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Thursday, April 28, 2011

AS SPRING PLANTS FADE...

Spring bloomers are beginning to fade but I have to hand it to them, they have put on a fantastic show despite the heat.

The cornflowers pop up every year. I particularly love the dark maroon ones.

Love-in-a-mist will soon be leaving behind its lovely seed pods, which add interest to the fading spring garden as well as to the dried flower collection

In my herb garden, when the spring flowers leave, there will be herbs. Santolina, oregano, sage and chives.

The first blooms of Verbena bonariensis.

Swan river daisy, Brachyscome grows in a pot with a black pearl pepper, wintered over.

Tall spires of heart leaf skull cap fill this corner of the patio. I'll be having a good clean out in the fall.

I always plan to stuff the flowers of the patty pan squash but never seem to get round to it. I do, however, often stuff the squash itself.

Larkspur everywhere. Many years ago a packet of pale lilac larkspur, their name forgotten. They turn up every year.

May is the time for purple cone flowers, Echinacea purpurea. I wonder if there will be a white one this year.

Blossoms of the Jerusalem thorn, Parkinsonia aculeata. This is the tree that grew in a pile of rubble off the driveway and when I said it had to stay, David built a wall around it! Good man.

Finally, the first of the day lilies. This one came from friends down in Gonzales.

All my plants have enjoyed the last two days of dry air and temperatures only in the 80s. Perfect.

17 comments:

  1. You have some wonderful flowers blooming despite the dry hot conditions. That Daylily is a stunner and the Heart Leaf Skull Cap is lovely with its' grey-green foliage and soft lavender flowers.

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  2. I would like to sent you some more of our cool wet weather. However that would mean its summer here. So I will wait. Love your zeric zoned garden.

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  3. What a wonderful post. Your flowers are spectacular. Love your coneflowers. I put some seeds out and hoping they will come up.

    You are hot and dry and we are hot and humid. Things are growing like crazy.

    I think I have a squash coming up. Had a cardboard palm that I thought was killed by the frost this winter. I didn't give up on it. A few weeks ago something came up. I thought it looked like a squash and now I am pretty sure that it is. Amazingly the cardboard palm is now coming back to life.

    Enjoy your weekend!

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  4. Love the maroon cornflower! Also, I wish I could grow verbena bonariensis, but it gets so much powdery mildew it's not worth it. I let it come up where it wants to, but I may remove it later in the summer. Any problems with powdery mildew there, or are you too dry?

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  5. Haven't the last few days been PERFECT??? And everything seems to be responding. Your photos are not surprisingly incredible. The last photo of the lily is stunning. Almost looks fake. Great shot. I love the peeks into your garden- thanks for the beautiful post!
    K

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  6. Your photos today look like watercolors. The first one, especially. Beautiful.

    I love the cornflowers.

    My coneflower is just getting started...no blooms, yet. Your garden is always so far ahead of mine. Maybe because yours gets more sun.

    Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend.

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  7. Beautiful blooms It is so nice that you are able to dry some of them to keep them forever.

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  8. Absolutely beautiful flowers.
    What wonderful rich color!
    I love the Nigella damascena.

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  9. Jenny, it is all simply lovely. Someday maybe I can come back down for a visit. Happy May!~~Dee

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  10. Your photographs never fail to be amazing. Love the cornflowers. Verbena bonariensis is one of the plants on my wish list this year. I'm hoping one of our local nurseries has the plant since I have never seen it in any of the big box stores.

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  11. Lynn-Very easy to grow from seed. Reseeds every year in my garden.
    Dee- WOuld love to see you again. Just let us know when you travel this way.
    Alan- sometimes I do get powdery mildew but not his year- too dry. No blackspot on the roses, either. Jsut spider mites everywhere. Don't you love gardening.

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  12. It's trying to rain here!!! I will take what I can get- are you getting anything out at your place?
    k

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  13. I love the Nigella--that cool blue is so welcome in a hot April like this one was.

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  14. Your photos and these flowers are spectacular! Absolutely lovely! We are still having our spring here and have just had a week of rain. So it is very refreshing again. Hopefully the warmer weather will stay now.

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  15. Your top photo looks like a Monet painting! The colors are beautiful. I could just sit in your garden for hours and soak in the beauty and peacefulness. Thanks for sharing.

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