New border

This new planting doesn't look like anything right now!  But next summer, there will be purples, oranges and yellows in this bed.  There are three  orange Chicago daylilies (rescued from the back garden where the deer kept eating the buds!), three butterfly weed (planted from seed - a mix of orange and yellow), Zebrina malva (purple, also planted from seed), Zagreb coreopsis (yellow), an ornamental oregano (purple) and echinops (blue).  Adding a touch of white - rattlesnake master and a couple of white coneflowers. All of these plants do well in dry, sunny sites.

This is one side of the border on the edge of the veggie garden.  I still need to clean out the other side and decide what to plant.  All of the plants on this side are summer blooming - will try to add some spring blooms to the other side. 

Making progress

This dry stream bed helps to direct the water from the down spout down into the yard.  It ended at the edge of the path and the water tended to pool on the path and then run down the brick path, taking the mulch with it, even though I had dug a large area for the water to flow into. Not good. One of my jobs for the summer was to make it work better.  I extended it out so it disappears under the hydrangea shrubs.  I took out a varigated dogwood, dug out a new "stream" and added some new plants - some irises and brunerra.  The biggest part of this job will be cleaning up the river rock from the pile in the back yard. 

Bloom where you're planted

This little petunia decided to grow between the bricks in my front path.  This can't be an easy spot to grow - no room to spread out your roots, the bricks get hot in the sun, and there can't be many nutrients in the sand that is between the bricks. 

Yet it is blooming its little heart out.  Doesn't that just make you want to smile? 

Trimmed Junipers

The three Grey Owl junipers on the corner of of this border have really grown this summer.  If I don't keep them trimmed, they will outgrow the space.  So they got a haircut this morning.  This type of juniper doesn't have a set growth pattern.  The branches kind of go where they want.  This makes them easier to trim.  The trick is to study the branches and remove some at points where the cut isn't noticeable.  I concentrate on those branches that have really gotten long and those that are encroaching on the other plants.  I also take off  the new growth back to where the stem gets woody.  I filled my wagon with the trimmings, but these junipers still look great!  Now I need to figure out how to trim the Sea Green junipers in the front border.  They grow in a vase shape - not as easy to trim and have them still look good.

Annuals

Finally, some of the annuals I planted in late May are beginning to look good! Not sure why they took so long.....Summer is almost over!

New Rose

I have a confession - I can't seem to grow a Winnepeg Parks shrub rose!  In my old neighborhood, someone had one that was about three to four feet tall and always full of blooms. Mine always looked like it was on its last leg.... That didn't stop me from putting two front and center in my current rose garden. (What was I thinking???)  Once again, they struggled.  So I gave up - dug them up and replaced them with these Music Box roses.  They are Easy Elegance roses and are guaranteed for two years.  The plants look nice and healthy.  The roses are a bit smaller than what I thought they would be, but I love the color!  Hope they do well. 

Lilies & phlox from the garden

Aster Yellows Disease

I had to remove this huge coneflower plant because it had developed aster yellows disease.  See the center of the coneflower and how it has tufts of green where the brown seeds normally are?  That is one of the symptoms of the disease.  Unfortunately, the entire plant has to be destroyed.  I found a couple of additional smaller plants that were also affected.

One of the things I love about coneflowers is that they attract goldfinches, especially in the fall.  I don't cut them back before winter so the birds can feast on the seeds. 

Swirling waters day lily

I love these Swirling Water daylilies - the flowers are huge and such a pretty combination of purple and yellow.  I planted a Stella D'Oro in front, thinking the yellow would serve as a nice accent, but she is done blooming.  Add to my list of plants to look for - a different yellow daylily that blooms closer to mid-season. 

Oh, and the shrubs around these daylilies are Twist and Shout hydrangeas.  Not a flower (or even a bud) on one of the three plants - how disappointing!

Tiger eye sumac

One thing about sumacs is they spread!  I don't want them taking over the front border, so the new sprouts will be removed.  It is best to cut the root that joins the baby plants to the mother a few weeks or longer before moving them.  Since it has been so hot, I won't be moving these until fall. 

Container

Fell in love with this twisty trellis at the garden center! You can't see them in this picture, but it has little birds perched on the branches.  I planted an annual vine in the middle and added some daisies and petunias.  And a little stone bird as an accent in the front.

Front Border

While puzzling over what to add to my front border, I realized that I have groupings of lime green/yellow leaved plants in the middle and on the west end of this border and adding that color to this area would be perfect.  These are Sundrop spireas - they are a new variety of spirea and will be bright red in the fall.  Plants that add interest in more than one season are always a plus!  Because they are small, I added blue pots with annuals to help fill in the border until they catch up.  The spireas will grow to about 3 feet across and 2 feet tall.

Repetition is a key garden design concept.  Repetition makes the garden more cohesive and adds rhythm. It directs the eye, creates order and provides a sense of serenity or calmness.

Fairy Garden

The lilies are blooming in the Fairy garden.  The pink ones were moved from the front garden.  There are coneflowers that will bloom soon for color when the lilies are done.  The rock garden has coral bells with colorful foliage that add interest all season long.

Pink Container Planting

Here's an updated view of one of my pink containers.

Welcome!

This new container is near the front door, so it is an opportunity to have fun with some plants that do well in the shade.  There is a double impatients and a rex begonia with a colorful leaf. Add a euphorbia for lacy white fill and a bacopa to spill off the edge.  Oh, and a pothos with its varigated foliage to round things out.

Clematis

This is such a pretty combination - a pink Hagley Hybrid and a purple Viticella, Venosa Violacea.  These were purchased last spring at Donahue's Greenhouse in Faribault.  They are both the type that you cut back in the spring, although I didn't get that done this spring.  They still look great!  They should bloom again later in the summer - bonus!!

Tiered Planter

Doesn't this look better with plants in it? :)  There are purple and pink wave petunias, some yellow dahlias, a tri-color sage and a funky grass (WiFi, I think).  As the petunias and calibrachias grown, they will spill over the edges - always a good look in a container.

Sunrise Sunset Rose

This is one of my favorite roses - the centers of the petals are yellow and the outer edges are this beautiful pink.  This picture just doesn't do it justice.  It is a shrub rose, so pretty carefree.  Something has been munching many of my roses this spring, so I have been using an insecticidal soap spray on them. 

Paula Fay Peony

I planted a bunch of new peonies last fall - most of them are too young to bloom, but this Paula Fay sported a single blossom.  Boy, is it PINK! 

A quote from Rachel Carson

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

Pink Peonies

These peonies were given to me by my dear friend, Lynn. I thought they were all the same, but actually, there are at least two different varieties, and possibly, three.  I like to put them in water and keep them in the garage for a bit before bringing them in - gives the ants and spiders a chance to crawl away.

The weather forecast is for two or more inches of rain tonight, so I wanted to be sure to rescue a few of the open flowers! 

Trial run

I took the cherry tree out of this corner and moved it to the Fairy garden. That left a big gap in this corner.  This planter provides some nice height, so I'll fill it with annuals and give it a trial run this summer.  I'll post pictures when it is fully dressed - it looks pretty naked now!

Varigated honeysuckle

I thought this vine died - it looked so pathetic after its first winter.  Last summer it looked a little better and now - wow!  Covered in pretty pink blooms.

Border in Bloom

This is a new border, planted last fall.  You can see the prairie smoke flower in the lower picture  - it is still looking good! There is Karl Forester grass against the house

Rose Planter

This lovely Double Pink Knockout rose tree was a Mother's Day gift from my hubby.  I added some coral bells, dusty miller and dahlberg daisies to the planter. 

Monochromatic Planting

I usually mix colors in my planters, but this year decided to do all pink!  There is a grass that will get taller that has pink blooms, another pink bloomer that I don't remember the name of and some pink trailing petunias.  Planters never look great when you plant them, but as they grow, the plants mingle and they take on their own personalities.  I'll take pictures when this planter looks better.

Poor maple tree...

This poor maple tree is suffering from either anthracnose or scorch.  I think it may be scorch, as we had temps in the 90's and high winds last week.  Either way, the treatment is to keep it watered and fed and hopefully, next year it will be better.  I'll be keeping my fingers crossed! The other two maples in the same area of the yard look fine. 

Edging the Front Border

Finally, beautiful weather on the weekend!  I got busy taking out more grass!  I didn't like the edge of this border, so I changed it.

When I originally created this, I was thinking that I wanted to incorporate a circular border around the apple tree in the overall border.  I've drawn the original border in white and you can see it wasn't as effective as the new border.  There was a little curve in and it just didn't make sense.

The new border is much better - easier to mow and your eye follows the edge much easier.  Now, what do I plant in this space?

Tina Crabapple

The Louisa crabapple that I had in this spot didn't make it - and it probably would have grown too wide for this spot.  So I replaced it with a Tina crabapple.  Isn't she pretty?

Daffodils

I added even more daffodils last fall - these are a mix, and some are peach-colored.  And they are fancy, with multiple centers. 

Phlox in bloom

The creeping phlox lining the front garden is blooming.  It is usually in bloom in May, so it's a bit early.

Spring!!

This is a prairie smoke plant - newly planted last fall. You can see the pink flow buds forming.  It blooms really early in the spring.