Get it while its hot!

So here are a few plants I have discovered this year and a few which are in bloom right now. My garden is looking good but I am slowly collecting a few more plants to put in once others are finished blooming. Above is my Euphorbia 'Sticks on Fire', which I was very happy to find tucked away in a local nursery. Also featured in my photos is a crowd pleaser, Crocosmia 'Lucifer', and a more subtle bloom that I have fallen for, Gomphrena ‘Strawberry Fields’, which stands up lovely in the garden on a tender little stalk. The real killer though is the low growing Mimulus annual I found at Chadds Ford Greenhouses. It wasn't labeled but I had to have it! I planted it next to my stone wall, where the stone work has tapered off, and it has been blooming ever since. This plant has been good to me, blooming through rain and holding up beautifully in this sudden shift to hot weather. I can only glean from the internet that it is a Mimulus x hybridus and have been very impressed, both with it's stamina and it's exotic-looking blooms.

Coming along...

As the summer finally sets in and the rains let up, my garden is beginning to take form. I am a little disappointed that my Musa is wider than it is tall but besides that I am extremely pleased. My container is also filling out nicely, although I will have to remove the Aechmea soon. The once steady rain has petered out nicely, with just a few showers spaced in such a way that I have no need to water. Some of my plants are beginning to bloom and I will be sure to include pictures of flowers in my next post. Stay tuned...

Container Time

I put together my container with the same fiery theme as my ornamental plot with a large Aechmea 'Patricia' as the centerpiece. Around the base I planted Beta vulgaris 'Bright Lights', Lonicera 'Crimson Cascade', Lobelia cardinalis 'Queen Victoria', Celosia 'New Look', Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic', and a golden creeping Jenny, also known as Lysimachia nummularia. In the back of the container, I have a few Hamelia patens and Dipladenia or Mandevilla sanderii 'RioTM Deep Red' hanging out the back for good measure. Hopefully the bromeliad will hold on through all of this cold wet weather.

Ornamental Plot Planted

On Sunday I planted my ornamental section of my garden, as well as mulched and watered it in. I am happy to have all the plants in the ground since I have been babysitting them for what feels like months. I had decided early on that I would need a theme for my garden to narrow down the plants I would be collecting and decided to focus on red, my favorite color. In the process of looking for plants, I spread into deep purples and oranges as well. With the addition of a giant red Musa, I am really excited to see everything start to grow. There will be other additions, of course... and my stone wall needs a bit of persuasion from time to time.