WhoIsTracy? Blog - Gardening

August Snapshots

nospam@example.com (Tracy) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:23:01 -0700

My crafting isn't the only thing I've been neglecting with my busy work schedule lately; my poor garden has been lonely this month, too. But every day when I pull into the driveway, she still seems to greet me with a smile as if to say, "We miss you!" Here are a few snapshots of what's been blooming.

This is Helianthus multiflorus Flore Pleno. She's also called perennial sunflower and you can see why. Bright, cheery yellow flowers with foliage resembling that of the sunflower. She's been blooming non-stop for months with just a little dead-heading here and there and almost no supplemental watering.

Another star in my hot bed (which is what I call the garden in the front of my house, as I have only hot colors planted there- yellows, reds, and oranges) is my Rudbeckia hirta Cherry Brandy. I love the deep maroon color and the hairy foliage. It really adds a nice touch to the garden.

She's not supposed to be perennial, but has been coming back for me now for three years.

Lastly, one of my favourite perennials, Veronica longifolia Blue Giant. I always get a little sentimental when I see her blooming happily in the garden as she was one of the main flowers in my wedding bouquet, along with sunflowers (my favourites!). She always gets a bad case of powdery mildew for me, but this year she seems to be blooming right through it, not letting it phase her.

I caught a few bees happily pollinating while I was snapping the photo. Can you spot them?

Black Beauty & Henryii

nospam@example.com (Tracy) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:47:00 -0700

Happy Thursday! Sorry for the lack of posting still. Work has been absolutely nuts. I've been working 12 hour days which is leaving me little time for much else other than eating and sleeping!

I did manage to sneak out into my garden this morning to take a couple shots of what's blooming. This is lilium tigrinum "Black Beauty". She's a species lily, and the parent of today's oriental hybrids. And she is gorgeous! She's spreading already for me and performing very well despite the drought we've been having this July.

This is actually Black Beauty's father, if you can believe it, Henryi. I moved him to a new spot in the garden last year to take center stage, and I'm happy he's flowering well and performing under the drought this summer.

He's not as tall as high daughter (she must get that trait from her mother!), but the orange petals and green stamens are real show-stoppers in the garden this time of year.

I just planted this rose, Glamis Castle back in late May. I'm happy to see her reblooming in her first year! She has some black spot but I'm hoping next year when she's established more that she'll be a bit happier in her new home and able to fight it off.

The buds are just slightly pink until they start to open, and then she's completely white with a touch of red right in the center there.

Lastly, as I was wandering around the gardens this morning I caught this monarch emerging from her chrysalis and was too enthralled to even move. Finally as she staggered out, stretched her wings, and walked up the length of this daylily leaf, I had to run inside and grab the camera! It's hard to tell in the photo, but her left wing hasn't fully unfolded yet. [All you see in this photo is her right wing.]

Thanks for indulging me!

Scabiosa & Sweet Peas

nospam@example.com (Tracy) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:27:17 -0700

I thought I'd share a few photos from my garden with you this morning- I hope you don't mind! While I didn't manage to take any photos of her in her glory for the garden walk this weekend, I did snap some just a few days before the walk. And I thought I'd share a few of my favourite from that bunch.

This is Scabiosa Butterfly Blue. I guess they call her that for a reason! {wink} She is always attracting butterflies, moths, bees, and wasps to the garden. And she blooms freely all season for me. Just love her purple-blue color.

I snapped a series of photos of this little moth on one of the flowers happily feeding for at least ten minutes- used up a good chunk of my memory card, too! This was my favourite from the bunch. [I think my next major purchase is going to be a macro lens for my camera.]

I was so happy that my Asiatic lilies were blooming for the walk. I had a dozen different colors in bloom in different parts of the garden. I love how my Coreopsis Baby Sun is weaving itself through the lilies. I think this is my favourite part of cottage gardening- seeing the different unexpected combinations.

My potager is doing well this year. An unexpected delight are the sweet peas I planted from seed. They're finishing up now as they don't really do well in all this heat we've been getting. But just two weeks ago the flowers were absolutely beautiful!

Next year I have to remember to provide a much taller trellis. I provided a three-foot trellis this year and she towered over and beyond that! We have been feasting on sweet peas in salads and stir fries for weeks now. The pods are even sweeter than the peas themselves! Yum!

Asiatic Lilies & Chinese Lantern

nospam@example.com (Tracy) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:25:38 -0700

Hi there! Boy, it is hot-hot-hot here again today. Temps are in the upper 80s and 90s with humidity of 58% right now. Can you just imagine how sticky it is outside?!?! Yuck. Unfortunately, we don't have air conditioning in our old house. So I'm looking forward to the weekend when they're calling for a little cooler weather to head our way.

My gardens are bursting at the seams with color despite the hot, dry weather. Unforunately, when it's this hot and dry the flowers don't last too long. This weekend is the annual village garden walk and I've listed my gardens for the very first time. I'm just hoping I have some color left by the time Saturday rolls around!

This is just a standard Asiatic lily in cream. I love her for her simplicity and the way she can cool off an area of the garden just by looking at her!

And here's another Asiatic lily. This one is a reddish-pink, depending on the light and the time of day it is. I love how these lilies multiply in the garden creating such a natural scape. Perfect for a cottage-style garden like mine.

In the background, you can make out the yellow of some Coreopsis Baby Sun.

Lastly, here's a little belated Christmas gift from my sweetheart husband. I had asked for a statue for my garden for Christmas and he searched high and low and couldn't find anything around the holidays. Well, being the doll he is, he found a place not too far from our home that had a great selection of Asian statues just a few weeks ago (I have a thing for Asian art).

So off we went and I got to pick out exactly what I wanted! I couldn't decide between this lantern and another they had, but eventually I chose this one. I think it fits in perfectly in my hosta garden. I love the serene feel it adds to this part of my yard. I've already gotten comments on it from a few garden visitors!

Thanks for indulging me today. I'll be back with a card on Friday and hopefully more garden photos from the garden walk this weekend.

Heritage & Bonica

nospam@example.com (Tracy) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:03:17 -0700

Happy Saturday! I'm actually headed out to work soon- yuck, I know. I have to do some server work and the best time is usually on a Saturday, unfortunately.

But as I was heading out this morning for a run I noticed my roses have really started blooming because of the thunderstorms we've gotten over the past few days. So I just had to share with you!

This is Heritage, she's a David Austin beauty and my first of his ever purchased. I believe this is her third year in the garden and she really seems to be settling in now. The blooms are a very delicate-looking light pink color.

And here is Royal Bonica. She's a shrub rose and does rebloom almost all season, if I'm diligent about deadheading. The only drawback is that the blooms are smaller and there is no fragrance. Heritage (above) will open to be the size of a softball or larger. Royal Bonica is more baseball sized. But the color is fantastic and she's pretty carefree otherwise.

I hope you're having a great weekend! I'll be back Monday with a card to share.

Carmen & Lupine

nospam@example.com (Tracy) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:59:12 -0700

Morning! We've been lucky enough to have some absolutely gorgeous weather here lately. I've been trying to spend every second possible outside either in my garden or just enjoying the nice weather. So I'm sorry that I have nothing crafty to share with you today!

I did snap a few garden photos which I thought I'd share so you can see what's blooming in my neck of the woods. This is iris Carmen. She's a Dutch iris, which is a little more dainty than your standard German iris. Her leaves are also more grass-like.

Next up is Philadelphus Snowbelle, also known as a mock orange bush. The flowers are supposed to have a slight citrus fragrance to them but I can't really pick it out. The smell is heavenly, especially because the bush is absolutely covered with flowers! The bees just adore her right now.

That's scabiosa Butterfly Blue in the foreground. She just opened yesterday. Another bee and butterfly magnet.

Finally, my lupine. I grew this from seed several years back from a gardening friend in Nova Scotia. I love the white and purple combination here. And after looking at these photos it seems I have a thing for purple in the garden this time of the year! {wink}

Thanks for indulging me! I do have some crafty work going on behind the scenes here, just nothing I can show you right now. But very soon- so stay tuned!