Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Around the July Garden

Well, my garden is still quite new, so it's still working on filling out. Back in June the Salvia and Alliums bloomed and looked marvelous, but then petered out, so between that and the raggedy-looking spring bulb leaves, my garden looked quite sad.  But thankfully some plants have finally come to a summer garden rescue...


Purple Coneflowers!

'Magnus' Purple Coneflower
The Purple Coneflowers, Bachelor Buttons, Nicotiana, Alyssum, and 'The Fairy' Rose have all started blooming, making it look like there is, indeed, a deliberate garden in the front yard again.


The plantings in the whiskey barrels up by the driveway are doing quite well.  In fact, Mr. Red House thought that the Nicotiana in the barrels looked like weeds, they grew so big.

My 'weedy' flowers and my 'flowering' lawn
I had to explain that, yes, normally only weeds do grow that big in my garden, but these containers have a special magic quality called 'good dirt'.  

my other whiskey barrel with slightly smaller Nicotianas
On the side yard, the Daylilies are blooming.


I have a nice lot of Daylilies sprinkled around the edges of my yard, thanks to other gardeners who were more than happy to have me dig out some of their extras.

'Ditch Lilies' brightening up the edge of my patch of woods
The native Culver's Root I planted last fall is also starting to bloom.  I thought I had gotten a pink blooming variety... but apparently not.

Culver's Root
(Veronicastrum Virginicum)
In the same bed, I had a plant growing that I didn't remember planting. (Since it's a new garden, I actually still usually remember most of what I've planted.)  It kept growing and getting taller, and I kept racking my brain as to what it was.  Finally, these appeared:


Surprise, I planted Balloon Flower last year!


Of course, the big thing this year has been the new Veggie Garden.  We've been eating tons of Snow Peas, but I am eagerly awaiting the first Tomatoes.

unripe heirloom 'Chocolate Pear' Tomatoes
Tomatillos, carrots, leeks, eggplant, and zucchini are all doing their thing, albeit slowly for this impatient gardener and kitchen master (mistress?).  I'm hungry just thinking about it!

Zucchini blossoms
And that's what's going on in my new Red House Garden.  Not too shabby for a brand new baby garden, right?  It will grow..

sweet-smelling Scentsation Mix Nicotiana 
To see what else is growing in the gardens of garden bloggers around the world, visit Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens blog site.

30 comments:

  1. Ooooo, gotta love the Culver's Root. Those planters do look wonderful. You have a nice way of capturing the beauty of veggies!

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    1. Thank you! Those tomatoes look so gorgeous, I just have to take photos of them. Can't wait until they are ripe!

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  2. I planted nicotiana seeds sent to me by a friend in Colorado. Something ate them. On my porch, no less, where I was trying to grow them from seed. The nerve.

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    1. Oh, no! Do you have squirrels? You just know those little rodents stay up late at night plotting how they can foil poor unsuspecting gardeners..

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  3. Your garden is coming along nicely! I noticed that the ring on your whiskey barrel is bright red. Did you paint them? I love that idea! Your veggies look really healthy too...yum!

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    1. Yes, I saw a house once that had painted the rings around their barrels yellow and just loved the idea. They look quite nice in red :)

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  4. It looks great! I'm so impressed with what you've been able to do :)

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    1. Thanks! I'm an impatient gardener, but I think it's done well for just a year old!

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  5. and the reflection of the railing in the pool!

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    1. Ha, I didn't really see that until now! We've been getting a nice lot of rain recently, which my garden has appreciated.

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  6. Your garden looks great. I don't,' t know what you fed your tobacco plants on but they are huge.
    I like a flowery lawn rather than a brilliant green manicured one that has swallowed gallons of chemicals.
    Your veg all look appetising, you must be very pleased.

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    1. Thank you! There's probably a good deal of compost in those whiskey barrels, so the Nicotiana is loving that!

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  7. Not shabby at all! I admire the variety and colors you have now. July is a tough month in my own garden. I am intrigued by your 'Chocolate Pear' tomato. I would be tempted to buy it for its name alone.

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    1. I've never actually had a 'Chocolate Pear' tomato before, but it sounded delicious. I'm also growing 'Yellow Pear' which is my favorite, so if it's anything like that it will be awesome!

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  8. Your baby garden is growing up fast! I always think there is a lull in June right before the coneflowers and daylilies bloom, too. My Nicotania actually does grow like weeds--I planted some seeds several years ago, and now every year I have so many volunteer seedlings, I have to pull out most of them or they would take over! Waiting for the veggies to mature here, too.

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    1. Oh I hope I get some volunteer seedlings! I doubt they'll take over just yet though - I still have a lot of amending to do of my garden beds!

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  9. Like you, I am tending and fussing over a baby garden. You have many more blooms than I do. Looks wonderful!

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    1. I grew a lot from seeds this winter and also got a lot of free plants from other gardeners. Thankfully they are all doing well so far!

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  10. Your new garden is looking great and all your hard work is really coming into fruiting now! Lowed your mixed coloured nicotiana, I have only had the white in the past, maybe I’ll get a mix for next year. And your red painted whiskey barrel is a great idea!

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    1. Thank you! The mix is quite nice - the pinks, reds, and whites go quite nicely together I think.

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  11. I'm very impressed with your new garden. It looks far more filled in than you would expect, given how recently it was all planted. That whiskey barrel is great because it takes up space (i.e., fills a hole) and can provide instant bloom gratification. I am using a ton of pots in my very bare front yard (yes, the hollies are now gone) in order to make things seem a little less stark.

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    1. Containers are such a great instant bloom gratification thing, but I do really hate having to water them so constantly. Between the containers I have and all the seedlings I'm trying to establish, I'm doing a fair amount of watering. At least the whiskey barrels are big enough that they don't have to be watered quite every day, but I need some containers with some blooming succulents or something!

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  12. For a relatively new garden, you really have quite a lot maturing. I love coneflower too just like the bees in your garden. I feel like bees make the garden and so do the plants that attract them.

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    1. I garden for wildlife - my biggest thrill is seeing all the butterflies and bees and other wildlife that my garden attracts!

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  13. Your front garden is really pretty! The coneflowers really stand out. I love the bicoloured nicotiana too.

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    1. Thank you! I planted the coneflowers last year, so they are nice and big now. They attract a lot of bees and butterflies, too!

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  14. Your 'baby' garden is bloomin' gorgeous already. Next.... the teenage years :-)

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    1. Ha! I think that's the stage all the weeds around my yard are in...

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  15. Thank you! I do love the daylilies and am glad they will spread to fill in some spots - I hope to get more colors next year!

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  16. Wow Indie not shabby at all...quite nice and so much growing and blooming...love those tomatoes...they sound yummy!!

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