Friday Flowers

While the hydrangeas pout about the weather I have tried not to complain. They are doing a good job of complaining for me. They appear as I feel in this record setting heat we have been having.

The daylilies on the other hand have not sucumb to the elements.

They put on their cheerful faces.

Bloom their little hearts out.

Not one complaint is heard from them.

Even though their foliage doesn't add a lot to the overall look of the garden, I can't deny that their cheerful blooms put a smile on my face.

Even the small ones that flirt with the gazing ball.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Stay cool. Enjoy all those smiling faces in your garden.

Hydrangea Heaven

At this time this year it seems to be hydrangea heaven.  I believe it is the best year I have ever had for my hydrangeas. I attribute this to no late spring freeze this year. Now I don't have any of the new fancy hydrangeas with the bicolor blooms but I have a variety of lacecap and mopheads that I just dearly love. Come stroll through the hydrangea path with me.

Here on the left are some of the lacecaps. You can see their blooms are a lavender. They are supposed to be blue but you know how hydrangeas are.  They color up by the nutrients in the soil. Here we have sandy clay so there isn't much to make them blue. I just can't get over how many blooms these plants have. To be truthful they have been a disapointment for some years. They used to have varigated, white/green, foliage. They even lost that for the most part but at least they still have their lacy caps.

Just past them is a nice sized Oakleaf Hydrangea. It also is full of blooms. You can see the Nikko Blue mopheads peeking around the Oakleaf hydrangea. I have been giving them a bit of Azalea food and they have responded well.

Across from this hydrangea is the climbing hydrangea. It is full of blooms at the bottom of the plant. It is just now beginning to climb the arch that was built for it.

After we leave the hydrangea walk and walk around to the front of the yard barn you can see the small pink hydrangeas blooming.  The poor little things have almost been swallowed up by the big old fashioned hostas behind them.

Out front one of my favorite hydrangeas is blooming the best ever. I can't remember the name of this hydrangea but it has varigated yellow and green leaves.  It isn't known for its blooms but for this varigated foliage. Of course in this soil it is losing its varigation as it is going to some white and green leaves but if it continues to bloom like this I won't mind much. The delicate blue hue has not been altered by any additives. It just is.

If you haven't had your fill of hydrangeas here you can pop over to Phillip's blog Dirt Therapy and see what he has blooming. He has some fancy ones. He also has a lovely garden to wonder and admire.  Do you have hydrangeas blooming this year?

Squirrels Viewpoint

Elizabeth wrote a post here about her garden as she sees it from her second story window. I don't have a second story window but I liked the idea of looking at my garden from that high. So my DB got the extention ladder out so I could take a few photos before the sun got too high the other day. I thought I would show you around from a squirrels viewpoint.  I must warn you this is picture heavy and not a lot of narration. Don't get dizzy and fall off the ladder.  You can see here how the knot garden was revamped after I lost so many bushes last summer.  It still needs work of course.  Don't worry I am working on it, or at least thinking about it.

As you have noticed I have made many flower beds as circles so the Mowerman doesn't complain too much about having to stop, back up etc. Luna is under the apple tree.

When I first started taking these photos Luna was wondering what in the world was going on. Here she is looking towards the east side gate where my DB has stepped out of the photo.

Looking straight down from where the ladder was standing you can see a little pathway off the patio toward the east side gate.

If you look off to the west of here you can see the length of the patio.

 

Straight out from the ladder is a half round at the E end of the patio.

Excuse me, I need to move the ladder. Here I am looking back toward the east.

Now we are going to look straight out from the west end of the patio.

Another look just a bit Westerly.

At the West end of the patio there is the path that leads out toward the Casa if you take the left fork or toward the West gate if you take the right fork.

The pathway.

Excuse me again. I must move the ladder. I took it out under the Locust tree to show you the back side of the garden. Looking East you can see that the sun is getting up. You can see the back side of the knot. Luna is now thinking that this game isn't much fun and it is getting hot out here.

Here we are looking back toward the house. You can see the back side of Lincoln and where the new Tricolor Beech is planted.

When you look West you can see the path that takes you to the Casa.

This is the path that runs behind the blackberries. Sort of a no mans land. Poop patrol is ran here regularly as Luna thinks that no one sees her back here doing her duty. She is right of course because the shrubs and blackberries are growing thick here.

Excuse me while I get off this ladder.  I can't photograph this last part becasue of the trees hanging over the path. This wide open area is in front of the yard barn and the big back gate. I have visions as to projects that could go in here but my Mowerman starts shaking his head no and turning purple at the mention.  However I don't give up easily. 

I hope you enjoyed the Squirrels viewpoint of my garden.  Do you have a squirrels viewpoint of your garden? I would love to see it.  Be careful if you get up on that ladder.