Coreopsis 'Golden Sphere' has begun blooming! (Hurray!)
This was a $1 clearance plant from Lowe's. When I saw that it was a perennial coreopsis, I snapped it right up-- the last one there. (I'm officially on the hunt for hardy, humid-heat-tolerant, carefree perennials, and for a dollar? Um, yes, please!)
The flowers aren't quite globes, to be brutally honest, but they're very pretty in their simple, cheery way. A little reminiscent of dandelions, I think, but obviously better, since it's not a weed. (g)
The bleeding heart continues to a cool, refreshing place to rest the eyes. A couple pieces broke off somehow, so I stuck them along the sides of potted plants under the patio shade. One withered away, but the other has put up leaves. Will either it or the parent plant return next year? Stay tuned to find out! ;o)
The butterfly bush (buddleia)-- another clearance plant, but not quite such a steal as the coreopsis-- has begun blooming. Very gingerly, tentatively blooming. But hey, it's keeping its leaves, so I'm satisfied.
Some of the sago palms have put out new fronds, including this one in the shade garden. (I'm thinking of moving it to another location-- just not sure where, yet.)
A few weeks ago, I thought I was smelling the fragrance of the new English lavender wafting on a breeze. Now I've realized that-- while the lavender does smell very nice-- what I was noticing on that day (and on many others since) is the scent of these 'Sunny' KnockOut roses.
Mom gave me several pieces that had spread through her garden, if you remember. They've only been here a few months, but a few of them are getting well established and blooming regularly. I remembered Mom and Dad commenting a year or so ago on the scent of this rose. Yes, it really does have a fragrance! I've seen it described online as "fruity" or similar to citrus, but I don't agree. Mom and Dad say tobacco, and it reminds me, too, of a sweet tobacco-- like an herbal version of old-fashioned pipe smoke. It's not what I think of as a rose fragrance, but it's very pleasant.
A few of the morning glories have begun to bloom-- all 'Grandpa Ott'. The one on the lattice trellis has turned out to be 'Grandpa Ott', too, which was a little disappointing. I was so sure it was moonflower! Now I wonder if any of my moonflower seedlings have survived...
Of course, our past experience with morning glories has been that 'Grandpa Ott' blooms early, while 'Heavenly Blue' took forever to flower, so there may still be some 'Heavenly Blue' in our future. Maybe even a moonflower!
In the meantime, 'Grandpa Ott' is a gorgeously velvety purple... I'm just wary of it, because last year they were almost all chopped off early in the year, and the one that hung around a little longer flowered early, but not profusely.
All three elephant ears are doing well. One or two have even put out a third leaf. Donald tells me that Luna sometimes stops to lap up the morning dew collected in their leaves. :o)
The big (old-fashioned) gardenia has begun to bloom. I think it's at least a week or two later than usual, this year. No idea why that would be, though.
The gaura are still beautiful-- especially the one planted on the sandy west side of the house.
This unknown red-red rose has begun to bloom. I moved it, earlier in the spring, to a sunnier spot near the unknown pink shrub roses. I think it's a good spot, in terms of the plant's requirements, but... it's really red, and I'm not sure I like that WOW SO RED right next to the soft lavender-pink unknown roses and the bubble-gum pink of the KnockOut rose next door.
I'm seriously considering moving the poor thing yet again. If I do, it will be the third time I've moved it in the past few years. I'm usually not that picky about color placement in flowers. But this red is overwhelming.
Speaking of bubble-gum pink KnockOut roses...
It's started another wave of blooms!
Ladybug:
The 'Joseph's Coat' rose is also putting on another round of bloom:
And last, a photo from the vegetable beds.
A baby jalapeno!
(I'm wondering if those dark streaks are normal. I looked briefly online, and dark spots at the "joints" of pepper plants can be normal, so maybe streaks are, too. The plant looks healthy enough, otherwise.)
And that does it for this collection of random garden photos!
