Tags
blue chip campanula, coral bells, garden books, gardening, gladiolas, heather, hostas, landscaping, perennial, sedum, silver mound, toad, trumpet vine, virginia creeper, yarrow
Plant Desires Inspired by my Holiday
My holiday created some new plant desires as well as furthered some plant desires I already had. I would love to find some maidenhair spleenwort (I saw it growing everywhere in Scotland) for my rock wall and a future rockery I’d like to build. Astilbes were everywhere, I’ve thought about planting them before, but they weren’t at the top of my wish list when planting my shade garden. Now they’ve definitely gone up a few rankings, maybe my mother will be able to propagate some for me (hint, hint). At the garden shop at Broddick Castle (Isle of Arran, Scotland) I saw a lovely chocolate tinted sedum. There was also a really cool fern whose fronds were taller than me (I think it is from New Zealand)! More irises! Wishing my foxgloves came in, but not yet giving up hope. A Hubster even added something to the wish list: lupines! I also found a really great gardening book in a charity shop there for £2, It was Reader’s Digest: Your Gardening Question Answered. It’s a UK book, so the planting zones and seasonal time lines don’t quite work, but the information is so useful and I love it! My sister’s mother-in-law was getting rid of some books and I found The Complete Servant, which also has some really useful gardening information!
My New Pre-Loved Gardening Books
My July Blooms
I missed the blooms of almost all my July lilies while on holiday. However, I came home to see the first two beautiful blooming gladiolas stems. Color was filling my perennial garden, my yellow yarrow, pink sedum, blue chip campanulas. My trumpet vines grew a few feet, I can’t wait until they mature.
July Blooms
Paying homage to my recent holiday, my heather was in full bloom. The tiny pink flowers and the green foliage are nicely complimented by the pink flowers on my sedum, my purple coral bells, and the pinky-purple colors on my (burgundy glow) ajuga.
Small Toad
I had a small toad watching me work in my garden, he continued to hop around the various areas I was working. I’ll have to come up with a cute toad house to hide in my garden somewhere.
Lush Silver Mound
I grazed my hands over my silver mound enjoying the soft texture under my hands. This is one of my favorite, yet haven’t been successful yet with propagating more. And yes, I sometimes garden barefoot… it’s a tactile experience.
Blue Chip Campanula
I enjoy the endless delicate flowers on my blue chip campanula through out the summer.
Chicks and Hens
I was thrilled to see that my Chicks and Hens multiplied more like bunnies while I was on holiday. To think that this time last year, this plant was only three small chicks itself! I pulled some small chicks aside to give to my parents for the top of their rockery (I think 80% of the plants on their rockery have come from my perennial garden). I might pull a few more aside for my friend who gave me the bleeding heart.
Yellow Yarrow
I trimmed my yarrow early in the season to maintain height and to enjoy my bright yellow summer long blooms. My favorite part of the plant is actually the foliage. I’m thinking of planting a pink variety in the future.
Purple Gladiolas
Two tall stems of my purple gladiolas were already in bloom when I returned home. I love watching the blooms slowly creep up the stems each day.
Purple Coral Bell Blooms
My purple coral bells are in full bloom. Hubster seems to only like the foliage and thinks the small flowers look like weeds. The leaves also look like they got a bit dry while we were away. I was disappointed to see that my plum pudding coral bells and my red coral bells were not yet in bloom. My hostas are starting to flower (despite the caterpillar munching early in the season) and I just received two beautiful hostas from my parents garden with broad, dark green, heart shaped leaves.
Blooming Sedum
Both types of sedum I have are blooming beautiful pinks.
Re-blooming Day Lilies
My faithful re-blooming day lilies and trucking through the summer.
Baby Virginia Creeper
My virginia creeper shot off a couple of great new runners.
Back to Work
After weeding my garden, planting my new plants (hostas, iris seeds, and blue bell seeds), and trimming the unruly, I laid in my hammock to enjoy my peaceful piece of earth. After a few minutes in could no longer fight the urge to get back into my garden and play!
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