I got home last night at Midnight after a seven-day journey first to Boise, Idaho for a visit with Mary Ann Newcomer and then to Portland, Oregon, for Garden Bloggers Fling. I am weary. I almost posted one tomato blossom for this July Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Almost.
There’s something about coming back from garden tours that always makes me full of dismay about my own plot of Earth. My house isn’t grand. It’s a log cabin. My garden wasn’t designed by a famous designer. It’s a collector’s garden designed my me, and I’m no Beatrix Farrand. I try to use all the tips and techniques I’ve learned like repetition of form, focal points and symmetry, but mostly, I garden for the plants. I bought four new plants when we visited Joy Creek Nursery,mCaryopteris clandonensis ‘Worster Gold’, Achillea ‘Summerwine’, Aster n-a. ‘Septemberrubin’ and Filipendula rubra c.v. ‘Venusta.’ How could I not? They are now cooling their heels in my kitchen sink waiting for a spot in the garden. I’ll need to dig something else out first.
It is lily season. They make up for a lot of bad in the garden because they bring the visitor’s eye upward. I did noticed mine only grow five feet, not ten, like those in Oregon. In Oregon, it must be all of the water and a long growing season. We have the long season, but not much water and too much sun some years. Still, I’m very happy with ‘Scheherazade’ (Orienpet) and ‘Casablanca’ (Oriental Hyb.).
I am not as happy with ‘Black Beauty’ (Oriental Hyb.), below, because it’s just not performing as well. It looks great in photos though. The gladiolus are finished, and they look God-Awful from grasshopper chews and such. I think I’ll remove most of them from the borders. I mean it. I know I used to write some lovely prose to ‘Atomic‘, but he no longer deserves my love let alone all of the other top-heavy ones I have to stake. Still, ‘Atomic’ is such a great red.
We’ve had some rain this year. No drought busters, but enough to keep the garden happy with supplemental watering. With rain comes weeds. Tour gardens are in top condition. Vacation gardens are not. Gardeners and their volunteers weed, deadhead and mulch to make everything tour ready. Back home, your garden has had no attention in the least, and so the weedy grasses are taking over. Some petunias are dying in the containers where the water didn’t get to them. It’s a million little things that sap one’s energy.
Although gardens won’t weed themselves, we can still take a day to enjoy just the blooms and try not to worry about all of the work that must be done. On to the flowers….
Not only is it lily season, it’s also hibiscus time in the garden. I have several, but two make my heart swoon, ‘Moy Grande’ and ‘Cranberry Crush’, and they couldn’t be more different. ‘Moy Grande’ is five feet tall and five feet wide while ‘Cranberry Crush’ is a diminutive three to four feet. ‘Moy Grande’ is bright, screamin’ pink while ‘Cranberry Crush’ is red.
The blooms of ‘Moy Grande’ are huge and open while ‘Cranberry Crush’ has petals that overlap more. CC is planted here in dappled sun so it doesn’t open until later in the morning. I think I bought both of these cultivars at Bustani Plant Farm, but you can also find them at Plant Delights Nursery, and they ship. One more thing, I planted three plants of ‘Cranberry Crush.’ One died the first year. Lucky for me, the other two have grown together as one larger specimen. I only mention it here because things sometimes just die. Who knows why? Don’t let a little death in the garden worry you.
Since ‘Cranberry Crush’, also called Summerific ‘Cranberry Crush’ is a Proven Winners selection, you may be able to find it at the box stores. I would look now as the box stores like to sell plants in bloom. You can probably also find it at your local nursery. While shopping, also pick up some crapemyrtles for your garden if you live in the South, but before you grab the container and go, use your phone to make sure your crapemyrtle won’t get too big for the spot you place it. That way, you won’t need to whack it off every year later.
Here, in spite of the weeds, daylily season blooms on. We’re on rebloom for a lot of the mid-season cultivars, and the lates are just putting on. Remind me in the fall to add more late-blooming daylilies to the garden because they add so much to the overall bloom in July.
Although a lot is blooming, July is not my favorite season. It is another in-between season like mid-May here. Early summer perennials have quit blooming for the year, and later bloomers haven’t taken up the mantle yet. Some plants are crowding others. Time to cut back and make the best of what’s blooming now. Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’ is one of the great summer bloomers along with ‘Pink Preference’ salvia. They always look great from the middle of summer all the way to frost. ‘Pink Preference’ is just getting starting. Hot days will bring out even more color. Behind these hard-working perennials is ‘Pink Velour’ crapemyrtle just getting started.
I have finally successfully grown pineapple lily. Below is ‘Oakhurst’ which is supposed to be the darkest purple. I don’t know if it is, but it is darker than ‘Sparkling Burgundy.’ I think I need an empty pot to place behind it to show it off. All those small leaves make it disappear. One of my biggest design lessons in Portland was the use of large empty pots as focal points and other design elements.
If you went garden touring on vacation, and you’re feeling insecure about your own space right now, just stop. Your garden is yours alone. No one else can create a garden exactly like yours. Don’t let the critic in your head overwhelm you. Gardening is much like writing, painting, photography, or any of the arts. There is always the critic within who wants to make your life a living hell. Don’t let him.
You’re also tired after vacation, and there’s a million things to do. Give yourself at least one day to get back into the swing of things. Take care of yourself. The weeds will be there when you get outside, but for today, try to see the flowers instead.
Thanks to Carol Michel of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.
I'm so glad you concluded with learning to appreciate your own garden, without comparing unduly to others. I have a few corners that are a bit busier than I would like, but flowers make me smile, so why not? I feel that way about my home too. I have to live in it, and it says "me" way more than a generic, designer space.
I need to get on board with lilies. Sure, they were gorgeous in Portland but half that size would be fine with me. I also saw nice clumps of your Atomic glad in Portland, so sorry to hear this is getting the shovel. It disappeared in my garden a few years ago. The grasshoppers are really proliferating in our drought too….thanks for the pep talk!
Hi Denise, I just started planting them a few years ago. I was afraid they wouldn’t perform well in Oklahoma. Some perform better than others. I find that the hybrids handle our heat better. They are pretty easy otherwise. If you do decide to add lilies, order them from a reputable seller because they will come to you in October when they are fresh. That’s super important.
I have the same feelings when I return from touring gardens, but I know your garden is a beautiful place, and I would love to see it as much as any of those we visited this past week. Love all your lilies–I don’t know where I can squeeze in one more, but I’d love to add ‘Scherhezade.’ All the rain this spring/summer has been great for the garden, but it’s been great for the weeds, too. I think I’m fighting a losing battle:)
Rose, I think it’s just the fantasy of the perfect garden that gets me. Mine is full of weeds right now having been gone, but I do think it’s rather pretty. Come visit me in Oklahoma sometime. I’ll show you the prettiest places.
It is good to see that you are back in town and have such a beautiful garden to welcome you home. Love the lillies. I tell myself every year I am going to get more of the tall ones. They don't grow tall here either. I love those big blooms tho. Your garden is beautiful. I don't think all gardens should look the same. I love to see the gardener's stamp on each garden. Much more interesting that way. Oh yes, design can help but really. I love the cottage/modern/natural/plant collectors gardens. Yes, just about any garden where the garden is true to themselves.
I love lily season. I have Black Beauty next to the house where they are safe from the deer that ate my Casa Blancas. Yesterday I scared away a mama deer and two babies. They are very pretty, but there is plenty to eat on my 60 acres besides my perennials – and the lilies especially.
Yes, lilies are beloved by deer. I have these right up by the house where the dogs are. Maybe that’s why they haven’t been consumed yet.
I can agree with a lot of what you’ve said Dee. I too am a plant collector, not a designer. We’ve had alternating sunshine and rain so far this summer, perfect conditions and the weeds have won out in many areas of my too-large garden. But I can only do what I can do. Until I win the lottery and have a gardener of my own. Hey ho.
Rusty Duck, the weeds are definitely killing me this year. I don’t usually have so many of them. Arrgh!
Hey sweetie,
Your GBBD reports never fail to impress or if not to be to impressed, then there's always a lesson learned. I love both Memphis and North Wind Dancer. I invite you over to my place to see my first real GBBD report. Think you'll enjoy,
Patrick
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: July http://t.co/2XW1qYPW4Z via @reddirtramblin
There are a lot of things to absolutely love in your garden; I am a big fan of the lilies. There are many of us out here that would love to live in a log cabin…
There are a lot of things to absolutely love in your garden; I am a big fan of the lilies. There are many of us out here that would love to live in a log cabin…
How lovely, I adore the blooms in July. They seem to be so extravagant with color, form and scent. the Oriental lilies take the prize in my gardens for my favorites this time of the year.
How lovely, I adore the blooms in July. They seem to be so extravagant with color, form and scent. the Oriental lilies take the prize in my gardens for my favorites this time of the year.
I don’t know what you’re talking about — your garden looks great! Your photos show a lot of beautiful blooms that most people (including me!) would be ecstatic to have in their own gardens. Those hibiscus are knock-out stunners that I think I might need to plant more of, seeing yours…. Comparing your own garden to others, particularly professionally-designed gardens, those of wealthy people, or those that longtime gardeners have been working on for decades, is just not fairly comparable — although it’s nice to get a few ideas from those kind of gardens. Enjoy your own lovely gardens, and thanks for sharing them with us! -Beth
I don’t care if you live in a log cabin and don’t have a professionally designed garden. It was beautiful enough to pin, and I pinned several of the lily photos. Gardening is fun, and you sound like you are having a great time.
Nice to see you Alana. Thanks for pinning my images. So kind. Your words are too.
Hi Dee, It sounds like you had a great vacation and your gardens look beautiful to me. We are too critical of our own. When you mentioned that your garden isn’t the creation of a designer, etc. it really resounded with me. My main concern, when planting, is how well the plant will do in a particular part of the garden. Some of it is very dry and further down it’s moist, etc. Flowers are so special how can we go wrong! Have fun deciding where you’re going to put your new purchases!
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: July http://t.co/akqg6mxbns #garden