new blooms this week July 30, 2007
Posted by Sandy in a small garden in maine, nature, photographs.trackback
I have forgotten which coneflower this is. It is about three and a half feet tall, and pale pink. A smaller, bright pink one is also blooming at the front of the garden.
This patch of tansy is in the field just to the right of the garden. It used to be in the garden, but seems more like a field plant to me, so moved it. Since then, I am finding patches in other places, not planted by me, but the bird buddies, I guess.
This is the first year that the Joe Pye weed has bloomed without the deer taking the tops off at least once. Truth is, the deer haven’t been around at all, don’t know what is up with that. In other years, we had 5 or 6 out in the field every night. I did see three mama turkeys and a whole bunch of babies in the garden early this morning, but didn’t see anything gone when I went out to check. In the past, they have pulled off little tomatoes, then just left them. Now, that makes me mad.
Your pictures are great.Love the butterflies.
There are so many colors of coneflower these days. I love the look of that tansy. The butterflies sure do love you!
The pale pink coneflower is really pretty … I would be so thrilled if I saw wild turkeys in my garden. You are really lucky. And, you have Joe Pye weed blossoms too! I can’t seem to grow them here. Is it still hot there? It is one of the hottest days here.
kate, it isn’t that hot right now, although we have had three hot humid days in a row. I would say in the 70’s, but with almost 100% humidity.
Thanks, Chirs and Laurie, and Lynne, we are getting tons of butterflies in the garden, but so far, only five or six kinds.
Sandy, I fell in love with coneflowers this year and have bright pinks and purples growing out back. Sure are pretty, and the bees and butterflies swarm them. I also planted black-eyed Susan but they seem to beg for water constantly. Your photos are lovely!
These are some of the same beautiful flowers I have in my backyard Sandy, and I love them. Your photos are beautiful.
Can’t help with this coneflower, Sandy but it sure is lovely. You asked about the hardiness of the new coloured coneflowers. My experience has been that Sunrise, Sunset (or Sundown! Can’t remember which I got last year) and E. paradoxa all overwintered fine. Mango Meadowbrite and Orange Meadowbrite (from the Chicago Botanic Gardens breeding program, I think) didn’t overwinter. Now, because the new coloured ones were new last year, I babied them a bit by throwing evergreen boughs on them when it got really cold (to help avoid the frost heaving from the mild and frigid spells we have. We’ll see how these others do this year.
Hi Sandy,
I’m so far behind but I caught up with you tonight. You must be getting plenty of rain for those gorgeous flowers and butterflies. Are your temps cooler than upper nineties? I’m struggling with my blue flowers but the zinnias are making an effort… The hummingbirds are happy. It’s been a rough summer and I think Charlotte won’t bloom until September.
Beautiful photos, Sandy. So that is what tansy looks like. Thanks for sharing.
I had to pull up a bunch of tansy this year as it was overtaking my veggie garden. I like to keep a little bit of it there as it deters pests on the tomatoes and cukes. My Joe Pye weed will be blooming in another week. It’s huge this year.
Giddy, that is another reason I moved the tansy out of the garden. My Joe Pye is taller than ever, too!
Does your property join with a forest? I’m curious because so many animals come out into your garden.
Donna, yes it does. The edge of the woods is not too far from the back of the garden. Over the years, we have even seen moose in the hayfield and moose tracks in the garden. With more houses being built all the time, there is less and less natural space for wildlife. So, they come into the neighborhoods.