Belated Friday Posting

 

I cannot believe that June is about over already. Where did the month go?
The word on everyone’s lips this week was ,Hot, Hot, Hot!
We are not only getting tired of the heat but tired of hearing about it and really are in dire need of rain here in the hills of Ohio.
So if any of you have an excess of rain please blow it our way.

UPDATE: Well this was suppose to have been Friday’s posting but just as I was uploading the page we got hit with high winds and the electric went out so the posting did not make it online.
The winds were terrible and the state was pretty well devastated.
Our electricity was off from 5 pm Friday until 10:30 this morning.
I have yet to catch up on what all went on since we could not hear any news reposts. So instead of starting from scratch I am posting this belated Friday posting until I can get things back to normal around here. But this is what the gardens looked like and what was blooming right before the storm hit us. I spent house yesterday raking and cleaning up limbs from the yard. Luckily nothing hit the house but I have to admit this was the first time I have really been scared during a storm here in the hills. We did get an half inch of rain which I was thankful for but we all could have dine without the winds.
SO you all stay safe and I will be around to catch up on everyone.

I have ‘Better Boy’ tomatoes  coming on now in my containers. I can hardly wait until they ripen. Nothing tastes any better than home grown vegetables.

The sweet peppers are blooming now too.There are the green ones and I am trying a golden one also this year. I gave up on trying to grow cucumbers in containers because they just do not do well for me.
It has been a challenge here lately keeping the containers watered in this 99 degree weather and there seems to be more of them every year. Or maybe after all this watering it just feels like there are more. LOL!
The water cans and water hoses has been every gardeners backache here lately. We love to garden but when we have to water every day dragging the hoses around can get old fast and tends to take the happy out of Happy Gardening.

There are four containers with dahlias in them and one is starting to bloom. The others seem slower to bud. This one is “Rembrandt”. It is a dwarf dahlia so maybe that is why it is first to bloom.

The “Alpen Glow” hydrangea bush is changing to all different colors of pinks and purples now. For some reason this year it is not staying the brilliant pink it usually does. Maybe the acid levels in my soil where it is planted is changing it now.

The containers in this bed are filling in nicely now and the Lantana plants are starting to bloom. Right in the middle is a little Buddleia bush (the sun in this pictures was glaring) that I planted last Fall. The poor little thing is only about 12 inches tall but has two blooms. It looks a little silly because the blooms are so large on such a tiny bush.

This is the first Buddleia that has ever survived here. My friend Joy at  “Canadian Garden Joy” recommended  this “Nanho Purple” Butterfly bush. She told me hers stood up to here Canadian winters so I am glad to finally have this addition to the garden. Thanks Joy Girl!  I did see some butterflies checking it out already while I was watering.

“Dallas Red” Lantana

 
Commelina “Sleeping Beauty” was grown from seeds this year. I am not crazy about the plant but I love the blue flowers.

 
Last year was the first year that I had grown vining Snapdragons from seed. When I took them into the basement last fall I noticed that they had made tubers in the pot. I replanted the tubers this spring and they are starting to vine now so it will not be long until they bloom.

 
So far the verbena plants have not developed mildew. I love the verbena for my containers but some years they do get mildew. This  verbena is called
“Purple Mosaic”. I love its white with purple speckles blooms.

Every year it seems I get a one track mind when it comes to what colors I will have blooming in my containers. This year it seems every plant  was purple or red when I bought seeds and plants.
Last year it was pink and yellows. Anyone else ever get stuck on a color or is it just silly ole me? LOL!

    
This is the two year old, six foot orienpet “Frisco” lily that I mentioned in one of my postings.

 
All of its blooms on top are blooming now. The stem is large and sturdy to hold all of these blooms up but I staked it just in case. I wonder how tall this beauty will be next year?

“Ageless Beauty” daylily is two years old now and looking large and lovely.

 
This bright red lily was planted last fall and has the silly name of  “Count Radish” but color is a true red.

 
This daylily is called “Frans Hals” and I like its yellow and rust petals. I am trying to add more orange and yellow flowers in the garden. The flash backs to the 70’s are getting fewer and farther apart now and I may even decide I like orange again but never, never sage or drab olive green.   
Other lilies in bloom are:

 
Golden Stargazer Asiatic lilies.

 

The “Elodie” Asiatic lilies all  have double blooms, but this one bloom had single petals.
(Like yours Kathleen so you may get double blooms yet!)

 
Windsor Castle Daylily

“Pardon Me” Daylily with the sun filtering in. Now that is a hot looking lily for a hot day.

 
White tall Phlox paniculata

 
“Nicky” Tall Phlox paniculata

Gaillardia “Mesa Yellow”

“Burgundy Gaillardia”

 Rudbeckia “Cherry Brandy”  

“Lilac Fantasy” Veronica from Catherine at “A Gardener in Progress”. I am loving this veronica Catherine!

“Double Scoop Raspberry” Echinacea is filling out nicely and the color is deepening.

 
“Raspberry Truffle” Echinacea and Foxglove blooms.


Monarda “Raspberry Wine” Bee balm.

Erysimum “Jenny Brooke” Wallflower

A few poor little Pansies are still trying to hold on during this heat.

“Wirral Pride” Chrysanthemum Daisies

Pelargonium “Caliente Fire” Geranium

   
Pelargonium “ Red Rosebud” Geranium

And after stomping on many Japanese Beetles I have a couple of rose blooms that made it from their jaws.
” Pink Lemonade” Eyeconic shrub rose.

And the always blooming double “RADtko Knockout roses.

Pink Rose of Sharon

White Rose of Sharon.

Black Eyed Susan’s
So there is a lot in bloom and still a lot of color in the garden but with this heat and the watering the plants will not do as well as they would if it came pouring from the skies. The plants KNOW!

I want to join in with our gal Glenda over at “Tootsie Time” for Fertilizer Friday. So everyone join in with us and Flaunt Your Flowers!

Everyone have a wonderful and safe weekend and say some prayers, donate and send kind thoughts to all those in Colorado where they are fighting the fire and for those in Florida who are having floods. We all need each other.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

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