Pinkfusion

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Somehow this year my garden got the pinks. As I worked in the garden this week, I noticed there is a heck of a lot of pink out there.

The coleus cuttings turned out to be many shades of pink and pink accents. A neighbor gave me a left-over flat of pink impatiens so I paired them with the pink coleus.

In pots

and in the ground.

Other annuals - pink cosmos and cleome .

Even the pot of zinnias Giant Flowered Mix and California Giant is predominately pink.

The perennials I’ve planted over the years are many shades of pink. A lot of them were gifts from friendly gardeners.

Saucer sized hardy hibiscus (from a neighbor)

Cone flowers (from a neighborhood school plant sale)

Garden phlox (from a friend)

Mum Clara Curtis (actually bought this one myself).

Crepe Myrtle (from another neighbor).

Pink everywhere. A happy accident.

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Poppy Seeds

I blogged about the Heavenly Angels Poppies (Papaver paeoniflorum) here and here.

Last week I got some garden therapy and collected seeds.

I cut the tops off and let them fall into a shoe box. A little shake and the seeds spill out of the tiny openings at the top of the pod.

After I clean out the leaves, the seeds will be ready to share with friends. I’ll spread some in my garden in December - to fill the garden with brilliant color next June.

It's good to be back in the garden.

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Burnside Plantation

A family emergency will keep me away from gardening and blogging for a while. I’ll keep reading my favorite blogs and answering comments. I hope to get back to the garden and blog world soon.

But I want to mention Burnside Plantation 25th Annual Blueberry Festival July 17 and 18. The annual affair features tours, demonstrations, music, crafts and kids fun. The pie eating contest ends with kid’s blueberry covered faces and delighted smiles. For a complete list of activities click here.
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I visited the Burnside Plantation in Bethlehem in May. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places the plantation is a look into the past. James Burnside bought 500 acres 1748. The grounds and buildings are lovingly restored. An entertaining overview of the farm for school age children (and the rest of us) is located here.

17th and 18th century house and vegetable garden. The garden is cared for by a league of volunteers organized through the Historic Bethlehem Partnership.

The walking trail below the gardens and next to the Monocacy Creek leads to downtown Bethlehem


Bethlehem Police Department horses are kept in the large barn near the house and gardens.

Lehigh and Northampton County Master Gardeners have set up a pollinator demonstration garden. There is lot to explore in this small garden including the turtle shape, a crisscross path, a kid’s tunnel and simple bee hives. Signs help teach the story of pollination.

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The blueberry festival is an enjoyable way to spend a summer day, soak up local history – and taste some delicious blueberry pie.

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Bucks County

I visited Upper Bucks County this week. It reminded me how much I love the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside.

I’ll be away for a few days. I hope you have a great 4th of July. I’ll be back here next week

. I hope you will too. .

Zinnia

(Zinnia pot from 2008)

Every year I plant a happy pot of zinnias on our sunny patio.

On May 23, I planted ‘Giant Flowered Mix’ and ‘California Giant’ seeds. I poked shallow holes in the soil, placed a seed in each one, covered with a little soil and watered. Later in the summer they may get a little mildew or attract Japanese beetles. I fertilize with the other annuals and deadhead as the flowers fade. I’ll have color all summer.

I’ve been watering twice a day since the weather has turned hot. In this 90 degree heat, they tend to dry out but recover quickly.

Here’s how they looked at 11:20 am.

They made a complete recovery by 11:50 am.

After a month, they are ready to bloom - another year with a happy pot of zinnias.

The zinnia story from the University of Illinois Extension.

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Forget-Me-Not

Cynoglossum amabile, Chinese forget-me-not .

One day my husband asked, “What are those blue flowers?” “That’s forget-me-not,” I told him. “Oh," he said, "I forgot.” – a funny man.

My forget-me-not fits the description of Cynoglossum amabile. I got the seeds from a co-worker about 10 years ago but I didn't write it down. They have self-sowed and bloomed every year without any special care - one of the few blue flowers in my garden.

The prickly little seeds stick to socks, pets, jeans or any piece of cloth they come in contact with. I try to keep them back from the paths. In spring, I pull the plants that are near human traffic (although I don’t have the heart to pull them all).

It is almost inevitable that I’ll be picking seeds out of my shoelaces later this summer.

I’m willing to put up with the seeds for the brilliant blue flower.


Rob’s Plants from his Lehigh Valley Gardening blog has a good description and great photos.

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Garden Tour

I’m on my way to Bethlehem Garden Club Garden Tour “Paradise Found”. The tour benefits the club’s community projects and scholarship fund. I had a short preview yesterday.

There are 8 gardens on the tour - from a small city garden with a koi pond to a rural oasis.

Some of the lush gardens on the tour will offer complimentary attractions such as a wine tasting, light refreshments, a raffle featuring gift cards to local garden centers and a plant sale.

There are some beautiful gardens in Bethlehem. It is "Paradise Found".

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Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - June 2010

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As I walked around the garden clicking, collecting photos, I remembered a little of my garden’s history. I’m in the garden every day but I guess I usually don’t take the time to have a really good look. Bloom day changes that. Every plant has a story.

The Heavenly Angels Poppies are now in full bloom. Yesterday I called the friend who gave them to me to thank her for her spectacular gift of seeds. She didn’t answer. I'll try again. Maybe she’ll read this blog.

Roadside Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) came with the house. It spreads. I dug most of it out and left two clumps near fence posts.

This unnamed deep orange lily adds a pop of color to a sea of green. It was purchased as tuberose. It’s obviously not that.

Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’ daylily – common, everblooming, reliable. It was planted to hide the spent foliage of the daffodils. One plant is now three.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis), another gift from a friend, has been reseeding in this spot for many years. My grandmother grew them. I think of both of them when I see the yellow flowers.

Coreopsis, sold as ‘Moonbeam’, may or may not be ‘Moonbeam’ depending on who you ask. Every year it gets wider and wider. Since 1998, I’ve divided it with an axe, given it away, planted it around the garden and composted it.

Crane’s Bill Hardy Geranium ‘Splish Splash’. I’ll dead head with a hedge shears when it’s finished blooming to minimize reseeding. I have several clumps from the original plant. It doesn’t help to tell it “stay”.

Nicotiana ‘Fragrant Cloud’ has been making an appearance every year since originally planted in 2004. I’ve never gone out in the garden at night to check its scent.

Coral Bells Heuchera villosa 'Tiramisu' PPAF - the first Heuchera to bloom in my garden. It’s a new plant in its third year that I bought on a trip to a garden center with good friends.

Chrysanthemum 'Clara Curtis' - Garden Mum blooms all summer. I’ve shared many pieces of this early blooming mum.

Anthony Waterer spirea - an original shrub. I’ll trim it back when it’s finished blooming and it will re-bloom later in the summer – another reliable old friend and one of my husband’s favorites.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my garden as much as I did.

Many thanks to Carol at May Dreams Garden for hosting Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day every month. It makes me stop and actually look at what is blooming in my garden. Check out other garden blogger’s blooms at Carol’s blog. It should be an exciting month.

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