The first week in August and my garden is winding down. The daylilies are almost finished with their dramatic display.
This golden daylily performed exceptionally this season. Fully eight inches across with a wonderfully rich color. One of the first to bloom and still many buds left to guarantee it will be one of the last to finally finish.
Double red, Moses' Fire, began blooming late so it still has buds left to bloom.
This yellow was a free gift from Wilds when I ordered Mose's Fire. A buttery color and a heavy, crinkled texture. It was late to began blooming and still has a weeks worth of buds to spend.
Late season clematis looking down from their bird house crook.
Mrs Wren brings home the bacon. Constant screams of "Feed me" echo from the house.
Mr Wren sits on his shepherds crook and sings. Occasionally he pauses and scolds me for trespassing in his garden. His life seems less strenuous than his wife's.
Stargazers in full bloom. Sweet lily fragrance hanging in the still evening air as I snap photos.
Coneflowers finally doing what nature intended. The first monarch to visit the garden this season.
A small daylily with a lemony, translucent flower and a very long bloom time rivaling the Stellas.
Another Moses' Fire. The reds are unpredictable. Wonderful, fiery color some days but dull and drab others. Today Moses was having a good day.
Sunflowers pop up in unlikely places. Who doesn't smile when passing a sunflower?
This ruinous garden an old woman made
And fertilized with tea leaves and coffee grounds,
Is wild grass mostly, climbed up to the thigh;
The multitude of dandelion surrounds
Enclaves of iris and peony;
While at the wall, the handle of a spade
Is thoroughly fastened in a climbing vine
That has crawled among blue flowers serpentine.
~Howard Nemerov
Hoping you all have a sunny weekend and I"ll be back Monday.
Stargazers in full bloom. Sweet lily fragrance hanging in the still evening air as I snap photos.
Coneflowers finally doing what nature intended. The first monarch to visit the garden this season.
A small daylily with a lemony, translucent flower and a very long bloom time rivaling the Stellas.
Another Moses' Fire. The reds are unpredictable. Wonderful, fiery color some days but dull and drab others. Today Moses was having a good day.
Sunflowers pop up in unlikely places. Who doesn't smile when passing a sunflower?
This ruinous garden an old woman made
And fertilized with tea leaves and coffee grounds,
Is wild grass mostly, climbed up to the thigh;
The multitude of dandelion surrounds
Enclaves of iris and peony;
While at the wall, the handle of a spade
Is thoroughly fastened in a climbing vine
That has crawled among blue flowers serpentine.
~Howard Nemerov
Hoping you all have a sunny weekend and I"ll be back Monday.
32 comments:
Marnie,
What a feast for the eyes! I love our little wrens too, they are great bug eaters. I welcome their arrival every spring.
I have been trying to limp my echinacea along. I think I might actually get a flower this year. I think I need to transplant to a new area. Yours are so lush and pretty!
Rosey
Lovely post Marnie. The golden daylily looks and sounds wonderful.
Beautiful photos of your flowers here. Doesn't surprise me at all that Mr. Wren's life is less strenuous than the Mrs. Your garden does not look as if it's winding down!
Your garden certainly seems very alive with vibrant colors, Marnie, even though the summer is winding down. I'm debating whether to buy a few bargain lilies yet this summer, even though I don't really have a place to plant them...you are really tempting me with these photos:)
Marnie, what wonderful pictures. You live in such a wonderful place! I love the wren on the birdhouse photo and the yellow, crinkled daylily photos the best! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reminding me of the daylily grower--Wilds. I used to order from them years ago and couldn't remember the name. Your August garden is just lovely.
Gorgeous photos Marnie! I'll say it again; I just love day lilies! Love the wren photos too.
Absolutely beautiful images! Great close up of the butterfly.
Hi Marnie, I love both photos of the wrens! I added a link to a list of water-smart plants to my posting. :)
Hi Rosey, I've had ups and downs with coneflowers too. This is the first year they have done real well in a long time.
SweetBay, it is huge! I'm glad I moved it and gave it a prime spot.
Darla, goes to show, men are all the same no matter the species;)
Hi Rose, I just ordered two more. Love the sale prices.
Sherri, that turned out to be a great daylily, I'm glad they sent it.
Walk2Write, Wilds is having a big sale but they have sold out on a lot of the really fancy ones.
Marnie
Your garden does not look like it is slowing down at all. It's just lovely and Mr. Wren is thanking you for its wonderful atmosphere. Great shot of the monarch!
Hi Jann, daylilies are so easy to care for it's hard to find fault with them. Those wrens are constantly scolding me for something;)
Hi Ashley, the monarch was kind enough to hold still for a few seconds.
Thanks Monica, I'll look at your link. I have never ordered from High Country Gardens but their site is great. They have all things xeric.
Tina, phlox, lilies, a few annuals and daylilies are about all going on right now. The coneflowers are ragged and the daylily foliage is browning. Some asters coming on and of course the sedums. Still waiting for the tithonia to bloom.
Marnie
I enjoyed this post today with beautiful flowers, birds and a butterfly! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Isn't it true? It does seem like you can sit in a shady nook of the garden, and watch--and hear the garden grow! I know you must feel a bit of sadness to see summer come to an end. Here we are steeling ourselves for at least 2 more months of it, and herald the coming of Fall and cooler weather.
Lovely lilies, Marnie. I especially love Moses' Fire. I know the colors don't always show true, but on my monitor it looks more like a deep salmon color.
Not only are your little wrens cute, but that is a sweet little wren house.
Just breath-taking!
Gorgeous, gorgeous photos! The birds are so cute, as is their abode.
Hi Marnie....for a garden that is winding down, it is very beautiful. The monarch butterfly is a stunning addition.
It is such a short season.......but I suppose that is the joy of a garden. If it were in full bloom all year would we not take the wonders for granted......
Mr and Mrs Wren have the cutest birdhouse cottage.
Donna
I have looked out and seen summer fly by. Where did it go?? Actually our 90F weather is just arriving tomorrow. UGH... What a strange summer it has been. What has bloomed has done well. The weeds are horrific too. Sigh~~ You are lucky to still have some daylilies blooming. The Anemones are budding here. Have a great weekend.
Marnie,
Your Moses' Fire looks similar to a daylily that I have. I don't know the names of most of my daylilies (most came with the house) but the one like M.F. has always intrigued me. It blooms later than most (like yours does) and keeps on blooming for a long time. Mine is also a double but looks a tad darker than yours. Whatever it is, I really like it. And I like all of your other plants. Love your post on the butterflies too. I just gave a talk at one of our nurseries about butterfly gardening. They add so much to the garden, don't they?
Jean
What wonderful eye candy. I especially like the sunflower.
Wrens are such happy little birds and always busy.
Your daylilies are gorgeous! and yes! I smile everytime I look at the hanging pot under the bird feeder as it sprouted a sunflower! How cool is that! Great shot of the monarch, I still have my eyes peeled for them but no such luck so far. Maybe with the less rain something will happen with them, I hope.
Marnie, I just love all these photos. The blooms are so pretty. I really like your little wren pics. They sing such sweet little songs.
Have a great weekend!
Good morning Marnie! I was thinking it didn't look like your garden was winding down either. You've got some beautiful photos. My fave isn't the flowers tho but rather the wren on that cool birdhouse! I'm still hoping for a wren to nest in my yard someday. Maybe next year?? I saw my first Monarch of the season yesterday too but wasn't able to take his pic. I wonder where they all are this year? I hope nothing catastrophic has happened. That sunflower photo is spectacular!
btw, my fennel returns every year (doesn't die in the winter) so maybe that would happen for you too. If it didn't, it always self sows around the garden and I am forever pulling young plants from places I don't want them!
Marnie, it's just so pretty in your winding down garden! I can't choose a favorite flower...each one is lovely! I haven't seen a monarch yet...so your beauty is making me smile! You can't beat a sunflower for smile making either...have a good weekend. gail
What a beautiful assortment of blooms! Most of my daylilies are finished blooming, too. You have more of them blooming than I do. I love them all!
We either have wrens in 2 different birdhouses, or one of them is a fake one. I've read that birds sometimes do that to fool predators, but I don't remember if it was a certain kind of bird. I haven't heard babies calling out for food, though. I wonder if there are any.
Thanks for your comments on my blog, and the ID of my iris. It does look like the ones I saw when I did a search of them.
It may be winding down but its more beautiful than ever. I do especially like that stargazer.
You have so many beautiful things blooming. And you take wonderful photos! Of course, I love the Monarch! Just saw one in my yard a couple of days ago. First one I've ever seen here.
Day lilies are such a wonderful plant investment -- hardy, beautiful, and constantly spreading. Beautiful garden photos (and great insights into the everyday lives of wrens, too!).
Sunflowers,Lilies,Monarchs and so many awesome flowers...your summer doesn't look like it's winding down.
Funny, we have a wren that keeps making babies since May...back and forth all day long. Boy she has to be tired.
Ms. Marnie, your lilies are gorgeous. We have a few still hangin on as well. But with the season winding down, they'll not be around much longer. Thoughts of summer's end kinda make me sad.
I am longing to walk through your garden!
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