Gardening and Gardens

The hydrangeas are in full bloom in my yard right now. These clusters are rich blues with a hint of purple are really a welcome treat this month. I have a few different types of hydrangeas in my garden. These blue beauties (above) are called Hydrangea 'Endless Summer.' These are the mop-head style hydrangeas and will alter their color based on the pH of the soil - pink blooms in alkaline and blue blooms in acidic. They stay true to their name "Endless Summer" because they bloom from late spring well into the fall. Gorgeous! Here is a mop-head in full bloom (above left) and a little newborn mop-head just starting to open its many flowers on the one head.  I also have a lacecap hydrangea. On these flower heads, small fuzzy blue flowers occupy the center and they are surrounded by a various number of 4 petaled flat flowers. The overall look is more delicate - like lace or a doily.  Another new hydrangea I added last year is Hydrangea 'A...

It's Garden Blogger Bloom Day! On the 15th of each month, we garden bloggers like to show off what's blooming and growing in our gardens. Here on Long Island, zone 7, things are blooming all over and some still recovering from my sour mulch disaster. Read more about that here .  Below are a few favorites from my garden this month: Hemerocallis Purple d'Oro This lovely purple daylily has a bright yellow center and crinkled edges on the petals.  Thankfully these chartreuse colored coral bells are recovering from the mulch disaster. The wispy pink blooms held above the bright foliage brightens up this shady spot under the viburnum. Courtesy of my four budding artists, I acquired some yard art for my garden and nestled them among the variegated Liriope.  And these Annabelle hydrangeas are blooming so profusely this year! They look like big snowballs.  Even though the flowers have faded from the viburnum shrubs, the red berries have...

Things here have been, well, hectic, to say the least. I took these photos of the garden in mid June and today I see it is July 1! Nevertheless, I want to put these up anyway, because June is my favorite month in the garden. All the pinks, blues, purples and yellows making their way into view. The air smells delicious, the birds are chirping continuously throughout the day and the trees are still a lovely shade of bright green. Here's what my garden in June looks like this year: The pink astilbe look fabulous against the wall and their sweet, subtle fragrance is a treat if you catch a whiff of it. Along the edges, I'm so happy to see the "Pretty Polly" Heuchera (coral bells) starting to fill in and produce their delicate wispy blooms. Many varieties of hydrangea won't bloom this summer because of the brutal winter we had, which killed off all the over-wintering buds. But these Endless Summer varieties are just beginning to bloom and I'm so happy to s...