Bloom Day - Excuses, Excuses

     Yes, I am still here. I just haven't felt like giving up precious time to the blog. I am very busy at work, the weather has been pleasant, my writing assignments have bordered on excessive, I prefer the seat of my kayak or bike to that of the computer, and the garden calls. At the moment hydrangeas, coneflowers, daylilies, and gardenias, and others, are vying for my attention.

     Greeting me when I got home yesterday afternoon were blooms from my giant coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima). I have had this plant two years, and these are the first blossoms.

     We are in peak hydrangea season right now, and Annabelle (H. arborescens 'Annabelle') seems to be having a very good year.

          H. macrophylla 'Mariesii'

     H. macrophylla serrata 'Kiyosumi'

     H. macrophylla serrata 'Bluebird'

     H. quercifolia 'Little Honey'

     H. macrophylla 'Frau Kinue' (Angel Robe)

     My daylilies are blooming right now, and I kick myself for not keeping better records of which cultivars I have. 

     Gardenia jasminoides 'August Beauty'

     Callistemon 'Woodlander's Hardy'

     Sinningia sellovii (Hardy Gloxinia) is one of my newest plants.

     Kniphofia 'Papaya Popsicle'

     Cestrum aurantiaum 'Orange Zest'

     I am especially pleased to see tthe unusual amount of Echinacea purpurea seedlings in my garden this year. I know this is a very common perennial, but it is one of my favorites, and I have found that the straight species is as prolific as the seemingly hundreds of new cultivars are not.

     To see what other gardeners are especially pleased to see, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who hosts Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the 15th of each month.