Bloom Thyme Friday: Top 10 2011

In looking over all the pictures I took this spring and summer I decided to pick my favorites. When I made that decision, I had no idea how many pictures I had taken. Right this minute I have over 800 pictures on my iPhone and most of the pictures are of my garden. That does not include all the pictures I took with my “real” camera. Am I obsessive? Maybe.

It took me a little while to pick my favorites, but it sure was fun going through all of them!

My 2011 Top 10…

The spring got started with the addition of a flagstone patio to fill the space left when lightning took our 60 ft maple tree (Click for details.). Most of our meals this summer were eaten in our new outdoor room. We couldn’t be happier with it!


I have several day lilies but the Mauna Loa Daylily was a real standout.


In the early morning my rose garden has a mystical look. Especially when the sun is just right! I never tire of this look!


When I dug some iris from a garden area that was being turned into a parking lot (no joke), I had no idea they would be this beautiful chocolate color. Stunning.


The Bourbon Queen was so beautiful this year, but she bloomed during “the rainy” season and I didn’t get to enjoy her enough. Probably should frame one of her pictures so I can enjoy all winter.


Bill Warriner — a blooming machine — didn’t let the hot, dry conditions stop him. Bloomed all summer with very little down time. I am glad I have more than one of these beauties.


These beautiful Stargazer Lilies were very generous with their fragrance. When they were blooming there was little rain, so we had the pleasure of these lovely blooms for a long time. I wanted to put them in a vase but just couldn’t cut them.


Black-eyed Susans in mass are always a show stopper. I love it when they peak through the fence.


This container was beautiful all summer. The coleus grew to be 3’tall and very beautiful. The lite green variegated trailing plant is a dorotheanthus (Mezoo Trailing Red) and I highly recommend it! Also in the container are lantana, wave petunias and small dahlias. We weren’t the only ones who love it … so did the hummingbirds.


The herbs shared their space with veggies and flowers this year. We packed a bunch of stuff in this space! You can’t see them but there were yummy tomatoes, peppers, swiss chard and a bounty of cucumbers. On the back fence is a bumper crop of McCaslin pole beans.


Honorable Mention #1: My first garlic crop… I was so proud!


Honorable Mention #2: Roseraie De L Hay … amazingly fragrant


What was your favorite plant of 2011? Or are you like me … you can’t pick just one!

Bloom Thyme Friday: Celebrating Over Achievers

There are some plants in my Zone 5 garden that I really have to keep an eye on. I affectionately call them my over achievers. They can and will take over! However, I have to say that after 2 years of extremely hot and extremely dry conditions, I am very grateful for my over achievers. They perform beautifully even when other plants are giving up.

So, today let’s celebrate over achievers!

MY TOP 6 OVER ACHIEVERS FOR 2011 ARE:

#6 Daisies: A determined and prolific bloomer in most any condition. And as we learned in You’ve Got Mail, they are the “friendliest flower”!

# 6 Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flowers? -Kathleen Kelly.

#5 Black-eyed Susans: Bright, dependable and beautiful in mass.

#5 Beautiful in mass and peaking through fences!

#4 Catmint: Low, sprawling and brings in the bees!

#4 Bees can't get enough of me!

#3 Autumn Joy Sedum: Truly low maintenance and they say to hot, dry conditions, “Bring it on. We can take it!”

#3 We can beat the heat!

#2 Yarrow: It come in pinks, yellows, white, reds, lavender and on and on. Great to hug up to and around other flowers and fill in around the edges of borders. Perfect as filler in flower arrangements.

#2 Use us to fill in the edges.

#1 Moonbeam Coreopsis: Easy, breezy, long blooming and beautiful. Love Love Love!

#1 I have a long, long blooming season.
Little Blooming Machines.

Do you have plants in your garden that are over achievers —- one day they are all over the place and you are ready to “shovel-prune.” Then the next day they are glorious and you think you can’t live without them?