Chrysanthemum, Obedient Plant, Tithonia, Dahlia and Bachelor Button Bloom Photos

Raindrops on yellow chrysanthemum: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" Our first chrysanthemum flowers of the year appeared this week. I love this sunny yellow color.

Bee on obedient plant: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

The obedient plants line our side yard and are attracting many bees. Usually they are also covered in butterflies but this year we haven't seen as many butterflies as usual.

Orange tithonia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

This week also saw our first and second tithonia blooms. These are plants we start from seed every year and we got a late start so it's no surprise that they're late in blooming but the flowers are welcome. Usually they attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

Rain drenched dahlia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

I took this photo after a heavy rain and the beautiful dahlia was soaked. I love the varied colors in the dahlia and different shapes of the raindrops.

Bachelor's button with raindrops: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

Last week I showed you our miraculous first bachelor button flower but it wasn't the healthiest looking thing so here's a nicer photo. They're small, delicate flowers. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's mini photo tour of my Maryland garden! May God bless you!

Which is your favorite photo from this post? Do you grow any of these flowers? Do you save seeds or have any seed saving tips?

Related posts:
Bees on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html
Sunflowers, dahlias and more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/sunflowers-dahlias-marigolds-verbena.html
Dahlia macro photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/delightful-dahlia-close-up-photos.html
Cat enjoys dinner plate dahlia: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/cat-enjoys-my-first-dinner-plate-dahlia.html 

Sunflower, Dahlia, Marigold, Gladiola and Bachelor Button Flowers From My Garden

Cheerful sunflower: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers to see. They're just so cheerful. I use them as a decor feature inside too.

Red, yellow and white dahlia: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

As much as I love sunflowers, I think dahlias are my favorite flowers to grow. You get so many, they keep blooming strongly through frost, and you get some surprises along the way. This is the only dahlia bloom we've had this year with such a flame like center, white tips and pale yellow base petals. Definitely a nice surprise.

Bee on yellow marigold: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

 The marigolds are still going strong and the bees appreciate them.

First gladiola: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

I think this is my first gladiola bloom of all time and now we have two plants in bloom. I'm not sure if the third bulb I planted in spring is going to bloom but I hope it does.

First bachelor button: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2014

The poor bachelor button plants... I started them from seed last year. About seven made it through the hot summer. Then we had a (diseased) giant tree cut down this spring and parts of it landed on them. I thought they were all dead but three managed to spring back to life... only to be eaten all the way to the ground by a mystery animal just when they were in bud (before they bloomed). Finally, this week two of the plants had flowers! I feel like it's a miracle.

Our obedient plants started blooming after I took the photos for this week's post so hopefully next week I'll have a photo of one for you with a lovely butterfly on it. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's mini photo tour of my Maryland garden! May God bless you!

Do you have any miracle plants or flowers? I'd love to hear the story behind them!

Related posts:
Teddy bear sunflower: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/teddy-bear-sunflower-black-eyed-susan.html
Sunflower garden room: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/06/fun-ideas-from-childrens-garden-at-us.html
Dramatic sunflower: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/sunflowers-dahlias-marigolds-verbena.html
Bees on flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html

National Arboretum Flowers & Insects for Floral Friday

Red zinnia: Photo by Phyllis Wheeler

A walk through the National Arboretum always leads to pleasant surprises and summer is full of them. They have a whole bunch of zinnias in the National Herb Garden. We have red zinnias in our own garden but none as big as the one pictured above.

Yellow flower cluster: Photo by Phyllis Wheeler

These yellow flowers were also in the National Herb Garden section of the U.S. National Arboretum (USNA).

Tiny jasmine flowers: Photo by Phyllis Wheeler

 This fancy jasmine smelled nice to me and I don't usually like the scent of jasmine.

Butterfly feeding: Photo by Ben Wheeler

 My husband caught this beautiful butterfly feeding from an orange zinnia flower.

Moth in purple: Photo by Ben Wheeler

He also got this striking shot of a moth on what I think is a bachelor button flower (if you know for sure the name of the flower please share).

Hope you enjoyed this Floral Friday's featured photos. May God bless you!