Gardening and Gardens

Today is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! Here's a look at what's growing and blooming in my garden this month. The buds on the Montauk Daisies ( Nipponanthemum nipponicum ) are starting to show. I've pruned this down twice throughout the summer to help keep its shape and can't wait to see the blossoms in a few weeks! I love the pink hue of the Sedum  'Autumn Joy' against its lush green foliage. I still have a few Black Eyed Susans too which are a lovely contrast to the pink. To my delight, the Lychnis coronaria decided to bloom again (left) and the potted geranium continues to put on a good show. I recently planted some new mums in the front of the garden and to the back, more will soon be blooming.  This just started blooming too and I believe it is Salvia farinacea (Victoria White) The blooms on the panicle hydrangea (possibly Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva'??) are turning a light pink which is so pretty. The shrub I inherited is co...

For the past few weeks, I've noticed a big, brown spider outside my front door resting on an equally big circular web. The web itself was about 2 feet wide and I certainly couldn't walk out the door without stepping right into it. It seemed to appear and begin spinning the web around 9pm and by 6am the following morning, the web and the spider were gone - only to appear in the same spot the following evening.  I did a little research and found out that the spider is actually called a Nocturnal Orb Weaver. The Nocturnal Orb Weaver is a garden spider that comes out at night, creates a big "orb" shaped web and waits for an unsuspecting insect to land in the sticky web (most likely attracted to the lights by the door to the house). They are most noticeable in the late summer and fall because that's when the spiders and their webs are the largest. It's usually the female sitting in the web and soon she will lay her last batch of eggs and die before th...