Back Yard Garden, May 22, 2013

Back Yard,  May 22nd, 2013

      One part of the garden is very much in bloom right now.  Most of these plants were available in the recent plant give away.  That is mostly finished for now as prime transplanting time has come and gone.  During the give away time I found it difficult to remember the colors of some of the day lilies, so I can identify the Stella de Oro lilies that are now blooming.

      The clump of Stella de Oro in the foreground are in the northeast corner of the back garden.  A strip of Forget Me Not runs up to the next clump of lilies.  The taller stems behind the Forget Me Not are phlox which are not yet in bloom.

     Walking around into the garden leaves the one Stella clump in the middle behind the bird feeder, while the second clump is now hidden by the orange tetraploid lilies that are taller, but not yet in bloom.  The pure yellow iris at the right is just starting to bloom, and the iris in the middle forefront is a pure blue just about to bloom.

      This is the same yellow iris, but this shot swings a little to the left and shows the shasta Daisies in the middle.  On the right are the tetraploid lilies again, and the magenta colored clematis is at the top in the middle.

      This shot shows the magenta clematis in the foreground, and the purple clematis in the middle.  The purple has lots of baby offshoots at its base.  They were and still are available for the asking.  At the base of the magenta clematis, the Joe Pye Weed is just starting to grow.  It needs to be dug out REAL SOON and a limited quantity might be available for a road trip.

      The perennial geranium is near the entry to this back yard garden.  To the right of the geranium is the African Daisy, about three feet tall on its way to six feet tall in a couple of weeks.  The gold finches will feast on the daisy seeds later in the season.  It won't be long before the Shasta Daises seen earlier are finished blooming and become finch bait.  There are some Forget Me Not behind the geranium, and behind that is penstemon, also known as Beard's Tongue.

A different angle, May 22nd,  2013

      This mixed purple and blue Bearded Iris is by the deck in back.  It is my favorite of my iris, and has had a very nice bloom this year.  I will move some this fall to see if I can increase my stock.

      The Weigela is now in full bloom.  My wife was told that if we prune it back hard after blooming, there will be a second flush of color later in the year.  As it badly needs a trim, we will put that theory to the test.
      What a pretty time of year.  And there has been enough cool weather this spring to prolong the colors!

Sunny Sunday, July First

Backyard garden, July 1st, 2012

Tetraploid day lily

Lily and phlox

Pink phlox

White phlox

Six foot African daisies

Volunteer sunflower

Tranquility, before the day's heat

Bicolor day lily

Rose campion

Cleome

      It is the first of July and it should be hot and  humid.  The yard should be a monotone dull green fading to brown.  Well I can't control the weather, but I can throw color at the boring green palette.  Have a beautiful first of July!

Plant Give Away, Too

To add to the plant give away post:

Shasta Daisy,  5/13/2011

      These daisies are probably Shasta daisies, and are right now coming into bloom from the warm spring weather this year.  Enjoys lots of sun.  They self seed freely, and the seed heads are enjoyed by gold finches.  Still lots of clumps at this writing.

Purple Columbine,  5/13/2011

      The purple columbine self seeds, and will pop up in lots of new places.  Does well in partial shade and likes moisture.  I now have some plants that are basically white.  Limited supply of columbine at this writing.

My back yard garden,  7/7/2011

      This shot shows lots of plants that are available.  The tall plants in the background are African daisies.  They grow to six feet by July, and the seed heads are adored by gold finches.  The day lily in the middle of the shot is a solid orange tetraploid.  The clump does spread fairly rapidly, but can be controlled easily by digging out plants to give away.  The lily on the right is a dark magenta color, and the lily in the front is a combination yellow and orange.  Also have some shorter Stella De Oro daisies, a nice compact yellow.

Canna Lily,  7/7/2011

      The cannas have not yet started to grow, but will be six to eight feet tall by July.  This particular variety has a fairly insignificant red flower spike for such a large canna.  Yet it is visited often by our hummingbirds, so I have not switched it out for a showier variety.  I probably have some lambs ear that is in the right foreground.  Interesting leaves, not much on the flowers.  I do have some rose campion available, which has similar leaves to the lamb's ear, but the campion has strikingly beautiful flowers.  The garlic behind the campion is a hard neck variety that is showing the garlic scapes.  We still have beautiful garlic bulbs from last years harvest.  No way that those are available. 

White and Pink Phlox,  July 2011

       The phlox was pretty, but reserved when grown in a fairly shady spot under a maple tree.  When moved to the back garden, it had an explosion of self seeding.  Plenty available.

Black eyed Susan and African Daisies,  July 2011

      Black eyed Susan are in the foreground, with the taller African daisies behind.  The black eyed Susan is particularly drought resistant, and its seed heads are eaten by the finches.

      These are the pictures I could find this morning.  Lots of other things are available, but not yet listed.

Plant Give Away

      No, that is not a mistake.  Every spring provides me with hoards of volunteer plants, both perennials and annuals.  They come up in places they should not be, or just crowd around at the base of the parent plant.  Most times they end up on the compost pile, quite a waste of talent.  So yes they are free to a good home. 
      Strings attached?  Yes.  You probably have to show up to help to pull them out.  You will need containers to haul them off.  If you want a bunch of stuff, a bag or two of topsoil would help to offset what dirt walks off with the free plants.  If you have something to trade, that would be nice, but is not required.
      Some things should have already been removed for bloom this year, but they will still be good for next year.  Visit this page often, as it will expand as time allows.  So without further ado, let's get going.  The list of volunteers:

Bleeding Heart

Jack in the Pulpit

Euonymus fortunei, ground cover

Red Primrose

Day lilies, pink and white phlox, African daisies

Blood Sorrel

Hellebores

      OK, that is a start.  I will add more as I go along.  Don't be shy.  Help me find some of these plants a good home.  Add a comment, call me, or my email address is on my profile page.  Garden on.