Since the last post I did before September was May 27th, I’m adding some photos I took with my phone in June and July.  I’ll include some assessments here of the plants I started from seed this year.

Brother Tim had the great idea of growing vines up Leon’s “Pod” sculpture in the driveway bed.  He started a pot of morning glory seedlings and we potted them on into a bigger pot under the sculpture.

I was worried these would never grow and bloom–they took a very long time to get going.  I guess they were waiting for warm weather.

Every morning when I left for work, these flowers cheered me on.  By the time I got home in the evening, they were gone!

Amazing color and shape.  These have always been one of my favorite flowers–I’m not sure why I haven’t grown them at all lately, but I’m glad Tim brought them back to me.  And they looked great on the sculpture, too.

These vines wanted to be vigorous, but the pot constrained them.  Next year, I will plant them directly in the ground with lots of food and love.

The other vine that I grew up the same sculpture was Eccremocarpus scaber.  This one turned out to be a yellowy orange color.   I like the grace and strength of these vines, but like the morning glories, they need to be planted in the ground and not in a pot, to realize their full potential.  Next year!

Close-up of the Eccremocarpus buds.

The Petunias have been amazing all summer–I just cut them all back last weekend to see if I can coax another round of blooms.    I liked the Osteospermum flowers, but they didn’t last long.  I tried cutting them back, as well, but so far, no new buds.

Poor picture–the phone camera doesn’t like the glow off the very white blooms (but I do!).

I’m very happy with how the Begonia “Funky Pink” plants worked out–I hope they will winter over in the greenhouse as well as the Begonia boliviensis  that

Our Easter lily came back with a few fragrant flowers, and one of the Dahlias was back, too.

My Hemerocallis never put on a big show like some I’ve seen, but the flowers are gorgeous for a little while.  This on e is in the driveway bed.

Abutilon x suntense blooming in late spring.  I ruthlessly pruned these shrubs after blooming to try to give them some shape, as they are very leggy and top-heavy.

Restrepia guttulata blooming in the greenhouse this spring.  They outdid themselves this year, with four flowers on each of the two plants.

A few freesia laxa flowers.

I had purchased some miniature Gesneriads last year from an online shop, The Violet Barn.  It took them about a year to get going, but these two finally started blooming.

Not a great photo, but you can see the color and shape of these miniature violet flowers.  They are a gorgeous hue, but they don’t open fully, staying cup-shaped until they dry up.

The roses on the Jeff Tangen arbor bloomed beautifully this year.  I believe the red one is a root stock for a hybrid tea, but I like it when it blooms and it pretty much disappears after that.

Another view.

And another.

I was so thrilled when this little beauty bloomed.  This is a rose I grew from seed, but I have no idea where the seeds came from!  But I love the color, the fragrance is lemony and bright, and the hips, which are on the plant at this writing, are an almost-black burgundy color.

Another view. I hope to make this plant into a bonsai.

An early Impatiens flower from one of the seedlings.

The Epiphyllum hybrid that I’ve had for so long (20+ years) from brother Tim had an amazing, huge flower this year.  The photo doesn’t capture the neon nature of this pink flower.

Another view.

The driveway patio pots blooming madly in early summer.  At this point, the Dianthus and the Osteospermum are all blooming.  Neither hybrid lasted long in the summer heat, but I’m waiting to see if chopping them back and cooler September weather will revive them a bit.

A different view showing the Hakonechloa macra aureola plant that we’ve had for so long.  It makes a great foil for the bright annuals.

A better view of the pinks, Dianthus “Raspberry Parfait.”  My disappointment in these plants is not because of flower or form, but I just wanted more flowers for longer.  This was an unusually hot summer, so I may try them again to see if they do better given cooler conditions.