joene's garden » phlox

September’s Shades

joenesgarden — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:48:00 +0000

Welcome to one of my Connecticut, zone 6a, gardens on this mid-September day. Today, being the 15th of the month, is when Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and people all over the world get to share and enjoy the garden glory of others.

My addition to this garden party includes shades of maroon, burgundy and pink that stand out among the plantings in one of my gardens.

Colorful globe-shaped gomphrena flowers stand tall and for the most part block fading iris and day lily foliage. They complement this unknown variety of phlox that, to my delight, decided to bloom continuously from mid-summer to now.

Gomphrena also play well with my newest day lily Hemerocallis 'Macbeth' that flowered during mid-summer, then surprised me with September blooms.

Stonecrop sedum, an unknown green-leaved variety, shows off in lighter pink blooms,

and the burgundy-leaved stonecrop sedum 'Maestro' beckons bees with its darker pink blooms.

But this garden's eye-popping star right now comes from the tiny-white blossoms of Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis paniculata).

Close-up shots show each blossom's simple beauty.

Together, they remind me of large but dainty snowflakes gingerly resting atop the leaves and stems.

When view from farther away, the effect is striking … like a rounded mountain-top covered in snow.

This morning's haze was not conducive to a clear photo of these blooms all together, but this is how the garden looked three days ago, just before the clematis burst into full bloom.

The pinks are joined by the low blue blossoms of ageratum, an occasional scabiosa flower, the taller repeat blooms of another phlox (P. paniculata 'Blue Paradise') and touches of white gomphrena. Late summer gardens may not match the color explosions of May gardens, but this color is enough to make me smile as I look out the windows with a morning cup of coffee.

Be sure to follow the link to May Dreams Gardens to take a virtual what's-in-bloom tour of other gardens so you can thoroughly enjoy another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Categories: Bloom Day, Gardening, Perennials & Annuals, Zone.
Tags: Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, gardening in Connecticut, gomphrena, phlox, stonecrop sedum, Sweet Autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata).

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Blooms of July

joenesgarden — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:06:05 +0000

Blooms of July

Mid-summer blooms in my Connecticut (zone 6a) gardens stand defiant in the face of the hot July sun so on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day there's much to share.

In the fenced garden, phlox steal the eye-level show. Blue Paradise fills the air with sweet scent.

David's Lavender grabs attention nearby.

Scabiosa columbaria 'Butterfly Blue' show off a cool bluish-lavender tone against boxwood green.

A trio of daylilies (Hemerocallis) put on quite a show of their own.

Catherine Woodbury on one side.

Macbeth, the newest addition, opened her first blossom this year and will carry the opposite end of the daylily trio.

Prairie Blue Eyes takes the middle spot of the trio.

Hemerocallis 'Hyperion' waft a sweet lemony scent along the opposite bed as they wrestle attention away from blooming hosta.

At the very end of the long perennial bed Echinacea 'Green Envy' is just starting to strut its stuff.

Japanese beetles will be its biggest enemy. Cousin Echinacea may indeed be green with envy as they, located in unfenced beds, must also ward off deer.

A mid-June deer stroll left some of the unprotected Echinacea without buds, but most survived. A few White Swan avoided deer but they, along with the common purple coneflower, seem to be favorites of an unknown munching bug.

The largest stand of common purple coneflower managed to avoid all deer munching this year … whew!

Elsewhere in the yard Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) peeks out from behind a blue spruce …

and otherwise plays in wild abandon with an unknown variety of Veronica.

Now head over to May Dreams Gardens to see what Carol, the originator of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, and others are sharing from their gardens. It's worth the trip.

Categories: Bloom Day, Gardening, General.
Tags: Black-Eyed Susan, coneflowers, daylily, Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, gardening in Connecticut, phlox, scabiosa, Zone 6a.

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Bloomin’ September

joenesgarden — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Bloomin’ September

With just half an inch registering on the rain gauge in the last few weeks and minimal watering on this gardener's part, it's a wonder of nature that so many plants are still attractive. Connecticut is officially about 5.5 inches below normal rainfall amounts for the year.

Lack of rain does not stop the need to transplant and tidy, harvest and can, and ready houseplants for their move back inside. Between these tasks I pause at every opportunity to marvel at the beauty of late-season bloomers and colors.

Bright orange tropical hibiscus scream «LOOK AT ME!»

Salvia stands deep, deep blue in front of coleus limelight.

A late lavender blossom tries to show up zinnia angustifolia, an easy-to-grow-from-seed annual that quietly blooms till frost.

Whites and pinks fill my gardens right now.

Here is a clematis paniculata dances above cosmos blooms. The clematis volunteered elsewhere but thrives after careful transplantation to it's current location.

Echinacea peeks out from behind a garlic chive flower. Lady chive must enjoy it's bloom time now before it's caretaker chops off it's head to prevent it from propagating. Don't let this late season beauty fool you – she will spread to all parts of your garden and, once sprouted, she does not give up her ground easily.

Pink carries on in Sedum 'Maestro,' one of the late season blossoms bees love.

But lavender comes to light in curly chives, set off here against the gray-green of santolina.

And, purples show up in hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' and phlox paniculata 'Blue Paradise'

Still, autumn's shades are evident as summer draws to a close. Dogwood leaves dress in a fashionable plum and berries of Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' live up to their name.

Today, garden bloggers take center stage at May Dreams Gardens where Carol hosts Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Head to May Dreams Gardens to see the glorious blossoms shining during this last Garden Blogger's Bloom Day for summer 2010. Soon it will be time to embrace the beauty of autumn. Happy gardening everyone.

Categories: Bloom Day, Focus on Flowers.
Tags: clematis, coleus, curly chives, dogwood, echinacea, Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, gardening in Connecticut, garlic chives, hydrangea, lavender, phlox, salvia, sedum, winterberry, zinnia.

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