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| Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ |
Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for August 2012.
Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 6b garden, I’ve circled August 5th as the day when it finally rained, and the extreme drought loosened its grip on my garden just a little bit.
I’m not ready to declare August a new spring but there are signs that we are going to recover from this drought after all.
One of the best shrubs right now is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’. It is doing quite well, all things considered, and adds a nice touch of bloom to one corner of the garden.
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| Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ |
Not surprisingly, just down the way, the garden border that I call August Dreams Garden is looking pretty spiffy now because most of what the garden designer suggested for that area blooms late in the season.
The Joe Pye weed, Eupatorium dubium ‘Little Joe’ hasn’t quite decided what height it should be.
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| Eupatorium dubium ‘Little Joe’ |
I think in future years it will be about three feet tall.
False aster, Boltonia asteroides ‘Snowbank’ isn’t quite as showy as last year.
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| Boltonia asteroides ‘Snowbank’ |
But it is providing a nice backdrop for my Tiger Tails garden sculpture.
The rare Short’s goldenrod, Solidago shortii, seems to have paid no attention to the drought.
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| Solidago shortii |
When those golden blooms open up, they are sure to be covered with pollinators of all shapes and sizes.
Elsewhere in the garden, there’s quite a bit of drought damage and clean up to be done. Someone commented a while back asking to see pictures of Plopper’s Field before and after the drought.
Here’s what Plopper’s Field looked like three months ago, when thoughts of breaking all-time heat and drought records were far from my mind.
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| Plopper’s Field – May 13, 2012 |
And this is what Plopper’s Field looks like now after three months of record breaking heat and drought.
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| Plopper’s Field – August 13, 2012 |
Don’t panic, and don’t cry. After some clean up, a bit of fresh mulch, and some weeding, it will be okay, I promise.
Around in the front of the house, I’m still quite impressed with Buddleia davidii Lo & Behold™ ‘Blue Chip’.
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| Buddleia davidii Lo & Behold™ ‘Blue Chip’ |
I’ll really be ready to sing its praises once I see how it over winters.
One last bloom to share… Rosa ‘Radsunny’ stayed green thoughout most of the drought, but was a bit stingy with its blooms. Now with the rain, it is starting to bud up quite nicely.
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| Rosa ‘Radsunny’ |
I’m looking forward to seeing these roses open up in this “new spring” called August.
What’s blooming in your garden in mid-August? I’d love to see and read about whatever it is that brightens your garden on the 15th of every month.
Please join in with your own Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day post. Just post on your blog about what is blooming this month in your garden and then come back here and leave a link to your blog post in the Mr. Linky widget below along with a brief comment to entice us to virtually visit your garden.
The rules for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day are simple… no rules! You can include pictures, lists, no lists, common names, botanical names, whatever you’d like to do to showcase your blooms. You can post early, you can post late. We are grateful for whatever you share with us. Thank you, and all are welcome!
Now, say it together with me…
“We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence
Well, I'm certainly impressed, 2002 posts between you and the garden fairies? That's amazing. Congratulations, and happy bloom day!
I am so happy you finally have got some rain, it seems some of the rain I have been sending over to you Americans have finally reached you 🙂 And post number 2002 is truly impressive! Thanks for hosting the GBBD.
Beautiful hydrangeas! Love the color of buddleia. we have a white variety in our garden….. Happy GBBD!
Given the weather the Midwest has been having, the Hydrangea and rose look like plants to recommend to gardeners in our region. My Annabelle hydrangeas seem to be fine as well.
Your garden is looking very well for the weather you have been having this summer. Nice the rains came.
Nice to see your garden all in bloom again. It has been a dry summer. Thanks for hosting and a happy GBBD to all!
You gotta love those hydrangeas! Happy Bloom Day.
So glad you're finally being blessed by rain, Carol.
Limelight looks none the worse for wear, and I'm looking forward to seeing how well your little buddleia overwinters. Happy Bloom Day, and thanks for hosting.
Wow, I still haven't made it to my hundredth post. Congratulations on 2002. The limelight hydrangea looks luscious enough to eat. Have a Happy Bloom Day and thank you for hosting.
So glad that rain finally came. The blooms are beautiful and the garden is fresh and cool.
I love the hydrangea! Beautiful! It doesn't seem as though the drought bothered it a bit. Hopefully all the plants will recover well. Thanks for hosting.
Plopper's field – what a funny name! Glad it's pulling through – we have had a good summer so far, and can only sympathize with those in the midwest and elsewhere suffering from heat and drought. The hydrangea looks very refreshing somehow indeed!
Congrats on the rain. Yay!!! Your garden is looking wonderful despite a tough summer, especially Plopper's Field. Good gardening. 🙂
Thanks again for hosting "Bloom Day".
I've got some drought pictures from last year, around somewhere… Yall were getting record deluges, while it felt like someone cut off the water for us and tx n ok… This year, we've done better, and watched horrified as yall got the desert. Glad to hear that things are looking up… How much help do you suppose the farmers got?
Limelight is beautiful. It's on my wishlist, though I added Bombshell to the garden last year which is still finding its feet.
Your blooms are looking good, Carol. Our drought hasn't really lifted yet, 15 minutes of soft rain on Wednesday hardly counts but before that we've had no rain since 25th May, You Hydranger is lovely, I'm surprised that has done so well without water. Christina
I was admiring that Hydrangea at one of our local gardens with a couple of fellow Seattle Flingers on Monday. It really lightened up the gloomy rainy day we were experiencing!
My Blooms Day offering is about the bees making up for lost time after our really bad spring and summer. I do hope they get enough stores in to see them over winter.
Hi Carol, once again there are so many similarities between what you're going through and what us Brits are suffering – but for such different reasons! We had a break in the relentless rain last week and it even got warm for a while. Back to rain again now, but in the five minutes of sunshine all my flowers came out 😀
another fan of that hydrangea here, too, btw
Carol quite impressive to have hydrangeas in your drought. Most of mine did not bloom because of our drought. Joe Pye and goldenrod are great natives that stand up to the harsh conditions in my garden too. Your Plopper's Field looks like many areas of my garden but with recent rain I think many things will recover but not bloom. We shall see as temps dip this weekend.
Congrats to you and the fairies for 2000 posts and thanks for hosting!
Carol, I will hope that you get more rain. I'll be crossing my fingers for you. We are finally getting rain here in upstate NY. Even accompanied by severe weather at times, it is still welcome. I enjoyed your blooms, especially the cultivated varieties of our beloved Joe Pye weed and goldenrod. Happy GBBD.
I really like that 'Limelight.' Have one at the cottage, planted last year, that has been surviving the dry period. Probably not in bloom here for a week or two yet. Will have to check it out this weekend.
I am glad your drought is lessening, and I am glad you host GBBD. Thanks!
Your garden is looking well despite the stress. Glad that you got some rain too! Surprised to see your goldenrod blooming already but it has been an odd season. Some of my asters bloomed in late spring!
Thanks for hosting! Scans and kaleidoscopes here: http://ellishollow.remarc.com/?p=1692
Thank you for opening up this day to share! What a beautiful "Limelight" hydrangea you have. I want one for my garden, eventually.
Happy Bloom Day, Carol! That Shorts Goldenrod is stunning! I'll have to look into planting some.
We can have flowers every month of the year. Yes we can! Thank you for hosting and connecting all of us with flowers.
Happy GBBD Carol. I am so glad that you have had rain~There's nothing like it to revive a gardeners spirit. xogail
I think your garden is looking great considering the weather you have had. Thanks for hosting Bloom Day once again.
I stayed up late last night to finish this as today we expect a new grandchild and I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate on it! (Please excuse errors.) I am eager to look through the other blogs as time permits!
You've featured one of my favorite blooms for this time of year, Carol–the 'Limelight.' It has sailed through this drought without complaining like all the other hydrangeas.
Happy Bloom Day–I think the rain has made this a much happier day than the one in July.
The Goldenrod certainly is a solid performer here in Chicago too. I've got a few varieties of the non-invasive kind too and it's a winner.
So glad you got some rain to 'refresh' your garden for Bloom Day.
Thanks for hosting GBBD! I look fwd to the 15th of every month to see what's blooming in everyone's gardens. You have great plants which I have read about but never tried. I am making a note of the names because it's great to have late bloomers.
Hey, I finally got around to doing this!
I hope that rain you just had is the first of many more to come and replenish your garden! Still it's good to see which plants you have that are so tough they can take the heat. That hydrangea looks great!
So glad that you finally got rain! Your hydrangea looks amazing! Did it get supplimental water? I love your optimistic attitude about Ploppers field! Happy Bloom Day!
We got rain recently, but all I can say at this point is thank heaven for hydrangeas!
You're lucky to have a fair bit of colour and interest after the summer you've had. It's exactly the opposite here in the UK. Little sun, lots of rain. But gardens seem to cope with both extremes if the plants are chosen to suit – and you've chosen ones that can cope and still bring delight.
Thanks for hosting GBBD….we appreciate the opportunity to share in "Preserving History One Rose at a Time"!
All the best,
RPN
Glad to hear you've had some rain! Us too, though we were never as badly off here in Maryland. Two posts for me this time, for my two blogs.
So glad it finally rained for you! That is a dramatic difference in the before and after of Plopper's Field! I'm amazed how beautiful your Limelight looks. It looks quite happy -despite the drought! Thanks for hosting!
Can anyone join in Garden Blogger's Bloom Day and is it a set Day each month?
Wonderful that you finally got some rain. Love your limelight hydrangea. I love hydrangeas…Happy GBBD!
Carol your upbeat attitude is such an inspiration…hope the rains work some fast magic and you have a beautiful fall ahead of you.
Looking forward to touring all the Bloom Day gardens. Thanks for hosting Carol!
Thanks for hosting yet another GBBD. Your garden is looking great despite the drought.
Thanks for hosting. Happy Bloom Day!
happy 2002!
Wow, living here on the west coast of BC we have no shortage of rain. Can I send you some? Your garden is still looking beautiful.
I am ready to declare this August a new spring. A crabapple tree at the library is blooming and my Cornus kousa has new buds.
Your hydrangeas appear oblivious that there was a drought, so fresh and greeny. Isn't Eupatorium fantastic? Happy Bloom Day!
I am ready to declare this August a new spring. A crabapple tree at the library is blooming and my Cornus kousa has new buds.
Your hydrangeas appear oblivious that there was a drought, so fresh and greeny. Isn't Eupatorium fantastic? Happy Bloom Day!
Thanks for hosting GBBD!
Carol,
Your garden looks lovely, despite your drought. Glad that you finally got some rain.
Happy GBBD,
Yael from Home Garden Diggers
beautiful! I just love that Hydrangea limelight color – wow!
I love your limelight Hydrangea. Is it true that Hydrangeas color depends upon what you "feed" it or are there different color varieties?
A bunch of us at Storey posted what we have blooming in our yards, but no one posted a Hydrangea pic.
Thanks for sharing!
Congrats on the 2002 posts and it's great to read that you've finally had some rain. Ahh you're a 6a garden zone. I've started to write about scottish zones on my blog as the RHS don't cover that zone for Scotland and we really need to know what is the hardiest up here.
I love this idea of GBBD! I am so happy you are doing this. ElenaWill
I think Plopper's Field is looking very good considering the drought. It is amazing how quickly plants recover when they do get rain. Happy Bloom day.
My first bloom day. Sad to say only have one plant blooming right now. Last month was beautiful, I swear.
I love your New Spring, Carol. Such a great attitude! I suppose you turn lemons into lemonade, too! This old world needs more people like you. Thanks for the dose of optimism. I've posted some of my favorite hot August blooms from this morning's walk for you to enjoy. It's been in the 90's for weeks now and I actually have a few roses that are thriving… very unusual for this time of year. Small pleasures!
Carol, It sounds like I am experiencing much the same weather in PA has you are in Indiana. Rain has freshened everything up. And my 'Limelight's are blooming away now as well. White really freshens things up. thanks!
~Julie
I really enjoy looking at photos of my garden and seeing how much things change over the months … yours will look different again after a bit more rain and TLC.
I can't wait to circle the date when we next get rain. The Tiger Tails and boltonia were made for each other.
I'm glad your plants are recovering somewhat and giving you some blooms. I have some Malvas, Roses, and assorted plants blooming in my PNW summer-rain-free garden.
We finally have had some soaking rain. I was worried I might fall into one of the growing earthquake-like cracks in the dirt and be lost forever. I love your comparisons of Plopper's Field (and the name!) from lush spring to dry summer. I bet it will still put on a spectacular fall display. Have to look into that Golden Rod and oh, love the sculpture!
Down here in Texas, we certainly know how you feel about the drought. It's hard on the garden, and the gardener.
You do still have a lot going on, though.
Hope this drought goes away soon.
Oops, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to enter twice! Thanks for hosting, Carol.
This is such fun. Seeing who is surviving the heat and drought. It seems gardeners can always find a bloom or two.
My 'Little Joe' has disappeared I'm afraid — yours look so nice. 🙂
Yay for another bloom day! Sorry I accidentally posted the wrong link at first 🙁
It is sobering to hear about drought in the East, living on the West Coast we are used to yearly summer droughts, but we have more of a rainy season/dry season climate. Can't wait to see the goldenrod when it's in full bloom.
I was congratulating myself on getting my entry posted a lot earlier than normal, but completely forgot about actually entering it on your site. Oops!
Most of my energy has been spent dealing with family health problems instead of gardening this summer, but I still have a few blooms that survive despite my neglect.
LIttle joe is always a fav.
Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'. Thanks for another Bloom's Day, its also been a hot August here.
Carol, I'm impressed at how well moisture-loving plants like Joe Pye weed and hydrangea are doing in your garden in this drought year. We haven't officially had a drought in Maine (mostly because the spring was so wet), but July was unusually warm and rainless and a number of plants that would normally be blooming now just gave up and went into dormancy. Thanks again for hosting. -Jean
I feel so lucky to be enjoying heat in the garden instead of trying to recover from it in the garden as you are, Carol! My garden is happy and full of flowers this August. Seeing yours, I think I need to add some Eupatorium for later in the year.
Thank you, as always, for hosting Bloom Day!
Even in my vegetable garden much is in bloom in mid-August. Not a lot of drama, but the flowers hold promise of a future harvest. What's not to love?
Glad to hear your drought is letting loose, even if just a little bit. And I love those Tiger tail garden sculptures/art. Where did you get those?
Thanks for this wonderful idea! What a fantastic sharing of beauty.
I just added my link to the list, hope I'm not too late! Thanks for hosting this, I've discovered so many wonderful blogs by hopping through links for GBBD. It was such a pleasure to participate!
Thank you for hosting this wonderful sharing of photos and thoughts!
Hi Carol,
Glad to hear you've gotten some rain at last. Sorry to be so late, well beyond the bounds of my usual slothful behavior. Put it down to picture-taking efforts. Limelight is perfect for this time of year isn't it?
I adore your August Garden Party idea and I have joined in from Fairegarden, Frances is a fabulous gardener and I follower her post here to find many new gardening friends.
My garden is only one year in the works since we moved to Western North Carolina.
Thanks Carol,
Smiles, Cyndi
So glad your garden is holding up. I finally made it here. Is there any punch left? No cake? Bummer. Well, Happy Bloom Day anyway. You have me wondering where I can slide a 'Limelight' into my scheme.~~Dee
Lovely blooms, and I'm glad to hear you've received rain! Thanks for hosting GBBD.
I had Joe-Pye weed in a garden once and it was overwhelming. Yours looks much more manageable. Love those 'Limelight' hydrangeas!
Many of the shrubs in my garden seemed to do the best job coping with drought.
Hello Carol, Happy Bloom Day! Sorry my posting is a bit late. Must get a Limelight hydrangea — stunning! P. x
Thanks for hosting bloom day!
Your plants are flourishing
despite the dry spell! Speaking of droughts, you should take a look at the Australian Garden I've posted about!
Carol, do you know if there is much of a difference between the goldenrod in your garden (lovely!) and the goldenrod commonly found in fields as wildflowers? Sorry if it is a silly question. Still learning!
Happy belated Bloom Day!
Poor ploppers field, i am so glad you have rain.