Sunday, July 31, 2022

A Mid-Summer Garden Tour

I cannot believe summer is half over with already, can you?  I know I say it every year, but summer just goes by way too fast.

So another month went by and it's time for another garden tour.  The garden is fuller, greener, and has transitioned from the pastel colors of spring to the hot, vivid colors of summer.  Hollyhock, Asiatic Lilies, and Day Lilies are the stars of the July garden.   So let's begin our Mid-summer garden tour shall we?

This year I got a big surprise, all this hollyhock sprouted up in a very inconvenient space (right next to the steps leading down into my garden) and you know what?  Instead of moving it, I just left it there.  It was happy, so why not?





I have had this Yucca plant for YEARS and it has never bloomed until this year.  I would have gotten rid of the plant, but it's impossible to dig up.  So I left it, and I was thrilled to finally see it bloom.


A close up of the Yucca plant bloom.  Quite pretty and original I think.


My Endless Summer Hydrangea blooms pink instead of blue.



When we were in Medora, North Dakota last year, we visited a "Wind Spinner Garden".  It was a lovely space filled with wind spinners of all shapes and styles.  I never even heard of wind spinners before but I really liked the concept because it's soundless.  I do enjoy a good garden chime, but I also love hearing the natural sounds of the waterfall and birds singing, so wind spinners seem more practical to me.


Here's a short video showing the wind spinner in motion.  They are quite fun to watch, and they all make different movements.  I bought this one at Hobby Lobby at 50% off, but I hope to add more to my garden as the years go on.



A bright fuchsia Astilbe.


A white Asiatic lily.



A white hydrangea bush.  This is my favorite hydrangea bush.  The blooms last all summer, and it just keeps growing, and growing, and growing.  I have dug up several shoots to get other bushes growing around the yard.



Red day lilies and orange asiatic lilies in my southern garden bed.

Bee Balm with a little bit of Delphinum in front.

The Purple Coneflower just started to open up.  They make a nice contrast with the red day lilies.



The septic mound garden.

A hot pink Spirea bush.

More Bee Balm with a yellow Asiatic lily in front.


Tall orange Asiatic lilies.

Evening Primrose

This year, I decided to try tall snapdragons in front of my house, and boy have I been pleased!  I have tried snapdragons before, but they were the 12 inch tall ones...they bloomed once and were done.  These beauties keep growing and blooming all summer long.  And I love how tall they grow.  I need tall blooming annuals for my garden because my yard is so big.  Tall annuals are hard to find.  My only complaint, is that they have to be staked,  but I can live with that.  Next summer, I'm buying a full flat of these beauties!

A light pink Astilbe in my front yard garden.

A light pink day lily with purple coneflower in the background.

Purple Campanula

A banana cream daylily growing right next to my pond.


And finally an assortment of all the other Day Lilies I have growing in my yard.














The Vegetable Garden is doing well.  I have harvested most of the broccoli and cauliflower already and I am just growing broccoli side shoots now.


Jackson continues to enjoy strolling the gardens with me each day.

I ate all the spinach, lettuce, and radishes already, and had to reseed so I can have more salad greens in a few weeks.


The Broccoli was really healthy this year and I didn't have to deal much with the dreaded cabbage worm at all.


My very first head of broccoli of the season.  Just look at the size!  I have been processing and freezing broccoli almost every day this summer.  My freezer is chock full of broccoli...enough to keep this family fed all winter.


A cute little snowy white head of cauliflower poking out.


After three years, I think I finally learned the secret of growing peppers.  Just look at the size of this pepper!  And they are delicious!  What's the secret?  Place them in the hottest, sunniest part of your garden and give them plenty of space to grow.  In the past, my peppers would get swallowed up by other vegetables, but not this year!  I planted them where nothing else would interfere with their growth. Next month I'll show you a garden picture of my pepper and tomato garden.


I ran short of kale last winter, so this year I planted three types.  This curly leaf kale I planted last fall and somehow it survived the winter.


Kale Premier, my favorite.


And Kale Lacinato...a pretty kale, but not my favorite.


My favorite part of squash and zucchini are the blooms!  


This year I planted zero green beans because we still never finished eating all the green beans from last year.  In its  place I planted peas!  I think peas are pretty fussy and difficult to grow, so I planted a lot of them.   I squeezed them in wherever I could fit them, and I finally got a good harvest.  I think I filled this box three or four times before my harvesting was done.


We planted two full beds of potatoes, plus I threw a few extra in pots and my regular garden.  They are growing so well.  I've never had a bed so full and lush like this before.


Here are the potatoes growing in pots.  I learned about this technique on YouTube.  Everyone there swears growing potatoes in pots is easier and more prolific than growing them in the ground.  We will see!  I think the potato plants growing in the ground look better than the ones in the pots.


Well I can't finish a garden post without including a picture of Jackson in the garden.  Here he is enjoying a spot of cool shade underneath a kale plant and some sweet peas.


And finally, here is a video I made for Instagram that is why the footage is upright.  I am walking through my Garden so you can get some perspective of it's size and layout.  Be sure to have the sound on so you can hear the waterfall and songbirds...that's the best part of my garden!

 


I hope you enjoyed my Mid-Summer Garden Tour.  I will see you next month with a final farewell to summer!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

45 comments:

  1. Wow so many awesome plants - I like so much this lovely house- I also can't belive that half of the summer is behind our back now.

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    1. Thank you so much! Yes, it's so sad how fast summer goes.

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  2. I am in love with your summer flowers! Those hollyhocks are incredible. That insta video is so lovely. I feel like I'm in a secret garden somewhere. Thanks for sharing!

    https://www.kathrineeldridge.com

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    1. Thank you. Yes, as the trees have matured over the years, my wide open garden has become more and more like a secret garden.

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  3. Your garden is a triumph! It's so stunning! I loved seeing all of the photos, especially the day lilies. I need to broaden the colors I have. The hollyhock is definitely a fun surprise!

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  4. Wow, your garden tour is just spectacular! Love all your beautiful blooms and those hollyhocks are giants. I had some come up by backsteps a couple years ago. I didn't move them either and they got about 8 feet tall. Beautiful tour of your garden!

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  5. I really enjoyed the tour. Sometimes the surprises are the best part of a garden!

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  6. You have a fabulous garden. I am just getting started with gardening and I know it is trial and error. Last year we had a great green bean crop and tomatoes. This year, neither has done well but my zucchini and yellow squash have done amazing. I will try your idea for the peppers and I have not had any luck.

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    1. Thank you. Every year is different, I think it all depends on the weather. Certain plants prefer specific weather patterns and if they don't do well that's usually the reason. Just don't give up and keep trying different things. I eat peppers more than any other vegetable so I was determined how to grow peppers in my garden. I just kept moving them around till I found the right spot.

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  7. You definitely have a green thumb!! Enjoyed seeing all the pretty flowers. Your veggies look great. Nothing better than home grown!! Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 78. Pinned.

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  8. I Am Completely Blown Away By All Your Efforts - What A Delightful Garden - Incredible Vivid Blooming Flowers - Well Done Amy

    Cheers

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  9. This is my first time here and I'm overwhelmed. I have a thousand questions for you but neither of us have time; I will be back often. The amount of labor and love is phenomenal here. Your knowledge and sense of design and color is wonderful. And Jackson? The cherry on the top! I've raised those "cabbage worms" into their beautiful cabbage white butterflies. I know they are invasive (especially to our native Vermont mustard white butterflies which are extirpated in many areas), but it was fun and I can't kill anything at all. Thank you. I'll be back!

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    1. Thank you so much! Yes, it is a labor of love.

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  10. I'm probably repeating myself but you really have the most beautiful private garden I have ever seen! I can't believe how tall your snapdragons grew, didn't know there was a tall variety! And those Hollyhocks look stunning! My zinnias (annuals) grow really tall too but sadly our last storm knocked a few of them over and broke the stems. Guess I need to stake them too.
    And your vegetable garden is amazing once again, you really don't need to shop at a market or grocery store for your veggies. My brother has been growing potatoes in pots for a few years. He doesn't have a large garden and had much success with that method. I never tried.
    Love the photo of Jackson under the Kale, he is sooooo cute!! And I also love the wind spinner. I need to get one of those!! So pretty!

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    1. Thank you. You are too sweet. Yes, the snapdragons surprised me. I hope I can find them in the nursery next year. Quite often I fall in love with a plant and then the next year the nursery stops selling them. It seems everyone loves petunias, and they sell a lot of those. I love petunias too, but they grow low to the ground and I'm always looking for taller annuals. I had tall zinnias one year, they were gorgeous, but this year I grew stockier, shorter ones. No, I don't buy veggies at the store anymore. It is so nice to walk buy the produce dept and not put one thing in my cart...except fruit of course. I'm excited to hear about your brother's success of growing potatoes in pots. I can't wait to see how mine turned out.

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  11. I'm always in awe when I see your flower and vegetable gardens. It all just blows me away. Enjoyed your garden tour video. You have much to be proud of. Best wishes always to you and your family.

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    1. Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

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  12. What a beautiful garden! These lilies are beautiful <3 my grandmother loved lilies. I want to get a lily tattoo in memory of her

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    1. Thank you. How sweet of you to remember your grandmother this way.

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  13. What a beautiful garden Amy! It is so lush, filled with pretty flowers and lots of yummy homegrown vegetables. And wow, that bell pepper is huge!

    Maureen | www.littlemisscasual.com

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  14. Wow! Amazing place! Flowers are so beautiful and vegetables looks so delicious and healthy :)

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  15. Your home and garden are so beautiful Amy - happy to feature you at this week's Inspire Me Monday Party. Have a great week! :-)

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  16. wow! looks like a little paradise in your yard! i'd love to have a garden like that someday! stopping by from link up on the edge!

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    1. Thank you. That's exactly what it is to us...our own little paradise or garden of eden. Thanks for dropping by.

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  17. Your garden is amazing - love all the beautiful green growth and flowers

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  18. Amazing garden, I love these flowers. Have a nice Sunday!

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  19. Love, love, LOVE all of your lilies, and your astillbe looks incredible! Gonna find you on IG! :D

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  20. Enjoyed touring your garden with you. Your flowers are stunning. Thank you for sharing.
    Visiting today from You're The STAR #75

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    1. Thank you! I've been out of town, but I'll be over to visit soon.

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  21. I hope you've enjoyed your summer as much as I've enjoyed the beauty of the flowers you've shared! Bless you Amy ...

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  22. Wow ! I just love your garden , the amazing burst of colors in your garden especially all the lilies grabbed my attention. There is no such joy other than growing your own veggies. Thanks for sharing with Garden Affair.

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