It has been unusually rainy this month. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining...far from it! We had 3 days of straight rain the second week of JUNE. The plants think it is fantastic! They are looking healthy and green and growing faster than the weeds in my garden. Whats not to like!
Continuing from last month, daylilies are still filling the garden with bold color and big blooms.
Don't you think the stamen look like long eyelashes? Blink, Blink.
An anomaly in my garden is this pink hydrangea. Why is this so special? Well, my soil (a.k.a. red clay) is acidic. Since the pH of the soil determines the coloring of this type of hydrangea, blue is the typical color you see around Georgia.
Hydrangeas produce pink blooms in neutral to alkaline (6.5 - 7.0) soil and will produce blue blooms in acidic (5.0-5.5) soil. I have always been told that the only way to get pink blooms in Georgia is to plant hydrangeas in pots and add lots of lime. (If your soil is more alkaline add aluminum sulfate to get blue blooms.) Sometimes you may see a hydrangea that has blue, pink and purple blooms simultaneously because of the varying pH levels in the soil around the plant.
This hydrangea was planted in the Blue & White garden. Oops! The OPS soil that we added to this bed must have brought up the pH level significantly for this to happen.
Other summer faithfulls and pollinator favorites around the garden ~
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| Monarda |
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| Bumble bee on Buddleia |
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| Oranges & Lemons Blanket Flower with Russian Sage |
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| Coneflower 'White Swan' |
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| Black & Blue Salvia | | | | |
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| Coreopsis moonbeam |
It struck me as I was walking through the garden that I never photograph my pots or hanging baskets. So to change things up here is a look at a few.
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| Lantana 'New Gold', sweet potato vine, coleus, Calibrachoa 'Cabaret' |
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| Wave petunia 'Lavendar', Zinnia 'profusion cherry' |
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| Colocasi Esculenta 'Black Magic' with Euphorbia graminea 'Diamond Frost' |
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| Coleus, sweet potato vine, white pentas and black petunia |
I am joining Garden Blogger's Bloom day hosted by Carol at
May Dreams Gardens. Swing on over and take a look at blooms around the globe.
Have a wonderful weekend!
~ Karin
