FFTD Bonus 7-30-12 Concert

Last night I attended the Colorado Music Festival Chamber Orchestra
concert at the Stanley Hotel Concert Hall which is a spectacular venue.
They opened the side doors and from my aisle seat as I listened to
Bach'sBrandenberg Concertos 1,3,& 6, I was able to see the almost full moon.
What a treat. The audience was one of the few where I felt younger
than most.
The director was Michael Christie who is moving from the Phoenix orchestra
to the Minneapolis Opera.

Flower for the Day 7-31-12

This is a different cleome from Kaye Sturgeons seeds and is now on the right side 

of the berm.

 

 

Flower for the Day 7-30-12

Cleome  This purple flower with spider like extensions has been a mainstay of the berm for years.

Flower for the Day 7-27-12

Brown eyed Susans are thriving in the front garden despite the heat.

  

But the drought takes it toll on the petals.

FFTD Bonus 7-25-12 Mudbathers

 Sometimes friends come to the garden for a mud bath.

Flower for the Day 7-25-12

Another low growing ground cover in the gnome garden is mazus (Mazus reptans

'alba'). It is hardy and gentle to walk on. It blooms in the early spring (see below).

 

 

March 26,2012

 

Flower for the Day 7-24-12

In other areas of the rock garden the stepping stones are sided by Wooly or "creeping"

 thyme (Thymus preacox 'albiflorus'), which can grow to 3 inches in height and blooms 

earlier than elfin thyme. 

It does look wooly on the leaves.

 

Flower for the Day 7-23-12

Part of the infrastructure of the garden is this green carpet that grows between the

stepping stones. It is Elfin thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and it is blooming now.

 

 

Flower for the Day 7-11-12

 Monarda  Also Bee Balm, Horsemint, Oswego Tea, and Bergamot. The plant was named after Nicolaus Monardes who wrote of plants in the New World in 1574. This plant with red flowers thrives in the front garden and is three years old.

This purple monarda grows abundantly in the north wildflower garden.

 

Flower for the Day 7-20-12

With the deer and the drought we have switched to "Tricked Out Tomatoes' in a container. This ingenious system which we obtained  from Julie and Jim is exploding from this double container. We have also added an automatic watering device which allows us to  travel out of town and still provide the needed water in the 100 plus degree weather. Our vegetable garden has been transformed into a cut flower garden.

Flower for the Day 7-19-12

Blackberry Lily  Belamcanda chinensis. This amazing plant in the iris family has the leaves of an iris, the flowers of a lily, and fruit that resembles a blackberry. 

 

Flower for the Day 7-18-12

Dahlia  This is another new dahlia this year. Not only colorful, they continue to grow and bloom for weeks. Its name is Mystery Day.

  

Flower for the Day 7-17-12

Dahlia   This dahlia is named Procyon and looks like it could use a drink. Send us some rain, please.

Flower for the Day 7-16-12

Dahlia This year I have some new dahlias and they have done well despite the drought with a little hand watering. They are taller than me and quite prolific. Their name is pretty in pink.

Flower for the Day 7-13-12

Aster  The weather has been so weird that this aster began to bloom in June instead of  September. Since I enjoy the color in September I have been pinching back the flower heads like Jan does with the mums.

 

Flower for the Day 7-12-12

Hollyhock  Alcea. Hollyhocks provide memories of my growing up. The plants grow rapidly  and tall with the buds continuing to appear at the end of the stalk even as the flowers mature. The multiple tiny holes sometimes seen on close examination of the large palmate leaves are made by the mallow flea beetle(Podagrica forsicornis).

FFTD Bonus 7-11-12

We had some dead trees removed recently and this gnome found the stump a

pleasant place to rest and contemplate the arboreal carnage.

Flower for the Day 7-10-12

Tiger Lily  Jan got these tiger lilies many years ago and now the side garden is 

profuse with them.

 

Flower for the Day 7-9-12

Oriental Lily   We had rain last night for the first time in weeks. Every thing was turningbrown, even the weeds. This lily is in its fourth year and has begun to multiply. I had several new oriental lilies that partially bloomed and then fell off the stalk in the draught before I could photograph them.

Flower for the Day 7-6-12

The last day lily comes in rich crimson.

 

Flower for the Day 7-5-12

The day lilies are almost done for the year.

 

 

Flower for the Day 7-4-12

Happy Fourth of July. This oriental lily (new this year) is my form of a Fourth of July explosion.

 

Flower for the Day 7-3-12

The day lilies can be quite delicate and come in different shapes.

 

 

Flower for the Day 7-2-12

Some of the newer day lily cultivars have a fine ruffled edge.