minhus

March Bloom Day: The Garden Awakens

2026-03-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

The garden is finally beginning to wake up after a very cold, snowy winter. Not only did it snow quite a bit, but the snow stuck around for weeks, which is rare for central Ohio.

Then it warmed up, followed by a week of solid rain, then a windstorm last Friday that knocked out power for a few hundred thousand people statewide. Not all of them have power restored yet. I feel we've been quite lucky not to have suffered any damage in the storms and to have only lost power for about an hour.

Hopefully the garden fared as well. We had weeks of brutally cold temps, so I'm hoping all of the plants made it.

I also realized I've never done a Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post in March, so since there are a few blooms, this will be a first.

First to bloom were the snowdrops. Between the heavy snow pack, which was quickly followed by temps in the 60s and 70s, these didn't last real long. But they are a welcome sign of spring.

Next are the crocus. The vast majority of crocuses I have are this purple color, but there are a few gold ones around that I inherited from the previous owners.

And just this week the earliest daffodils started blooming, which are some of my favorite flowers. The fact that the deer don't bother them is a bonus. I fear they too won't last long since we're set to drop from 73F today to 19F early Tuesday morning. Such is spring in Ohio.

That's it for what's blooming in my zone 6b garden this month, visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's in bloom elsewhere.

A Belated October Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

2025-10-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

This past week was hectic with some family stuff going on and I didn't notice it was Bloom Day until the next morning. Even though I'm quite late at this point, I still wanted to document what is in bloom in my central Ohio zone 6a garden since I've only done so in October once before. We're still in a drought, but we have gotten over 2.5" of rain so far this month which is helping us avoid it getting worse at least.

The zinnias are still blooming although most of the ones planted in the ground have awful powdery mildew at this point. The peach one above and it's friends are planted in pots that I water daily if needed so they've held up much better.

These thumbalina zinnias are also growing in a pot and as their name suggests are much smaller than all the other zinnias I'm growing. I wasn't in love with them over most of the season because they're just a bit too dainty for me, but I appreciate anything that is still blooming at this point.

I was worried that I might might only have one or two blooms on my Otto's Thrill dahlia this year, but numbers three though six are all on this branch that unfortunately snapped in the wind today. That, however, gave me an excuse to bring them inside to enjoy. There are still several buds to go, if the frost continues to hold off.

This single dahlia, which is definitely not Penhill Dark Monarch as labeled, is also still blooming. It is pretty and the bees love it.

This anise hyssop (agastache foeniculum) is blooming and I'm really loving the little bluestem planted to the right last month (Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues'), which is getting some lovely purple tones.

The award for the longest blooming flower in my garden has to go to this clump of salvia farinacea. It is easy to grow from seed, needs no special care and survives drought without supplemental water.

This volunteer cleome planted itself in a bare spot where I'm still figuring out what I want to plant long-term. It also been blooming for quite awhile and I just love it. I'm going to try spreading the seed around to other parts of the garden this year to see if I can get it to grow elsewhere.

My other asters are long gone unfortunately, so I was thrilled to see this white one pop up that I don't remember planting.

This small snapdragon clump was another surprise I found growing in the front foundation bed.

The snapdragon is near this nasturtium that finally decided to bloom.

I also spotted a coneflower or two and I have some rudbeckia both grown in the ground and in a pot. That's it for what's growing in my garden this month and probably my last bloom post for this season. Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens around the globe.

Six on Saturday: Early October

2025-10-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

Our drought continues and my central Ohio 6b garden is looking decidedly crispy, plus most of the zinnias are covered in powdery mildew. But I managed to find six things to show.

This lantana that I've been growing in a pot since spring had stopped blooming some time ago, which made me sad. I moved it to a sunnier spot and it's blooming once again and bringing a much-needed pop of color.

My dahlias have taken a beating (teething more accurately) from the deer this year and most of them are currently in between blooms, but I found this single dahlia bloom, as did this bumble bee.

These rudbeckia are growing in a pot near the house so the deer have been leaving them alone and I really enjoy them.

More of these snapdragons I grew from seed are blooming now. I really like this mix.

These zinnias are also in a nearby pot and are still blooming and luckily powdery-mildew free unlike my zinnias that are in the ground.

The tomatoes I purchased and planted are very crispy and more than half dead at this point, but these volunteer tomatoes look great and the deer finally let a few ripen.

That's my six this week. Visit Garden Ruminations to see what's happening in other gardens around the world.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - September 2025

2025-09-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

It's rained less than 1" here in my central Ohio zone 6b garden since August 1 and we're now officially in a moderate drought. The garden is looking rather crispy, but there are still some blooms thanks to supplemental watering.

Last month I feared I might not see any blooms from my Otto's Thrill dahlia this season, thanks to to an untimely deer pruning. But here is my second bloom, this one with more yellow peeking through than the first.

I'm really loving these sky blue asters, as are the pollinators, which I planted last year and plan to add more next season.

My rudbeckia that's in a pot is still blooming. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the plants in the garden (those darn deer!).

Queen lime red zinnia from saved seed and an unknown variety.

The zinnias are still blooming too since I've been watering them, but the ones in my front bed have a nasty case of powdery mildew and probably need to be pulled (sobs).

These snapdragons I grew from seed took quite awhile to get going, but I'm loving the colors.

Nothing phases this mealycup sage (savia farinacea). It dealt with our overabundance of rain in spring and early summer and now it's still blooming away despite receiving no supplemental water.

White snakeroot (ageratina altissima) suddenly appeared throughout my garden this year. It's native and the host plant to 7 species of lepidoptera, plus it's filling some holes for the time being so I'm letting it stay. I'm curious to know what others think of this plant.

That's about it for what's blooming in my garden this month, visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's in bloom elsewhere.

Six on Saturday: Early September

2025-09-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm about as late as can be in getting this posted, but in the end I just couldn't let this week go. We are now officially 'abnormally dry' in my central Ohio zone 6b garden, after receiving only 0.75" of rain in August and only 0.17" so far in September with no rain in the forecast. The garden definitely looks parched, but a few things are still blooming thanks to supplemental watering.

The star of this week is my Otto's Thrill Dahlia, which is finally blooming. She's not only the biggest dahlia I have, but she's also the prettiest. Unfortunately, the deer must find her tasty because they chomped all but this stem back in July so I don't know if I'll have more than the two buds that grew on it.

This delightful sky blue aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense) is starting to bloom and has me plotting to add more asters next year.

I have been thrilled to have lots of butterfly visitors in the garden lately and even hosted 9 black swallowtail caterpillars at one point. This painted lady was enjoying the zinnias which are another bright spot in my dry fall garden.

I've also had some monarch caterpillars even though my milkweed is in a very sorry state indeed. And for the first time ever I've spotted some chrysalises, including this one. I am keeping a close watch and hope it makes it.

Some consider mallow a weed, but it's pretty and not aggressive so it's more than welcome here.

I am less sure about this white snakeroot (ageratina altissima). It's suddenly appeared everywhere in my garden this year and is renowned for killing many via milk sickness in the pioneer days. It appears to be quite the prolific self-seeder. I've pulled it from many parts of the garden, but it's filling some spots that would otherwise be bare so I'm letting it stay for now. Luckily there are no cattle anywhere in the vicinity to worry out.

That's my six this week. Visit Garden Ruminations to see what's happening in other gardens around the world.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: The August Garden

2025-08-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

Our rains have finally dried up and my central Ohio zone 6b garden is looking a little tired. We've had less than three-fourths an inch of rain so far this month, but I'm not complaining as overall we've had great rainfall this summer.

In August zinnias are the stars of my garden. These were all sowed from seed outside in May. Most of the seed I saved from the Dawn Creek Pastels zinnias I grew last year. I have no idea where that bright fuchsia zinnia in the top left came from, but that's part of the fun.

While the zinnias are doing great, it's been a bit of a disappointing dahlia year. Of my big dahlias, only Sweet Love is blooming so far. It's extremely reliable and has been blooming since early July.

My favorite, Otto's Thrill, was severely pruned by the deer when it first set buds, which set it back quite a bit. There are two new buds now and I'm crossing my fingers I'll get some blooms yet. I also lost one other dahlia over winter, a hazard of not digging them up. But I still find the convenience is worth the risk.

Sweet Love dahlia

My dill is also in bloom. These umbel flowers are so pretty.

But when I looked closer yesterday, I was excited to discover seven Black Swallowtail caterpillars! This is exactly why I grew this dill, which I hope is enough to sustain them. I'm already plotting to grow more host plants for them next year. I also spotted two Monarch caterpillars on my sad-looking rose milkweed. Hopefully it will work for them.

This dwarf sunflower is a survivor! I grew 10 or so plants from seed, but the darn deer ate every single one down to nubs in June. I thought they were goners, but the plants grew side shoots, then buds and now one of them finally bloomed! A head-clipping weevil got the second bloom on this plant. Gardening is tough business sometimes.

I'm also excited to see this garden phlox bloom. Keeping it in a cage is the only way to keep the critters from eating it.

I wintersowed this mistflower last winter. Not only is it blooming during it's first summer, but it's also been ignored by all the critters in my yard, a major bonus!

I love volunteer flowers and these cleomes have been blooming and bringing me joy for weeks.

This wild petunia (ruellia humilis) is quickly becoming another favorite. I love its color, that it blooms for months and that it spreads a bit. Unfortunately the critters also love it, so I keep it caged.

And last but not least are the tomatoes which keep blooming away and proving me with these yummy cherry tomatoes to eat.

Also in bloom are agastache, snapdragons, coneflowers and even pansies (since March!). Thanks for stopping by and please visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming elsewhere.

Six on Saturday: Late summer

2025-08-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

It's beginning to feel like late summer in the garden. It's hot, but not the breath-taking heat we had in July. We even had a lovely break last weekend and I was able to turn off the AC for two whole days. For the first time this gardening season we could use some rain, but thanks to all the rain we've had previously, things are still looking pretty good.

This little corner of flower pots by the back door is one of my favorite spots right now. I just love these big, blousy zinnias which are Dawn Creek Pastels grown from seeds I saved.

Here is a closer view of the zinnias which come in an array of pastels colors.

Another spot I'm really enjoying is the view from my bedroom window of these volunteer cleome. I need to plant more next year.

This white liatris has been here for years, but was getting tall and floppy. Somehow the massive bulb was uprooted and broken earlier this year and I just plunked the biggest piece back in the ground. It turned out to be a happy accident as it survived and is looking better than ever.

This 'Blue Fortune' agastache is finally blooming and is looking pretty good this year.

I'm also quite please with this blue mistflower (conoclinium coelestinum) which I grew from seed this year via winter sowing. And bonus, this is one of the few plants in this bad bed that the deer and other critters haven't mowed down.

This is the year of volunteer lilies, which is perplexing since I've never, ever planted a single one. Perhaps a squirrel planted it? This one is aptly named surprise lilly, my plant ID app tells me. It's pretty, but since lilies are extremely toxic to cats and our cats occasionally visit the garden as does a neighbor cat, I'll be pulling it after it blooms.

That's my six this week. Visit Garden Ruminations to see what's happening in other gardens around the world.

A Very Late July Bloom Day

2025-07-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

Front garden bed with monarda, Shasta daises, coneflowers
and mealcup sage (Salvia farinacea)

It's been a week, so while I took photos in time for July Bloom Day hosted by May Dreams Gardens, I'm just now posting them. I didn't want to miss the occasion altogether though since my garden is currently in peak bloom.

Coneflower with an unknown variety of monarda

The monarda in the front garden bed has thrived this year. Usually the heat and lack of rain means a shorter bloom time and powdery mildew by now, but it's loving the wetter than normal summer we're having.

unknown variety of gladioli

Last year the deer ate all my gladioli before they had the chance to bloom, but this year I've been vigilant about spraying them with deterrent and have gotten to enjoy quite a few of these stunning blooms.

White swan coneflower

I just love the mix of pinks in this Firefly Fuschia yarrow, planted last year.

My Sweet Love dahlias have been blooming since July 5, but I'm still waiting on my dinnerplate dahlias to bloom. Despite being in zone 6b, I don't even bother digging these up anymore. They like where they are and have returned two years in a row.

I love the dainty delphium butterfly blend (delphinium grandiflorum), which I grew from seed from Botanical Interests. I just wish I could manage to grow more than one plant a year.

I've planted so many rudbeckia seedlings, but the critters have been relentlessly eating them. I'm really enjoying this one that managed to bloom (as is this ant).

There are also several other native plants blooming now in my garden, but you can see some of those in my last post if you're interested. And visit May Dreams Gardens to enjoy other fantastic gardens in bloom.

Six on Saturday: Natives in bloom

2025-07-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

We had a little break from the extreme heat last week and it was "only" in the high 80s rather than the mid 90s and above. The humidity also dropped, so while still hot it wasn't completely miserable.

But it's back in the 90s for the weekend, of course, so the only gardening I'm doing is early or late. Currently, I have the most native flowers in bloom at once in my garden, led by the coneflowers.

For years I avoided white coneflowers, like the White Swan coneflower (echinacea purpurea alba) above, because I thought they'd be lost in front of my white house. But after growing them once, I can't imagine being without them.

The tall larkspur (delphnium exaltatum) is starting to bloom. This is another favorite native in my garden because not only is it pretty, but it also reliably attracts hummingbirds. It's so tall that's it's hard to show the blooms and foliage in one photo though.

The mountain mint (pycnanthemum virginianum) attract lots of pollinators, is deer resistant, plus it does well in my dry native bed that is near a silver maple that hogs the moisture.

Next to the mountain mint, the swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata) is also in bloom. Strangely, it does better in this dried bed that in the medium to moist back bed. Unfortunately, though, I haven't seen any signs of monarchs so far.

This spiderwort, newly purchased this year, has been reliably blooming since I planted it in May. I just love the vibrant blue color.

That's it from my garden this week. Visit Garden Ruminations to see what else is in bloom from gardens around the globe.

Six on Saturday: Feels like summer

2025-06-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

We made it through our heatwave--six days in the 90s (32C). Luckily it wasn't quite as hot or as long as expected. And we got nearly an inch of rain one day so I just had to water some of my new seedlings. Not much gardening was done beyond that.

Today is a slightly cooler 87F (30C) and is supposed to be overcast later, so I'm hoping to get in some much-needed weeding. Here is a peek at some of the new things blooming in my garden for Six on Saturday, hosted by Garden Ruminations.

My hydrangea macrophylla 'Linsey Ann (L.A. Dreamin' hydrangea) just started to bloom a few days ago. This is its third season in my garden and while I miss the bright blue it was when I bought it, it's still pretty. It's perfectly at home in this pot on the deck, safe from nibbling deer (so far!), receiving morning sun and afternoon shade. I overwinter it in our unheated garage and am always amazed it turns from display of dead-looking sticks back to this.

This 'Firefly Fuschia' yarrow I planted last year is living up to its name. I planted it in the fall and the color was much more muted then, but I like this version too.

This unknown version of monarda is blooming, probably a month after the wild bergamot in the back bloomed.

The common milkweed is blooming. I need to remember to grow more of this next year.

Much of the species coneflower (echinacea purpurea) received the Chelsea chop courtesy of the deer, but is starting to bloom now. Coneflower spreads like a weed in my garden, not that I mind.

Unlike me, this elephant ear loves the heat. I've had these two for years and am still amazed they spend all winter in a cardboard box in the basement, then do this.

That's it from my garden this week. Visit Garden Ruminations to see what else is in bloom from gardens around the globe.

Six on Saturday: June 21 edition

2025-06-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to get out in the garden today after a few days forced hiatus thanks to a nasty case of vertigo. It was therapeutic to see what's blooming and and take some pics to share for Six on Saturday, hosted by Jim at Garden Ruminations. This is the first day of an expected 9-day heatwave in our region. Today was the coolest day we'll have at 90F/32C, but at least we've had plenty of rain going into it.

The Shasta daisies 'Alaska' are still blooming their heads off. They always strike me as such happy flowers and this is the healthiest they've looked in years.

I'm also completely enamored with the breadseed poppies (papaver somniferum) and so are the bees. I love the variety of this heirloom mix. Double poppies rarely pop up, so I had to feature this beauty.

This is my first time growing clary sage (Salvia sclarea v. turkestanica) and the deer are leaving them alone which is a nice bonus. Supposedly they smell like grapefruit, but I haven't experienced that.

The deer have been munching all of my drift rose blooms, but this one survives for now.

I haven't bought many plants this season, but couldn't resist getting these two Midnight Masquerade Penstemon last week when they were on sale at my local garden center. I love the dark foilage and they filled this hole nicely.

I was surprised to see this lily today. It must have hitched a ride with some free bearded irises I was given. I'm going to let it finish blooming and then will dig it up and pass it on as lilies are extremely poisonous to cats. I don't want to risk it since our cats enjoy "supervised visits in the wild" from time to time.

That's my six for today, don't forget to visit Garden Ruminations for more or to share your own.

June Blooms

2025-06-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

It officially feels like summer in my central Ohio zone 6b garden. Some things are still behind, but it's heating up and so far we're still getting enough rain to keep the garden looking fresh. It's been in the high 70s and 80s for the last week and by next weekend we're expecting to be in the 90s. The hot temps are a little too warm for me, but that's summer in Ohio.

This week I'm most excited about my favorite poppy, the breadseed poppies (papaver somniferum). These are from a heirloom mix I purchased from Select Seeds last year. I saved and direct-sowed thos seeds in early spring and this is the result. I just love the variety and go outside each morning to see what new variations have bloomed.

This is the first dahlia to bloom this year. While pretty, it's certainly not Penhill Dark Monarch as advertised. That's the risk of buying from a big box store I guess.

And this yellow dahlia is a surprise as I thought I'd pulled the yellow dahlias last year (they don't quite fit my color scheme). But here is one I missed that survived winter. The bees will love is, so it'll stay for the season and I'll reevaluate it this fall.

'Alaska' Shasta daisies

I have a bunch of lavender and wouldn't be without it. I like to dry a bit each year to display as dried flowers in winter. And the bees love it.

bellflowers

My first-ever clary sage (Salvia sclarea v. turkestanica); bloom and it's so unique. I grew this biennial from seed last year via winter sowing and this is the first one to bloom. It has also been completely deer resistant so I plan to grow more in the future.

The lamb's ear is also blooming. It's not my favorite look, but the price was right on these (free) and the bees have been enjoying it.

Also in bloom are salvia farinacea, pansies purchased in March (well worth it), a few coneflowers and foxglove beardtongue.

That's it for this month in my garden; visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming elsewhere.

Six on Saturday

2025-05-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to participate in Six on Saturday, hosted by Jim at Garden Ruminations, for some time to showcase things not in bloom for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and today I finally managed it.

Let's see what's in bloom today in my small central Ohio city garden, shall we?

1. My Sarah Bernhardt peony, which is one of the first things I planted in this garden (bareroot no less) was looking so good but two days of rains have beat it down to the ground. The blooms are so pretty, but so heavy I cannot manage to keep them upright. I finally bought a peony cage this year, and things looked promising, but it wasn't tall enough. If anyone has tips for staking long-stemmed peonies, I need them.

The silver lining is, it's encourage me to cut bunches since a lot of the stems are damaged and they currently look better in a vase than drooping on the ground.

2. I've been enamored with native beardtongues since starting to plant them in 2023, especially this hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus). The blooms are dainty but beautiful.

3. These are the only Rocky Mountain Penstemon blooms that survived a severe deer pruning. Their purple color almost glows it's so vibrant.

4. My foxgloves are on their way out but this pink one is one of my favorites and complements my baptisia australis that has been blooming since mid-May.

5. I have a few self-seeded columbine that popped up in areas that make them nearly impossible to photograph well. This is as good as I can get this year.

6. Once upon a time, after much failure, I finally grew from seed and planted pink oriental poppies. Now I only have orange ones, which doesn't fit the color scheme for my garden, but they are pretty anyway so they stay.

May Bloom Day

2025-05-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to wake up in my central Ohio zone 6b garden, helped by plenty of rain and mild temperatures.

Up first is blue false indigo (baptisia australis). I've had this lovely native plant for many years and always enjoy it's lovely purple blooms.

My purple bearded iris (unknown variety) are also blooming. Not only are they gorgeous, but so far they've been completely deer resistant, something that is becoming more critical in my garden these days. And bonus, all of my irises were a gift from two generous neighbors.

Fellow native Monarda bradburiana is also blooming. This one is growing through a cloche to keep it safe from the deer and menagerie of critters who reside in our back yard (bunnies, groundhog and racoons, oh my!). Did I mention I live in the middle of the city?

Various types of allium are blooming throughout the garden, like a display of purple fireworks. It's another beauty the deer leave alone.

I've had two Miss Kim Lilacs for at least 17 years and they were starting to look worse for the wear. Last year I nervously did a significant prune and am really pleased to see all the new growth at the bottom. This year I plan to prune the old growth even further.

The pansies I bought in late March are still blooming away thanks to the real summer heat not arriving yet, which is fine by me. Just another reminder for me that it's worth it to buy spring annuals; these have brought a lot of color and joy for the last two months.

Lastly, we have the rare Toby flower, who would like to be outside as much as possible, but alas is only permitted supervised visits. He too spends most of his outside time in the garden beds.

That's it for this month in my garden, but visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming elsewhere.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - April 2025

2025-04-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to a new season in my central Ohio 6b garden! Early spring is primarily about bulbs around here. This bed should have had a lovely display of pink and purple tulips, but unfortunately the deer got all but this one. Even though I regularly sprayed repellent. Our deer are determined.

The daffodils are on their way out, but there are still some to enjoy. The duo above are two of my current favorites, Daffodil Salome and Narcissus Cheerfulness. And the one below is also very cheerful.

I love grape hyacinths. I used to have a lot more running through part of the lawn, but unfortunately they seem to have been suffocated when I created a new garden bed. Oops. I might have to plant some as I miss them.

I bought a flat of pansies in mid-March and have really been enjoying them. I used to avoid pansies since they are relatively short-lived here, but how many $15 bouquets last for a month? They've more than earned their place.

And I was inspired by Carol at May Dreams Gardens to include this shot of some of the many wild violets that run through my lawn. Thanks to my laziness in never using weed killer on my lawn they're prolific and now that I know their value (host plant for fritillaries) and the harm weed killer does, I'm grateful.

That's it for this month in my garden, but visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming elsewhere.

A crispy September Bloom Day

2024-09-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to see these Sky Blue Asters (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense) finally blooming in it's second year.

Unfortunately it's crispy here as in dry, not the temperature. Our drought has worsened to an extreme drought. Luckily there aren't water restrictions in our city, but there are some restrictions and burn bans south of here, where the drought is even worse.

I am still watering, but not as much as I have been and only the newly planted and flowering annuals.

One of the newer plants is this 'Firefly Fuschia' Yarrow. I just love it.

I'm also loving the Shooting Stars dahlias grown from seeds from Floret Flower Farm. This pink beauty is my favorite.

This one is eye-catchingly moody.

This dahlia that I planted last year was labeled Penhill Watermelon, which it certainly isn't. Perhaps it's Penhill Dark Monarch? Regardless, I love it. This color is one I probably wouldn't have picked out but compliments my other dahlias nicely, especially Otto's Thrill.

'Otto's Thrill' dahlia

The 'Apricotta' cosmos are blooming consistently despite the drought and pests.

The zinnias are still blooming like crazy and the 'Senorita' zinnias have been especially gorgeous this year. I'll definitely be saving seeds from this one.

Here is a nice moment in the front flower bed featuring a variety of zinnias, a peek of salvia farinacea and my volunteer tomato patch in the background.

This has probably been my best year ever for nasturtium and I have several varieties in bloom, but I think these are the prettiest.

I'm also really loving this serendipitous combination of Brown-Eyed Susans and purple basil.

That's about it for what is blooming in my garden in September, but you can visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens around the globe.

Let's hear it for the volunteers!

2024-08-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

This patch of entirely volunteer tomatoes has been one of the most fascinating things in my garden this season. This bed in front of the house was empty this spring after we pulled out some overgrown boxwood hedges with issues last fall that had grown far too close to the house, which we plan on painting.

I filled in low spots with my homemade compost, which obviously does not get hot enough to kill seeds, because a bunch of cherry tomatoes sprouted. Out of curiosity, I let them grow and am now enjoying regular, sungold, black and yellow pear cherry tomatoes.

volunteer cherry tomatoes with direct-sowed poppies

While the deer have definitely chomped these plants, especially early in the season, they haven't bothered them as much as the purchased plants I'm growing in Earthbox containers in the back yard. The volunteers are also producing larger fruit for the most part and are producing well now, while the purchased planted are shriveling up.

I'm not entirely sure why that is. The seeds are certainly different. The volunteers might get more a little more sun. But I also water them much less, at least directly, although I water the zinnias planted around them and maybe that's enough. There is also clay soil in the front beds, which is likely beneficial this year since we've been in a moderate drought since June.

tonight's volunteer harvest

In fact, without these volunteer plants, my tomato harvest this year would have been quite the disappointment. But with them, I have all I can eat for salads and snacking. Now I have a conundrum, because although a tomato patch in front of the house isn't quite the look I was going for, they have produced so well that I'm tempted to grow more here next year.

Have you had volunteer vegetables produce better than purposefully planted ones? And is a tomato patch in the front of the house tacky or tasty? I'm also considering incorporating more food into my landscaping and would love to see any pics of that in practice!

Bloom Day: August

2024-08-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

Dawn Creek pastels Zinnia from Floret

Unfortunately last month's moderate drought has continued and my central Ohio zone 6b garden is looking rather crispy and the deer pressure continues to be high. But I still have some blooms, primarily the late summer stars like dahlias and zinnias.

Dawn Creek pastels Zinnia from Floret

Queen Lime Red Zinnia

Otto's Thrill dahlia

This is the first year the deer have eaten my dahlias. They've been especially hard on the single dahlias, but seeing this Otto's Thrill dahlia finally bloom this week cheered me up.

A Floret Shooting Stars dahlia

This is my first Floret Shooting Stars dahlia grown from seed to bloom. It's also the only one to bloom so far thanks in large part to the insatiable deer. It's cute, but not quite a stunner like some I've seen.

I also grew some Cleome from seed and I absolutely love them. These ones planted in the ground are larger and more robust than the ones I grew in a pot, but they also get more sun.

Agastache Blue Fortune

The deer, and possibly other critters have been especially hard on my plants in the back, particularly the natives like rudbeckia, monarda, Great Blue lobelia and agastache. I'm not the biggest fan of yellow flowers in my garden, but I make an exception for rudbeckia. It's so cheerful and I hope to expand this patch much more next year.

That's it for my belated Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post this month, but you can visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens around the globe.

Bloom Day: July

2024-07-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

zinnia patch

Summer has arrived in my central Ohio, zone 6b garden. In fact it's felt like summer even before the solstice.

The weather has been hot, humid and very dry. We're in a moderate drought and the garden is definitely showing some stress, but doesn't look too bad for now. Let's look around, shall we?

The zinnias as a definite bright spot in the garden. I grew a mix of senorita, Cut and come again and a few Dawn Creek Pastels from Floret and I love them.

(clockwise from top left) Burpee Cut and Come Again, Baker Creek Senorita Zinna,
Burpee Cut and Come Again and Dawn Creek Pastels zinnia from Floret.

The coneflowers are also putting on a show (with tall purple larkspur in the background). I think these flowers love my garden more than anything else and as a result I have a ton, even after adding some more variety to the front bed.

White Swan Echinacea

The swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) I planted last year is blooming for the first time.

My porch pots finally recovered from a severe pruning by deer.

This was a great year for breadseed poppies (Papaver somniferum) and this is one of the last ones. I'll probably do a separate post on these because I loved them so much and had quite an assortment.

That's it for my garden this month, but you can visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens around the globe.

June Blooms

2024-06-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

It's starting to feel like summer here in my central Ohio, zone 6b garden. The weather has been fairly mild, enough so that I've been able to comfortably turn the AC off for several days at a time, but that's about to change as we're set to have a 9-day stretch of 90+ temps starting tomorrow with no rain in sight. I'm not looking forward to it.

But for now the garden is doing great, let's take a look.

The 'Alaska' Shasta daisies are the stars of the front border right now. And they look fantastic with these salvia farinacea.

I'm thrilled I was able to overwinter this L.A. Dreaming hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Lindsey Ann’) in the garage. Although I don't love this year's color as much as I did the deep blue last year.

I have four seed dahlias grown from seed last year that came back despite overwintering in the ground. I'm glad they did because they've been blooming for weeks and this bee also seems pleased.

These bellflowers are one of the earlier flowers I ever planted and they just keep going.

This is also my second year of having milkweed in my garden and my first year seeing it bloom. This common milkweed is pretty and has an interesting scent. Shown with foxglove beardtongue (penstemon digitalis).

This is my largest lavender patch. It's wild and unruly, but I love it and so do the bees.

I really love volunteer flowers, especially when they're as pretty as these snapdragons.

These dianthus are also volunteers that returned in this pot.

That's it for this month in my garden, but visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming elsewhere.

April blooms and a new gardening year

2024-04-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

It's a new gardening year in my central Ohio zone 6a garden and the star April blooms are the tulips. While planting 135 bulbs during some chilly days last fall I began second-guessing my purchases, but as usual it's all worth it come spring. This patch of 30 pink and purple tulips is making me especially happy.

Mystic Van Eijk (pink) and Negrita tulips

It was also worth spraying it regularly with a stinky deterrent to keep the deer away so I actually got to enjoy them (a lesson I learned last year).

previously planted Columbus and unknown purple tulips

Most of the daffodils are done, but there are still a few, including one of my favorites, Narcissus Cheerfulness.

Top row, from left: Daffodil Salome and Narcissus Cheerfulness

And there's a few other blooms now, including grape hyacinths and especially exciting to me is wild geranium (geranium maculatum). The latter I planted last year and is blooming for the first time in my garden.

That's it for this month in my garden, but visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming elsewhere.

A dry September Bloom Day

2023-09-15T16:19:00.006-07:00

It's been a dry month here in my central Ohio zone 6b garden and it shows. The perennials are pretty much done for the season since I haven't been watering them. That makes me even more grateful for the annuals and dahlias that continue to bloom their heads off.

Otto's Thrill has become my favorite dahlia in my garden and has been blooming since mid-July. It doesn't have the longest vase life but it's coloring is exquisite. The fact that it has performed so much better during its second year makes me consider giving some new tubers I planted this year that haven't bloomed one more year, if they make it over winter.

Sweet Love dahlia is also in its second year in my garden and continues to be a reliable and prolific bloomer. And it lasts for a week or more in a vase.

I also grew several dahlias from seed, these are two of my favorites. While I love the fancier dahlias like those above, these are pretty too and the pollinators love them especially now when pollen is getting more scarce.

Top row: Senorita Zinnia, Bottom row: assorted Cut and Come zinnias

Zinnias are a longtime favorite of mine and I'll always grow them. I hope to squeeze even more in next year.

Cosmos seashells mix

This is the first year in a long time that I've grow cosmos and I'm really enjoying them. Unfortunately the deer also enjoy dining on them but have finally left them alone long enough so I can get some blooms.

This container of lantana and calibrachoa is still going strong and are so cheerful I will definitely repeat this combo again.

That's most of what's blooming in my garden this month. Visit May Dreams Gardens' Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post to see what's blooming in participating gardens around the world.

Garden explosion for Bloom Day!

2023-07-15T12:24:00.010-07:00

July is one of the busiest months in my central Ohio zone 6B garden as far as blooms go and this year is no exception. Coneflowers are blooming everywhere and are joined by Shasta Daisy 'Alaska' that I grew from seed last year.

I really enjoy this combination of tall larkspur (Delphinium exaltum), coneflowers and Sweet Love dahlias.

I have two types of coneflower, purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and White Swan.

Seeing Otto's Thrill dahlia bloom is a great thrill, first because I didn't bother digging it up last year following it's unimpressive performance. But surprisingly, it came back despite the fact that I'm in zone 6B. And it's already blooming whereas last year the first full bloom wasn't until October 1! We had the large Silver Maple in that area trimmed last winter, so it may be getting some more sun.

My Sweet Love dahlia is also blooming. I did dig up and store this one over winter.

I'm loving the combination in this pot of two Superbenas (Stormburst and ?) and Catalina Midnight Blue.

Zinnias are still one of my favorite flowers and I'm enjoying Queen Lime zinnia (left) and Senorita.

I loved the combination of bright pink calibrachoa and lantana (Bana Pink) from two years ago so much that I repeated it this year.

I haven't grown cosmos in several years and am really enjoying these Sea shells mix.

Tall bellflower (Campanula americana) that I planted last year and the only one the deer didn't chomp to death. I planted more this year in hopes of a better display in the future.

I'm loving these Butterfly Blend dwarf delphiniums, which are blooming for the first time since I wintersowed them last year. I hope to grow some more for next season.

That's most of what's blooming in my garden right now. Visit May Dreams Gardens' Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post to see what's blooming in participating gardens around the world.

June Bloom Day

2023-06-17T20:44:00.002-07:00

Apricot Drift rose, cottage pinks and lavender (possibly Munstead)

It's been quite a week so this post is a few days late. But since I resolved to post for every Bloom Day from April until our first frost this year, better late than never.

This has already been a challenging season in my 6b central Ohio garden. Things started off well. We had a wet, chilly early spring, followed by almost no rain (0.05" to be exact) from May 20-June 11 and a hot spell. Plus wildfire smoke from the Canadian fires. I have planted a lot of seedlings, an completely new bed's worth in fact, and was sick of watering by June 1. Much earlier than usual.

Things have been better over the last week and we got around 2" of rain total and the temperature has been cool enough that I turned the A/C off. The recent rain has been a big help, though we're still in a moderate drought. I know many have it worse and others often face drought. It's certainly a challenge. But let's see what's blooming, shall we?

I've long wanted a hydrangea and when I saw this Hydrangea macrophylla 'Linsey Ann (L.A. Dreamin' hydrangea) on sale at a local garden center I decided it had to come home with me. The joy it's brought me has already been more than worth it. I just love the color!

Also pictured is a mixed container (left), pansies and seed dahlias.

I grew these Alaska shasta daisies from seed last year so this is my first year seeing them bloom. They're pretty, but along with the rain issues this year we've also had a lot of pest pressure and aphids have been all over them. That's been a bummer and I prefer not to use spray pest control.

I also grew these Rainbow Loveliness cottage pinks from seed last year and they have been blooming their heads off. Their scent is amazing, perfume-y, with a bit of spice to it. And it really carries. I just love it and it intertwined with the apricot Drift rose.

I planted these foxglove beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis, last summer so this is my first time ever seeing them bloom. The bees also loved them, but unfortunately so did the deer and they ate all of the blooms a few days ago. Along with everything else, the deer seem especially hungry this year.

Continuing the theme, I also grew these Rocky Mountain Blue Penstemon from seed last year so this is it's first season blooming and I absolutely love them. The color is so vibrant.

These no ID bellflower are also in bloom. Probably my best internet plant purchase ever (there haven't been many). I've had them for years, but last year I moved some of the volunteers so that they form a nice clump and I'm really happy with the result.

Some of the mixed Sweet William that are dotted around the garden. They're in a variety of colors, but this combination is my favorite.

And I'll close things with one of the porch pots, filled with pentas and Supertunia Vista Silverberry, and Donnie, my neighbor gardening buddy.

Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens around the globe.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - May 2023

2023-05-15T18:09:00.003-07:00

After the daffodils and tulips fade in my zone 6b central Ohio garden, there is the purple period, thanks in large part to all the gorgeous alliums blooming everywhere. A neighbor once said they look like fireworks popping out all over and I love that description. There are several varieties, though they're from a mixed bag from the big box store so I'm not entirely what's what. My two Miss Kim dwarf lilacs are also blooming.

The blue false indigo (baptisia australis) is almost at full bloom. It's a fun plant to watch grow as it pops out of the ground looking like purple asparagus before it starts to unfurl. It's native here and has been a favorite since I first started planning my garden over a decade ago. At the time it was hard to find blue false indigo at a local nursery, but they're much more popular now.

I grew these cottage pinks from seed last year and they're blooming like crazy. I think our cooler, wet spring has helped.

The purple columbine are starting to bloom too, though their downturned little faces are challenging to photograph. I'm slowly but steadily spreading their seeds around the garden, though I haven't been able to get them to grow in clumps yet.

And it feels a bit like cheating since I bought these a few weeks ago, but I'm loving these cheerful pansies and have been enjoying them for several weeks.

That's it for this month in my garden, but you can visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens.