Friday, August 15, 2014

An August Turn About the Front Gardens

It's been a nice, cool summer this year, and while that hasn't been so great for all my spicy pepper plants, the flowers are loving it.


In the front of the house, the Purple Coneflowers and Nicotiana are still going strong, and the Cosmos are starting to bloom.  The rockstar of the front garden right now, though, is my Hibiscus 'Cranberry Crush'.  Is it possible to outshine this?

'Cranberry Crush' Hibiscus
This Hibiscus is a hybrid cultivar.  Its parentage includes various hybrids of the native species H. moscheutos, H. coccineus, and H. laevis.  I absolutely love the billowy, cupped shape of the flowers, and the foliage is even quite pretty, with a reddish tint to the leaves.


On the other side of the driveway, though, my blue garden is trying it's best not to be outshone.  The blue Balloon Flower has been blooming nearly all summer long, and next to it is blooming some amazingly blue Salvia.  (The seed packet was labeled 'Sky Blue' Salvia, but I'm guessing it is the same as Salvia farinacea 'Victoria'.)  They look absolutely beautiful next to the 'Worcester Gold' Caryopteris with its contrasting golden leaves!


Sadly, the blue Salvia are so little that they really need a mass of plants to make more of an impact.  Very few of the seeds in the packet even germinated so I didn't get too many plants, but what can you say?  It was one of those impulse seed packet buys from a grocery store.  (You know we've all done it!) Thus the moral of the story is to stick with seeds from reputable dealers only...

Thankfully, my Balloon Flower has quite a presence!
In addition to working on the bed around my new red greenhouse, I've also been determined to do something this summer with the strip between the road and the sidewalk (known in the gardening world as 'the hellstrip') next to my mailbox.  I've planted some grasses, more Purple Coneflowers, Coreopsis, Nicotiana, and Yarrow there.  I can't wait until my plants get large enough to choke out all the weeds that have been constantly springing up!  (The weeds love this weather, too!)


I've also transplanted a few rocks that I found growing in my yard.  So far out of everything they seem to grow the best here, no matter the weather.  The rocks do quite fine with transplanting - the gardener, not so much.  It seems anytime I move rocks around my yard, it irritates the tendonitis in my wrists, so I am back to being good for a few weeks.


I hope all of your gardens are enjoying the summer weather as much as mine is!  For more of what's blooming in gardens around the world, check out Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day over at May Dreams Gardens blog.


Happy Gardening!

24 comments:

  1. Nice work with the rock structures! I need to do more of that in several difficult areas of my garden. I'm sure your hellstrip will be lovely with the touches you add to it. That Hibiscus and the Bellflower are stunning! Don't you just love Cosmos?!

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    1. I do love Cosmos! They are so nice and easy to grow, and there's so many pretty colored ones!

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  2. Looks great! I love blue gardens -- it's really hard to find truly blue flowers (not purple). Thanks for sharing! -Beth

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    1. I agree. I used to grow Salvia 'Black and Blue' in my old garden and that was one of my favorite blue flowers, but sadly it's not cold hardy enough for up here. I could grow it as an annual I guess, though, like the Salvia 'Victoria'. Blue is my favorite color!

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  3. Indie your gardens are gorgeous...I want to grow your hibiscus in my red garden but I need to expand that garden to fit it in. And those deep purple blooms against the 'Worcester Gold' Caryopteris is stunning. You have outdone yourself and I need to get on the stick to get my gardens back in order.

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    1. Thank you! I didn't really plan the blue and gold garden that way - it just kind of happened, and I'm so glad it did!

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  4. Indie - I love your rocks! You know I suffer from rocky envy.

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    1. Aw, after years of suffering from rock envy myself, I sympathize! I'm enjoying all the rocks here (though my backyard looks like it's strewn with rock rubble, as I'm having trouble lifting and moving them all to where I want!)

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  5. Weeds or not, your hell strip is heavenly! I also love the deep blue and gold combination in your garden, and I agree that 'Cranberry Crush' is spectacular. Your flowers are enjoying the sumer as much as you are!

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    1. Thank you! I'm determined to make my hell strip now that it's been converted into gardening space. I love mailbox gardens - I just wish they were easier to grow!

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  6. Nice you have your street planting, all your choices are those used here in the Buffalo area that do very well. I love that Hibiscus in deep red. Mine are white with a red eye, but I would rather have the one you selected, lots of punch and it goes so well with your front door.

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    1. It's right in line with my front door, so the reds really work together nicely. White with a red eye sounds like it would have a great punch as well!

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  7. It's all looking very pretty! Your Hibiscus is gorgeous, such a great deep red colour.

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    1. Thank you! I love the Hibiscus color. It was one of the few flowering plants I bought last year when we moved into the house. I saw the red blooms on it at the nursery and fell in love!

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  8. Your hibiscus is stunning, Indie! I've had no luck with them in the past, but maybe I should try again. Must confess that blue is my favorite color in the garden. It's so difficult to find a true blue-- your blues are lovely. P. x

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    1. The Hibiscus need a lot of water, so I always plant mine in a low spot and that seems to do the trick. Some Hibiscus are hardier than others. I was a little worried after such a cold winter and mine took so very long to bud out, but thankfully it did.

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  9. It looks great. I liked seeing your balloon flower, I have my eye on a yellow one!

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    1. I don't think I've ever seen a yellow balloon flower, though I'm a sucker for yellow flowers. I was excited to see a balloon flower that someone gave me started flowering with white blooms near my greenhouse. The white are quite pretty too!

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  10. I've been wanting to add a hardy hibiscus for some time, but just haven't found the right one. Love that shade of red! And it's perfect for the Red House Garden. If you're lucky, the salvia might re-seed next year. I've been amazed at all the volunteer 'Victorias' I've had the last few years, even after this past horrible winter. Your rocks are certainly healthy looking:) I wish I had some to dig up here--they're great at deterring those pesky weeds, too.

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    1. I do hope my Salvia reseed themselves! These ones were such a pain to start indoors for some reason, so it would be much more obliging of them if they started themselves :) I feel very fortunate for having lots of very healthy rocks now, after years of gardening without them!

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  11. Wow! That Hibiscus is such a lush colour.
    Any chance of growing & shipping some of those fab rocks over to me please? :)

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    1. You might have to get in line for the rocks! Once I win some sort of shipping company in the lottery, I'll have to set up a boulder shipping business for gardeners! :)

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  12. Woah that is one beautiful Hibiscus! I wish I had excellently behaved rocks in my garden instead of slabs of concrete and old walls. They might transplant wonderfully, but who would want to look at a slab of old concrete? One day.... one day we will be rid of all these bits of rocks and debris. In the meantime, I will google your Hibiscus and see if I can get my hands on one in the UK.

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    1. Hopefully they sell it over there too, it's such a pretty one!

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