Planting, Mostly Hostas

I’ve done a lot of planting in the last 48 hours. Mostly hostas:

• August Moon (x2)
• So Sweet
• Paradise Power
• Night Before Christmas
• Bitsy Gold
• Stiletto
• Blue Cadet

I also moved ‘Sun Power’ and ‘Red October’ from the side garden to the front.

Patriot, Red October, and Blue Cadet
(The Military Collection?)



Stiletto, Blue Mouse Ears, and Bitsy Gold
(The Miniature Collection)



Stiletto Close Up




Then there’s the cranesbill that I finally planted, plus a new one I got this weekend:

• Mourning Widow Cranesbill (Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’) NEW
• Spotted Cranesbill (Geranium maculatum ‘Elizabeth Ann’)
• Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense ‘Mrs. Kendall Clark’)

I also moved ‘Hokus Pokus’ from the back to the side garden. There wasn’t much of it left after I cut it back, but I’ve planted it in a more shaded place now, so I hope it will do better.

I got three new heuchera on the weekend (well, technically one is a heucherella, which upset me a bit when I discovered it -- I usually avoid heucherellas because they are more delicate than heuchera and don’t have a good survival rate in my garden). Anyway, the heucherella is ‘Burnished Bronze’. The two new heuchera are ‘Dolce Licorice’ and ‘Purple Petticoats’. They are dark ones that I planted in the front garden where I don’t have a lot of shade. While we are on the subject of heuchera, I moved ‘Beauty Colour’ from the side garden to the back.

By now you will have noticed that this post is not really for my readers. It is for myself, so that I can keep track of my planting marathon and remember what I’ve done. I don't have photos of all these plants, so I will fill in with other photos of hostas and heuchera.

Hosta and Heuchera



Fairy Girl Between Two Heuchera



Just An Ordinary White-Margined Hosta
(Hosta fortunei 'Albo-marginata')



Paradise Power (An Improved Version of 'Sun Power')



'Sun Power' Hosta and 'Purple Petticoats' Heuchera



Finally, I planted five Woolly Thyme plants on the back slope where they do amazingly well and form a lovely carpet-like covering that spreads over the mulch. I also planted a Beard-Tongue (Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’) and all my remaining unplanted daylilies in the front garden. Meanwhile, as I was planting, my wonderful husband was remulching the many areas that needed it after all that planting.

Black Mulch in the Side Garden



New Mulch in the Northeast Corner


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.


Now it's all done and I can go on my vacation without worrying about the relatives from Germany who will be taking a little tour of our garden (escorted by my mother-in-law) while we are away.

Towards the End of August

Well, there are still a few things blooming in the garden. The last of the daylilies are putting on a healthy show.

Daring Deception



The Last of 'My Hope'



Those who love long hot summers will no doubt feel disappointed at the cooler weather, but I have been spending long hours in the garden dividing irises and daylilies, moving hostas and heucheras to try to get more variety in the front garden (unfortunately there is not quite enough shade for what I have available for moving, so it looks like I will have to pick up a few sun-tolerant ones).

Fragrant Hosta Flowers



Plantaginea hosta is fairly sun-tolerant, and blooms with lovely fragrant flowers. The ones I have in the side garden by the lattice wall are nice and healthy.

Grasshopper



So many of my plants are being torn apart or eaten by pests, some of them cuter than others. Chipmunks are of course very cute. Grasshoppers, not so much.

Long Garden View



I am lucky, however, that in general, the big picture is not at all spoiled by these small annoyances. And speaking of small, my clematis with small flowers ('Mrs. Robert Brydon') is blooming. It is beloved of bees. There were half a dozen buzzing around it in just one limited area.

Clematis jouiana 'Mrs. Robert Brydon'



Bee on Clematis



Question: Am I the only one who cannot pass the soft branches of a small pine tree without brushing my hand across the needles? Does anyone else feel the compulsion to touch pine trees? Maybe I'm just weird that way.

Soft, Fuzzy Pine



And finally, as I said earlier, 'Rozanne' hardy geranium blooms from July into autumn, and it's one of the main bloomers in the garden now. I managed to catch it in the perfect light to practise my "artistic" photography skills.

'Rozanne' Hardy Geranium in the Sun


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

And with that image, I will close off the post.

Hanna's Copyright Post

Before I do anything else, I want to give a shout out to Hanna at This Garden is Illegal for this post on copyright. Although it's specific to the United States, there are many useful resources in the article. Thanks, Hanna!

[This was meant to be a longer post, but I guess I never got around to finishing it. But there's a good reason for that. The most perfect gardening weather came along and I was spending all my time in the garden.]

In My Garden Today

Four 'Light Years Away' blooming on one scape. As I've said before, a high bud count can be good and bad. This almost looks like a bride's bouquet. Tomorrow, though, it's all going to be one big squishy mess.

Four 'Light Years Away'



Three late-blooming daylilies in close proximity. I've already shown 'Darkside' and 'Kwanso' together. Now add 'Royal Palace Prince' to the mix.

Three Different Daylilies



And a green worm gorging on some parsley.

Green Worm and Garden Ornament


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Royal Palace Prince

Today the daylily 'Royal Palace Prince' had its first bloom this year.


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

That means that the daylily whose small flower bloomed on July 26 was 'Mariska'.

Early August in the Garden

Since I last wrote, the weather has turned hot and humid. But it doesn't stop the daylilies from blooming. There are almost none left to see that haven't been seen already though. Here is the one bud of 'Highland Lord' (a new purchase) that finally bloomed.

'Highland Lord'



It is supposed to be a glorious full double, but this flower looks like it is struggling a bit. We'll have to see how it does next year. One new purchase that did bloom nicely though is 'Darkside'. I have planted it near 'Kwanso' in the garden and the colours look great together.

'Darkside' and 'Kwanso'



And here is 'Joan Senior' blooming in a wild part of the garden.

Joan Senior


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

There isn't really that much going on right now. Everything is in a holding pattern, waiting for some cooler weather to come along.

Tra-la-la Trahlyta (and True Blue Heart)

We did indeed pay another visit to Betty and her garden today. We exchanged 'Apollo's Chariot' for 'Executive Decision'. I had also pre-ordered the 'Blue Mouse Ears' hosta and 'Postman's Pride' Sedum. Unfortunately I only got one stalk of the sedum -- I guess Betty is a little bit short of it. I feel like I must baby it and guard it carefully until it proliferates. I should try and find another source for it, but I've never seen it anywhere else.

Of course we could not leave without shopping for daylilies again. This time I discovered how to figure out the price of the daylily before taking it to the cash, so I was able to pick up a couple of reasonably priced ones.

'Trahlyta' has been on my wish list for a while. I'm glad I found it. This photo was taken at the end of the day when heat had taken its toll on the flower. Earlier in the day the colour was not so muddy.

Trahlyta



And I found this 'True Blue Heart'. I guess there are trends in daylilies, and lavender-blue eyes were a desirable trait for a while. Still desirable to me! I really like this one.


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

It's supposed to have lavender petals rather than cream, but still. I love the eye.