Mid-summer questions

We've been enjoying the sunny warm days we've been having at the lake. There's been a few issues popping up in the garden and wondering if you bloggers can tell me what you would do or have done in similar situations.

OK, I'll share the fun stuff first - the white liatris is here!

I love these Q-tip shaped flowers. My girls always comment about how cool they look in the garden.

Combination of Sedona and Rainbow Volcano coleus. I initially liked the orange but a lot of the leaves faded fast. I prefer the red, actually.

I posted earlier on this blog about messing up at the nursery and buying a "Stargazer" oriental lily instead of an asiatic. Well, this is actually what I got when it bloomed. It looks nothing like a Stargazer. Does anybody know what I have here? Jury is still out on whether I like it or not. It probably would look really nice with purple.

This is the area that I recently "created" it was full of overgrown (and old) spireas that did nothing to the landscape. It's a mostly shade spot but gets more sun toward the Annabelle's at the end. I put a lot of my flat sale plants here - albeit temporarily.

On to the problem areas ...

This silvermound should be huge - at least twice this size and by this same time last summer, I had already sheared it back. It looks as it has little beads at the tip of its leaves - almost as if the growth was stunted somehow. Symmetrically, it fits into my garden but I know it's not completely right.

This container used to burst with color and now, my million bells have nearly disappeared. Too much heat? Too much water or fertilizer? Even the Marguerite daisies are a fraction of their blooms (and size). Thankfully, the sweet potato vine is happy or else this really would be an eye-sore.

How do you tidy up daylilies? Do you clip the pods after blooming? Will they come back? These Stella D' Oros were here when we moved in and I've divided them at least three times in the last five years because they get so big. I know the Renegade Gardener thinks these are the most overrated plant out there. I tend to agree. They are grossly overused in commercial and residential landscapes.

Happy Birthday Peggy!

Behind the wheel

Salvia, Galliardia and sedum - oh my!

I spent most of last week out of town. My sister was home from the East Coast and we ventured westward to attend a family reunion. We made a stop in Valley City, ND and visited the Medicine Wheel Park - a scenic display of perennial gardens, a solar system replica site and Indian burial grounds. I wasn't too interested in the astrological stuff but I loved the gardens ... go figure.

They were well manicured with lots of different kinds of perennials - and I mean LOTS of perennials that I couldn't list them all if I tried. I think I was about 3 weeks too early because soon they will be fantastic in color. Here's what caught my eye.

LOVED this creeping sedum - so much that I bought some when I returned home. It reminded me of cushion spurge and but that is so short-lived!

Asiatic lilies, irises and pink yarrow. Like the color combination.

I've never tried asiatic lilies and was inspired to do so after this trip. Trouble is - I didn't look at the tag too closely at the nursery and realized after I got home that I bought an Oriental Lilly vs. an asiatic (moron). But I planted the "Star Gazer" anyway. Wish me luck.

After our day at Medicine Wheel, my sister and I - along with my young girls in tow - visited my mother's grave to tidy up the plants our dad had planted. He didthe usual cemetery fare - geraniums and petunias. I've been meaning to plant a perennial on mom's grave so before we left town, I stopped by one of my favorite nurseries and picked up another red coreopsis.

This is the one I bought one for myself this spring and this is what it's doing now where it is front and center in my corner garden with full sun. It's an absolute showstopper. Next to it is the Lemon Gem marigold. I am so pleased with these too! I'll never buy another Moonbeam coreopsis again. These look like a coreopsis but are less invasive, form a nicer mound and you can't beat the price of a cell pack! I hope this red coreopsis will look nice on mom's grave. Maybe next year I'll plant a salvia next to it.

Meanwhile, things are looking good on the homefront ...

This is my shady corner in the backyard - I added a statue of St. Francis in a small area by a fence and planted an astilbe "Rheinland", hosta and assorted impatiens. The blue stone was painted by Annaboo in loving memory of our mini Schnauzer Henry who took off for doggy heaven prematurely. Although not the patron saint of gardeners (that would be St. Fiacre), St. Francis is a close second and he is the patron of saint of animals. I saw this quote and thought it was quite fitting ...

A garden without its statue is like a sentence without its verb.

- Joseph W. Beach

Amen brother.

This is my "Gardenview Scarlet" about ready to burst. I can't wait!