"Wake up from thy sunset bower,   
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Just some random garden notes and pictures today... The 'Flemish Antique' poppies are so beautiful and I've taken so many pictures, that I probably should have done a post just about them. But since I seem to be lacking for words today, I'll just let them speak for themselves!     Spanish Mallow (Malope trifida) is in full bloom.  I can hardly wait to see this lily in bloom! I don't remember what it is called, but I'm thinking it must be an "Orienpet" although I sure don't recall having ordered any!  Old-fashioned Vining Petunias...the pale purples are my favorites.  And I love it when they get tangled up in the Catnip!  The "black" Hollyhock is really a deep wine red!  Lots of Dill...  'Fairy Bouquet' Toadflax...  It takes talent to grow Day Lilies unsuccessfully, and mind you, I have that talent! I had just about given up on this 'Strawberry Candy' Day Lily after 5 years with no flowers, but it finally has a few blooms! They look more orange to me, though!  Fennel Flower (Nigella sativa)...I wish I had planted a lot more of these!  Love-lies-bleeding grew very tall this year! I had 10 plants, but only a few survived the groundhog.  I don't think I ever shared the before-and-after-the-groundhog pictures from last year! Here was one of my plants at the end of August...  And then one morning this was all that was left!  Last but not least...the fragrant Nicotiana, 'Aztec Sweet'. Last year I had too much, but now I wish I had more!  "Where at dusk the dumb white nicotine awakes and utters her fragrance in a garden sleeping."  And now I must get back to work! Have a lovely day! :)
Just a little bit of everything in my vase today, much like my garden right now. It has been hot (as Maine goes) and I think this is the driest summer I've ever seen here. I don't really want to complain though, because we usually have such an overabundance of moisture, which can be frustrating as well. I've been watering almost every day, but although my garden looks lush and full from a distance, a closer inspection will show that a lot of the plants are withering up...and the drought hasn't hurt the weeds a bit of course! We did get some rain last night and are expecting some showers and thunderstorms the rest of the week, which should be helpful. :)  Sweet Williams are just going past their prime, but some of them still look nice.  Same for the Valerian, but another of its wonderful qualities is that it fades gracefully!  Cosmos 'Picotee'...the flowers are pretty, but I'm a little disappointed in the plants. I planted them near the back of the garden expecting them to be tall, but they only reached about 2 feet!  The last of the Sweet Rocket and some Stocks...  I love black Hollyhocks and all "black" flowers! Sadly, my plants now have rust, which of course also affected the new seedlings I planted this spring...so probably no hollyhocks next year. :(  I just call these Bellflowers...they come up every year under a tree near my garden.  Old-fashioned Vining Petunias...so pretty and fragrant!  I'm very fond of these 'Emperor William' Bachelor's Buttons.  And of course more Borage, which you all are probably getting tired of seeing snapshots of!  I added a few wildflowers as well. These daisies bloom near a wood pile in our yard.  And White Sweet Clover (Melilotus albus) caught my attention with its sweet fragrance.  Not included in the vase, but I just had to show you the first 'Flemish Antique' poppy that opened yesterday! Isn't it beautiful?  Overhead view...  It's always a pleasure to pick a bouquet, however simple or elaborate, and join other gardeners from around the world each week for IAVOM! You can see what they have gathered today at Rambling in the Garden.
So much has happened in the garden that my last garden update is already outdated, so I thought I'd show you what's in bloom now in my rather messy garden, along with a few other things that are keeping me pleasantly busy this summer...   We recently bought this swing from one of our neighbors...it's so nice to have a place to relax and enjoy the garden whilst reading or shelling peas!  The Valerian is still heavenly fragrant.  'Black Currant Whirl' hollyhocks...there are a lot more double or semi-double flowers this year than last for some reason!   Close-up of mignonette...  These petunias looked dazzling in the morning sunlight!  The Morning Glories are making their way upwards...and the Forget-me-nots are looking weedy.  I love taking close-ups of them!  The Castor Beans are loving the heat...  And they are even starting to ripen seed! Yippee!  Stocks really should have a prettier name! I usually think of them as Gillyflowers, but I know a lot of flowers have been called by that name so it could get confusing.  Nicotiana perfumes the evening air...  'Emperor William' Bachelor's Buttons...I like these simple flowers much better than the newer doubles!  'Picotee' Cosmos...I had high hopes for this variety, but I think I still prefer 'Sensation Mix' over all the others I've tried.  The lovely Balsam...  Malope is always one of my favorites...and I just found out it does have a couple of prettier names including Mallow Wort and Purple Spanish Mallow!  The 'Flemish Antique' poppies are just about ready to burst!  Heartsease and Rue...there's an old book of poetry by that title! Rue is another new herb in my garden. I have some doubts about it surviving the winters here but just had to try it!  Toadflax just starting to bloom. I had planted a lot more of it and it was all coming up beautifully. Then one day we had a man here helping with some roofing, and he turned the dirt over with his hand (the seedlings were still very tiny) and said that this would be a great place to plant flowers! Arrgh! I'm learning to be on my guard when men are working around my gardens!!  Part of the herb garden with Lemon Balm, Borage, Oregano, Basil, Sweet William and Stocks.  Lemon Balm in bloom...  Comfrey...about a week after I cut it back to the ground!  The "seed garden" with Lovage, Basil, Wormwood, Balsam, Dill, and Borage...  I'm so happy with the basil this year! I've never had them grow out so bushy before.  More Balsam...  Dill in the seed garden...  And now getting random... I'm keeping 6 hens for a friend right now. I had to give my birdies away last year (to another friend!) and I've really missed them, so it's nice having these around again. They wait expectantly for an extra treat when I'm weeding the garden!  Speckles enjoying their "Flock Block"...  And of course, the "pupkins" keep me plenty busy! Now that they are being weaned, I'm practically their mommy, and it's a lot like taking care of 7 toddlers! They are such fun, though. They've learned that when my alarm goes off at night that means I'm about to take them out, so even before I can turn it off I hear a rush of little feet scampering for the door!  This little one looks exactly like her mommy did at that age!  Here's mom now, just being silly! :)  Goldfinch at my sister's feeder...  Moose across the road last month...  I need to do another woods update soon, but just had to share these pictures now. This little feller wasn't very happy about my presence!   A sunny bouquet of St. John's Wort...but that's a subject for another post!  I hope you are enjoying these busy summer days, too!
This post has been submitted to Heirloom Gardener. You can read it here.  Nothing fancy today either after another very busy week, but one of my favorite wildflowers is in bloom right now and I just had to pick some to brighten the house! Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) blooms abundantly here in Maine. I love to see it, yet in a way its blooming is bittersweet to me, since once it is past its peak I start to realize that summer is already waning! It is called Fireweed because of its tendency to grow in areas that have been burned, but I think its other name, Rosebay Willowherb, is much prettier!  The plants are over 6 feet tall, which gives a nice size comparison with our huge jungle of Japanese Knotweed!   The flowers would be pretty enough for the garden in my opinion!   And now it's time to for me to go water the garden! I hope you all have a nice week. Don't forget to visit Rambling in the Garden today to see what others have picked from their gardens or fields today!
"Of annuals, what can be compared to the Camellia Balsam...no wax work nor any imitation of man, can compare with it in rich and dazzling beauty. The white and scarlet spotted is unequaled among flowers."           Last week was crazy busy and today promises to be the same, so I wasn't planning to participate in IAVOM this week. However, I woke up early this morning with an urge to arrange something, be it ever so simple, so as soon as chores were done, I grabbed a vase and the camera and headed out to the garden. Herbs have been on my mind a lot lately as I learn more and more about their medicinal and culinary values and how to use them, and I've even been seriously considering enrolling in a few courses with The Herbal Academy. So, they seemed an appropriate theme for this week's vase!  Comfrey flowers are amazingly beautiful when viewed close-up!  I think this is the first year my basil plants have bloomed. This is 'Corsican' basil, which is one of my favorites. Every plant is a little different with some being solid purple, some dark green, and most a lovely mixture of both!  I have an overabundance of borage this year since I allowed most of the self-sown seedlings to grow. I like to add the flowers to salads for their cucumber flavor (the leaves are so prickly I don't know who would even consider eating them!).  This is the first time I've grown anise, but has already become a favorite!  The vase now occupies the place of honor on my desk. It actually looks better indoors, so I snapped this picture as well...  I hope you all have a wonderful week. Don't forget to visit Rambling in the Garden today to enjoy all the beautiful arrangements shared from around the world!
I took this picture from my bedroom window during a downpour yesterday morning and thought it looked like a Monet painting!  Just had to share! :)
Just as I thought, things are happening fast in the garden right now! We had a nice soaking rain last week, and then the heat wave arrived. Today is the last day of that and also the hottest with a record high of 96 and low of 73. I've actually been enjoying it, especially after such a cold June (we had a light frost on the 15th and 22nd!). So, I am about to take you on a looong garden tour!   Remember when we could hardly see the house over the snow?  What a different world it is now! Those rose bushes were completely buried, by the way!  The old rugosa roses that were here when we moved in were the only roses to survive last winter. I guess I'm going to have to look into getting some Canadian Explorer roses.  The lupines were absolutely lovely last week, but now are starting to look a little messy as they go to seed. Oh well, there are disadvantages to being a serious seed-saver with limited space, but it's worth it!   I am delighted with my little herb garden right now. The only thing missing is the foxgloves, none of whom survived last winter either.   But the Valerian! It may well be my favorite herb! These in the herb garden are blooming for the first time and are a little smaller. The plants in the flower garden are now over 6 feet tall!  It will perfume the whole yard with only a few flowers open!  And butterflies love it! I saw this one fluttering around them one morning and was so frustrated because I didn't have the camera. But it stayed so long I finally decided to go back and get it, and sure enough it was still there and stayed around long enough for me to get several pictures.  The comfrey has gotten huge. I finally cut some of it back yesterday because it was toppling over onto the plants in front of it, but I may have to cut them back all the way because they are starting to get powdery mildew.  The flowers make for some very happy bumble bees!  The Castor Beans are finally settled in and starting to grow again in the heat.   Evening Dame's Rocket, Sweet Rocket, Damask Violet, Vesper Flower...whatever you want to call it!  The Sweet Williams are at their loveliest.  I loved the markings on this one!  And this...  This one is a bit of an oddity...kinda reminds me of a baobab tree!  'Sarah Bernhardt' is my favorite peony...I just wish it would have waited until the rain was over before bursting into bloom!  I'm not sure what was in that rain we had last week! There wasn't much wind and most of the time it was a light rain or mist...but the next day I noticed that this tree had just fallen over!  A little later the same day my sister and I were standing under this tree in the front yard when we suddenly heard a loud crack and down came this branch (we got out of the way just in time)! I know it was old and dead anyway, but it's been there a long time. There was also a young tree bent over my running trail!  But, back to the flowers! My 'Benjamin Franklin' peony surprises me every year, sometimes blooming earlier than 'Sarah Bernhardt', and sometimes later!  The bees seem to prefer it over all the other peonies.  I don't know the name of this one. It came free with a nursery order a couple years ago and this is its first year to bloom.   'Coral Charm' is opening, too!   This is Kniola's Purple-Black morning glory. It is just beginning to climb the arbor (after I stopped it from trying to strangle the forget-me-nots!) but is already flowering close to the ground. It looks like the center is glowing in every picture I've taken!   The Anise has been doing very well. From what I read it will be little short of a miracle if it ripens seed here, but who knows?  My French Mallow plants are starting to bloom. The seeds came from Monticello!  The seed garden...well, it isn't as good as I hoped, nor as bad as I feared considering the poorness of the soil in this spot. Still, I think most of my seed supply is going to come from the flower gardens again this year. I made the mistake of letting the buckwheat go to seed last summer, so it has been coming up everywhere. Oh well, I guess that's just more soil improvement! It has turned out to be more of a place to put the extra plants that I had no room for in the flower gardens, although there is a nice patch of dill and borage. I'll know to plan better next year!  The mint is happy!  I've never done well growing basil, but oddly enough my plants seem to like it better here than in my little herb garden!  Close-up of the dill...  This is completely unrelated, but I just thought some of you would enjoy seeing my new "grandogs"! These are Nellie's babies (born June 6th). There are 6 girls and 1 boy. I can't believe how fast they are growing up! 
And this is one of Carina's boys born in February! He spent last weekend with us and we had a lot of fun! His name is Henry. :)  Carina was excited to see him! She is such a loving mama.  Alright, I think that's everything! Thanks for coming along with me!
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AuthorI am a passionate gardener and seed-saver, who also enjoys playing the violin and accordion, running, spending time with my 4 golden retrievers, keeping chickens, photography, and reading. 
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