Summer Roses, Golden Sundrops, Dahlia, Joe Pye Weed and Day Lily

Hot pink rose over echinacea: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" Happy August too! The weeds are having a field day but thankfully the flowers are still more noticeable.  I think this is one of our "Senior Prom" roses, the first group of rose bushes we planted after we moved here.

Heliopsis Summer Sun: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Our golden sundrops (also known as heliopsis summer sun) are still going strong and when I'm behind in deadheading them the golden finches feed on them. By God's grace, in late September/early October I plan to stop deadheading them and let them set plenty of seeds for the birds over the winter.

"Magic Sunrise" dahlia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

The magic sunrise dahlia is still my favorite this year but all of the dahlias are beautiful.

Bee on "Little Joe Pye Weed": Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Two weeks ago I posted a photo of our little Joe pye weed at the budding stage and now it's in full bloom and the bees are enjoying it. 

Stella d'Oro reblooming day lily: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

The pretty yellow Stella d'Oro reblooming day lilies are usually our first to flower in the spring and now that most of the big ones are done they've started blooming again, which I definitely appreciate. If we are blessed, they will bloom on and off through first frost. One of my super kind neighbors was getting rid of a clump of them this week so we have a new one to add to our collection (thank you!).

Thank you for joining me. May God bless you this August and always!

Related posts:
Joe pye weed buds: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/sunrise-zinnia-pink-rose-sunrise-dahlia.html
Sunflower, day lilies and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/06/sunflower-day-lilies-vinca-and-mystery.html
Raindrops on dahlias and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/09/sparkling-chrysanthemums-dahlias-zinnia.html

Sunrise Zinnia, Pink Rose, Sunrise Dahlia, Joe Pye Weed and Funky Coleus Flowers

Sunrise zinnia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" I'm not sure what kind of zinnia the one above actually is but I think of it as my sunrise zinnia and love its multicolored petals.

Bright pink rose: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Our roses are still going strong although I've had to pick a few Japanese beetles off of them.

Magic sunrise dahlia 2: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

The Magic Sunrise dahlia is my current favorite although I do love all of the dahlias.

Joe pye weed buds: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

The joe pye weed flowers are just starting to open and should be covered in bees by next week.

Unique coleus flowers: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

I thought these coleus flowers were really unique and pretty. I usually cut all the flowers off of our coleus plants as soon as they appear (we grow them for the foliage) but I'm letting these remain because they're so neat.

Thank you for joining me on this week's mini garden photo tour! May God bless you!

What is your favorite photo from this week's post? Is there a flower I haven't posted that you'd like to see in the future? 

Related posts:
Funky flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/09/flowers-freeloaders-and-funkiness-for.html
Sparkling and funky flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/09/sparkling-chrysanthemums-dahlias-zinnia.html
Funky daffodil: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/04/pretty-pansies-periwinkle-forsythia-and.html 

Pretty Insects on Giant Red Zinnias and Joe Pye Weed

Pretty insect on giant red zinnia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Happy wild Wednesday! It's an amazingly warm and beautiful day here in Maryland. Although spring won't officially be here for a few more weeks, it feels like it's here and I'm enjoying the warm days.

Skipper on Joe Pye Weed: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

I haven't seen a butterfly or moth in the wild yet this year but hope these photos from last August make you smile. Spring and summer with their wild delights will be here before long.

Cute insect on giant red zinnia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Last year I experimented with starting a batch of early zinnia seeds indoors and direct sowing the rest. The direct sowed plants quickly caught up with those sown indoors and then turned out to be far sturdier. They were from different sources so it could be that the direct sown seeds would have grown stronger plants anyway but this year I'm planning to just direct sow the zinnias and pray for the best.

Feeding insect on giant red zinnia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Last year I waited until after Mother's day for direct sowing and I'll probably do the same this year.

Double insect love on giant zinnia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

If you have room in your garden, zinnias are a great delight for both humans and animals. We had finches, hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and moths enjoying ours.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you today and always!

Related posts:
Giant orange zinnia: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/giant-zinnias-gladiola-mr-optimist.html
Giant pink and red zinnias: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/vinca-dahlia-giant-zinnias-and-day-lily.html
Blue ribbon zinnias: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/blue-ribbon-flowers-for-floral-friday.html

Zinnias, Roses, Joe Pye Weed, Day Lilies and Fancy Echinacea: This Week in My Maryland Garden

Welcome to my garden! This will likely be my last Tuesday "This Week in My Maryland Garden" post but I'm excited to share that this week will also begin "Floral Fridays" where I'll still post some of my own flower photos but also photos from the gardens I visit during the week. (Hint to my local friends - if you invite me over and have a garden I will likely ask to take pictures). I hope you'll enjoy the new feature of "Floral Fridays" on my blog!

Above is a super close up photo of one of our giant purple / pink zinnia. I'm hoping there will be a good bloom to enter in this year's county fair. I love gardening but am not so into it that I can engineer blooms for certain dates.

Some of our roses. One of the good things that game from the emergency excavation of our yard this spring is that now, instead of having our rose bushes scattered here and there around the yard, we have a concentrated rose garden.

Our "Little Joe Pye Weed" is just starting to bloom. These plants are supposed to grow "only" to four feet tall and tend to be butterfly magnets. This is our first year with this plant.

This bi-color day lily might be one of our last day lilies of the year. I love having a long day lily season so we have a wide variety of the flowers with early, late and mid season bloomers.

When we saw this fancy red and orange echinacea (coneflower) we just had to add it to our collection. We might have to start an echinacea garden (like the rose garden). The butterflies and bees just love echinacea (coneflower) plants and we enjoy their many colors.


Hope you enjoyed my garden photos and God's amazing creation! Also hope to see you this Friday for my first "Floral Friday!" May God bless you!

Flowers from Missy's Gardens

Pink bee balm: Copyright © by Phyllis Wheeler, June 2014

On Thursday I shared some overview photos of my friend Missy's marvelous gardens. Today I want to share some close up photos of her beautiful flowers. My bee balm isn't even blooming yet but hers is full of beautiful pink flowers.

Bicolor phlox: Copyright © by Phyllis Wheeler, June 2014

Missy had at least five different kinds of phlox but this pink and white phlox was my favorite.

Pink strawberry flowers: Copyright © by Phyllis Wheeler, June 2014

I also loved her flowering strawberry plants. The bees did too (if you look closely in the flower above there's a bee in the center of the most prominent flower).

Missy's foliage: Copyright © by Phyllis Wheeler, June 2014

 Neither one of us knew what this foliage plant was called but it sure is pretty.

Purple widow's tears: Copyright © by Phyllis Wheeler, June 2014

Missy's purple widow's tears flowers had bright chartreuse foliage and provided nice contrast to the darker green foliage surrounding it.

Thank you so much for sharing your garden, dear Missy! May God bless Missy and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
Missy's fall flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/chrysanthemum-rose-and-butterfly-plant.html
Missy's garden photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/06/missys-marvelous-gardens.html
Flower macro photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/05/dahlias-ranunculus-azaleas-lilacs-and.html
Close up flower photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html
Rainy day flower photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/rainy-day-flowers-this-week-in-my.html

Raindrops on Pretty Flowers for Floral Friday

Happy floral Friday dear friends! I took these photos in my yard just after a rainstorm earlier today. Please let me know which you like best. As you can see in the photo above our black eyed Susan flowers are at their peak. I believe they are the official Maryland state flower. They do seem to thrive here, even with our heavy clay soil.

It's a real treat to grow zinnias (and any flower) from seed and even more so when I get to see butterflies enjoying the blooms. Our zinnias and echinacea plants seem to be our top butterfly attracting plants (although the joe pye weed, obedient plants, milkweed, butterfly bushes, cosmos, lantana and some of our other plants all attract them too). God sure has gifted us with many joys on this earth!

A moth enjoying our red and yellow (bicolor) marigolds.

 A rare yellow echinacea (coneflower) bloom.

A surprise late blooming day lily makes an appearance. I think it's a baby from one of our larger plants that flowered earlier in the year. That's all for this floral Friday's post. Hope you have a blessed weekend!

Rose, Purple Coneflower, Shasta Daisy, Sweet Pea and Zinnia Flowers

Hot pink rose petals: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" The roses are at peak glory with beautiful flowers covering the bushes.

Early purple coneflower bloom: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

 The echinacea (also known as purple coneflower) is just beginning it's season.

First shasta daisy flower: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

This is the very first shasta daisy flower of the year here in my Maryland garden. 

Pink/purple sweet pea: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

I'm not sure if this is year two or three for our sweet peas but from two surviving plants we now have about an eight foot diameter spread of their vines.

Bright pink zinnia flower: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2016

Last week I finally planted my giant red zinnia seeds but my kind husband bought these mini zinnias for me while I wait for the giants to grow.  It's nice to have color in the zinnia areas already.

That's all for this week's mini garden tour. Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Which was your favorite photo? What is your favorite flower scent?

Related posts:
Bees on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html
Giant zinnia and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html
Butterflies on coneflowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/butterflies-and-bees-love-purple.html

Beautiful Day Lilies and a Day Lily Haiku

Day lily time has arrived in Maryland and Washington DC. I took these photos at the U.S. National Arboretum this weekend. They have a delightful day lily garden with an amazing variety of blooms. I liked the varied colors and fringing on the day lily in the photo above.

 The day lilies above are giant (larger than my hand!) and colorful.

National Arboretum Day Lily Haiku

Day lilies blazing

So many colors and shapes

lighting up the field.

These neatly colored day lilies have an unusual yellow stripe through the red leaves and a faint tinge of red edging the yellow leaves.

This deep violet day lily has a gorgeous yellow center. There was also a violet day lily with a green center.

This apricot and yellow day lily has a tinge of white on the edges of the leaves and I love the ruffling. If you live in the DC area the U.S. National Arboretum's day lily garden is a wonderful sight! And if you're too far away to visit in person I hope you enjoyed this mini virtual tour.

May God bless and keep you!

Related posts:
USNA Day Lily Garden 2012: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/06/dazzling-day-lilies.html
Our yellow day lily: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/06/hydrangeas-cosmos-primrose-and-day.html
Our bi-color double bloom day lily: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html

Butterflies and Bees Love Purple Coneflowers

Swallowtail on echinacea: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Happy wild Wednesday! I took this week's photos in my own garden. What a blessing it is to enjoy so many flowers and so much cute insect wildlife. 

Bee on purple coneflower: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

The purple coneflowers (also known as echinacea) seem to be most popular with the bees and butterflies this year, with the giant zinnias a close second.

Swallowtail on purple coneflower: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

We must have some undesirable insect eating at the purple coneflower petals but I think they're still pretty, even with partially chewed parts.

Two moths on echinacea: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

Although it's not technically a good photo, I liked the fact that there were two moths on echinacea flower heads in the image above.

Moth on purple coneflower: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2015

As you can see, the purple coneflowers bloom at different heights. Although we've put in a wide variety of coneflowers, the old fashioned purples seem to thrive the best in our Maryland soil.

Hope you enjoyed this week's wildlife photos. Which did you like best? Whatever you prefer, I thank you for visiting and pray that God will bless you!

Related posts:
Cute bugs on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/06/cute-critters-on-flowers.html
Bees on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html
Giant pink zinnia and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html

Mandevilla, Roses, Dianthus and Petunias: This Week in My Maryland Garden

Happy floral Friday everyone! I love spring. This week in my Maryland garden all kinds of beautiful flowers are blooming. I might do a special post of iris photos so I picked the best of my non iris bloomers of the week to share with you today. Above is my very first mandevilla plant. 

 I love this bicolor dianthus and even have a little caterpillar vase full of them by my computer.

 These red petunias with white stripes make me smile.

 Our roses have started blooming. The yellow ones smell wonderful and are some of my favorites.

These small pink dianthus plants survived our unusually cold winter. They're supposed to be annuals but I was happy to see them come back this spring.

May God bless and keep you dear friends!

Which photo do you like best? What is blooming in your area?

Related posts:
Columbines and irises: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/columbines-widows-tears-irises-more.html
Zinnias, roses, echinacea: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/zinnias-roses-joe-pye-weed-day-lilies.html
Strawberries and cream roses, chrysanthemum: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/autumn-maryland-garden-flower-photos.html
Fair flowers, including roses: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-flower-photos-for-floral-friday.html
Daffodil, hellebore, primrose: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/pink-yellow-and-white-blooms-this-week.html