Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Garden Blogger Bloom Day

Another late Garden Blogger Bloom Day post. The garden here at Robin's Nesting place is just beginning to be at the stage where I enjoy it most. That time of year when I see butterflies, bumblebees, hummingbirds and lots of blooms! I agree with Carol, from May Dreams Gardens, (who is our wonderful hostess for this event), that it is much nicer to have too much rain than not enough. Last year we were having drought conditions and it was not pretty. Much better this year!The hostas are in bloom now. I caught the dragonfly on this one yesterday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A thirsty sunflower~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have volunteer sunflowers all around the yard.

The carpet rose after being cleared of Japanese beetles.


Impatiens
The pansies are still hanging on but are beginning to wither.

I have a lot of purple coneflower this year. I can usually find a bug, a bee or a butterfly on them.

I'm not sure what this is. Could it be purple loosestrife?

The Russian sage is blooming. I love the fuzzy texture of this flower.

Rose of Sharon
The balloon flowers that I grew from seed are just beginning to bloom. Most of them were eaten by the pill bugs after they were planted. I salvaged these by placing them in a planter. I'll wait until fall and hopefully they will be mature enough by then to survive.

Begonias
Black-eyed Susan

Here's my complete list for July:

Cosmos
Purple Wave Petunias
Impatiens
Hosta
Liatris
Purple Cone Flower
Spirea
Salvia 'Purple Rain' and Red
East Freeland Sage
Coleus
Superbells
Verbena (pink and purple)
Verbena Bonariensis
Lantana
Zinnia
Roses
Balloon Flower
Begonias
Butterfly Bush
Gerbera Daisies
Russian Sage
Veronica Speedwell
Anise Hyssop 'Golden Jubilee'
Lavender
Mallow
Pansy
Rose of Sharon
Sunflowers
Black-eyed Susan
Pentas
Phlox
Tomato
Wild Geranium
Butterfly weed

19 comments:

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

I always enjoy photos of dragonflies. Their wings are fascinating. And your photo of the sunflower bending to take a peek in the "mirror" is just wonderful.

Cindy

Sherri said...

Robin, I just love all your pics! The colors are so vivid and wonderful. You really have a wonderful talent being able to photograph things so beautifully! Keep up the good work!!

Jayne said...

Wow Robin, they are all so very beautiful, and you have quite the list there!

Helen/patientgardener said...

Thats an impressive list - the photos are lovely, I'm always impressed with your bug photos!

Sweet Home and Garden Carolina said...

Nice July blooms, Robin. That mystery plant looks like the Obedient Plant to me. The Rose of Sharon is a month early this year, probably due to the abundance of warm weather.

Gail said...

You are a terrific photographer. Are you getting a lot of enjoyment from your new camera? Did you ever figure out if the unknown plant was purple loosestrife or not?

Gail

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Your mystery plant is definitely Verbena hastata, a native plant. Your garden really seems to be enjoying the extra rain. You have such abundant blooms.

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Cindy, I didn't even notice the reflection when I took the picture. I saw it when I downloaded it. Thanks!

Thanks, Sherri! I haven't had as much time for it lately, but I do enjoy photography.

Hi, Jayne! Thanks for stopping by.

Patientgardener, thanks, I really like taking pictures of the bugs and little critters. It is so amazing to see the details up close.

Hi, Carolyn Gail, thanks for the plant ID. I'll do a search and see what I can find out.

Hi, Nancy, they are beautiful creatures aren't they?

Thank you so much, Gail, I think maybe Mr. McGregor's Daughter did. It looks just like the plant on her blog.

Hi, MMD, I thought it looked like your plant. Too bad I pulled it thinking it was loosestrife. I wonder if I can replant it.

Roses and Lilacs said...

Robin, I love the photo of sunflowers hanging over the water--is that a bird bath? It's beautiful. I have volunteer sunflowers this year too. It's usually to dry to allow the seeds to sprout but this year we have lots of rain. Anyway, they are charming and next year I'd like to try some of the fancier varieties.
Marnie

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Marnie, thanks for stopping by. Yes, that's a birdbath.

marmee said...

wow your flowers are beautiful and you have captured them so lovely with your images.

Anonymous said...

GREAT photos, and I especially love the one of the sunflower looking into the water. What a wonderful way to start my morning - thank you!

garden girl said...

Awesome photos as always Robin! Your blooms are beautiful. I hope you can save your verbena.

Kerri said...

Your summer garden blooms are beautiful. Isn't it a wonderful time in the garden? I've been wondering how you did getting all your seedlings planted. I must catch up on your posts and I'll probably find out :) There's far too much to do at the moment and I've fallen behind with my visiting....and just when I want to see what everyone is up to!

Debbie said...

Beautiful, Robin. Your photos are always so lovely as are your flowers. Your have a great talent for photography.

Sue Swift said...

Hi Robin,
I've noticed loads of coneflowers in US posts this month. Has it been a good year for them or have they suddenly become popular?

Carol Michel said...

Beautiful pictures. You really have a good eye for taking flower pictures.

Thanks for joining in for bloom day again.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Anonymous said...

Everything looks so pretty. I like the fuzzy flowers of the Russian sage also.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Your garden looks so beautiful Robin. I love the photo of the dragonfly peeking over the bloom in the first picture. It is good ot see your lovely blooms.