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| Welcome to my August Garden! |
Welcome! It's August and the Crape Myrtle are blooming along with many other sights to see! The "dog days" of summer are here with the past three days of 89 to 91 degree temperatures with lots of humidity. The gardens are loving it though and the blooms keep coming. Come along and join me for a tour of my Long Island garden!
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| Patio Garden |
One of my favorite all-summer bloomers is this potted red Mandevilla vine which lives on the patio right by the back door entry. It is an addition I make a point of having every year and it provides so much joy! In the raised garden bed and along the patio are late summer blooming favorites, Crape Myrtle 'Sioux' and Platycodon (Balloon Flower) with more to follow.
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| Patio Garden Looking out to Island Bed |
Lets take a closer look. Now in view is blue-hued Balloon Flower (Playtcodon 'Komachi') with the back island bed straight ahead. I've had the Platycodon for many years and purchased this Crape Myrtle at about four feet tall, grew it in a planter until it was 6 feet tall, then transplanted it into an island bed on the back lawn, created to become its permanent home. That was sometime in the late 1990's. It is now at a stately 25-30 feet tall and bears magnificent deep pink blooms which I look forward to late July into fall.
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| Crape Myrtle 'Sioux' |
Here are the blooms of Crape Myrtle 'Sioux' up close...
and an up close and personal with the Platycodon (Balloon flower)! 'Komachi' unlike other Platycodon varieties, never opens its blooms, making it very unique.  | ||
| Crape Myrtle Exfoliating Bark |
The bark of Crape Myrtle is especially interesting late summer into winter as it exfoliates to expose colorful layers. This is one of those additions that provides more than just the blooms for all season interest!
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| Perennial Border |
In the perennial border, other blooms can be seen alongside Platycodon. They include Echinacea (Coneflower) Pow Wow 'Wild Berry', Stachys (Lamb's Ear ) and Echibeckia Summerina.
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| Rudbeckia 'Little Gold Star' |
This dwarf form of Rudbeckia, Little Gold Star' has really done well since I purchased it about four years ago. It stays nice and compact and does not spread like its parent form.
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| Echibeckia Summerina 'Blazing Star' |
This summer I returned to the local farm stand where I had purchased Echibeckia last year and got another one for the opposite side of the garden. Now the two of them frame the path leading from the patio to the back lawn. I am really enjoying the new cultivar, which is a cross between Echinacea and Rudbeckia.
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| Southeastern Garden Border |
The Sedum 'Brilliant' are about to show their pink blooms any day now as Double Knock Out Rose continues to bloom along the back fenceline...
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| Daylily Stella D' Oro Still Blooming! |
and Daylily 'Stella D Oro' continues with its third round of blooms after rejuvenation.
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| Mandevilla |
Here is Mandevilla up close!
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| Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' Late Summer |
Hydrangea blooms are always welcomed, as the blooms of this 'Nikko Blue' variety turn to a purplish hue as the summer moves on. The Hydrangea have had an outstanding season after suffering from two previous cold winters with no snow cover.
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| Driveway Border |
Along the driveway border, Coreopsis 'Zagreb' continues its blooms throughout summer into fall with purple-leaved Weigela 'Spilled Wine' in the backdrop, Skylands Oriental Spruce to the left and Coral Bark Maple to the right. There is also Hinoki Cypress 'Verdoni' and Coneflower to the right.
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| Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit' |
The Coneflower (Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit) is sporting several blooms this time of year. It's always a surprise what color flowers will form on this plant, with blooms ranging from pink to orange, to the cream colored blooms you see here.
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| Hydrangea 'Tardiva' |
I always look forward to the blooms of Hydrangea 'Tardiva', a later-blooming panicle hydrangea along the northeastern side of the property. I will often cut the slightly fragrant flowers to give as gifts or to display in a vase.
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| Front Lawn & Tree Hydrangea |
As you can see, it is a prolific bloomer.
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| Front Lawn-Blue Atlas Cedar |
This very mature Blue Atlas Cedar lives on the front lawn, towering at about forty feet tall. Yes...it is the tree that I brought home in the back of a Ford Probe when I had just started designing. It was entertainment for everyone at the nursery as I loaded it into the back of the car through a hatch-back before finally moving to a pick up truck. Ahh...those were the days!
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| Front Lawn Long View |
The Weeping Japanese Maples on the front lawn can be seen at this angle. To the south of the Japanese Maples is the front corner island bed with a dwarf form of Sedum, Sedum 'Pure Joy,' which is displaying its light pink blooms.
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| Sedum 'Pure Joy' |
Here is a close up!
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| Driveway Border Southwest Side |
Moving back along the driveway once again, Spirea 'Magic Carpet' is still pushing out some of its rosy pink blooms alongside Weeping Norway Spruce and the foliage of Variegated Iris.
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| Patio Container Garden |
As we come to the end of the tour, this newly planted container garden with Dwarf Alberta Spruce 'Jeans's Dilly' (maximum height of three feet), Dwarf Hinoki Cypress and 'Franklin Boy' Ornamental Arborvitae' with its unusual threadlike golden foliage are thriving. I hope it continues to do well throughout the winter months.
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| Greeting Committee (just for fun!) |
I hope you enjoyed your stroll and thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you around!
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| August Garden-Thanks for Visiting! |
Thank you for visiting my August garden. As always, I enjoy hearing from you and seeing what's growing in your neck of the woods! Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who has hosted Foliage Follow-Up for all these years, a meme I will still continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Macro Monday 2, Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday with NC Sue and Gardens Galore Link Up Party every other Monday with Everyday Living. I am also happy to join the Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays and Garden Affair at Jaipur Garden.
A GUIDE TO NORTHEASTERN GARDENING NEWS:
The GardenComm 2021 Virtual Conference was a great success with so much fun, great information and the best group of gardeners you'd ever want to meet! Four fun filled days were packed with everything to do with gardening, from TV personalities to advice from professionals to garden tours around the world, and I was honored to be a presenter on the Meet the Authors Panel! Go to the GardenComm website to learn more and become a member!
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Be well and As Always...Happy Gardening! 😊
Author: Lee @A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2021. All rights reserved.
