Hold it...I Think You're Going to Like This Picture....

If you saw my Foliage Follow-Up post, you saw the above Canna bloom.

I wondered if that paintbrush orange, on half of this petal was some abnormal thing.

It took a few days for another bloom to start opening.

But look!  It's not abnormal.  This looks like it's going to be quite normal.

I have no idea what the name of this canna is.

We got it at a Flower Farm, over toward Blanco.  It was simply marked 'Red Canna'.

The real selling point to me, was this stripped leaf.

Another paintbrush technique on this plant.

Even without the blooms, this is a great plant.

I think I'm going to like this one.

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

With a Little Help from My Friends....

Our friends.....pollinators.  Doing their jobs.  Flitting from flower to flower, taking what they need, and leaving behind the good pollen that helps make food for us.

We couldn't do it, without you.

Thanks, y'all.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Foliage Follow-Up for June 2011

Golden Barrel Cactus

The day after Garden Bloggers Bloomday, we join

Pam at Digging.

for Foliage Follow-Up.

Gold drop Acuba

Flowers are great.  But, the foliage is what makes the garden, for me.

There is softness and a cool feeling from foliage, like this Artemisia 'Powis Castle'.

Daniella tasmanica

Flax Lily adds a bit of light, to a shady garden.  

This Pacifica Chrysanthemum looks like someone painted the edges of the leaves a creamy white.  The flowers on this one are not that interesting to me.  But, the leaves are great.

Another variegated plant I really like is Aztec Grass.  It's sometimes listed as a Liriope.  But, it doesn't look like a variegated Liriope, so I'm not sure.
Still....it's planted all over the fenced area.  Deer will munch it, but not always.  Liriope is gone in a hurry.

I do really like Liriope, though.  It holds up really well in cold or heat.  You can use it for accents, or make a nice green edge along a bed.

It adds some interest to the garden....even makes a good container plant.

Coleus is a favorite of mine.  Look at that color.  But, it takes a lot of water.  So, this is our only one this year.  I over did the impatiens this year.  They love the water, too.

Speaking of leaves with color...look at this new canna.

Isn't that cool?

And, this other one.  I know, I know....it's very dry, and very hot and a crazy time to plant something...but, I couldn't help myself.

They both are supposed to have red blooms.  No name, just 'red canna'.

But. surprise!  It opened up yellow.  So, ok..it'll go with the dwarf yellow ones.

And, look at this!  I think this is an abnormal petal.  But, wouldn't it be great, if there are more of these?

We got them at a neat flower barn.  This family has a cut flower farm, between Wimberley and Blanco.  They sell to the big grocers...Central Market, HEB and more...plus what they have to sell in the barn.  Nice folks, and good prices, too.

I mentioned I planted a lot of impatiens this year.  Most are in pots or baskets....even more watering.  But, the New Guinea varieties hold up better to the heat and dryness.  I like the look of them, even with no blooms.

This is the second round of Persian Shield.  The first one died.  And, one of the two I replaced it with, just up and died this week.  The color in the leaves keeps bringing me back to them.

The Feverfew really held up well to the cold last winter and the summer heat.  It's supposed to 'reseed readily'....but, it hasn't bloomed for us, yet.  Makes a nice bright green spot in the garden.

Another reliable returner is Virginia Creeper.  In fact, I'm not sure you could get rid of it.  But, it's pretty on the fence.

Dichondra argentea

I'm really liking the Silver Pony Foot.
It's supposed to be a ground cover...but, don't you love the way it cascades down the side of a pot?
Love it....

The piece of Yucca trimmed from our neighbor's plant, didn't make it.  So, we replaced it with a Queen Palm.  The label says it's good down to zero degrees.  We'll see.  Mr. P. really likes palms.

Speaking of palms....well...this is not really a palm.  But, it's called a Sago PALM.  It's really a Cycas revoluta.
We thought it was a goner last winter.  Mr. P. refused to dig it up.  And, he was right...this time.
It's back.  But, it's a bit strange.  The fronds are twisted...they kind of coil.  And, it's not as large as it should be, at it's age.  We've had this palm for about seven years.  It lived in a pot in our last garden.

It's the center piece of the front bed...so, it really needs to get back to normal.
Maybe some rain would help.

If the drought keeps up very much longer, we might have to depend on desert type plants....like these Lophantha agaves.

Optunia 'Bunny Ears'

Or, prickly pears.

What kind of foliage do you have?  Check out the foliage, over at Pam's. 

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

  

Garden Bloggers Bloomday June 2011

zinnia

It's the middle of June, already.  I know I say this all the time...but, where does the time go?

The 15th of each month, we join Carol, at May Dreams Garden, to show what is blooming in our gardens.

It's always fun to see what each person is growing, and what is blooming in different parts of the world.

Here, the weather has been hot and dry....very hot, and very dry.  But, we're working hard and keeping things alive.  Plumbago, above, loves the heat.  The blue blooms help to cool things down a bit.

The Purple Cone Flower is finally blooming.  Another one is on the way.  For some reason, I've had trouble getting these started.

The yellow dwarf canna is blooming.

And, so is the Purple Heart.

Speaking of purple, Cleome Senorita Margarita is a hard working bloomer.  She's not very tall yet, but she has lots of blooms.  I put this in a sunnier place this year.  We'll see if that was the right thing to do.

Geraniums aren't supposed to like the heat.  But, these just keep on blooming.  I'm not sure what variety these are.  The label just said 'geranium'.

The chysanthemums I planted last fall are blooming.  It's time to pinch them back, but that's hard to do when they're blooming.  They're hearty things....the severe cold last winter didn't bother them, and they're holding up pretty well in the heat.  There will be more planted this fall.

The Thryallis is beginning to bloom.  We were so afraid we'd lost this last winter, even though we covered it with several layers.  It's not very tall...but, it's alive and blooming.  Can you see the bug on there?  They are all over the place, and I don't know what they are.  Not baby grasshoppers....but, they eat plants.

I like white flowers.  This is a white verbena.

The bougainvillea is putting on color.  It's been a little slow about it this year.  It got a bigger pot.  So, maybe it's been busy stretching it's toes.

I'm told this is the real flower, on bougainvilleas.  But, really...do you think of this as the flower, when you see a bougainvillea?

In the veggies garden, I planted a whole snack size baggie of Narrow Leaf Zinnias.  ONE came up.  Here it is. I hope it puts on lots of seeds for me.

The cucumbers are blooming.  We've had one cucumber to slice in a salad.  And, despite the extreme heat...it was sweet.

The blooms are small and delicate looking.  But, they do their job.

The tomatoes are still putting on fruit.  It's a battle, though.  I'm still fighting Red Spider Mites and yesterday I saw baby Leaf Footed Bugs.  Couldn't find them this morning.  But, I'm thinking they're still there.....ugh.

I'm excited the Agapanthus has a bloom stalk.  Kind of looks like it's sticking it's tongue out at us.  But, it won't be long until it brakes out with it's purple fireworks bloom.

So, what's blooming in your garden?

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~