Thieves, Summer Storms and Sunshine

Garden design at the 'Bunnies Buffet' has always included the thought process, "what does the garden look like from inside the house?"  I like to think of the landscaping as a 'canvas' through the windows.  Seasonal weather often keeps us inside - so the view looking out should make me smile?

Garden views from the window...

A few weeks ago I was looking out from the family room and notice a big 'gap' in the Cottage garden where there should be none.  About a month ago I planted a full seed package of russet colored Sunflowers all along the back of the garden.  My hopes were a "wall of Sunflowers" as a back drop!  They had been flourishing - growing like crazy!!   The last time I really saw them, they were at least 15 inches tall.   Now - GONE.  No crumbs, no footprints, no nothing - like they were never even planted?!!  (I have my suspicions;  there are some very satisfied looking bunnies cruising around the backyard - but they aren't talking.)

Crime scene:  no plants, no remants, no incriminating foot prints ...
only the yard art that indicated the plant site

While the 'disappearing' sunflowers was a mystery, the leaning Arabian Nights Dahlias were not.

Leaning Dahlias ... from a wild thunderstorm

In spite of 'plant thieves' and storms, there has been major progress in the Cottage garden removing weeds and adding stepping stones.   Here are a few shots of what's going on...

The "Bones" of the Cottage Garden

New this year:
Monarda ("Marshall's Delight"), Hollyhock and Maiden Grass 

Arabian Nights Dahlia - raindrops in sunshine...

Hibiscus ("Fireball")

Hosta Fortunei

Hibiscus "Fireball" in bloom

Rudibeckia

Time to start investigating other late Summer bloomers.  There seems to be a prevailing "red" & "yellow" trend at the Bunnies Buffet right now.  Maybe "Sunset" Echinacea next year, for variety?  Any thoughts or recommendations for Zone 5?

I wish you a break in the heat and a gentle summer rain for those that have suffered through the +30-day "Heat Domes" (who had even heard of such a thing before this year?)!

Weeds and All...

Once again I've stepped out of the 2011 'Space - Time Continuum' - low & behold, it's July 21st.  Like many areas of the US, it is hot (really, really hot) and dry outside, and I find it so interesting to see what is growing in this oppressive weather.  I took another 'Tour De France" around the backyard to see what's going on...

"Arabian Nights" Dahlia - with a "Lemon Yellow" Daylily back drop...

Back in the 'Cottage Garden' there is actually some blooming going on!  A new annual (started from seed I might add...) - "Arabian Nights" Dahlias are large and in charge.  The (3) plants are about 3 feet tall and very sturdy, while the blooms are a bit diminutive & would fit in the palm of your hand.  The perennial Lemon Yellow Daylily is hardy and looks amazing next to that dark scarlet red - a happy location accident.

"Sun Garden" in Sunset
(Pink Guara, "Wine & Roses" Weigela, Sedum, Moonbeam Coreopsis and Paprika Yarrow)

I am willing to show the 'not so pretty' side of gardening, as I let weeds remain co-located with my perennials.  It is just too incredibly hot to pull weeds - and what the heck, they stay dark green in 'sauna hot' temps.  So if you look close (or double-click on the picture above), you'll see 'weeds among us' in the gardens - but I'm just not going to get OCD about it.  It's just ... too... hot!

Sedum Angelina, Pink Double-Knockout Rose, Sweet Autumn Clematis
Moonbeam Coreopsis, Fireball Hibiscus, Pink Guara and Rudibeckia

Many of the plants are putting on a 'pretty face' right now.  One of my garden buddies 'gifted' me the Sedum Angelina last year.  I put it in a terracotta pot this season - placed on a stand (aka upside down cube-shaped pot) for height and visual interest.  Apparently it's quite happy, as it resembles a 'Chia Pet' now?!  The Pink Knockout Rose is still recovering from 'bunny decimation' - and is happily blooming.

The Sweet Autumn Clematis continues its climb up the trellis - about 3 & 1/2 feet up.  The Hibiscus is a riot of blooms.  Those dinner plate-sized flowers are going to explode - like the plant itself, that has quadrupled in size this year (growing from a 1 stemmed plant to 4).  I am going to have to add Pink Guara down in my 'Cottage Garden'.  It has such awesome movement to it in the breeze - it just says 'cottage'.  It is so much more hardy then the "Sweet Dreams" Coreopsis rosea - which currently looks so anemic I feel bad for it.

Variegated Ribbon Grass

As Greggo so aptly noted on a past post - I really like my "halo fade" effect for photos.  In this case, it blurs the dandelions, so you can appreciate the Variegated Ribbon Grass and my little Sun chime.  I really like this garden vignette - and the stepping stones and fence keep the Ribbon Grass corralled in a small area.

Stay cool!  (I'll never complain about my shade trees ever again.)

Admit it, size matters....

OK, that's a cheap hook, but I've really struggling on something to post on!  Maybe it's just me, but now that July is rounding out - my gardens are almost in Limbo.  It's hot, it's humid and I'm getting tired of fighting dandelions - almost as much as bunnies!

At least that was until today - (.... queue the choir .... "Ahhhhhhhhh!")

"Fireball" Hibiscus / Rose Mallow ('moscheutos "Fireball")

I had to 'incarcerate' this beauty from the bunnies.  They would snip off the new growth at the base of the plant, leaving me with a single stalk - BUT, now protected - it blooms!  Based on the upcoming buds at the top, there is a lot to look forward to.

Other little tidbits that seem to be ignoring the heat....

Pink Double Knock Out Rose
(Rosa 'Padtkopink')

The potted plants in the 'Sun Garden' have been thriving in the heat and humidity....  I combined Sweet Potato Vine with Licorice Plant (Helichrysum thianschanicum (lanatum "Icicles") and Strobilanthes (dyerianus).  It's doubled in size in 2 weeks...

Rudbeckia - I love how it is filling in this year !!

It might not be a Resurrection Lily, but the Vicary Golden Privet (Lignstrum x vicaryi") has been my 'miracle' plant - long ago given up for gone.  Grow, baby, grow!

The Meyer Lemon tree decided to randomly bloom.  We'll see what happens!

The textures in the front garden were particularly eye-catching this weekend in the sunshine.  As long as I photograph around the dandelions - then it's my world and I can be in denial about their existence if I want to!

So, I guess there was something to talk about after all - not Chaucer, but something none the less.

Playing Hooky!

It seems like it's been forever since I've been gardening.  There had been the big push to get the front garden mulched and the 'Sun Garden' finished during the 4th of July weekend.  It felt like a million bucks when it was done!

Now, two weeks later, I feel sheepish because I've been playing hooky!  And it's been GREAT!  I'm trying to talk myself into calling it a garden "field trip", but in truth, my time last week was spent playing!  I traveled to the "Sunshine State" of Florida on the Gulf coast....

While entranced by the cadence of the waves crashing on the shore day and night, that was not the only FL feature I savored.  I have a new appreciation for my garden blog friends from this grow zone!!  Your flora is hypnotic - Hibiscus stops me in my tracks and I weep openly when I see Bougainvillea!  It's all just breathtaking...  If you have a chance. visit Deb at http://deborahsgarden.blogspot.com/, Kimberly at http://deborahsgarden.blogspot.com/ and Meems at http://hoeandshovel.blogspot.com/.  Their blogs capture the journey of gardening in the sunny state of FL and link to other great references and blog sites in tropical gardening.

In my travels last week, while I did not visit key locations like Busch Gardens, I did get to see some FL landscaping in its most fundamental sense -- in commercial real estate.  Some was rudimentary, and then other was really eye-catching.  Here are a few snapshots I took with my little cell phone camera (which I continue to appreciate more and more!)

On a small shopping excursion (and if you know me - I'm not a big shopper), the landscaping across the street caught my eye.  So while my gal pals were browsing through the chotchkes in the local gift shop, I dodged two-way traffic to take these pictures...

The first thing that caught my eye was the seashell mulch.  It was striking!  Then there was the Fountain grass - it appeared that the landscape designer embraced the 'less is more' design concept.  Each plant became it's own 'superstar', drawing you eye around the garden - as much with blank space as with plant material.

Some of my other favorites included...

 

And....

It was a fantastic vacation, extremely relaxing!  Believe it or not, I did have a piece of me happy to return home from this tropical paradise. I'm refreshed and ready to jump back in the saddle - in my garden.  I was delighted to see the Rose Mallow has bloom buds the size of walnuts, just ripe to burst -- now that it's protected from those persistent furry little beasts (my nemesis - the bunnies).         

...now if I can just get the sand out of my shoes....