An unapologetic plant geek shares advice and opinions on gardening, the contrived and the natural landscape, as well as occasional topics from the other side of the gate.

June 15, 2014

Bloom Day - Feeling Blessed

     The weather gods have been smiling on us as of late. We have had abundant rainfall interspersed with beautiful crystal clear days. It has been especially nice on the weekends, and I have been torn between gardening and adventures. Adventures have usually won out, so it was good that today was Bloom Day, it got me into the garden to see what was what. You can hover over the pictures for the plant names.

Musa basjoo, Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey'. and an Unknown Hosta

Rudbeckia maxima

Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' and Verbascum 'Banana Custard' and Rubus cockburianus 'Aurea'

Verbascum 'Banana Custard' and Foeniculum vulgare 'Rubrum'

Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate'

Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum

Asclepias currasavica

Cestrum aurantiaum 'Orange Zest'

Cuphea ignea 'David Verity' with Rubus cockburianus 'Aurea'

Echinacea purpurea

Gardenia jasminoides 'August Beauty' with Sabal minor

Hemerocallis 'Web of Intrigue'

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Frau Kinue'  with Jasminum officinale 'Aureum'

Hydrangea macrophylla serrata 'Bluebird'

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Sun Goddess'

Macleaya cordata

Lilium 'African Queen'

     Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is held on the 15th of each month, even on Father's Day. Carol at May Dreams Gardens is our gracious host, and you should pay her a visit.

21 comments:

  1. All so pretty! Such wonderful saturated colors too.

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  2. That verbascum/salvia combination is knock-out. My garden has been doing pretty well but we're facing a week of temps in the high 80s which I'm not quite ready for, nor is the garden!

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  3. You've got lots of great blooms Les! You're a bit ahead of us out here as our hydrangeas won't be blooming for at least a couple of weeks yet.

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  4. Definitely some beauties there! I'm not familiar with the Albizia--what a fascinating plant. Our past several weeks have been near-perfect, too. Now we're heating up and the severe weather is hitting, so things should be interesting in the garden during the next week or so. Nice Bloom Day post!

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  5. You are in high summer and we are in late spring.

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  6. Hey Les, I wish I had those verbascum. Mine are small things, but I love their flowers anyway. I grew mine from seed. Happy Bloom Day my friend. All your flowers are lovely.~~Dee

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  7. Your golden-leaved jasmine is so much more lush than mine, struggling in a pot. Heck, it all looks lush! The weather gods are in a snit here, rainwise.

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  8. Gorgeous! I love that you have some different plants. So much to look at!

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  9. Jealous, You're garden space is looking great!

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  10. Les, Breathtaking photos as usual. I see you have a Purple Smoke Bush (Cotinus Coggygria). Has yours bloomed? Apparently mine is a non smoker. I've had the bush for 7 years and it has never bloomed. Is it possible I have a male bush and it will never bloom? :( Vikki in VA.

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  11. Lots of great blooms for bloom day. Love the Verbascums! And what is that blue allium - or is it an Agapanthus?

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  12. How hardy is Asclepias curassavica for you? It's listed as hardy to zone 9 but will it make it through your warmer winters? No luck in my warm zone 7, even after the warmest of winters, but it does re-seed rather reliably and grows fast.

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  13. You are SO ahead of us in the north. Love the 'Frau Kinue' and 'Aureum' contrast.

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  14. I'm curious whether your Verbascum variety is a prolific seed producer? We share some of the same blooms.

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  15. Bloomin' beautiful!

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  16. Gorgeous! I would love to have gardenias blooming in my yard. Yours are so lush I can almost smell them.

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  17. Love Asclepias curassavica and wish it was just a bit hardier, although it does re-seed reliably! It's supposedly a zone 9 plant; does this species ever overwinter in your area?

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  18. Beautiful. Your salvia 'Black and Blue' is blooming profusely, mine are not doing nearly as well.

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  19. Very lush looking landscape in your garden and the colors are spectacular, esp. the blue and yellow combo. I am redesigning my main perennial bed, adding more shrubs for lower maintenance (think that might be a delusion on my part). Limited color at the moment.

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