Lots of daisies, zinnias and sunflowers

Lots of things blooming right now. I am loving the State Fair Zinnias I grew this year. They have a huge bloom and so far no mildrew. Sunflowers have popped up everywhere thanks to the birds. I didn't plant them, but I hate to pull them out, so I am letting most bloom.

Look whose back in town

I was away in Maine for a couple days taking my daughter to camp. When I returned this lovely pest was waiting for me.

This is the edge of the wild space where I planted some dividends last year. They came back great depite the bad soil.

Plant recomendation: Jacob's Cline Monarda aka Bee Balm

It is Bee Balm season. This plant does great here in Wisconsin. It spreads well, you can divide easily and it brings in the hummingbirds. I have purple Monarda in front of the house and would not recomend it. It gets powdery mildew and does not have the appeal to the hummingbirds. Jacob's Cline red Bee Balm is the best choice by far. I bought two plants originally 3 years ago and now have 6 big patches(4 divided last year and now huge) and 2 small(just divided this year) The only drawback is a relatively short bloom time and it does spread a bit more than you may like.

What's blooming today

Here is some butterfly weed I spotted in the wild space. Knifofia(red hot poker), A Pentesmon, Lupine and finally Jacob's Cline Morardia(a hummingbird fav) all in bloom.

Rough summer so far, but things are starting to grow

I've had more problems with slugs, rabbits, deer, too much rain, too little rain etc... this summer. Things are finally starting to grow now.

Finally the Red Hot Poker blooms

Last year I waited patiently for the Red Hot Poker to bloom. This year it finally did! Now to see a hummingbird use it:) My green eyed daisy is back after being a no show last year.

New Blooms after a week away

While some things in my garden did not like the hot weather while we were away(some near fatalities), others started blooming. Here is my Chilean Glory Vine that has just started to bloom. I started it from seed back in February. It has a reputation of being hard to grow and a hummingbird magnet. The Pentsemon are also blooming for the first year. I also have my first Hyacinth Bean flower and Zinnia blooms.

Images from the Outerbanks

Here are a couple pictures from our trip last week to Corolla, North Carolina. Flat Stanley is spending the summer with us. When my son starts third grade in the fall he will bring in an album of all the places Flat Stanley has been.

Last images in the garden before vacation

I'm heading out for a week's vacation. I'm hoping the garden survives the slugs, floods, winds and droughts while I am away. Here are some images before I head off.

Pictures of a female

Activity in the garden is picking up. Today I saw two females fighting. Here are some pictures of one of them.

First picture of the season

Not the best picture, but the first of the season. I had a male and female hanging around here all day. It was pouring rain thou, so I had to take this picture far away and thru a window.

Images from after the rain

We had a big storm come thru in the middle of the day today. It cleared out the humidity and made a nice afternoon to take pictures. The first picture is a wildflower growing in the field next to my house. Anyone know what it is?








The second picture is sprouts in my new wildflower garden.The third picture is a rose and the fourth a Great Blue Heron. He likes to fish in the pond next to our house. The last is my hanging basket which is blooming so beautifully right now.