Garden Gems

Tags

400th post, bushes, day lilies, flowers, garden, gardening, landscaping, lilies, mountain stone, perennials, plants, postaday2011

One of my favorite things to post about is my garden… Spring was especially difficult for me. Now that we’re homeowners again, I no longer need to wistfully dream of gardening. This summer, we’ll be updating and putting more energy into the house than the outdoors. Even though a few junk plants need to be ripped out, there are difficult to landscape areas and several overgrown features, I did hunt for the few hidden gems that the previous owners left.

A small maple stands guard at the top of the hill in the front of the house.

Front Maple Tree

A few mountain rocks add framework behind faded irises.

Mountain Stone

One young oak dances at the top of the back hill, taunting us with his cool relief.

Under the Oak

In the far back corner, native day lilies hide with chagrin in the shade. Don’t worry, I’ll soon replant you where you can flourish.

Native Day Lilies

There are a few flowering shrubs and a lot of work needs to be done!

Blooming Beauties

Flowers to Lure in Butterflies & Hummingbirds

A lilac bush stands alone along the road, the hostas are chewed and lonely, an azalea is hiding beneath a vine, and a fire pit needs some love. I also remember in the spring, seeing a few daffodils in the front and a few grape hyacinths in the back. I can’t wait to see what else awaits us…

Which is your favorite?

PS… This is my 400th post!

Bright Foliage

This Week in My Garden

Tags

blooms, bulbs, cyclamen, daffodils, flowers, gardening, landscaping, pink flowers

The cyclamen have begun to bloom in my shade garden, providing a sudden pop of pale pink and tinges of magenta.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen Close-Up

My minnow daffodils seem to be confused, the bulbs sent up new leaves thinking it was already Spring. I will be curious to see if they bloom…

Confused Daffodils

What’s going on in your garden now?

Better Homes & Gardens Best Bloom Photo Contest

Tags

blooms, flower photography, flowers, garden, garden photography, gardening, landscaping, photography

Best Bloom Photo Contest

Remember Me?

Did you vote yet? I have 6 gorgeous blooms entered in this weeks contest, you can vote for your favorite or  vote for them all!

All six blooms have previously been shown on my blog.  Vote before the eighth!

This Week in My Garden

Tags

flowers, garden, gardening, gladiolas, summer flowers

After a being away for a few weeks, and due to the scorching hot days, my garden needs some major TLC; weeding, watering and trimming… Before I jump into a laborious task, I want to savor the gems in my treasure box.

The yellow yarrow allures the butterflies, day lilies continue to greet the sun each day, blue chip Campanula creeps wisps about in the delicate breezes, Sedum shows promise of tiny pink blooms, burgundy glow Ajuga continues saluting the skies, and bountiful roses scent the west windows of our house…

But the stars of my garden this week are the gladiolas. Beautiful vibrant rich hues rising above my garden greens, a pop of color to draw your eyes.

Gladiola on the North Side

Gladiola

Ruby Red Gladiola of East Side

What’s in bloom in your garden this week?

Lovely Lily

Tags

day lily, daylily, flowers, garden, gardening, landscaping, lilies, lily, perennials, plants, purple d'oro

With their ruffled edge petals, deep pinky-raspberry tones and yellow center of the purple d’oro  day lily, it’s no wonder these day lilies are quickly becoming my new favorite.  I planted them from roots last summer and they have really filled out this summer. They were planted alternating with the golden stella d’oro day lilies (and yellow sedum behind). I can’t wait to split them and grow more!

Day Lilies

Summer Beauty

How do you like them?

Pumpkin Picked Pretties

Tags

children, family, flowers, gardening, goofy kids, landscaping, wildflowers

Friday evening I noticed that finally I had wildflowers blooming behind our rock wall. Hubster and I planted seeds two years ago and only had the foliage.  It was too dark to take a picture so I decided to wait until the next day to snap a few. Yesterday Pumpkin and his friend were playing outside, while I was working in the kitchen. Pumpkin came running to the door, “Mom, we picked you flowers.” Oh no! They not only picked the flowers, but ripped the whole root system out of the ground. Oh well, we’ll have to plant more seeds and wait two more years. They do make a lovely small bouquet.

Flowers, Stem and Roots

Trimmed and Pretty

After trimming up the flowers and arranging them. I thanked the boys and sent them back out to replant the roots…

Burgundy Glow Ajuga

Tags

ajuga, alternative medicine, bugleweed, burgundy glow ajuga, erosion, flowering spikes, flowers, full sun, gardening, ground cover, landscaping, low allergen, perennial, perennial gardening, shade plant

I planted my burgundy glow Ajuga last year during the fall. What first attracted me to this semi-evergreen ground-cover was its colorful foliage.  I had shades of green, cream and purple all winter in my perennial garden.  There was the added benefit, that it’s a low allergen plant.

Ajuga Flowering Spikes

This spring was the first time I got to see the beautiful purple flowering spikes (about 8″-10″ tall) and the runners of foliage reaching out. Ajuga is versatile enough to be planted in full sun or full shade. The Ajuga that is in full sun has more flowers, while the Ajuga in the shade is slower growing and has larger leaves. The flowers are supposed to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, while the foliage deters deer (three more pros to this plant).

Ajuga Runners

To prune Ajuga you can trim or even mow, it’s really hardy. If you want a more controlled look, thin out runners as needed. This is a great ground cover for banks and to prevent erosion.

Some forms of Ajuga are even used in alternative medicines for heart problems.

What do you think about this plant?