daylilies – Fine for Friday

June Heat 6 June 2025

It is heating up. Slowly but surely, as the days continue to lengthen and the sun moves to the north, it is hotter. It’s been gradual but consistent. The rainfall has also been steady so the garden is in great shape.

I have been able to tend the garden regularly and I am very pleased with its progress. My blueberries really started to produce this past week and I have made some blueberry ice cream. Yum!

I will be joining the SixonSaturday group again tomorrow. It is fun. Just take 6 photos and link the post or blog where they are located to the group. Here is the website hosted by Jim Stephens https://gardenruminations.co.uk.

The Vitex Agnus-castus or Chaste tree is in full bloom this week. It was a struggle to plant it a few years back since it was in a 15 gallon container. It was worth it.

This Rose of Sharon is a beauty of an heirloom plant. I have another with a white throat. The shrub survives a long time and is often found in old country cemeteries and abandoned farm properties.

I apologize that this is a little out of focus. This Tradescantia is a reliable perennial. It dies back over winter but reliable returns each spring and grows all summer with these delicate blooms.

The Knockouts need weekly Neem applications to keep the sawfly larvae at bay. I recently put a new layer of compost around them and I am being rewarded with the second blooming of the year. There will likely be a third bloom in the fall.

All the daylilies are doing so well this year. I am showing this representative which will be nameless.

This Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ steals the show for me today. It will be a large plant of 8 to 10 feet in height so it may need some pruning at times in its present location.

Hope you are able to enjoy some gardening! It makes you happy!!

Summer Perennial Beauty 30 May

All the photos today are from the Corner Garden near my home where I volunteer every Friday. The perennial border is magnificent this month. The weather has been just great.

This garden is along a busy highway and a busy intersection. As much as 1700 cars a day pass by according to the bean counters. Many motorists acknowledge us as they wait for traffic lights to change. It can be noisy there.

I will be joining the Six on Saturday group in the morning. There, gardener’s gather to show 6 photos each. Come see. Join us and post your own from a blog or post. The website is https://gardenruminations.co.uk. Jim Stephens is our host.

There are hundreds of Shastas that have just begun to open this week. I think the variety is ‘Becky’.

I don’t have the cultivar name of this lovely daylily. There are so many cultivars to keep up with. These were moved to a sunnier location last fall and they are thriving.

Here is another anonymous perennial. This time its a coreopsis. Look closely and you will see the hover fly on the right.

The Stoke’s Aster may be ‘Peachy Pink’. Although it is an ill-fitting name, the bloom is outstanding. From 3 plants started several years ago, there are now several dozen in the garden.

This perennials is dominating. It has formed several independent clumps. The growth of this and the other perennials has minimized the need for weeding.

As you can see, the daylily is true to its name. The fleeting blooms are accompanied by lush foliage. It is also anonymous but a beauty.

Hope you are enjoying time in your garden. Happy Gardening!!

MidMay Easy Street 16 May 2024

It’s time for summer bloomers. The heat is rising and they love it. It’s time to look for insect predators and to make sure the plants have enough water. We are ahead of the game since we have had over 6 inches of rain so far in May.

Tomorrow, I will join the Six on Saturday crowd. Come see what we are featuring in our gardens this week. This is the hosted website https://gardenruminations.co.uk. Take six photos, put them in a blog and post them. It’s easy and fun.

The cocotte lily is so reliable. It is the best display it has ever had this year.

This is a climbing hydrangea. I planted the vine 4 years ago and this is the first time blooming. It has grown more than 25 feet up the water oak. A hover fly and a bumble bee are enjoying the nectar.

The Rudbeckia ‘Indian summer’ doesn’t read the calendar and it is blooming in spring.

The leaves on the knockout roses have Swiss cheese holes. I finally found the culprit. Saw fly larvae. I expect Neem oil will do the trick.

I love this daylily and the flower stalks are taller than ever.

The lantana ‘Miss Huff’ is enjoying the container that I have it in and is rewarding me with beautiful multicolored blooms.

Hope you are enjoying your weather as much as I am enjoying mine. Nightime temps are consistently over 60F. I have planted caladium bulbs.

Happy gardening!

It is Spring 28 April 2023

Spring continues to advance and here in the American South, green is the predominant color. The leaf canopy is filling and lawns are growing. Of course, that also means the sound of lawn mowers and leaf blowers.

The songbirds are in full throat and the adults are very busy foraging to find food for their fledglings.

I have been busy this week installing new plants that I purchased at the plant sales which are plentiful this week and last. The irises are blooming and the lilies are showing signs that they will bloom soon.

Here are this weeks photos.

Upper left is an ox-eye daisy planted near the front driveway. It gets plenty of sun and has two mates nearby. They are all showing out right now.

Upper center is a daylily ‘Stella d’Oro’. Although the blooms are not big, it will continue to bloom through the spring and summer months.

Upper right is a clematis which grows over the arch at the entrance to the garden. It is a brilliant white which of course the camera does not capture in its full glory. I do not know the cultivar. It has a purple mate which has not yet appeared.

Lower left is a new heuchera that I purchased yesterday at a local plant sale. This cultivar is ‘Delta Dawn’. I am working on a new section of my shade garden where I have planted several hostas over the last few years. This year I am adding two heucheras, a Godzilla painted fern and another heuchera. The soil is more than adequate so I am hopeful that will look very good by the end of the summer.

Lower center is a nemesis in these parts. It is Chinese privet, Ligustrum intense, which is an imported shrub. It has escaped activity and dominates edges of woodlands. I am showing you the blooms which have a very intoxicating fragrance. The foliage is bright green. For this reason, many people like having them in their yards. The seeds germinate readily so that I pull dozens of these seedling every month.

Lower right is a roof iris, Iris tectorum. It is doing well in partial shade and tends to naturalize which is what I had hoped for.

Our weather is very mild this week and we have had adequate rain. It has been excellent gardening weather.

I hope you are gardening or laying out your plans for the future.

Join the Six on Saturday crowd tomorrow. It is hosted by Jim Stephens and can be found at this link. https://gardenruminations.co.uk. Check out gardens from around the world.