Blackberries. My Picture Of The Day

 

 

*

***Copyright 2011 TatyanaS

Fuchsia in September

Fuchsia is the queen of my front flowerbed in August and September. Better to say, there are two queens there. Bought about six years ago, they don't have tags so I can't give you their names. I call them Fuchsia The Brunette and Fuchsia The Blonde. They were tiny plants back when I picked them, but now, they are two good size shrubs.

 

They both are very photogenic.

Somehow, I always take more pictures of Fuchsia The Blonde with its large pink-dark pink-light purple flowers.

 - Why do you take her pictures more often than mine? -asked Fuchsia The Brunette.

- And why do you focus mostly on the individual flowers? Look how full my shrub is!
 

Really, the shrub is pretty big and full!

- Because I am prettier! - Fuchsia The Blonde interjected.

 -I am thinner and my flowers are lighter !

-Show-off! The only thing you do the whole day is flirt with your neighbor Melianthus! - said The Brunette.

- Everyone in our flowerbed knows that!

-Ladies! Stop the squabbling!  I am big enough for both of you -  exclaimed Antonow's Blue Honey Bush, Melianthus as he invitingly spread his huge branches.

- Casanova! - said Fuchsia The Brunette.

- Skirt-chaser! - said Fuchsia The Blonde.

- Fine! - growled Melianthus. I'll make friends with The Daylilies. They bloom only for one day, but there are so many of them!  One finishes blooming, but another is ready to replace it!

-Womanizer! - cried both Fuchsias simultaneously as they intertwined their branches. Case closed.

Melianthus major 'Antonow's Blue': Powder-blue, highly textural evergreen foliage grows along stems to 8 feet tall. In late spring, spikes of deep burgundy, nectar-rich flowers will attract numerous bird species to the garden. USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 7-12. Average minimum temperature of 0 to 10 degrees F. Needs regular watering -weekly, or more often in extreme heat. Partial to full sun. (Description by Monrovia)

I have others fuchsias growing separately, and I will show them later.

***Copyright 2011 TatyanaS

Late Summer Garden Picture

 The end of the summer happened to be warm, dry and colorful in my garden. Maybe it is some kind of a reward for us after having a cool and wet start to the summer. There are plenty of bright blooms right now, but this is the picture I chose as my entry for the Gardening Gone Wild   September's 'Picture This' photo contest  Late Summer Garden:

I focused on the buds of this lovely bluish echeveria. They symbolize the highest moment in a plant's life and contain hope for a new life. Lobelia 'Riviere Sky Blue' was not the main object of this shot, but it adds a lot to the picture. It is finishing its all-summer non-stop blooming, and its summery bright flowers present such a contrast with their dry brown stems! The blooming sedum in the background is another sign of summer ending.

You might remember this strawberry pot filled with succulents and lobelia from the early posting Succulent container. My favorite

 

This is how the strawberry pot looks now in the second half of September:

Do you see what I see? There are buds on almost every tip of Senecio mandraliscae 'Blue Fingers'! Have you ever seen it blooming? I haven't.  I will post pictures of its blooms soon!

***Copyright 2011 TatyanaS

Illumination: Hollyhock, Tradescantia, Phlox

Morning is the best time to take pictures in my garden. Plants look different then. With each of three plants, I included their picture taken without morning sun.

 Hollyhock

No-illumination shot:

***

 Tradescantia (Spiderwort)

No-illumination shot:

***

 Perennial Phlox

No-illumination shot:

Autumn pictures

***Copyright 2011 TatyanaS

Accidental Flowerbed - Before and After

 Last October, I wrote about my so called  'Accidental' Flowerbed. It's time to show its progress since that time.
For starters, a couple of pictures from September 2009, when I finally decided to turn a pile of dirt into a plant bed.

September 2009:

Marking location for Ligularia and grasses:

Next picture, six months later, April 2010:

Plants are limited by grasses, Ligularias, Alliums and Heucheras 

 May 2010:

Blooming Bowles' Golden grass (Milium effusum 'Aureum') and Heucheras took  center stage

 Angelina Stonecrop starts to cover the soil

June 2010:

 

July 2010:

Alliums and more Heucheras opened their buds

One year later, May 2011 

June 2011:

Japanese maple and ferns were added in fall 2010. Groundcovers and mosses are spreading. Volunteer Foxglove has grown huge in the middle of Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'.

July 2011

 A view from above:

Hostas with their variegated leaves really add nice accents to the bed. Among the varieties is Hosta undulata 'Albo marginata'

Blooming grass is Bowles' Golden grass (Milium effusum 'Aureum')

White-flowering Tradescantia loves this place

August 2011:

Ligularia and Echinacea 'Milkshake' are both long bloomers

Current look, September 2011:

Knock Out rose on the right and zonal geranium on the left brighten the bed with their last blooms

The bed is filled with plants. Not shown here, but present are: Brunnera Jack Frost, Euphorbia and several tiny shrubs of Hydrangea and Euonymus 'Canadale Gold'. I use this bed for hosting plants and their divisions taken from other parts of my garden. The last addition is a little purple Cotinus, Smoke bush

All in all, I am pleased with this accidental bed. The only frustration is the roots of the trees growing nearby on the border with neighbors. Whenever I dig a  new planting hole, I encounter not only a thick mat of feeder roots but also long thick woody roots. I believe that is why the plants in this bed dodn't grow as well as they could. Some of them are slow growers.

***Copyright 2011 TatyanaS