Our neighborhood association has been having garden tours for a number of years. When I was asked to be on it this year I hesitated, and suggested it may be better to wait a year or two. The woman who called said they were thinking about not having it this year, and if they do, they may not have it next year. They may also move on to other activities and stop doing the tour.
They have now decided it is on, and going to be the first Saturday of June. I am going to post some photos of flowers from the first couple of weeks of June, 2013, that may be blooming for the tour, and then provide a link to the blog so people can find the names of the plants, in case I don't get them all labeled. I also want to do some future posts with photos of the plants that won't be in bloom yet, so people can see when they bloomed, and what they looked like last year. I am also going to put in a link to our Nebraska Statewide Arboretum's plant sale.
Purple poppy mallow is a reliable plant that forms a ground cover from the main stem. I haven't had any send roots down from the stems of the plants.
I am so pleased that nature planted this common milkweed in our parking strip a number of years ago.
I had this Phlox divaricata in the garden where we lived over 13 years ago. I brought some here in a wash tub, and they have transplanted well. The original plants are competing well with the violets that keep volunteering in their tub. I try to put baskets and such around them to protect them from the rabbits.
I just planted these Coreopsis lanceolatas last spring, and they grew very well. Many of the native plants don't grow much the first year.
I have a number of perennial geraniums. When I planted these, I don't think I knew there was a native kind. Still, they seem to attract pollinators, and do well next to the curb. I can't remember the names of them.
I like to have lavender in the flower beds.
I just planted a few birds foot violets last spring, and was pleased that they bloomed.
Love in a mist is an old fashioned annual native to Europe. It reseeds, and has pretty seed pods.
Orange hawkweed is native to areas near us, but not to Nebraska. It spreads a bit, but has not been aggressive here.
Fleabane is native to pretty much the whole U.S. There are different species, though.
I love seeing critters, such as Daddy long legs on the plants.
Many plants will not be their full size June 7, but I hope the season is at least as far along as it was last year.
I didn't realize until checking just now, that Costmary is native to parts of the U.S., including Kansas and Missouri. The pollinators like it. After the first flush of blooms, it gets leggy, so I cut it back to the base, and put the cuttings on the compost pile. It is excellent for the health of the compost pile, because it helps things decompose.
I have several kinds of Amsonia. This may be tabernaemontana. I first saw the lovely blue blooms after walking into one of my sister-in-law's alley. It was in a neighbor's yard, and just a matter of time until I found out what it was, and got some to plant here. I just wish the bloom time was longer.
A friend of mine shared some Virginia waterleaf with me a few years ago. There are several species of this plant, and at least some are native to the U.S. I deadhead it because I don't have room for it to spread. It looks like I missed some last year. I'm not sure what was eating the leaves, but part of the reason I garden is so that insects have some food. In turn, the birds and carnivorous insects have food to eat.
I have shown the lovely Amsonia hubrichtii very frequently on the blog. It is one of my favorite plants, and is native to the U.S., but not Nebraska. (I have been getting my information on what's native from the USDA plants database.)
I believe this is Amsonia illustris, native to Kansas and Missouri.
I can't remember what kind of Penstemon this is, and I'm not sure if it is a native one, but think it may be. The blue blooms are Pincushion flowers.
Here is another view of the side yard. I didn't get a close up photo of the native Columbines, the orange flowers near the bed frame.
Here is a view of the west front yard. I love the yellow cheer the early blooming Golden Alexanders provide. They are also hosts for swallowtail butterflies.
Gail, from Clay and Limestone speaks lovingly of Phlox pilosa, calling it PPPP, " practically perfectly pink phlox". Rabbits like it, too, so I had a basket over this and the others I have in the garden before they bloomed. I don't remember if they got eaten later in the season, or whether I covered them again. That's Golden alexander next to the phlox.
There are quite a few species of Pussytoes, which are native to most of the U.S. This is a lovely groundcover that is very easy to divide and share with friends. The blooms are not easy to photograph, but they are prettier "in person".
Pasque flowers are one of the first to bloom in the spring, and are quite lovely, with the bonus of fluffy seedheads. Just be careful to find the ones that are native. I think this is a cultivar I got a hold of.
I've had this clump of native Echinaceas, I'm pretty sure, pallida, for a number of years. They haven't grown enough for me to divide, but I sure enjoy them, as do the pollinators.
This Rose mock vervain, a native, was given to me by a friend who dug it from her acreage, where it was growing on its own. It likes to spread, too, but has not been overly aggressive.
I've enjoyed the Echinacea paradoxa in the front yard next to the sidewalk. It is native in a few states south of us.
I seem to have a couple kinds of Meadow-rue, and I'm pleased they are native to our area. I love how tall they have gotten the last few years.
I love it when the grandsons, sons of our son and daughter-in-law want to be out in the yard. I am going to have to define the path and make it safe for people to walk on. It will help that the Rudbeckia maxima, native a couple states south of us will not be its full size yet.
One of the reasons I haven't been visiting blogs or posting is because our daughter is expecting a girl the end of June. She is going to be a single mom, so our daughter-in-law and I have been rounding up some fun clothes and supplies for her from Facebook groups. After her maternity leave, I will watch the baby full time, until around October, when she is at least 12 weeks old, when we will find someone to watch her half days. I will pick her up after about 4 hours, and we will have her until 9:15ish p.m. I will still have mornings to garden, which I'm more than ready to get back to when spring gets here.
I am seeing some photos on Facebook indicating spring is here for some of you. I look forward to seeing it reach more and more of you, as it finds its way here! Take care, and I hope you are healthy. Oh, and if you are a local person reading this from the address I provided, I'm glad you are here!
They have now decided it is on, and going to be the first Saturday of June. I am going to post some photos of flowers from the first couple of weeks of June, 2013, that may be blooming for the tour, and then provide a link to the blog so people can find the names of the plants, in case I don't get them all labeled. I also want to do some future posts with photos of the plants that won't be in bloom yet, so people can see when they bloomed, and what they looked like last year. I am also going to put in a link to our Nebraska Statewide Arboretum's plant sale.
Purple poppy mallow is a reliable plant that forms a ground cover from the main stem. I haven't had any send roots down from the stems of the plants.
I am so pleased that nature planted this common milkweed in our parking strip a number of years ago.
I had this Phlox divaricata in the garden where we lived over 13 years ago. I brought some here in a wash tub, and they have transplanted well. The original plants are competing well with the violets that keep volunteering in their tub. I try to put baskets and such around them to protect them from the rabbits.
I just planted these Coreopsis lanceolatas last spring, and they grew very well. Many of the native plants don't grow much the first year.
I have a number of perennial geraniums. When I planted these, I don't think I knew there was a native kind. Still, they seem to attract pollinators, and do well next to the curb. I can't remember the names of them.
I like to have lavender in the flower beds.
I just planted a few birds foot violets last spring, and was pleased that they bloomed.
Love in a mist is an old fashioned annual native to Europe. It reseeds, and has pretty seed pods.
Orange hawkweed is native to areas near us, but not to Nebraska. It spreads a bit, but has not been aggressive here.
Fleabane is native to pretty much the whole U.S. There are different species, though.
I love seeing critters, such as Daddy long legs on the plants.
Many plants will not be their full size June 7, but I hope the season is at least as far along as it was last year.
I didn't realize until checking just now, that Costmary is native to parts of the U.S., including Kansas and Missouri. The pollinators like it. After the first flush of blooms, it gets leggy, so I cut it back to the base, and put the cuttings on the compost pile. It is excellent for the health of the compost pile, because it helps things decompose.
I have several kinds of Amsonia. This may be tabernaemontana. I first saw the lovely blue blooms after walking into one of my sister-in-law's alley. It was in a neighbor's yard, and just a matter of time until I found out what it was, and got some to plant here. I just wish the bloom time was longer.
A friend of mine shared some Virginia waterleaf with me a few years ago. There are several species of this plant, and at least some are native to the U.S. I deadhead it because I don't have room for it to spread. It looks like I missed some last year. I'm not sure what was eating the leaves, but part of the reason I garden is so that insects have some food. In turn, the birds and carnivorous insects have food to eat.
I have shown the lovely Amsonia hubrichtii very frequently on the blog. It is one of my favorite plants, and is native to the U.S., but not Nebraska. (I have been getting my information on what's native from the USDA plants database.)
I believe this is Amsonia illustris, native to Kansas and Missouri.
I can't remember what kind of Penstemon this is, and I'm not sure if it is a native one, but think it may be. The blue blooms are Pincushion flowers.
Here is another view of the side yard. I didn't get a close up photo of the native Columbines, the orange flowers near the bed frame.
Gail, from Clay and Limestone speaks lovingly of Phlox pilosa, calling it PPPP, " practically perfectly pink phlox". Rabbits like it, too, so I had a basket over this and the others I have in the garden before they bloomed. I don't remember if they got eaten later in the season, or whether I covered them again. That's Golden alexander next to the phlox.
There are quite a few species of Pussytoes, which are native to most of the U.S. This is a lovely groundcover that is very easy to divide and share with friends. The blooms are not easy to photograph, but they are prettier "in person".
Pasque flowers are one of the first to bloom in the spring, and are quite lovely, with the bonus of fluffy seedheads. Just be careful to find the ones that are native. I think this is a cultivar I got a hold of.
I've had this clump of native Echinaceas, I'm pretty sure, pallida, for a number of years. They haven't grown enough for me to divide, but I sure enjoy them, as do the pollinators.
This Rose mock vervain, a native, was given to me by a friend who dug it from her acreage, where it was growing on its own. It likes to spread, too, but has not been overly aggressive.
I've enjoyed the Echinacea paradoxa in the front yard next to the sidewalk. It is native in a few states south of us.
I seem to have a couple kinds of Meadow-rue, and I'm pleased they are native to our area. I love how tall they have gotten the last few years.
I love it when the grandsons, sons of our son and daughter-in-law want to be out in the yard. I am going to have to define the path and make it safe for people to walk on. It will help that the Rudbeckia maxima, native a couple states south of us will not be its full size yet.
One of the reasons I haven't been visiting blogs or posting is because our daughter is expecting a girl the end of June. She is going to be a single mom, so our daughter-in-law and I have been rounding up some fun clothes and supplies for her from Facebook groups. After her maternity leave, I will watch the baby full time, until around October, when she is at least 12 weeks old, when we will find someone to watch her half days. I will pick her up after about 4 hours, and we will have her until 9:15ish p.m. I will still have mornings to garden, which I'm more than ready to get back to when spring gets here.
I am seeing some photos on Facebook indicating spring is here for some of you. I look forward to seeing it reach more and more of you, as it finds its way here! Take care, and I hope you are healthy. Oh, and if you are a local person reading this from the address I provided, I'm glad you are here!
