Last fall I decided to replace the bed of Stargazer Lilies with Oriental Lily Josephine. The Stargazers had become weak and no longer produced. As first season lily bulbs go, the Josephine blooms are very large, showy and fragrant. They are not as fragrant as Stargazers but I'm not disappointed at all. Next year they should be stunning.
This is a nice closeup of Josephine. Simply beautiful.
Last fall I thought I was planting Golden Stargazer lilies. When they were about 6 inches, I thought the leaves looked a little strange. When they reached 3 feet, I realized they weren't Goldens. Turns out they are African Queen Trumpet Lilies. The color is bold and rich. They are lightly fragrant but not as sweet as Oriental lilies.
Another group of African Queen Trumpet Lilies. The stems required staking but that's probably because this is their first season in the garden. What a nice surprise.
This is a freshly hatched group of Golden Stargazer lilies. The blooms are very large, very fragrant and the stems are usually quite strong. They do require staking after a few years because they can reach 6 or 7 feet and have up to 10 flowers per stem. With our monsoon rain storms, they can topple over from being so top heavy with blooms.
This is a closeup of a newly opened Golden Stargazer.
Scarlet Canna Indica bloomed beautifully this year. In the background you see red Jacob Cline bee balm. Sorry about the glowing red color. For some reason I cannot get my camera to adjust properly to photographing red in the sun. This also happens to red emperor tulips.
Our Mardi Gras roses are starting thier second cycle. They bloom three times a year; late spring, summer and fall with dormant periods in between.
An unknown pink rose we planted about two years ago.
This is a Alcea rosea 'Chater's Red' Double hollyhock that hung on from last season. Normally a biennial, this must be its 3rd year. It only grew about a foot tall but the booms are 2 inches.
Bee Balm, Black Eye Susan and Purple Phlox peeking through in the back.
Filipendula rubra is a favorite of mine. I've been trying to get it established for 5 years. It appears I have finally found a location it likes. The flowers are pink, fluffy and lightly fragrant. It prefers moist soil and will not tolerate dry conditions. Keep it out of afternoon sun because it will burn.
A closeup of Filipendula rubra.
A trio of Liberty Hosta flower spikes. These are still a bit small but they can reach about 2 feet tall.
A Golden Jubilee Hyssop flower with a stoned bumble bee. Hyssop must be like LSD for bumble bees. They eat and eat and eat and then hang on for dear life.
This garden is in the center of the property and is a work in progress. We keep adding and taking away until we get the right mix. There are quite of few plants here. On the left, climbing up the tree is wisteria and clematis paniculata, along the front you have iris, roses, holly hock, Russian sage, phlox, pink monarda (almost ready to bloom), black eyed Susan, money plant, weigela, canna lily, solidago, abelia and lilac. On the right, the tall wispy light green tree is a pink tamarix.
This is a view from the back under a peach tree. In the foreground you have Jacob Cline bee balm. You also see purple buddleia, and along the fence white moth and oakleaf hydrangeas. Normally I fertilize the bee balm three to four times in the spring. This makes it grow up to 6 feet or more and bloom like mad. Click here to see my post from last year and scroll down to the bee balm image.
A view looking back at the bee balm. Its always a winner in my book. Its very easy to grow and pollinators and hummingbirds love it. The bright red flowers really stand out in the garden.
Our Black Eyed Susan reseeds each year so we never really know where it will appear. We just look for seedlings in the spring so we know where it will be.
Here is another patch of Black Eyed Susan.
We chopped this Purple buddleia (Butterfly Bush) back hard this spring and it responded with quite a few blooms. Buddleia is a must if you want butterflies in your garden. We have several and they always perform well. Full sun is best for maximum blooms. The flowers have a nice sweet fragrance.
The yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata) is starting to spread now that we trimmed back the peach tree.
This is Anise Hyssop Agastache foeniculum Golden Jubilee in bloom. Its actually three pots pushed together on the patio. This variety will wilt in hot afternoon sun so we protect it. It also reseeds so you get freebies next spring. The chartreuse foliage adds a great contrast.
Our neighbor trimmed some trees so the Acanthus Mollis is getting a bit more sun this year. The large flowers and ribbed foliage are a welcome sight. These spikes are a little less than two feet but it can produce 4 to 5 foot monsters.
I'm sorry the image is a little blurry but it was one of those moments when the plants framed the shot for me and it looked good in the camera. Its raining now so I can't get another. To the left is Lilac (foreground) and Chinese dogwood (background), on the right is wisteria, the light green bottom center is Russian sage and in the center is a huge Annabelle hydrangea starting to bloom.
This image is overlooking a pink Nikko blue hydrangea starting to bloom. The photo has kerria, acanthus, solomon's seal, polygonum, philadelphus, goose necks, huechera, helleborus and many others.
This patio is surrounded by liberty hostas as well as annabelle, nikko blue, endless summer, penny mac, blue wave and oakleaf hydrangeas. The 2013 Hydrangea Edition blog post will be done in August so I can include our paniculata varieties. They bloom very late.
You know its summer when the Black Eyes Susan start to bloom. This is a nice large 3 inch flower.
A cluster of pink Astilbe. I love the poofy flowers and fern-like foliage.
This is a close-up of another pink Astilbe.
This is the first year for Oriental Lily Josephine. They are starting to bloom and are quite nice. They are highly fragrant so always plant several together. By the second season they produce up to 8 flowers per stem. We did a mass planting of 75 so next June should be nice.
This is Acanthus Mollis, sold as Bear's Britches. The flowers are hermaphroditic (both male and female organs) and are pollinated by bees. Acanthus contains appreciable quantities of mucilage and tannin so it was used as a treatment for dislocated joints and burns.
This is a nice cluster of Cookies and Cream Rose. It was a Home Depot special for $7 several years ago. We trimmed a peach tree back so it received more sun this spring. The result is very impressive.
This is the full display of Cookies and Creme rose above.
This is Rosa Sugar Moon. It has the classic sweet fragrance you expect from a rose.
Rosa Easy Going is a prolific bloomer.
Virginia rose is a native wild shrub rose in our region, growing 2 to 6 feet high, with many spreading branches, and extremely thorny stems. The flowers are quite irregular and come in waves. It doesn't produce onesy-twosy. It just gushes all at once.
The large and bold Rosa Oktoberfest is always a sight to see.
A tight cluster of Pink Double Knockout rose. It was hit by the voles so it's slowly making a comeback.
A group of Rosa Easy Living living easy in the garden.
Another group of Rosa Easy Living blooms.
This is a unknown variety at the end stage of its lifespan.
This is the same unknown rose above. Its a beautiful bloom in both stages.
For some reason I missed the usual glow in the dark photos of Rosa Mardi Gras. I have to catch the fall blooming cycle.
Rosa Ebb Tide is very fragrant but small. It always puts out a nice cluster of roses but the plant is less that two feet tall. The flowers are actually darker than this image suggests but I can never figure out how to photograph it properly.
Rosa Sunny Knockout is recovering nicely from being munched by voles.
This is a ghostly image of Cotinus x 'Grace' Smoke Tree. Its planted at the back of the property on the edge of the forest. In this photo its limbs and foliage disappear as the flower heads float, illuminated by the morning sun shining through the canopy. Grace is known for its fluffy pale pink clusters of flowers in early summer (June), followed by a brilliant display of red, copper and purple foliage lasting through fall. Its a vigorous grower and can be pruned or allowed to grow tall (up to 20 feet). It prefers full sun but will take some shade. Although its not as showy as the purple smoke bush, its unique characteristics make it worth having.
This is a closer look at Grace's flowers. Its one of those "What is that?" plants.
Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' better known as Zebra Hollyhocks. They are shorter than most at around 3 feet but produce a lot of flowers. This is our first year growing this variety and they have done quite well. They are said to reseed heavily if allowed to die back naturally. We'll test that theory and see what happens next season.
Our Campanula poscharskyana was covered by a robust patch of Solomon's Seal this year. It clumps very well and blooms heavily when happy. Its always eaten by voles but a few small patches have escaped the critters.
This is a patch of Oenothera fruticosa also known as Sundrops. Although similar to the Evening Primrose, they are different in that their flowers close up at night. Pollinators love 'em and the bright yellow really pops against green foliage. They reach about 24 inches and like morning to midday sun. Despite claims of liking dry soil and full sun, we have found them to prefer regular water with cover from afternoon sun. They wilt quickly if dry and hot. While not invasive, if happy they will easily spread. They transplant easily too.
A full cluster of Veronica Tickled Pink spikes.
We moved two Spiraea japonica 'Norman' out from under a bridal wreath and they came alive this year. They must have sun to bloom well but will take a little shade. It's easy to grow, quite dense and reaches about 3 feet when happy.
Gold Flame Spirea blooms at the same time as japonica above.
Asclepias tuberosa or butterfly weed came back strong this year. The flowers are a source of nectar for butterflies and the leaves are a food source for monarch butterfly larvae. Its also called pleurisy root referencing an old medicinal use of its roots to treat lung inflammation.
The dainty flower spikes of Sweet Tea Heuchera.
