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| Monarch butterfly on 'Zowie! Yellow Flame' zinnia |
We took a couple of great trips this month, first to Boston then to Charlottesville, Virginia. But as the song says, 'It's very nice to go traveling, but so much nicer to come home'. I was a little nervous that I would find my garden a mess after leaving it untended, but it really wasn't too bad, with some beautiful blooms for Bloom Day.
The zinnias I grew from seed turned out to be quite stunning although I started them indoors in a different medium than usual, and when they germinated, the seedlings seemed awfully puny. I grew two sorts this year: 'State Fair Mix' and 'Zowie! Yellow Flame.' Zowie is my favorite zinnia of all time, not least because it attracts so many butterflies. I captured three monarchs in the picture below, but actually there were at least five on that stand of zinnias.
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| 'Zowie! Yellow Flame' zinnia. Can you see three butterflies? |
I have milkweed in three of my gardens. All are supporting monarch caterpillars. Also, there are lots of aphids keeping the ladybugs busy. I don't spray; I just wait for the predators to arrive.
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| All except the bottom left are milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Bottom left is butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) - newly planted in the rain garden. |
Let's take a walk around my gardens ...
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| Joe Pye in the rain garden is another butterfly magnet. That is the American swallowtail butterfly. |
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| I planted a variety of pollinator plants in the cutting garden. These are from a free packet of seeds I received from Renee's Garden Seed Company. |
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| Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' turned from white to pink. The blooms were white in my last posting. They will be almost red by the end of the season. |
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| Red crocosmia, aptly named 'Lucifer'. My mother in England called it Monbretia. Not very full this year due to winter damage. |
Most of the daylilies have finished blooming. I showed you these fabulous red ones last month, but must include them for Bloom Day as they make such a statement -- and are my favorite.
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| Daylily (Hermerocallis 'Chicago Apache') |
After all the bright colors of the cottage garden, let's rest our eyes on some white blooms ...
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| Clockwise from top right: Shasta daisy; phlox 'David'; German chamomile; caladium 'White Christmas'; David Austin rose 'Lichfield angel'; hydrangea 'Annabelle' | | | | | | |
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| The water lilies continue their beautiful blooming in Froggy Pond |
There are a couple of signs that summer will come to an end:
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| Top: Red berries on Korean spice viburnum 'Diana'. Bottom: Chinese lantern plants with their 'lanterns' turning orange |
I am linking with Carol at
May Dreams Gardens for her meme
'Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day' that occurs on the 15th of every month. Please click on the link to see what is blooming around the world today.
Wishing you all a happy Bloom Day,
Pamela
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| The miniature rose that my husband gave me on Valentine's Day is blooming in a Stone Garden planter. |
I love reading your comments. I hope you leave one so I’ll know you visited!
I look forward to visiting your blog in return.
My favorite butterfly magnet zinnias are Cut and Come Again. They attract butterflies in droves! I’m quite a monarch fanatic myself. I’ve released 26 already, have ten in chrysalis, and seven caterpillars. It’s so much fun. Thanks for letting me “visit” your ever lovely garden!
ReplyDeleteLove what you are doing with monarchs, Robin. I am happy to see that more are visiting my garden this year.
DeleteOh, those water lilies, so beautiful but I think the stars of the show at the moment are your zinnias, they're so zingy and really make a statement.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Jo. They are wonderful to cut and I have them all over the house, as well as at the seating areas in the garden.
DeleteDon't you just love Joe Pye weed? It has become one of my favorite plants in the summer garden. It always seems to be full of butterflies and pollinators of all kinds.
ReplyDeleteI do love it. I'm thinking of adding another to a wet, problem area. I'm losing a tree there because of the wetness.
DeleteLovely brilliant colors...loved the zinnia variety..little critters were delight to watch ...Happy blooms day.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my blog, Arun. I look forward to visiting yours from India. Happy Bloom Day.
DeleteYour gardens are gorgeous as usual Pam and I LOVE that first photo of the Monarch Butterfly on the Zinna! The Swallowtail and Joe Pye Weed are beautiful as well and your water lilies in Froggy Pond are so pretty. Basically, I love it all! Happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lee. Happy Bloom Day!
DeleteThe "Zowie" zinnias are gorgeous. No wonder the butterflies can's resist! I must plant some next year. For the first time ever, I am now able to grow zinnias (my favorite flower) because we cut down two trees that were shading the yard. Next year I want to grow one of every kind of zinnia I can find.
ReplyDeleteJeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Zinnias are so easy and so rewarding. I'm glad you now have enough sunlight to grow them.
DeleteIt looks fantastic. You could have another magazine shoot tomorrow and would barely need to lift a finger beforehand lol
ReplyDeleteI really like the red daylilies in the cottage garden with all the whites and silvers. It shows them off so well.
Glad to see so many monarchs on your zinnias. There are plenty down here as well and I'm hoping it will be another good year for them.
Thank you for your kind words, Frank. Today I found five monarch caterpillars on the butterfly weed in the rain garden, so I think it is a very good year for them.
DeleteCrocosmia is nice! Redder than anything, except maybe lobelia. Does yours attract hummingbirds?
ReplyDelete-Ray