Tag: coneflower

The Last of the Spiders

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WOW! I am do far behind blogging this time. July 26 was almost 2 weeks ago. The old porch is painted and my autoimmune thyroid is kicking me in the butt a little.

I’ll start with the last of the Ned Roberts spiders for this blog. How about that?

Adios Albuquerque is a nice, mid-late spider that reminds me of many New Mexico road trips.

Adios Albuquerque 7.27

The very next day, Cripple Creek bloomed. Named for the Colorado gold mining town.

Cripple Creek 7.28

Skinwalker, Kachina Firecracker, and Navajo Curls arrived on 7.29. Great array of color. Love the late spiders.

Skinwalker 7.29
Kachina Firecracker 7.29
Navajo Curls 7.29

On the 30th came Purple Thunderbird and Fox Ears. Fox Ears hasn’t bloomed in a couple of years so I am especially excited to see her back.

Fox Ears 7.30
Purple Thunderbird 7.30

August 2nd brought the last of my Ned spiders to have a first bloom this year. My beloved Purple Corn Dancer. She always closes out the season in my yard. She is the last first of all my blooms.

Purple Corn Dancer 8.2

I’m adding a couple of later bloomers next year (and 3 new Ned Roberts spiders). No more than 200 in my yard because of size and water. I’m also adding a little Coneflower garden as a fur kid memorial garden. I got most of it in yesterday. Both Echinacia and Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan family) should add a little fall interest to the yard.

Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan)
My finished porch

I’ll be back with more! Peak daylily season with a major DIY project. Add autoimmune thyroid and a new business venture downtown. So much for retirement! Lol.

There Ain’t No Cure for the Summertime Blooms

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Sometimes, I feel a little sad that daylilies are the dominant plant in my yard. And, that camping season is superimposed on daylily season. To top that off, I have so many other plants that bloom in summer.

Mesa Peach Blanket Flower added to my Native garden yesterday.

I feel like those plants get ignored. I nurture the plants all winter, many as houseplants. And, boom, I barely notice their gorgeous blooms because 50 daylilies are competing for my time.

My oldest bloomer this day is my yucca. Her yucca patch was here when I first bought the house 20+ years ago.

Today, I walked my yard and took pictures of a dozen or so plants that are brightly blooming right now.

My coneflower is a couple years old, tall and proud member of my native garden.

It’s a weird bunch, from Thanksgiving cactus to white iris. From native to tropical.

This pink yarrow is also a new addition to my desert native garden.

I have more than are pictured here because I ended up with lots of pansies and petunias in color bowls.

My dancing lady orchid adds a splash of yellow to the back porch.

The oldest plant in bloom today is likely my Thanksgiving cactus or the bromeliad. All about 5 years with me. The youngest I planted yesterday.

And, my red bromeliad likes the sun but not the dry heat.

I wish there were more blues to contrast the daylilies – pansies and petunias help.

Thanksgiving cactus enjoying the temp drops at night.
Another white bloom is my iris, about done for another year.
Ice plants add color to the landscape this time of year.
This stunning yellow begonia adds color to the yard in summer.
One of the many bright annuals in my color pot.

I think daylily season starts tomorrow or Friday in my yard. Saratoga Springtime is about to burst. I have 30 scapes up, but none close to blooming. It seems a little late, but not much. I hope my bloom rate is good with the drought. It tends to be worse on drought years.

Saratoga Springtime bud about to burst.

Anyway, if I don’t get too burned out blogging, maybe I’ll do an extra post every so often about the other bloomers.