.

We’ve been discussing replacing this plant, or just moving it to another location.  If I could find a flowering vine type of plant to climb the fence, euonymous would have to find a new home immediately.  It now inhabits prime real estate inside the deer fence, with irrigation and excellent sun reception.  Ooh, I’m starting to think a vine-type rose; a scented rose would sure be nice to walk by …

Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks were unknown to me until a woman friend gave me a handful of seeds.  I dutifully planted them and they grew and grew and grew some more.  These are by far the tallest flowers I have.  They have bloomed and reseeded for a number of years now.  This year the blossoms are far more meager than in previous years, and I wonder if the plants are just getting old and need to be started again.  I used to see stems-full of dark red flowers that I learned were an old-fashioned favorite.

In the second photo you can see where the deer have eaten everything off the hollyhock stems.  They have been pruning these plants for years now.  I just measured the deer fence at 4 feet (120 cm) high, and it is also 4 feet (120 cm, again) from the house wall.  While the deer could jump this height easily, the bed is full of plants with no landing space.  The fence is high enough to deter the deer from nibbling low stature plants.

Red Sunflower with Bee

I attended a party recently where someone brought about a dozen budded sunflowers to share.  Of course I took one home to plant in my garden.  What a cool surprise when it bloomed red-orange.  The bees like it a lot, also.  This is not near as tall as a yellow sunflower with a giant head full of seeds that grows 8 to 10 feet tall.  The flower pictured above is about 3 feet (one meter) high, at most.