roses – 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!!

Father’s Day 16 June 2024

Gardening is my sanctuary. It is a harbor in the storm. It is work and it is time consuming but the rewards are great. If a plant displeases me, I have learned to discard it. If I like a plant, I can nurture it.

It is the verge of summer and it is Father’s Day. It is US Open weekend. It is a weekend that carries great meaning. It cannot be ignored and it must be honored and respected.

I have 6 photos to share. Tomorrow, I will post this blog while I join the Six on Saturday group. Gardeners from around the world will be posting their 6 photos from this week.

This cultivar of Hypericum has a delicate beautiful bloom. I like the leaf color. This is the first bloom since transplant last year.

The rose is in its second blooming cycle of the year. The knockouts do well here and there is no problem with blackspot.

The Miss Huff is a large and almost shrub size lantana. It loves the heat of summer.

This Rudbeckia is the lone survivor of 6 that I planted last spring but it is in such good for this year.

The Stoke’s Aster loves the part shade area in which it is located. It is reseeding or colonizing so it has spread since its introduction a few years ago.

The limelight hydrangea is a paniculata which does well in sunnier locations. It is white and it is becoming increasingly popular in this area.

Hope you are getting plenty of garden time. Happy Father’s Day to fathers and to those who have played the role of father’s.

Happy Gardening!

Spring Bloomers 25 March 2022

The weather is now definitely warmer and the forecast shows no sign of frost. This past weekend, my wife and I enjoyed a trip to the Alabama Gulf Coast where we visited Bellingrath Garden in Theodore and Mobile Botanical Gardens.

At home, more ferns and bulbs are emerging. Of course, along with them, there are also signs of the weeds and invasives.

Each day, there are more tasks to be done. In the Mens Garden, we have begun laying out a circular brick paver area around the flag pole. We will be placing engraved brick markers there if all works out.

On to this week’s pics.

First, I have some beautiful red tulips from Bellingrath. They keep them in the nursery until they are blooming and then place them out in the Garden.

Second, this is an invasive Cherokee Rose. This was found at Bellingrath near the estuary. It is native to Asia but has naturalized rapidly here in the SouthEast. It is a climbing rose with stems that grow up to 20 feet. It may be beautiful but it is truly invasive.

Thirs and at home, the Florida anise has begun to show its red star shaped bloom. It is always a good sign of Spring. Being an anise, there is a licorice smell if you rub the leaves.

Fourth, here are some Jetfire daffodils that I have out in terra cotta containers in the back yard. The photo does not do justice to the bright orange trumpet portion of the bloom.

Fifth, the red stemmed lady fern, Athyrium filix-femina, the “Lady in Red” is emerging. It completely disappears after frost but reliably returns in the Spring.

Sixth and last here is a wild violet that has some blue and white in the bloom. It only appears in the spring but it is worth watching for. Also, the white false indigo, Baptisis alba is emerging in its asparagus like form for now until the blooms appear.

Happy gardening.

Don’t forget to look at the Propagator for his blog Six on Saturday.