Sunday, August 15, 2010

Bloom Day - August 2010 in Nyack, NY

It’s bloom day! (and also, hard to believe, 300th post on this blog day!)  I’m pretty excited to have gotten a post together after quite a few months. It’s been a weird summer with regard to flowers. Unless I made a dedicated effort to sustain them, many were victims of the heat and drought. Lilies, liatrus, hydrangea, and my other summer staples have not done well. I’ve had a few successes though.

Starting out front, the third-generation marigolds (calendula). I’m planning to save seeds for these again.
Just to give you an idea, here’s what most of the hydrangea look like. They would have been fine if I’d watered, but when you have 15 minutes, and have a gasping veggie garden out back…well, what would you do? Gak!



Echinacea, Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota), Brown Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta)

Blue chip butterfly bush (buddeleia)

Ageratum was planted upstairs on the deck last year and somehow made it's way to the Sunny Patch in the middle of the backyard.

It's not exactly a "bloom", but the Chinese lantern (physalis) are hot.

Phlox - still hanging in there after almost two months!

Moriah’s Dahlias – they’re having trouble staying upright but are green and blooming just fine.


Zinnia and Morning Glory on the deck.

A decorative addition to the hyssop

I can't exactly say it's covered with blooms, but the Cardinal Vine (Quamoclit x sloteri) planted in containers on my deck is finally providing the kind of greenery I've been craving on my arbor.  And I love the foliage.

Round B of blooms from this sunflower.


It's fun to look at past posts to see what was blooming around this time last year. Would you say your flowers are doing better, worse, or about the same?
August 2009 Bloom Day Post

Please go visit Carol’s May Dreams Gardens blog today for more links to blooms from around the world!

12 comments:

Debbie/GardenofPossibilities said...

Your garden looks lovely, even after all the heat and lack of rain. I have some blue chip butterfly bushes too and they've finally started blooming. I'm wondering if yours started blooming a little later than expected too.

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

beautiful flowers being displayed... I love the sight of multihead sunflowers.. they are not big but they do create an impact... Cheers, ~bangchik

Erica Smith said...

Love your caterpillar on the hyssop! It is hard this year to keep things looking fresh, but at least it's a good way to learn what can take the dry heat.

Pam J. said...

So beautiful! It always amazes me at the similarity in our garden flowers. I'm very impressed by the third-generation marigolds. I must try that too. And the Cardinal Vine is one of my huge favorites. I've been worried about mine, which is more or less trying to cover everything in my vegetable garden right now, because it had not yet bloomed. But just today I saw my first bright red fleurs!

tina said...

Your blooms look good. Cool cool bug with great coloring. I think my blooms are suffering a bit due to the drought. We finally got about one inch of rain so I see some gardening time soon!

Unknown said...

Amazing that we have can grow many of the same flowers. Yours just do not have to suffer as long as mine do. LOL.

PamHMG said...

Gorgeous flowers Jennifer and great photos, as usual. My new favorite are drought resistant portaluca flowers. They are multicolored and brilliant little bursts of color.

TALON said...

Beautiful photos! It is sad when some things just can't survive the heat and the drought, but, as you say, it's about watering priorities. It's been a strange year here, too. Last year we suffered from way too much rain, this year the opposite. But the things that thrive - our phlox is gorgeous, too - are just loving the heat.

Congratulations on your 300th post! Time sure does fly, doesn't it?

Commonweeder said...

Jen - You have a lot going on. I love your vine. Vines making shade are a wonderful addition to any garden. I also neglected watering the Lawn Beds in favor of the vegetable garden - because I have a well - which theoretically has a finite supply.

garden girl said...

Your blooms are beautiful in spite of the long, hot summer.

Congratulations on your milestone 300th post!

Lisa said...

Beautiful photos.

I *love* the cardinal vine!

Stacey said...

My hydrangeas are just a droopy and brown - I have hyssop too but haven't seen any cool bugs - my mom was visiting from Maine and was amazed at the variety of bees in my yard