What's in the Garden.... for Wednesday

 

How cool is this...

The ladybug,

 taking no notice of me,

was carefully grooming the leaves of the Dusty Miller.

 

I love gardening.

Not just the blooms

I actually like the digging in the soil.

 

 

And....

 dreaming of what plants compliment each other.

 

As I started editing my photos,

 I realized I couldn't show everything in one post.

The Bungalow Garden is in the beginning of its' 3rd year.

 

Even though the house is about 85 years old,

there were no flowers, a sprinkling of sad shrubs,

and one red rose bush.

 

 

I've carried and laid all but the heaviest of stones.

 

So I'll begin today, by showing you a few flowers and plants.

I'll try to continue each week, posting some projects and what is blooming.

 

 

Pink Pentas will offer blooms most of the summer,

attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.

 

 

Can you believe these creamy white chrysanthemums are

blooming this time of year. They will repeat blooms in the fall, too.

 

 

Okay...are you ready for this name.

Echeveria gibbiflora  'Tahiti'

To me it's a beautiful succulent,

 with fleshy upcurving leaves and crinkly edges.

 

 

How about this beauty.

It was one of those "impulse purchases" near the check-out counter.

You know what I mean.

 

In searching today, I found it is called "Easter Cactus".

 

 And true to it's name, it was blooming at Easter.

Funny thing, I bought it a year ago at Christmas time,

 thinking it was a Christmas Cactus.

 

 

So I will leave you here....

where you are always

welcome.

Meggie Mac

Pass Along Plants to Share...for a Wednesday Garden Update

 

The color is almost too beautiful for words.

When I first bought the bungalow,

my neighbor shared these irises from her garden.

 

It was some years ago that I purchased a book called "Passalong Plants"

by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing.

 

My friend's gift of irises, reminded me of the book.

 

 

The pass along term can also be applied to the yellow sedum.

Every place a pinch is dropped, it takes root.

And....if you look closely to the brick,

 tiny Katie Ruellias have sprouted. 

The Ruellia is the plant to the left of the sedum.

Mine bloom purple and pink during the summer months.

 

Since I love the look of a natural (unruly) garden,

I will leave some to grow in the walkways.

The others will be pulled and potted to be given as...

you guessed it...

Pass Along Flowers!

 

 

Another returning flower is the Rudbeckia (upright green foliage).

 As it warms up, they will begin to bloom with flowers you may know

 as Black-Eyed Susans.

 

 

While the temperature is still cool, the sweet alyssum will continue to bloom.

 

 

And now...turning to the vegetables.

It will be a race against the heat, to see if the broccoli has time to mature.

 

 

After so much rain this past week,

 I'm sure the red oak leaf lettuce will soon be ready for the salad bowl.

 

 

Last for this post...

here is a little gadget I purchased to help.

I'm anxious to see how it works with tiny carrot seeds.

 

Have you ever tried a Seed Sower?

Meggie Mac

Give Me Flowers....in the Garden

 

It's easy to see why I love the Rudbeckia flower...

 

 

This summer, rain has been the constant companion of the garden. So unlike most years, when we are praying for a little rain in June and July.

 

 

The stems and foliage are almost waist high to me.

 

 

The variegated foliage of the canna gives the garden a tropical look.

 

 

My flowers gardens always include daylilies. They give so much for so little care. The blooms only last for one day, with a single stem producing four or five buds. The stem then provides beauty with another bloom, for each following day.

 

 

Another faithful flower is the chrysanthemum. If pinched back, after the early blooms, you will get another showing in the Fall.

 

 

And last....my favorite, the Daisy.

Meggie Mac

 

To The Daisy by William Wordsworth

 

In youth from rock to rock I went

From hill to hill, in discontent

Of pleasure high and turbulent,

Most pleas'd when most uneasy,

But now my own delights I make,

My thirst at every rill can slake,

And gladly Nature's love partake

of thee, sweet Daisy!

 

A Flower Pot Full of Love

 

When thinking about this flower, love comes to mind. Every Spring, the Amaryllis showers me with these jumbo blooms..... asking nothing in return.

 

 

The amaryllis bulbs have been growing in the same pot, for many years. It withstands our hottest days of 108 degrees. Even our coldest winter nights of below freezing weather, doesn't seem to bother "my old friend".

You may find it difficult to believe, but it is never fertilized. I must admit, I occasionally pour the last bit from my coffee mug into the flower pot.

 

 

 

No fancy pot......just a faded plastic gardening tub for these glorious blooms.

 

 

I'm sure you can see why I call it "A Flower Pot Full of Love".

 

Meggie Mac

Enjoying the Summer Blooms

Do you recognize the bark of this tree? It is from the beautiful Crape Myrtle Tree, sometimes spelled as Crepe Myrtle. The mottled appearance comes from the shedding of it's bark through out the year.

The blooms, this year, are spectacular. This light pink bloom is so heavy the branch is draping over the fence of the Secret Garden.

There are six of these young trees surrounding the outside fence of the Secret Garden. In a few years they will have grown taller than the windows.

I have planted two other colors. This myrtle is a darker pink.

If you are thinking my photo is up-side-down......you would be mistaken. The two white crape myrtles have grown so tall, I had to look up to photograph the flowers.

The white and light pink blooms have a cooling affect for the very hot temperatures in our Texas summers.

Meggie Mac

What A Show Off....

Daylilies, at the farm, are making quite a showing. They are one of the easiest of flowers to grow in Texas.

The color range is almost anything you might image. And each year new colors are on the market.

You can enjoy looking through the catalog where I order my daylilies, if you click on Oakes Daylilies.
If you love flowers, you will not be disappointed in exploring all the colors.

One color extends the entire front of the farmhouse. I started with just a few, dividing them each year as they multiplied.

I couldn't resist taking this photo while I had the water sprinkler on.

Don't you agree, they are quite the Show Off.......

Meggie Mac

Beauty....The Day After

In reality....the yellow dandelion bloom dries out for a day or two before the spent flower opens into the familiar, white, globular seed head.

Each seed has a tiny parachute, to spread easily in the wind.












The dandelion is well-adapted to a modern world. They now grow virtually worldwide.

From reading some of your blogs, I know you love the dandelion for it's edible greens. But, for most gardners, they are a pesty weed that continues to be a problem.

Petunias growing in the walkways as volunteers

I, for one, am a gardner that tries to balance nature. I love the wild of the countryside. I also love my landscape type flower gardens. So, I try to strike a balance with nature, leaving the wild-side on the outer perimeter of my lawn.

Volunteer Petunias after growing a few weeks...where is the walkway?

This means I'm constantly doing battle with the weeds, or in this case, enjoying the volunteers I allow to grow in the walkways........

Meggie Mac