Perennial Planter and Battered Daylilies

"Northern" climate gardening (I hesitate with that, because there is a whole lot more North that is north of here) can be both tricky and rewarding. One of the things that is particularly tricky and rewarding is growing perennials in planters and having them come back year after year.

I have to admit that my knowledge of this came pretty much out of my more laissez-faire approach to gardening in the past two years. I had great plans to transplant those perennials from the container to the garden, but somehow that didn't happen -- and the plants didn't even complain about it. You know, by dying.

Perennial Planter


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Anyway, here is a big plastic planter that can survive being left outside all winter, and planted in it are a large sedum 'Autumn Joy', an unknown purple heuchera, and (just recently) a yellowy-chartreuse hosta. The sedum and heuchera survived the winter in the container and came back splendidly. In the case of the sedum, I think this might actually be its second winter.

So anyway, that is something to think about if you know you are a lazy gardener like I've been lately.

On to other aspects of gardening. The flower collecting aspect. Since I collect daylilies, and this is July, well, you just know there's going to be at least one daylily in this post. And -- surprise -- today I have two. But sadly, they have been battered by an early morning rainstorm, so these will not be the most photogenic daylilies you have ever seen. Especially this one, 'Always Afternoon'.

'Always Afternoon' Battered by Rain


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This next daylily survived the storm a bit better. The flower itself has more substance, and the plant is in a more protected location sheltered by trees. I don't have a proper name for this daylily. It came in a pot labelled 'Moristar Mix' (Moristar being the brand name of the grower) and so that is what I have always called it. But clearly there is no registered daylily called 'Moristar Mix', so I'm afraid you are out of luck if you want to go looking for it. (There are dozens of similar-looking daylilies out there, though.)

Moristar Mix


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This is the flower whose bud you saw in yesterday's post.
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A Few More Daylilies

Today's batch of first blooms includes two strong reds and a delicate pink.

The two red daylilies blooming today are 'Executive Decision' and 'Little Business'.

Executive Decision


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Little Business


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The pink is my no-fail showstopper, 'Barbara Mitchell'. This daylily has a kind of understated elegance as it peeks out from beneath the Camperdown elm tree. I wonder if the Barbara Mitchell for whom the flower was named was like that too.

Barbara Mitchell


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And just for a bit of whimsy, here is a long shot of 'Little Business' blooming behind the statue of Buddha, making it look like there is a flower tucked behind his ear.

Buddha Statue with Flower


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And as for what tomorrow holds, something tells me we'll be seeing this one open up and display itself.

Waiting for Tomorrow


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Teh Bokeh

So today I attached the 50mm prime f1.7 lens to the camera and went out to take some glamour shots of today's new blooms, plus a few other flowers that caught my eye. (Yes, that means I am mobile now, but still forbidden from bending down too far. So I can take photos, but not do any of the digging and weeding that is so desperately needed in the garden. But I digress...)

Anyway, take a look at these photos, because today's post is all about the bokeh.

First, even without any bokeh these two 'Grecian Gown' daylilies (you may recall that they were trying to bloom yesterday, but didn't open until today) would be glamorous, with all those lovely ruffles.

Grecian Gown


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Also one of my favourite daylilies, 'Lavender Rainbow' bloomed today for the first time this year. This one has the most beautiful eyezone, with colours that blend in a watermark. Oh, and look at that distorted light effect in the background. Beautiful bokeh.

Lavender Rainbow


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The other new daylily bloom today was a miniature double called 'Mini Might'. The first few flowers don't tend to be full doubles, but there is usually an extra petal curled in the centre just to remind us that this plant deserves it designation as a double daylily.

Mini Might


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And speaking of double flowers, I picked up this double petunia at a local garden centre when I was shopping for container plants. It was half-dead in its pot, the last one of its variety available. But I knew I could nurse it back, so I bought it anyway, and now it is rewarding me with these beautiful flowers.

Unknown Double Petunia


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(Yes, that is my hand there, showing up larger than life on your screen.)

And now we are onto true Hollywood glamour -- 'Hollywood' heuchera, that is. One of my absolute favourites for its beautiful cherry-pink flowers.

'Hollywood' Heuchera


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And finally, to finish up, a shot of some 'Splish Splash' hardy geranium flowers. All my hardy geraniums are doing really well this year (some of them a little too well. Just a warning about the variety 'Ankums Pride' -- it's beautiful, but it will take over your garden if you let it.)

Anyway, here is 'Splish Splash', a much more well-behaved variety (so far).

'Splish Splash' Hardy Geranium


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So that's it for today's bokeh post. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring.
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It's Starting...

Well, I had a feeling I'd see some first blooms today, and I was right!

And today's are all pretty nice ones, too. It isn't always that way, as my previous years' posts will show.

That's where the journal aspect of this blog is useful: for comparison. I just open up "July" for each of the previous years, and take a look at the blooming dates for the various daylilies. Sometimes they are exactly the same, and sometimes there is as much as a week's difference either way.

Of course, 2005-2007 were dry years -- to the point of drought -- while the last two summers have been very wet. I can add water to a dry garden, but the difference in the amount of sunlight is something that I can't change. So those are things that might have an effect on the blooming dates.

Well, without further delay, here are the daylilies that have their first blooms today.

Moonlit Masquerade


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Russian Rhapsody


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All American Plum


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Now, I do have another daylily that is trying to open, but hasn't really succeeded. This is 'Grecian Gown', a lovely light lemon-yellow self with a slight white midrib and lots of ruffles. You can see it in its glory here.

Grecian Gown


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So according to 2007's bloom date, this is four day's earlier. But then again, maybe I should say three, because I don't think these buds will be fully open until tomorrow.
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Anticipation

Well, I am excited in anticipation of daylily season. There are many plants where the buds are large and starting to gain colour, so hopefully they will be opening over the next few days. (Unfortunately the forecast is for cloudy skies and rainy weather. Oh well, cloudy days make for the best photographs.)

One daylily opened its first bloom today, 'Dad's Best White'.

Daylily 'Dad's Best White'


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Here it is in a longer view, accompanied by some Lamb's Ears.

Daylily with Lamb's Ears


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Before I got 'Little Red Spring Song' (seen in the previous post), my earliest daylily and harbinger of the season was 'Moonglow'. Now I take poor 'Moonglow' for granted it seems, as it has been happily blooming away for several days now. Well, not exactly for granted. Only in terms of blogging, I guess. These were the very first daylilies I ever bought, and for that reason they will always hold a special place in my heart. Surely every gardener must have a plant like that in their garden.

'Moonglow' Daylilies


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And just to prove how special they are, here is another shot of them, from afar this time, because my eye was struck by how the yellow daylilies contrasted so nicely with the neon pink zonal geraniums.

Yellow and Pink


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The delphiniums are struggling this year, due to my lack of attention. They are planted in an area that is now overrun by vines. One of my spring tasks that I never really thought twice about has been to keep that area under control by ripping back the new growth to manageable levels. Unfortunately, my surgery has kept me from that task at the same time as wet weather has allowed the vines to flourish. So the result is some pretty spindly delphiniums. Still, what few flowers there are are beautiful as always.

Delphinium


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One plant that is finally coming into its own this year is my 'Hokus Pokus' cranesbill (hardy geranium). It's actually blooming. Compare that to the story last year.

Geranium praetense 'Hokus Pokus'


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My favourite thing about this plant is its beautiful dark foliage.

And speaking (as I was earlier) about neglected garden tasks, here is one that heuchera lovers may or may not be familiar with. There are (for me) two types of heuchera out there. The ones with beautiful flowers, and the ones for which the foliage is the show. When the foliage is the show, I (used to) make a point of cutting off all the scapes, because some of the plants are quite messy. I didn't realize what a service I was doing to my garden until I noticed what happens when I don't cut the offending scapes.

A Sea of Scapes


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The garden under the maple is supposed to be a showcase for leafy heuchera foliage. This year, it is just a mess of ugly scapes. Well, by the end of August I am hoping to be cleared to do all the bending that gardening requires. I will just have to steel myself against the ugly views until then. (Argh! It's maddening.)

And if you don't think that the photo above is ugly, keep in mind that I am comparing it to my original vision from 2006 in the photo below.

Maple Garden, 2006


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Little Red Spring Song

This is the first bloom today on an early blooming daylily in my garden -- one of the ones I purchased from Floral and Hardy Gardens to inhabit the daylily bed we put in last year.

Little Red Spring Song


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A Bit of Beauty Amidst the Ugly Truth

Well, as I am gaining some mobility, I thought it would be nice to finally plant some containers, so I packed my walker and put on some sturdy shoes and the family took a quick trip to the local nursery.

I had in mind some zonal geraniums for the garage urns.

Zonal Geraniums in the Garage Urns


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These ones are almost neon in colour, with the flower petals being bright pink around the edges, with an orangey-red centre. Sometimes I find myself drawn to intense colours, and this would be one of those times.

Bright as Neon


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I may have been inspired by the lovely 'Turkenlouis' poppy that has just made its appearance in the front garden.

'Turkenlouis' Poppy


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It's actually an intense crimson red, though the camera has rendered it a bit more towards orange in this photo.

Equally beautiful, but slightly more subdued, is this new sempervivum planter that will become this year's showpiece on the shelf rock. (After this year, I can move it around back with the other sempervivum planters. More on that later.)

New Sempervivum Planter


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In Place on the Shelf Rock


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So, after trying my hand at beautifying the front a bit, I walked (ever so frustratingly slowly) around the back to assess what's been going on with it for the past while.

It wasn't a happy sight, I can tell you.

First, the long view, which doesn't seem all that bad if you squint a bit.

Back Garden Long View


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As I've said before, good bones help a lot.

But as we move closer, say to the sempervivum planters that have always been renewed year after year with interesting co-plantings like echeveria and sedum, what do we see?

Neglect -- no abandon. (This is what they are supposed to look like.)

Abandoned Sempervivum Planters


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Last year I got as far as buying the plants to fill the empty spaces in the planters, but never actually got around to planting them. Now the whole thing (and even the patio) is a haven for weeds.

But wait, there's more... More weeds, that is.

A Testament to Hardiness


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It's a testament to hardiness that some of these plants have come back this year in their plastic pots, despite having sat there neglected since last fall, and despite competing with weeds for what little soil is available.

Oh, and do you see that aquilegia growing there in the stones (just under the downspout)? The parent plant is supposed to be halfway up the hill by the elm tree. It must have seeded itself "downstream" during last summer's incessant rain.

Oh gosh, I have more photos but that's all I can bear to show for the moment.

In truth, my garden is ugly right now.

I wish I could get out there and make it better.
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Blooms in June

Well, I haven't been blogging much here lately, but there's a good reason for that. I've had surgery on my hip and I haven't been able to (and still can't) get around, even to take photos, let alone work in the garden.

But the good news is...my husband has been quite willing to take the camera into the garden for me and get photos of some blooms.

June in the garden is beautiful, with iris and poppies, and the weigela in bloom.

Weigela


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It's also the time for hardy geranium (cranesbill). Usually I know the names of the different varieties by location, when I take the photos myself, but since these are my husband's work I am only guessing at what's what. In the case of 'Ankums Pride', it has its own distinct pink colour that makes it fairly easy to identify.

'Ankums Pride' Hardy Geranium


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I have no idea whether that insect represents a general infestation, or my husband just picked an unfortunate flower to photograph.

This one is 'Mrs. Kendall Clark', a new acquisition last year.

Geranium praetense 'Mrs. Kendal Clark'


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And another, rather plainer, new acquisition is this Geranium sanguineum alba.

White Hardy Geranium


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I have no idea what this one is.

Unknown Hardy Geranium


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The rest of the show consists of poppies and iris. 'Lullaby of Spring' tall iris is reliable in my garden. I keep moving it around and it still keeps blooming.

'Lullaby of Spring' Iris


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This one is a new one to me. I must have just planted it (or moved it) last year. I have no name for it, but I love the colour combination.

Unknown Iris


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Now here is the first poppy, opened. It's an 'Allegro'. The edges of the petals turn white as it ages. This photo was taken when it had just opened.

First Poppy


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This is one of my favourite poppies. It didn't bloom last year, so I'm glad to see it back this year. I think it might be a light version of 'Patty's Plum'. I supposedly planted a 'Patty's Plum' back in 2004, but have never had a dark purple poppy show up in my garden. This is as close to purple as I get.

My Favourite Poppy


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Here is one called 'Manhattan'.

Papaver 'Manhattan'


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Well, it's not near time for my daylilies yet, though I've seen the dreaded 'Stella d'Oro' blooming everywhere in its institutional plantings. I am hoping by the time the big daylily show starts in my garden in mid-July, I will be able to get around enough to actually take the photos myself and blog each new bloom as I have done in past years.
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Spring Finery

I haven't been able to garden properly for about a year and a half now. It's very frustrating.

Ubiquitous Weeds


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I realized as I did my grocery shopping yesterday that at this time of year I would normally go to the garden centre in the parking lot before even thinking about milk and eggs and breakfast cereal and all that other stuff. But this year I have other things on my mind.

Backyard: "Good Bones"


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Luckily, the garden has "good bones", and -- except for the ubiquitous weeds and last fall's detritus still waiting to be cleared -- it still manages to put on a decent show. Daffodils, tulips, and iris are the main players, although a lot of what was blooming was already past its prime when I took the photos. Like these magnolia blossoms.

Magnolia Blossoms (Past Their Prime)


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Or some of these daffodils.

Hybrid Daffodils


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These are some early tulips, which were at their peak about a week and a half ago.

Early Tulips, First Year Showing


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Now we have the later tulips putting on a show. Many of these bulbs are a couple of years old now. The flowers are smaller, slightly frail-looking, compared to the first year of planting. I'm grateful, though, that they continue to bloom.

Late Tulips, from Older Bulbs


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Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

The irises are also putting on a good show, including my favourite dwarf iris, 'Grape Orbit'.

Dwarf Iris 'Grape Orbit'


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Some other blooms that I like at this time of year are Pasque Flower, which can be quite photogenic, though they are hard to photograph being so close to the ground. I usually just hold the camera down in front of the flower, snap a few photos, and hope for the best. Sometimes I get one or two good photos in the bunch.

Pasque Flowers


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And finally, a promise of what comes next in the garden. Here is a poppy bud that should be ready to bloom at the end of May or early June.

Poppy Bud


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Rainy Day Garden

"April showers bring May flowers." What a cliché!

Besides, I've got flowers in April. Even in the rain, a garden in bloom can be a nice welcome home.

Front Garden in the Rain


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Magnolia


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Daffodils and Early Tulips


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Pink Tulips Ready to Bloom


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I took these photos with my iPhone camera when I got out of the car, just because it made me feel so good to arrive in my driveway with a view of flowers.

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Spring in the Garden

I've left it rather late to take this blog off its winter hiatus, but then spring seems a little bit late in coming to the garden this year.

But now it's here, in both the front and the back yard. It started with crocuses, as it always does, but this year they looked just the same as last year. (Except for the additional mix I got at the grocery store last autumn. I have to say that was a waste of money. A poor showing of tiny, mostly pale yellow crocuses. I now understand why my "Ruby Giant" are called "Giant", even if I'm still not sure why purple crocuses are called "Ruby".)

We did also add plenty of early tulips to the garden last autumn, though, and that seems to have paid off well.

Early Tulips


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The purple hyacinths are ancient (by the standards of this garden) and strong, and return year after year. The white ones return, but they are sparse and sickly looking. There are the light purple hyacinths under the gingko tree, which are the same colour as the periwinkle that is also blooming right now.

Hyacinth and Periwinkle


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We also have dark purple hyacinths under the Camperdown elm. These ones are really striking in contrast with the hybrid daffodils that bloom at the same time.

Dark Purple Hyacinth


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Garden Under the Elm


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Hybrid Daffodils


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Over in another corner of the back yard we have other things going on. This time of year, with the snow cover gone and the hostas not yet grown, we get an interesting view of the base of the willow tree. This tree has character. And we love it (as do some of our neighbours) for the privacy it gives us.

Base of Willow Tree


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Under the willow, some flowers that will also eventually compete with the hostas that grow there: fritillaria.

Fritillary


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Now, I'm assuming, probably wrongly, that "fritillary" is the singular of "fritillaria", and that "fritillaria" is a real word. If you are a person well-versed in flower lore who knows otherwise, please educate me. If I am wrong, I'd rather not have it go on for too long.

Another flower that blooms at this time of year that's located nearby is the pasque flower. Here is one that is almost open.

Pasque Flower


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It is Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Rode Klokke' (Red Bells). I did have some nice purple pasque flower, but these are newer, planted in 2006. I think the purple ones died off (it grew to be quite a large plant, as seen halfway down this post) and only the red ones remain.

Moving back to the front of the house, the magnolia is once again starting its glorious bloom time. I'm afraid the Nootka is starting to invade the magnolia's space though. I don't like to prune evergreens, but removing the entire Nootka is not really an option, since it is part of a group of three, so I might have to remove some length from a couple of branches in order to give the magnolia some more room to grow.

Magnolia and Nootka: Close Enough to Kiss


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In this final photo, however, you would never know there's a problem.

Glorious Magnolia Blossoms


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Winter in the Garden

I made the mistake once of registering my site (and its email address) for a blogging "event" that I thought was all about a good cause. I do believe, however, that the people who ran the so-called event were merely compiling a list of blogs to sell for profit.

As a result, I have periodically received many requests from marketing types who want to put ads on my blog.

The short answer to those people -- and anyone else who asks if I would be willing to put ads on my blog -- is NO!

So please. Just don't ask.

Thank you.

Winter in the Garden



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Autumn in the Garden

Here is my garden in autumn.

Moonglow Rebloom


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Not much good having a yellow flower surrounded by so many yellow leaves fallen from the Honey Locust tree above. It gets kind of lost.

Red October


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True to its name, my hosta 'Red October' is blooming quite happily.

Autumn Entrance


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The Buddha head surrounded by ivy is now surrounded by a carpet of tiny yellow leaves.

Dandelion


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This is another yellow flower taking the opportunity to rebloom in my garden. This one is not quite as welcome.

Rozanne Hardy Geranium


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The bees are still out, but they are slow and even more bumbling in the cooler weather.

Japanese Anemone


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These late bloomers are beautiful in the autumn garden.

Autumn Vine


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Well, my neighbours didn't kill it all in July. A couple of tendrils survived to grow up the wall of the shed. The colour is just starting. In a couple of days the red will really pop.
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New Daylily Bed

Well, with all the new (and a few existing) daylilies I have bought this year, I came up with a great idea to deal with the Eco-Lawn disappointment. We've made over the area where the grass was into a new daylily bed.

New Daylily Bed


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Mr. Wonderful removed all the dead Eco-Lawn grass (that's right, it ALL died) and amended the area by double-digging in some nutrient-rich triple-mix. Then he planted the daylilies where I arranged them. (I'd have helped with the planting, but I'm still recovering from surgery, so I can't overdo it.) At the moment, everything is covered in plain cedar mulch, but in the spring I'd like to set off the daylily bed with black mulch. Also, as soon as it's time for planting bulbs, I will put down lots of tulips and daffodils among the daylilies so I have both a spring garden and a daylily garden to look forward to.

I haven't quite decided what to do with the empty area in front of the elm tree yet. I don't know whether to make it a focal point with a bird bath, statue, stone bench, or fountain (although the electrical cord to run a pump would be distracting, I think). Another possibility is creating a seedling bed there; however, I'm reluctant to use prime visible space for something where the results would be a complete unknown. It might be next spring before we truly figure out what to do there.

Anyway, one daylily I couldn't show you earlier because it didn't have blooms at that time is Coal Miner. Here it is now.

Coal Miner


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This is one my husband picked out. He likes how the bright yellow jumps out of the dark purple. I must admit it's quite striking. Of course, I've yet to see any dark purple daylily that I didn't like.

Here is another striking pair. You've seen Green Eyes Wink in a previous post, but the white one is Tuesday. Tuesday was only registered in 2003, and there are not many photos of it out there. (Of course, try doing a search on the name "Tuesday" and getting a photo of a daylily. It's a difficult thing to do with such a common word.)

Green Eyes Wink (left) and Tuesday (right)


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The thing about Tuesday is that it's a small-sized, ruffled and recurved beige-white self with what looks to be prolific blooms. It's registered as mid-season, but the fact that it's still blooming indicates that it must be mid-to-late, at least in this climate.

Oh, and in planting the daylily bed I had a bit of a disappointment. When I looked closely at Tang Dynasty it turned out to have two plant tags in the pot. The plant we picked up is not a dark purple daylily (as Tang Dynasty is supposed to be) so we have come home with the wrong one. I need to get in touch with Betty so I can fix this. Tang Dynasty is one of the daylilies I really, REALLY wanted.

But I'm not complaining.

Anything for another chance to visit the daylily farm, right?!
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Catching Up with Garden Stuff

Well, the other day I realized that I had one more daylily to show you that hadn't yet bloomed in my garden, Royal Palace Prince, whose first bloom was on August 14, very much later than usual for this daylily.

Royal Palace Prince


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Yesterday we visited my favourite daylily farm, Floral and Hardy Gardens, to see what late-blooming daylilies they had available to add to my collection. Here is my favourite shot of the AHS Display Garden on site (although I took many photos of this beautiful garden).

Daylily Display Garden


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And when I went shopping for my garden, there were so many daylilies to choose from! I was sad when it came time to pay for my choices that I had to give up some of them which the farm needed to keep for restocking. A beautiful healthy purple spiderform that would have looked lovely in my garden had to be abandoned at the till. But I still came home with plenty. Here are some of my purchases, waiting to be planted.

Some of My Daylily Purchases


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Here are a couple of blooms shown in a bit closer view.

Green Eyes Wink (New Purchase)


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Stoplight (New Purchase)


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I have what may seem like a long list of new daylily purchases from this trip, but this year I have made fewer trips, so over the length of the summer this is no different than in previous years. (Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

• Bama Bound
  
• Coal Miner
  
• Green Eyes Wink (see above)
  
• Ivory Edges
  
• Little Red Spring Song (blooms early June)
  
• Lucky Catch
  
• Spiritual Corridor
  
• Stoplight (see above)
  
• Strutters Ball
  
• Sunday Gloves
  
• Tang Dynasty
  
• Thomas Lee
  
• Tuesday (Klehm, 2003 -- no image currently available)

Other stories I'm sticking to: my husband and son helped me shop. They are the biggest enablers on the planet.

You might recognize some of those daylilies from a list I made last January. There would be more from the January list, but some I was unable to get on this trip because we couldn't find them, or they were sold out.

I also took the opportunity to pick up some more Postman's Pride sedum, and a new sedum called 'Xenox' which is a most intriguing pinkish-purple colour. It was a MUST HAVE for my garden.

Xenox Sedum


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

We have already started on the big rearrangement in the garden. Since the Eco-Lawn grass was such a nightmare we are tearing it all out and I am making a daylily bed instead. We have also torn out the overcrowded evergreens and overgrown shrubs (well, I say "we" but Mr. Wonderful did all the heavy digging -- I just chopped branches). A westward view of the maple garden now looks like this.

Garden Looking West


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

I don't know if you can see in the above photo the toll that the rainstorms have taken on the slope this year. There is almost no mulch left, and the water is starting to erode little channels through the dirt. Whereas normally in August we would say the dryness is killing the garden (unless it is planted with drought-tolerance in mind) this year it seems the water falling from the sky is damaging roots and leaves and killing off certain plants, while causing others to flourish beyond the means to control them. (Periwinkle is a case in point.)

Anyway, to get a better idea of the "cleared" look of the maple garden above, here is the same view at the end of July, 2006. You can see how the evergreens were already overcrowded at that time. Now that they have been removed, the garden has more room to breathe.

Maple Garden 2006


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

Oh, and just as a follow-up to something I said in a post about how the goldfinches like the sunflowers that have grown up around the feeder. I thought I would fill people in on what the goldfinches do. You see, to get to the seeds, they perch on top the sunflower and pluck the top petals off. This allows them to get a better foothold and bend down from the top and peck out the seeds. It results in a messy-looking collection of droopy, dismembered flowers. (It's totally worth it though.)

Food For Goldfinches and Squirrels


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

At this point, some of the flowers have now drooped so low they are lying on the ground. Along come the squirrels to solve this problem. They chew through the stem to remove the flower and then carry the entire flower off to hide it somewhere.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if it ended up somewhere in my backyard neighbour's flowerbed. Only because of what they did to my vine. (I'm just sayin'...)
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We've Got Stinkhorns!

Enough. Said.


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

EDIT: Hmm, maybe I didn't say enough after all. These things are weird fungi that grow without prompting from out of the mulch. They have a strange odour, an even stranger appearance (those orange stalks poke out of puffball-like "eggs" that emerge out of the ground), and they are really good at attracting flies. Just one big "Ewwww" if you ask me.
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My Hope

I can't believe I said that My Hope wouldn't bloom. Well, I can believe I said it, but I can't believe it bloomed anyway. Its first -- and possibly only -- bloom this year was on August 10.

My Hope


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

It's almost mystical, in a way. There were no scapes coming from this plant at all, but sometime around the beginning of August I rearranged the garden a bit and returned the Grey Buddha to its accustomed place under the elm (right next to the 'My Hope' plant). As soon as I did that, a scape appeared -- seemingly overnight.

However, this smallish yellow flower with barely a hint of pink is a far cry from the plant's heyday in 2006.

My Hope, August 7, 2006


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

One notable thing about the daylily My Hope is that it has a lovely fragrance. This is definitely a plant worth saving and I am planning on dividing and moving it to a more favourable location this fall.
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Copyright © all rights reserved. All text and images in this post belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com.

Garden Joys

I'm so happy that Highland Lord finally gave me a double flower.

'Highland Lord' Double Flower


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

This daylily is registered as a double, so I was really expecting to see more double flowers from it than I got this year.

Other dashed expectations: My Hope did not bloom this year. Something knocked all the buds from All-American Plum. And my neighbours "trimmed" my vine from their side of the fence, killing the entire thing except for one small strand. In mid-July, it looked like this.

Sunflowers and (Former) Vine


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

The great news is that the sunflowers (seen at bottom right) are all blooming now. I left the sprouts from winter birdseed to grow into a large clump surrounding the feeder. I am really happy with the effect, especially now that the goldfinches are always coming by, landing on the sunflowers and happily pecking out seeds from the centres. It really is a joy to behold.

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Scatterbrain Comes to Life

Two new first blooms today:

All-American Baby


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

Scatterbrain


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

Scatterbrain hasn't bloomed since I bought it in 2004. Finally last year I moved it from where it was being overwhelmed by periwinkle. Lo and behold, it bloomed!

I know I haven't been showing garden long shots this year as I have in the past. It's very hard to keep the garden tidy with all the rain we've had (at one point we got a whole month's worth of rain in only three or four days). But if we get a break with the weather this autumn, I'll have a chance to work on things then.

Anyway, here is a view of the side garden bed with lots of daylilies blooming. It's not a true long shot, but it's a bit longer shot than I have been showing lately.

Side Garden Bed with Daylilies


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

A little story: I used to dislike Strawberry Candy (the daylily with three blooms at front right) because I had unwisely planted it next to a lavender-pink variety with which it clashed horribly. Last year I moved it down to the side bed, where the slightly apricot-pink looks absolutely gorgeous next to a tall, dark sedum. Honestly, if you are looking for a knockout colour combination, you really should try this. (I have taken many, many photos in an attempt to show off how well these plants look together, but somehow the camera can never capture it properly.)

In other news, I did finally get a fully open Peach Magnolia flower, even though I thought they'd all be half-closed this year because of the shape of the buds. So, here it is.

Fully Open Peach Magnolia


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

And finally, to give everyone a break from daylilies on this blog, here is a photo of some rudbeckia by the front porch.

Rudbeckia


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

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The Thymes Gardener Collection

This is my 400th post, and since I don't have any new daylilies to show today, I am going to do something a little different: a product review.

I received a complimentary sample of products from the Thymes Gardener Collection. Gardener is one of the classic Thymes Fragrant Living Collections, and as you might surmise from the name, it's designed to appeal to women who spend time getting their hands and fingernails dirty looking after a garden.

Deep-Cleansing Hand Scrub and Cuticle Cream from the Thymes Gardener Collection


Philosophical Karen © all rights reserved

For the review, I received two sample products from the collection: the Deep-Cleansing Hand Scrub, and the Cuticle Cream.

Of course, one of the first things I noticed was the detail of the packaging. Each cardboard folder had a little metallic tag that says "Grow" on it, a finishing touch that gives added polish. Of course, as gardeners many of us are concerned about the environment and would probably prefer not to add unnecessary packaging to area landfills. But the metal tags are easily removed so you can add the cardboard to your recycling box, if you have one.

The hand scrub comes in a plastic squeeze tube with a flat cap that easily stands upright next to the sink. When I tried the hand scrub it was wonderful, leaving my hands soft and smooth, even the area of my right index finger that tends to get dry and rough from pulling weeds. And here is a little tip from me -- they don't put this in the marketing material -- you can use this scrub on your feet, too. I tend to wear crocs or open-toed sandals in the garden, and my heels and toes get a little rough from the wear and tear. Using the scrub I was easily able to reverse some of the damage caused by my garden footwear.

That's where the cuticle cream came in. It's called cuticle cream, but again you can use it on other areas that need extra pampering. It's wonderful stuff. It has a different scent than the scrub. The scrub has a light, fresh "green" scent that instantly transports you to springtime in the garden. The cuticle cream on the other hand has a soft herbal scent that is more healing than medicinal in its overtones.

There are more products available in the Thymes Gardener Collection, including some lovely gift packages for your gardening friends (or treat yourself!). Thymes products are available in specialty stores throughout North America (Chapters sells some here in Canada), but you can get anything you want online at the Thymes web site.
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