In early August most of the perennials are finished and the annuals are taking center stage. Just about every plant in my garden has bloomed by now except for mums, sedum, and golden rod. The perennials that are peaking right now are Rudbeckias and Purple coneflower.
Because I was gone a few weeks due to computer issues, I have a few day lilies I never showed you. This pink beauty was in bloom at the end of July.
The purple coneflower makes an excellent background flower for the pink blooms of the day lily.
The sunflowers grow nice and tall right next to my bird feeder and cleome or spider plants.
This sunflower looks more like a sun daisy. The sunflower in the first picture had double yellow flower petals.
The sunflowers grow right in my front yard so I can see them from my kitchen window everyday.
I found this big, beautiful beetle on my day lily and was shocked. I had no idea what it was, nor had I ever seen this bug in Wisconsin before. I put this picture on Facebook hoping my other Wisconsin friends could identify it, but no one replied. Neither my husband nor daughter recognized the beetle either. So I'm hoping my readers might recognize it and tell me what it is.
Whatever it is, it sure picked a beautiful daylily to rest on, didn't it. I love the wine and yellow centers of this cream colored day lily.
This deep magenta pink Star Gazer lily I smelled before I saw it. It was tucked away in the back of a garden so I never noticed it. Then while I was weeding I smelled this heavenly fragrance and found it. What a wonderful surprise that was!
My top garden by my kitchen window is rich in hot summers now. I have zinnias and salvia annuals planted in here, plus perennials. The tall phlox and purple coneflower are really starting to shine now! The sunflower heads however are starting to bend over. I won't cut them down however, because I know the birds and squirrels love their seed.
My white viburnum bush really opened up this week. This is a gorgeous bush! It provides so much interest all season long. The flowers start white, but turn pink in the fall.
The viburnum bush makes a beautiful backdrop for the Black Eyed Susan's and Purple Coneflower.
My shed is being engulfed in flowers right now. I really need to get down there and clear some flowers/weeds away. The weather has been so hot I haven't been able to spend much time in the garden. Today was the first time in weeks I could finally enjoy being outside again.
Here is a close up of one of the Viburnum bushes flowers.
The Black Eyed Susan's look great up against the red garden shed.
This is a little pink salvia perennial I have growing in my upper garden.
Like I said, I need to get down there and clear some flowers/weeds out. LOL!
Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
Your garden always has such pretty flowers and wonderful colors! It's been so hot here too, and the worst part of it is...freezing inside thanks to our air vents blowing on my feet all summer long, and too hot to be outside! I am ready for Fall :-)
ReplyDeleteYou got me all curious about that beetle, not seen one like that before so I went searching online, they must be rare because it took a while to find something but finally found this article http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/2010/07/24/american-carrion-beetle/ and it looks almost like it.
Thanks Ellie for finding my beetle. I tried searching online with no luck, but that definitely looks like it. I didn't think it was eating my flower, it looked like it was just sitting there, so I left it alone. Now I know it doesn't harm flowers!
DeleteBeautiful! The picture of flowers on front of the shed belongs on a calendar or something :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen! It looks very pretty until you get too close and see all the weeds! :) I have a lot of work to do!
DeleteIt looks brilliant! You'll have so many beautiful flowers to grace your house once you get your cutting done. Your coneflowers are lovely. I love them but have not had much success in growing them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your gorgeous outdoor post on this week's Maple Hill Hop!
Thanks Daisy! Yes, coneflowers grow very well for me. They reseed a lot so I end up picking them out and tossing them over the fence because I have more than I can use.
DeleteWhat a lovely garden, with beautiful flowers.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend/Marika
Thank you!
DeleteWonderful!
ReplyDeleteLove the photos of the pink beauty :)
Thank you! It's one of my favorites!
DeleteYour yard is like something out of a story book and that star gazer lily is stunning. The coneflowers looked great last week in UW Arboretum although I only took one shot to test out a new lens. This heat thing is getting old but at least it's been raining today, will see if that helps. Dood luck on the beetle ID it's not so bad look as bugs go, maybe ask Phil Peliltteri the UW bug expert. http://www.wpr.org/people/appearances/phil-pellitteri
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks Jeanna. Another blogger told me that she thinks the bug is a carrion beetle, and I think so too. It didn't damage the flower at all, so that would make sense. I didn't know they an arboretum at UW. I'll have to check it out sometime.
DeleteA wonderful series of shots, Amy! Your garden looks nice any season, I think.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us at the Floral Friday Fotos meme, I look forward to your next contribution.