Meet TS and Come See the Rest of the Garden...

Friday, July 26, 2013

Everything That's Right


Swallowtails in the cup plant (silphium perfoliatum)


 Fat, glossy chipmunks who pose for the camera, even if I'm suspicious about what their cheeks are stuffed with.


Replacing boring plants with colorful zinnias


Sempervivum (hens and chicks) flowers

Finding mason bees on a plant that I didn't expect to bloom and had no idea attracted pollinators!


Blackberry lily flowers on a plant I grew from seed


phlox, rudbeckia, and coneflowers

Loving my garden


'White Swan' coneflowers, pink coneflowers, and 'Sun Queen' veronica

60 comments:

  1. Wow, blackberry lilie plant you grew from seed, a swallowtail butterfy and a chipmunk. All so very different of what we have, beautiful!!!!

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    1. One of the most interesting parts of visiting blogs from other countries is seeing all the different wildlife. I have a feeling there will be a lot more chipmunks in the garden next year.

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  2. Hooray for all that's right today!

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    1. Life ain't all bad. Ya gotta see the positive. :o)

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  3. Your garden looks beautiful. You made some great choices for a summer garden. It looks so colorful with everything growing in harmony. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  4. A lotta color and happy sights. Everything is right, especially the blackberry lily -- I love its leopard spots. I have a stand that self seeded and is doing really well this year for the first time. I think that chipmunk looks suspiciously guilty.

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    1. The chipmunk is seriously up to something and has made itself quite at home in the garden. I couldn't believe how easy blackberry lilies are to grow. I just love a plant that effortless. :o)

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  5. That little chipmunk's cheeks are really full I be wondering too what is in there.

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    1. I'm telling myself it's either sunflower seeds that fell out of the feeder or all the bad bugs I don't want in my garden. :o)

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  6. Loving your garden too.....
    That chipmunk looks like he/she is up to something....keep your eyes on that one.

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    1. I'm not sure how many chipmunks I have because I only ever see one at a time. But there are burrows under two of my rain barrels. They were smart enough to find a spot that keeps them dry and away from the dogs. They'll probably spend all winter making more chipmunks.

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  7. Beautiful!! Love those Zinnias -- and I bet the butterflies do too!!

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    1. They do! It's not summer for me without zinnias. :o)

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  8. Those perfect moments are something to treasure. The memories carry us through the tougher bits in the garden. Enjoy your weekend! I hope it's sunny and the temperature is just right.

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    1. It's been a wonderfully rainy weekend, much to the relief of my garden and my water bill.

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  9. Loving your garden too! I like your Zinnias! What a welcome bit of color this time of year! And finding bees is such a good thing!!! Your plants are gorgeous!!!

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  10. Not bad!! After your post about experimentation.....this looks rather lovely. Thumbs up on your choices!

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    1. The successful experiments are always repeated. :o)

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  11. I like the idea of focusing on what's "right" in the garden. It's nice that you do both,
    Tammy. Your blog is both entertaining and informative in that way.

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    1. Thanks! It's easy to be too critical so I like to focus on what's right and develop battle plans for what's wrong.

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  12. Your garden is spectacular. Mine is improving daily now that I am retired. The weeds seem to know that I have more time on my hands though. Why do they grow so well?

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    1. Thanks! Two schools of thought on weeds: 1) They're opportunistic little jerks, 2) They are mostly tough native plants that require no help from us to make our gardens/yards look like poo. Regardless of how you justify their existence, they gotta go!

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  13. Lovely garden Tammy. Despite those pesky bunnies and chipmunks.

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    1. Thanks :o) I think the bunnies have finally decided chewing through the bunny fencing wasn't worth the prize and have moved on to my neighbors landscaping. Fine with me!

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  14. Great photos. The first with the Butterfly is lovely. I have a sempervivum in bloom right now also, actually had a couple more but a couple have already died off after their bloom
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. I'm surprised your hens and chicks died after they bloomed. I hope mine don't do that! Yikes!

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  15. Yours is a beautifully explosive summer show – led by the ever-hot zinnias. And your tight shot of hens and chicks, showing that plant in a different light, is a fine idea. As is celebrating everything that's right.

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    1. Thanks. :o) I'm convinced here's more good in life than bad and that small pleasures can have a big impact.

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  16. I love Blackberry lily, I've never seen such nice flowers. Your garden is lovely, Tammy!

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    1. Thanks. :o) I'm not sure if blackberry lilies would grow for you. I think you're too far north. But they might do well in your greenhouse. Their Latin name is Belamcanda chinensis.

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  17. I can see why you love your garden...so full of color and surprises.

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    1. I like being surprised, as long as it's a happy surprise. After adding more annuals to my container plantings, I realized how much I needed color, too.

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  18. I'm loving your garden too :) All's right when there's sunshine and flowers!

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  19. There's a lot to love! I am growing a lot of the same plants, including a blackberry lily which is a gift from some bird or rodent, I assume. Right now the weather has cooled off, allowing the flowers to last much longer. Speaking of rodents, cannot share your equanimity regarding chipmunks. They're sneaky bastards.

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    1. Maybe the lily was a gift from the chipmunk. Perhaps he was trying to make amends. :o)

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  20. Hi Tammy, I love the picture of the swallowtail butterfly, it's brilliant - I can barely manage to get shots of bees. The only hope I have of getting butterfly shots is if I cover the plants with a very strong glue!

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    1. You are so funny! I have a very cheap camera with an anti-jiggle setting that is a life saver. Fortunately, the butterfly was too immersed in its meal to flutter much. But the best pictures I take are always of things that don't move at all, like rocks.

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  21. What great photos and how interesting to see that some of what you grow is just what I grow here in the hills of North Wales while some, such as the blackberry lily, looks tremendously exotic to me!

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    1. Blackberry lilies are actually a type of iris that used to be grown by Thomas Jefferson. It does look exotic, but it's a tough plant that only asks for sharp drainage and sun. I think my phlox would be as happy in your garden as they are in mine. :o)

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  22. Everything does look right at your place, Tammy, but something very strange (and not a little spooky) is going on here. Do you remember that I said my sempervivum has never flowered? I went outside today and IT HAD BUDS. I kid you not. I'm not even in the same season as you.

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    1. AMAZING!!! Our sempervivums are calling to each other! Keep your eyes peeled for a Mother Ship. I wonder if the cooler weather has anything to do with it. I still have buds forming on other plants in that same pot and a second pot has a clump of very happy, thriving plants. While they can survive hot weather just fine, they're at their best when it cools down a bit. Smart plants! Let me know if your flowers attract any pollinators. :o)

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  23. Love the happy zinnias, phlox, rudbeckia, and coneflowers. There seems to be more "rights" than "wrongs" in my garden at the moment. We have had decent amounts of rain, the temperature has dropped and we are enjoying a break from the horrible humidity. This weekend I did have to destroy a standard euonymus that was so badly infested with scale I felt it was not saveable, but all in all, I am feeling pretty positive heading into August.

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    1. This has been an amazing summer, weather wise. Today it's so cool and breezy we have all the windows open. I have had to pull a few plants because they rotted in the rain and my lavender died when it was suffocated by another plant. But I'm feeling pretty good about August, too. :o)

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  24. I'm making a list. Desiring the blackberry lily. Glorious to just stand in the garden and breathe in the beauty. Non gardeners don't have a clue.

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    1. The blackberry lily is also called belamcanda chinesis and is really easy to grow from seed. If you want to try it, send me an email and I'll let you know how I did it. What's interesting about my garden is its positive impact on the rest of my family, none of whom are gardeners.

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  25. Lovely. Thank you for these glimpses of your flowers, so many colors...

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  26. What's not to love! So many good things to enjoy in your garden. Lovely to see "White Swan" blooming, mine are grown from seed and won't flower until next year, but they are one of my favourite echinaceas.

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    1. I really love the 'White Swan', too. I'm forever taking the seed heads left over at the end of winter and scattering them in the garden. Some of the new echinaceas are a bit too fussy for my tastes. I love the big, simple ones best.

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  27. Fantastic photos; the colour in your garden is looking lovely.

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    1. Thanks! The Camera Gods do take pity on me occasionally. :o)

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  28. Well you've cheered me up on a tired Tuesday. (Yes I know I'm a few days late!) Nice to see White Swan in flower - it's a bit early for them here, but I am looking forward to seeing them again. I love that cheeky chipmunk. Very funny.

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    1. Cheeky is the perfect word for my new furry friend. :o) Based on how fat and glossy he is, the garden buffet I've provided is serving him well. He's been hiding sunflower seeds in my pots, which explains why I keep finding seedlings in the weirdest places.

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  29. It is so very important to document and acknowledge "when things go right." It's easy to get stuck on the struggle... to forget to stop and taste the fruit, so to speak. I love visiting your blog. I always learn something or find myself refreshed.

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  30. Love that chipmunk...glad he is in your garden and not mine........oh wait, think his cousins are here!

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