Friday, August 15, 2008

Bloom Day -- August 2008

It's the 15th of the month and it's once again time for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. After you've strolled through our garden, make sure to visit Carol over at May Dreams Garden. She can point you to other Bloom Day posts.

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Today we discovered the first hollyhock bloom hidden behind all the sunflower leaves.

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A fuschia from last summer that was supposed to be an annual. That happens a lot around here.

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Calibrachoa that was also supposed to be an annual but returned and bloomed beautifully again this summer.

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Monarda

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Chocolate Cosmos

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Lobelia and nicotiana

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Purple Cardinal Flower

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Black & Blue Salvia

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Agastache 'Blue Fortune'

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And finally, 'Snowball' Chrysanthemum

--Curmudgeon & Wing Nut

23 comments:

Daphne Gould said...

Beautiful flowers. I think I really need some bee balm in my garden too.

Anonymous said...

Oh now I have major envy. Your flowers looks so nice, mine have been burnt up by the heat and drought.

Unknown said...

Seriously??!!!! Fuchsia AND callies both came back for you this year? And you manage to get chocolate cosmos to grow, too? SO not fair!!! (Yes, I'm pouting. lol.)

Lovely pictures. In case you can't tell, I'm green with envy. :)

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Love those "bonus" plants. Is that Lobelia 'Vedrariensis' or syphilitica? I really like that Salvia, which is grown as an annual around here.

Safi Crafts said...

I love the bi-colored calibrachoa!

I bought a chocolate cosmos at Swansons in the spring and have been underwhelmed by it. Sure it smells good, but, as they say in Chorus Line, "Smell 10, Looks 3". Or something like that.
-Jean

Kerri said...

All very beautiful blooms, girls. Don't you just love calibrachoa? I have one very similar to yours. You've shot some great close-ups. Love the monarda!
I also love the lobelia and nicotiana together.
How amazing to have a fuchsia self-sow. Wow!
I hope you get some rain soon. Dry weather is the pits. We've certainly had enough rain to share! Enjoy those 80's. We're supposed to hit the 90's this week.
Happy Bloom Day to you both!

Cosmo said...

Hi, Curmudgeon (and Wing Nut)--I've just found your blog, and I love it. Are you all in Washington? (Sorry if I didn't read far enough in) I'm on the Atlantic Coast and delighted to find we have flowers in common this time of year--I love agastache and monarda. And I really love habaneros--they're worth the wait. Diva Dog is gorgeous--my dog is part German Shepherd, and though he's not as elegant as Diva Dog (his other part seems to have the dominat genes), he's smart and sweet and hates to have his toes wet. So glad to have found your blog--

chaiselongue said...

I love the chocolate cosmos - what an amazing colour. I think fuchsias are perennials so long as there's no frost. In west Wales, Cornwall and Ireland they grow huge, year after year, because of the mild climate. Your fuchsia must have been lucky last winter!

gintoino said...

Well girls where can I start? All your blooms are lovely, but maybe my favorites would be the dark flowere of chocolate cosmos (I wish I could find it around here)and the black and blue salvia (gorgeous!)

Carol Michel said...

It's a lovely bunch of flowers, lots of colors and variety. I love that in a garden.

Thanks for joining in for bloom day!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

HappyMouffetard said...

Thank you for your comment on my blog. I love the black and blue Salvia - very sophisticated looking.

Curmudgeon said...

Hi Daphne. The bee balm is new to our garden this year. It's 'petite red supreme'. It's a freaky looking flower--which is probably why I like it. Attracts pollinators and adds quite a splash of color too. What more could a gardener want?

Hi Aunt Debbi. Things are looking a bit bedraggled due to the lack of rain here--but not such high temps. A few things have gotten crispy-fried here too. But lots still blooming. I'm green with envy that you have your fall garden all planned out!

Hey there blackswamp girl. The fuschia and callies were nice surprises. And then there were a few perennials that should have come back that didn't. Go figure!

Greetings MMD. It's "vedrariensis'. The B&B salvia is most often an annual here too. But we had all 3 of our plants return this year. We'd defintiely replace them annually if need be as it's the hummers' favorite.

Greetings from our hill over to yours Jean. The cosmos does smell great. I think it looks better when it's surrounded by other things--coreopsis, blanket flower, etc. Then its dark flowers play off of the surrounding plants. Just can't get over that callie returning--and blooming tons more than it did last year.

Hi Kerri. We are due for rain the first half of this coming week. It sure will be nice to take a break from watering the garden.

Welcome cosmo! Glad you found your way to our blog. Yes, we're in WA, in Seattle. Our zone is 8b. But we both grew up on the east coast--PA and NJ/DE. Diva Dog is very special to us. She loves running on the beach--but wil stay a safe distance from the water.

Hello chaiselongue. Thanks for stopping by. Some types of fuschias do amazingly well here in our area. But the little ones we showed were not of that type so they were indeed very lucky.

Good day gintoino. That B&B salvia is definitely a keeper. The hummingbirds just love it. The chocolate cosmos is amazing when the sun hits it and spreads that chocolate perfume.

Greetings Carol. Thanks for hosting GBBD. It's an event we look forward to every month.

Hello happymouffetard. Yes, that B&B salvia is very unique looking. The blue is so intense.

Sarah Laurence said...

Your garden looks lovely, the hollyhocks especially. Below I see your dog is enjoying the beach like mine. Summer is such a great time. This one is going too fast.

Anonymous said...

The photo of your calibrachoa is lovely. I love your chocolate cosmos and little snowball mums.
Enjoy.

Anonymous said...

a chocolate cosmos?! I will try to find that to go with the dark sunflowers next year. Beautiful color you have. And don't you just love the self-sowers? :)

Annie in Austin said...

Your Zone 8B sure isn't the same as my 8B, WWWenches - everything looks so lovely and green and lush in your garden! What a pretty shade of callibrachoa.
I picked the wrong year (and the wrong state) to experiment with fuchsia. People grow perennial species of fuchsia in Seattle but that's one of the tender hybrids! Wow!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

The Hunky Gardener said...

I love the chrysanthemum! Lucky you getting a fuchsia to seed itself!

Curmudgeon said...

I agree Sarah. Summer is going too fast. We were hoping for darker colored hollyhocks, and a mix of colors at that. But they all seem to be that same hot pink color.

Thansk C at GA. I do love the pic of the mums. They are not my favorite flower and they are quite leggy and floppy this year. But they just glow against the rock wall in the evenings.

Hi Lynne. Yes, the self-sowers are such a wonderful surprise. Thanks for stopping by.

Hi Annie. The climate here sure is special. I've heard "maritime" and also "modified Mediterranean" but neither is completely accurate. Not enough rain in the summer to fit "maritime" and also not enough heat to fit "Mediterranean". Maybe that's where the "modified" comes in.

Hello HG. Thanks for stopping by. Glad you liked the mums--it's our favorite pic in this post.

Taddie Tales said...

Thanks for visitin' my little blog. I LOVE the name of your blog - too funny! I have the Black & Blue as well - one of my favorite plants. The hummers are on it constantly. I'll have to try those Snowballs - they are georgeous!

Taddie

Anonymous said...

Hi and thanks for the visit to my blog.
I enjoyed your GBBD post - particularly the Monarda and the Chocolate Cosmos. The black and blue salvia is so elegant -
Regards
Karen
An Artist's Garden

Anonymous said...

Hi--it took me some time to stop by, but I'm really overwhelmed by your gorgeous photos. I particularly like the white Chrysanthemums -- they look very delicate. Here only the blue ones have started blooming whereas the hollyhocks are already gone or preparing for their second bloom.

Anonymous said...

Lots of fantastic blooms girls! I wish I could convince some of my annuals to make a return. Any tricks? It's probably your great climate. sigh. Anyway, enjoyed the visit as always and about time you got to that beach!!

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