East Front Yard

It feels like summer around here.  We've had highs in the 90s, and the flowers everywhere are several weeks ahead of usual.  The first of the daylilies are blooming, and there are lots of buds waiting for their turn.  We got some much needed rain last night, and the high for today is supposed to be in the lower 80s.  Yesterday, I took photos of the east front bed to make a new post.

As usual, I like to take a photo from the porch.  The Joe Pye weed is getting taller than I thought it would, since I had cut it back earlier in the season.

We'll go along the sidewalk, then around the flower bed.

 The volunteer annual salvias are in full bloom, as is this lavender, which I waited too long to cut for drying.

I had lots of volunteer love lies bleeding come up, and gave a number of them away.  Let their blooming begin!

I need to be thinning the reblooming irises.  The amsonia is crowded.

I am enjoying the two meadow rue plants in this bed.  The two across the sidewalk are not blooming yet.

Larry put some plates around that I think he is forgetting to put water in for the snakes.

I think this is fleabane.

There was a graduation party down the street, and I tried my best to avoid getting the cars in the photos.  The verbena bonariensis have seeded themselves around nicely.  I gave some to some coworkers.  One of them told me he wondered what that tall spindly weird plant was, but when it started blooming, he decided he liked it.  The insects sure like it!
   

The phlox pilosa 'Eco Happy Traveler' is about finished blooming.  Rabbits have eaten the ones in the bed across the sidewalk down.

The pink dwarf type monarda will be blooming soon.

We're almost to the south end of the bed.

I like this foxglove.  I'm thinking it may be a native one.  I couldn't find it online, though.

This yarrow is either a red kind or 'Paprika'.

The name of this clematis is not coming to my brain right now.  It's been in this spot a number of years, and performs well.  That's pink primrose below.  I keep pulling it out of areas I don't want it.

These coneflowers are one of my favorite plants.  The big orange poppies that were in front of them left their seedheads.

The pineleaf penstemon and veronica clash in the photo, but they get along fine in the garden.

I think I cut back the helenium, 'Mardi Gras' but they are still blooming early.

I am excited for 'Wally' daylily to bloom.  It's one of my favorites.

 When I got this cenataurea macrocephala, it was called a perennial bachelor button.  I sure was surprised when I saw the blooms look like this the first time.  After a bit, yellow "fluff" came out of the tops, and I decided that was a pretty cool plant to have.  It seems to be declining, because these are the only blooms this year.

I've been noticing dead leaves on  some of the daylilies lately.  I pulled some off of one of the plants by the curb today.  The yellow foxgloves are ready to be deadheaded.  It may bloom again.

The red hot pokers are blooming well this year.

I have one more plant in mind to put in this basket planter.   I really liked the bloomers I had in it last year, until it dried out between waterings, and some of the plants didn't make it.   Hopefully, these will survive winter here.

I am so very tickled that this delphinium is back for a fourth or fifth season!  In the past, I couldn't get any to survive a winter.

Can you see the clematis in the background?

The rattlesnake master is ready to bloom.

The kiss me over the garden gates are just beginning to bloom.  I shared a number of these seedlings this spring, too.

I love swamp milkweed blooms!  Well, I love all milkweed blooms.

I move Heidi's leash from place to place so she can have different views while we are outside.  I wish I didn't have to attach her to it, but she leaves the yard whenever she gets a chance.

That's hibiscus on the lower left.

And this is what we see now that we have gone around the east bed.  I am so enjoying this area!

I really surprised myself today.  I get sidetracked easily, and I ended up cleaning up clutter here and there in the house instead of gardening, which is what I had planned on doing.  Maybe now, I will enjoy my gardening even more, since the house will be somewhat under control.

Thanks to all veterans and current people serving our country in the military.

Wildflower Wednesday

Gail, at Clay and Limestone, hosts Wildflower Wednesday the fourth Wednesday of the month.   I always think I am going to try for shorter posts, but I don't seem to have control over my camera, and have trouble figuring out which photos to include, so more come in than I plan for.

I have shown the heuchera richardsonii, prairie alumroot, in other posts, but wanted to include one here, because I am so tickled with the nice foliage and they have been blooming quite awhile.  Across the path is one of the whorled milkweed plants I transplanted from a flowerbed at church that I take care of.

Here's a closer view.  I have been deadheading these, so maybe that's part of the reason they have been blooming over a month.

The golden alexanders are flopping a bit, but are continuing to bloom.

The wild quinine from earlier last spring is taller and blooming earlier than the couple others I planted later in the season.  One of them does have some buds starting to come up.

The gray headed coneflowers are loaded with buds, and this one had a visitor today.

I'm thinking this is rudbeckia maxima, getting ready to send up flower stalks.

At least 10 years ago, before we added on to our church, I really liked these plants, not knowing what they were, and moved some from the area that they were going to be building in.  Thankfully, they did well in the area I moved them to, and folks from church are none the wiser that we have whorled milkweed growing in our "yard".  I am tickled that the ones I transplanted to our home front yard are doing pretty well, and this one is blooming.

Do you know what this is?  I can't remember, but am thinking it is some kind of goldenrod.  I tried looking it up, but couldn't find it.

Purple milkweed with a bee:

Purple poppy mallow:

I can't remember the names of the different coneflowers, but the ones the rabbits haven't eaten down are just starting to bloom.

The common milkweed is coming up way beyond the area I have allotted to it, but the plants seem to pull up easily.  I sure am enjoying these, and hope to see some caterpillars on them soon.

Aren't milkweed blooms beauties?

I started an album on Facebook, called, "Do you know what these are?"  So far, only one person thought this may be fleabane.  There are actually two plants that have very similar blooms, but different leaves.  I noticed this evening that both plants' flowers close as it is getting dark.  Do you know what this is?

Here's a closer view.

I'm thinking this is a wild or native foxglove, but couldn't find the name of it online, either.

Here's the other plant I'd like help identifying.

The leaves are narrower than on the other one.

Meadow rue:

Swamp milkweed:

I think this is a bellflower of some kind.  It is very spready and does not stay pulled when you try to keep it in line, except it seems to be kept in line here, maybe because of all the plants so close to it.  Still, the one in the front will grow right over other plants.

Amsonia and babtisia:

The gas plant seed pods are pretty cool.  I'm thinking they will turn a darker color.

I must have forgotten to take off the micro feature when I zoomed on the showy milkweed in the vegetable garden.  I want to include it anyway, because I am pleased with all the lovely blooms on this 3 or 4 year old plant.

I've grown these butter and eggs, or toadflax in a wash tub for about 4 or 5 years.  I am pleased they continue to do well there.  They are too spready for the ground in our yard.

I moved some of the wild petunias to the front.  I hope they grow as well as this one under the fence in our back yard.

I have several kinds of switchgrass in the yard, and this is the native kind.  It is the only one blooming so far.  I found out it is considered invasive in some places.  I wonder if it is from self sowing that it spreads the most.

Thanks, Gail, for hosting Wildflower Wednesday.  I didn't post my phlox pilosa 'Happy Traveler' because I'm not sure it would be considered a wildflower.  One or more rabbits ate down all the blooms on one of my plants, so they like it as well as the other natives I have planted.

Happy gardening!