Category Archives: fence bed

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – September 2015

It’s already Bloom Day again, the garden meme hosted by May Dreams Gardens, where monthly gardeners share what is blooming in their gardens. When looking back at last year’s September posts I realized we had been preparing for our trip to Ireland. Two years back at this time revealed the plants are further along than they were in 2013. We’ve had a strange September so far as the first week of the month resembled the “dog days of summer” usually prevalent in August. And then the weather cooled off, and then warmed back up again.

Beginning on the West side of the Lot, the huge cup plant featured in August’s bloom day post is beginning to fade and go to seed as is the cardinal flowers beneath the climbing rose. It is also beginning to lean over toward the property line which makes me nervous. I should cut it back but the curiosity of who will come to eat the seed is preventing me from doing so.

In the south bed, both little sedum are blooming at the bottom of our steps.

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The plumbago is in full bloom and has filled in nicely around the growing smoke bush. The black eyed susan has only a handful of blooms left. Various coreopsis, blanket flower, and cone flower are beginning to slow, having bloomed the majority of the summer season. Our little potentilla shrub is still sharing its sunny, yellow blooms and the yew is sprinkled with its bright red seeds.

In the backyard, the autumn clematis has burst into bloom. I had cut it to the ground in spring, but that didn’t seem to deter it from growing quite huge this season.

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Here’s a closer shot of the little blooms. They have a lovely scent.

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In the fence bed, several new plants were added this season. (I did a lot of rearranging.) Here is a relocated hyssop, blooming its heart out after being moved from a shadier bed where it was struggling. The butterflies and hummingbirds seem to enjoy this plant.

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In the backyard bed, there is more plumbago in bloom. Also, I finally found a bird bath I like! Here it is.

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And here is a larger shot of the corner in that bed. I’m liking the combination of textures and colors right now.

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On the other end of the backyard bed is the lone mum on the Lot. I forgot to pinch it back, so it grew long and leggy. However, the little blooms are pretty anyway.

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I expanded Loki’s bed this season since it was way overcrowded. In doing so, it now curves around and extends further down the fence line. Here is a pretty little tea rose I received this past March at the Smart Gardening conference. I had it in a pot most of the season, but now it finally has a home in the soil of the Lot.

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And new bed space means new plants, right?! Here is an autumn fern I picked up while out plant shopping with Mrs. J.

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I realize it is technically not a bloom, but the new fronds on this fern emerge as that beautiful, coppery orange color. Here is a closer look at the coloring.

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And here is the dainty, little blooms of the coral bell in Loki’s bed.

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Some of the plants usually blooming in early spring now have volunteers popping up around the Lot. Such as with this little viola.

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And they are also perking up in the hanging baskets while the rest of the plants appear a bit tired and overgrown. The pansies and snapdragons seem to have been renewed.

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Also blooming in the backyard is the guara, a handful of black eyed susans, a foamy bell, phlox, and winter savory. The east bed has the toad lily beginning to bloom.  In the alley bed, the sedum Autumn Joy is abuzz with pollinators because of it’s dusty rose blooms.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – July 2015

It’s bloom day again, so that means it’s time for another inventory of what is currently blooming on the Lot. May Dreams Gardens is the blog host of GBBD. There you can view gardens around the world and see what is blooming.

Beginning in the alley bed, the asiatic lilies are finishing up as the dragon’s blood sedum is just beginning to hold aloft its fuchsia blooms.

071515-dragons-bloodThe daylilies in the back have finished up, but the second flush of the bachelor’s button (Centaurea montana) is beginning to bloom. About midsummer, this plant will bloom, the stalks collapse outward, and new growth will begin from the center.

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In the backyard of the Lot, there is plenty going on right now. Just finishing is the Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ and the lavender (Lavandula). In the west fence bed the dwarf sea holly (Eryngium planum ‘Blue Hobbit’) is still blooming, along with a second display of yellow columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha) and some rose champion (Lychnis coronaria).

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Back by the rain barrels, the swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)is doing well in its second year on the Lot.

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The backyard bed includes blooms from the himalayan cinquefoil (Potentilla nepalensis), jupiter’s beard (Centranthus ruber), and the tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata). The black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia) blooms are just beginning to open.

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The east fence bed is blooming with tall garden phlox, balloon flowers (Platycodon), and tickseed (Coreopsis).

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The dwarf coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Buttefly Kisses’) is peeking out from underneath an exuberant clematis.

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Another unidentified clematis has given up waiting for its trellis it was promised this last spring and is now crawling across the lawn.

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The house bed is glowing right now with the leopard plant (Ligularia ‘Britt Marie Crawford’). The foamy bells (Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea’) is still sending out blooms and some native cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) are beginning to bloom for the first time.

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In the southwest bed, the bee balm (Monarda) is on its way out while the south bed is in full bloom with a palette of violet, red, yellow, and orange.  Multiple varieties of tickseed (Coreopsis) are blooming as well as purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and blanket flower (Gaillardea).

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Finally, here are a few of the annual containers I put together with leftovers from the GIG’s container planting day.

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Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – May 2015

Today is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, a meme hosted by May Dreams Gardens in which gardeners worldwide share what is blooming in their gardens. May on the Lot is when the garden beds really kick it into gear and the plants take off. Though we’ve had less rains than previous Springs, everything is looking good and growing well.

In a northern backyard bed this Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) is coming back with a vengeance and just starting to bloom. It is beginning to gobble up the poor Coral Bell. The little Labrador Violets are have been blooming for awhile now.
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In one of the back alley beds Mt Airy Fothergilla is doing its Spring thing. It survived the winter with only a couple of snapped limbs.051515_mtairy

Blooming for its first time on the Lot is this dainty barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilafee’) along the Eastern side of the house. The crocus leaves illustrates the small size of the plant.051515_Epimedium-lilafee

Another barrenwort I brought home with me from the 2014 Portland Garden Bloggers’ Fling has reappeared and is right at home as well on the Eastern side. Where the previous plant’s blooms remind me of little sprites, these flowers look like small spiders or crabs.051515_Epimedium-Portland 051515_Epimedium-Portland2

The fuzzy pasque (Anemone patens) flower is in bloom, looking soggy here as I snapped photos between rain showers.051515_pasque-flower

The dwarf irises are blooming…051515_dward-iris

… as are the bluebells which snuck under the fence from the neighbor’s property. The foreground gives a glimpse of some of the Forget-me-nots (or rather “if you plant me once you’ll be rid of me nots”) blooming around the backyard.051515_bluebells

The foamflower (Tiarella) is in bloom.051515_fence-bed

The bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis alba) is as huge and beautiful as ever.051515_gate-bed

Both cranesbill plants are brightening up the pathway back to the compost bin.051515_cranesbill

The Sweet Tea Coral Bell is beginning to bloom. Hmm, I didn’t notice until this photo I forgot to clean up those old leaves at the base.051515_house-bed

The brunnera is blooming. I much prefer this well-behaved version of Forget-me-not.051515_brunnera

Huzzah! I did not kill the Jack-in-the-Pulpit I brought back from the 2014 Nursery Crawl. At the beginning of the season it received too much hot, afternoon sun. It seems happier here. 051515_jack-in-the-pulpit

By the way, this is Jack. He’s a pretty dapper fellow.051515_jack

This is a Geum triflorum ‘Prairie Smoke,’ the prize find of the 2014 Nursery Crawl. I picked it up when it was already done blooming, only able to enjoy the seed heads (which admittedly is why I purchased the plant). This season I am able to enjoy the blooms as well.051515_geum-prairie-smokeLoki’s bed is looking great with the lenten rose (Hellebores) and solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum Variegatum) blooming.051515_lokis-bed

Here is a brand new bloom for this season. Our west-side neighbors have a beautiful strawberry patch growing against the fence. I’m wondering what these stowaways will get up to on the Lot.051515_strawberry-bloomAnother shot of the Eastern side of the house shows the rock foil (Saxifraga) and the dwarf  bugleweed (Ajuga x ‘Chocolate Chip’) in bloom.051515_rock-garden 051515_dragons-blood-bugleweedAnd for the very first season in bloom is our lilac. This shrub was given to us by Miss A after she received it from the Arbor Day Foundation. We placed it in the ground as a mere twig. It was mowed over not once but twice by the neighbors (oh the challenges of urban gardening)! It smells heavenly.051515_lilac

The last of the tulips are fading, and the Sweet William is full of buds in the South bed. The carpet flox is still full of color in the Southwest bed. That is all for the Lot this May! What is blooming in your garden?