Helenium

These no name helenium are one of my favorite flowers, primarily for the combination of colors.  They are blooming sooner than I hoped, and wanting to sprawl.  This is a perfect example of a perennial that needs pinched back in spring.  Pinching back slows the growth cycle and makes the plant both shorter and branchier.  Is branchier a word? : ) 

Hummingbird

Bin

Jerry is not fond of my habit of snipping shrubs and letting the debris fall as it may.  So, he went out and bought me  this cute little wheelie bin to drag around and collect all my weeds and trimmings.  Cute! 

Fall veggies

August seems to be all about waiting for it to be over; really, not much is happening with the garden.  However, as strange as it seems to be planting the tiny seeds in such hot weather, it is time to sow winter veggies.  I have lettuce sprouting already, and chard and a few spinach plants, and have already reseeded where needed.  Today I put new soil in the wheelbarrow and sowed carrots.  I used the old soil from the barrow to fill in one of the back beds where I plan to sow beets and more chard this evening. In September I will plant broccoli and peas.

Yarrow

My third try at a red yarrow was a charm as they say. 'Walther Funke' is just what I hoped for.  These rusty red flowers keep their color, although as the pollen grows it tends to cover the tiny petals.  The other reds I tried faded to pink. 

Playing with color

Every year I plant impatiens throughout my shady garden because they require absolutely no care, yet provide color from March into December.  Usually I plant all red but this year Jerry was with me while I shopped and his vote was for mixed.  So I got red, apricot/salmon and purple.  I really think I like this look.  It is just a bit softer, and blends with the other colors throughout. 

Panacea

I spent over an hour this morning puttering in the garden.  : )  I planted lettuce seed in pots, potted up another echinacea for Robby and Candace's house, put my hydrangea paniculata in the ground, cut back the bay leaf tree to see if I can keep it small and maybe shape it, reorganized pots, and more.  The snails finally won the battle for the ligularia, so I spent some time thinking about a replacement for that big pot. Not sure what to do yet.  I enjoyed the freshness of the cooler morning temperature! 

Rhubarb

Last summer in Alaska Denise made rhubarb pie and it was delicious! So I bought a rhubarb root last winter, and today I cut a few stalks and following a recipe I chopped and mixed them with sugar and tapioca.  Then I wrapped them in one of those uncooked tortillas from Costco, which is what Denise had done, making a little gallette, and baked it.  Ick!   I am so over rhubarb!

Roses

I love David Austin roses.  I currently have six of them.  This one, Pat Austin, is one of the best.  She blooms continuously, from about first April into November or later.  The color is amazing and the scent enticing, smelling strongly of citrus. Pat does not like to be cut and brought indoors where the blooms last only a day.  But since the shrub sits right outside the garden room I can see them all I want anyway.  : )

August 1 flowers

Continuing from February 1:
Alyssum
Wax begonias
Carnations

Continuing from March 1:
California poppies
Roses

Continuing from April 1:
Thyme
Geum Mrs. Bradshaw
"little tree" Solanum atropurpureum
Gaillardia
Impatiens

Continuing from May 1:
Clematis
Verbena bonariensis
Pomegranate tree
Annual Lobelia
Gerber daisy

Continuing from June 1:
Hydrangea macrophylla
Pelargonium
Echinacea 'White Swan'
Annual red coreopsis
Dahlia 'Bishop's Children'
Fuschia 'Gartenmeister Bonsteder'
Monarda 'Jacob Kline'
Lavender

Continuting from July 1
Rudbeckia
Cosmos
Veronica
Hydrangea paniculata
Verbena, ground cover
Chocolate cosmos
Crepe Myrtle
Moss rose
Yarrow 'Walther Funke'
Phlox paniculata
Agastache rupestris
Maltese cross

New for August 1
Cardinal Climber