First, the mid July panorama:
There's a lot of green, but not a lot of color - but it's there if you look. We talked to our neighbor about the tall spikey growths in the center (and all over really) and couldn't decide if they're weeds or not. I'm willing to give it some time and see if it flowers and what any flowers look like. Here's a closer look.
Against the back fence we are just in the last two days getting blossoms on the butterfly bushes. There are four of them back there. And with the blossoms I was able to get some pictures of a white moth checking out the blooms.
Over in the vegetable garden, we're still getting blooms as the vegetables are continuing to come in.
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| Tomato buds. |
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| Zucchini blossoms |
And there are still just a few of the June bloomers, the rose campion and the yellow primrose.
I know that the lily is potentially poisonous to the dogs, but I haven't wanted to pull it out. I've accepted that despite my professed intent to create a totally pet friendly garden, I'm not really ready to pull out all the plants I would need to. It would mean getting rid of the big cherry tree, the azaleas, and enough others that I had to come to terms with my goal. I will continue to try not to add any hazardous plants, but in 4 years here we haven't had any problems with the dogs chewing on the plants (running them down - yes; eating - no) Maybe I'll need to refocus and work on rescuing the garden from the dogs.
The Garden Bloggers Bloom Day page is at http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/search/label/garden%20bloggers%20bloom%20day
Give the tall things a slight tug. If they come out easily or break off, they are Valuable Plants. If they're tougher than nails and have a root to China, well, you know.
ReplyDeleteNext summer I plan to have lots more phlox where there is mostly green in sunny spots this year..
Hi Jean, the phlox were a surprise this year. I didn't plant them, and I don't remember them from last year. But I hope they reseed because they are a nice splash of color in all the greenery.
DeleteLaughing at Jean's comment. Too, too true. I love the color of your (well, your neighbor's) day lily.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to remember Jean's tip when I go out weeding this weekend. The lily is great, but we're trying to be careful about poisonous plants with four dogs and a cat who gets out once in awhile.
DeleteRe weed or 'real plant' - I always think procrastination is a gardener's best friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'm opting for procrastination.
DeleteThanks for the advice so far. It was pouring down yesterday evening, so no experimentation on the spiky things. I like the procrastination idea though. We bought the house 4 years ago and I'm still tracking down what all the stuff is. It took until this year for a friend to tell me the name of the rose campion. I think I'll wait and see if the spiky plants blossom. And if they don't it might be late enough in the year not to worry about them until I'm cleaning out the beds next spring.
ReplyDeleteWell hello to another passionate gardener,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bevy of blossoms you're sharing via May Dreams Garden. You may see beauty in the muddy purple phlox (I heard that unbecoming descriptor years ago and seen oft reported) but I normally think what was its original color before it reverted back into muddiness.
The only phlox to grow in my book is the pure white 'David' which is also the most mildew resistant of them all and it doesn't revert.
I'd be honored if you visited my blog to see my first GBBD post, only five years in the making, with a truly unique backstory,
Best,
Patrick
Hey Jim,
ReplyDeleteI don't know why but sometimes the link to my blog gets jacked up. Here's the real link:
http://patricksgarden.com/
Sorry for the confusion,.
Patrick