Losing Track Of Time

We have a little bit of the Time Machine going on this year.  It was a favorite movie but I never thought that I would become part of the story.  We have only jumped into the machine and sped about three weeks ahead but it is still not a normal feeling to see everything in your garden out of sync.

Cinco de Mayo

Most of the roses are done with their first blast of color.  This one had a cane left that burst into multiple blooms.

The Japanese Beetles have been fooled for now, very few rose petals to feed on.  However, they are many new blossoms forming, can we outrun them?

Home Run rose seems unattractive to the Japanese Beetles, another plus for this shrub rose!

Sedum Vera Jameson is a June surprise, never blooms this early, but it certainly blends in beautifully with all of the summer flowers.

Black is acceptable in my garden in small doses, have to use bright colors with it like Phantom Petunia.

Dark Ruby Daylily

This is still a difficult daylily to use in the garden, much darker than when photographed.  It needs to be mixed with very light flowers, white, yellow, etc.

Eileen Clymer is an early daylily and is now blooming with Blue Paradise Phlox and Becky Shasta Daisy.

Echinacea Knee High Red and Mary Todd Daylilies

Mary Todd Daylily

This one is a winner from way back, can't be without it, but does need to be divided more often than some other daylilies (about every four years).

Allium Schubertii

This is a great bulb (like stars in the garden) but does not always come back, or if it does it is smaller.  So, at least for me it is one that probably should be planted each year.

The south border has been devoid of annuals this year with perennials taking up the front area totally.  The Heucherellas are very colorful and the Brunnera Jack Frost continues to stand out through the summer.

This is the other section of that south border, sun in the front shade in the back.  You can see how the fence baskets contain shade plants and the back of the border shade tolerant perennials.

Heliopsis Lorraine Sunshine grows along the south border.

Arnies Choice Daylily

Red Rum Daylily

This is a shorter daylily with a large flower and looks great in the front of the border in the south garden.

Lullaby Baby Daylily

This is another shorter daylily peeking out from Rozanne Geranium.

Ice Carnival Daylily

Chicago Weathermaster Daylily

Arnie's Choice

In the front garden border

Maua Loa

I planted this daylily last year, not too many scapes yet, and is just beginning to bloom in the front garden.

Arnie's Choice Daylily

In the front border with Lythrum Morden's Pink and Becky Shasta Daisy

Some of the lilies suffered from frostbite but I think they will look okay.

Height is a concern with some lilies.  These are free standing but I have some that require support and then some!

Orienpet Satisfaction

This is a free standing lily and the fragrance is intoxicating.

Starlight Hydrangea Let's Dance

I had expected blue like the three I had put on the other side of the walk, but these were pink, fertilizer didn't make any difference.  Now, I actually think I like the pink better than the blue.

Hopefully the roses will bloom again, more dayliles to come, wonder if all of the fall plants will bloom in August?

Hot Stuff!

We headed into Chicago to a unique glass blowing warehouse which is a workshop for several local artisans.

The furnaces are all lined up against at least a 100 foot wall, hotter than hot above 2,000 degrees and even the fans do not dissipate the heat.

There are cylinders of propane, extinguishers and fire everywhere.  I wasn't brave enough to sit up in front like this lady.

Pearl Dick is one of the artisans and she does glass heads, a long arduous process requiring great expertise.

The head goes in and out of the furnace over and over, features formed, color washes, silica, etc.

The artisans are from all over the United States, many from Seattle which has a big glass blowing community.

Fireproof cloths are used to shape the glass while it is red hot.

Some of the glass is more whimsical but still beautiful and intricate.

This is not a museum, it is in a fringe neighborhood, warehouse atmosphere glass on the streets instead of grass, torn down buildings and not much nicer inside.  It is not pristine, hot, but the space is reasonable and an artist goes where they can work.

After lunch we headed out to the Echt Gallery in a much more gentrified area.

Pearl Dick is featured at this gallery with a grouping of very little heads.  Someone in our group wanted to purchase them, not sure if this deal went through.

This is a grouping of her heads back at the warehouse, much larger than at the gallery.

The Echt Gallery is a small boutique gallery featuring some beautiful glass work and sculptures.

I had a difficult time realizing that these were artwork with the boxes to go with them!

Blown glass in metal hull

There really was some more recognizable artwork here also.

Chilluli Glass Cylinders

Chilluli

Chilluli Painting

Around The Garden

It has really been hot here with no rain so watering every day is a must.  Some of the container plants are showing stress as are some of the larger perennials and hydrangeas.

Endless Summer has never looked like this before!  It could be the mild winter, my experiment this year, very little low nitrogen fertilizer and no pruning whatsoever.

Hydrangea Starlight Let's Dance

This is a smaller hydrangea two to three feet, suffered some frostbite this spring but looks pretty good.

Astilbe Bridal Veil

Astilbe Chinesis Visions

Foxglove Grandiflora

This is a perennial foxglove not a biennial.

Hosta Patriot

Hosta Paul's Glory

Cordyalis

Reseeds everywhere but very easy to pull out and blooms until frost.

Persicaria Polymorpha

The supports are invisible and so far the plant seems pretty stable, but we have not had a big storm at this point.

Miscanthus Udine

The supports are invisible, really has helped keep it from flopping onto the pathway.

Daylily Arnie's Choice

Mid-Season but blooming early this year

Daylily Eileen Clymer

Early

Daylily Lullaby Baby

Early and very small

Campanula

I transplanted most of these to another location and this one unexpectedly remained.  It survived, the others didn't, they don't like to be moved!

Nepeta Six Hills Giant

Very wispy and anything but upright, am training it to cover the window wells on the south side.

Home Run Red

One of my 4" pots last year just about full grown this year, one of the differences between this and Knockout is the vibrancy of the red color.  These were sent to me by Proven Winners Choice.

As Allan Armitage said if he had one coneflower to choose it would be Kim's Knee High!  This is Kim's Knee High Red, beautiful deep magenta color a much stronger specimen than Pow Wow.

Mango is a strong Meadowbrite much more stable than Art's Pride Meadowbrite.

Graffiti

One of the first lilies to bloom and very striking

Rozanne Geranium

There is so much to see when you walk around the garden!