VINCA VOLUNTEERS

 Several years ago I added Vinca to my garden.  Although Vinca is an annual, it self seeded and appeared in my garden the following year.  Each year they appear and add the color I need to my garden.  You’ll be able to pick them out easily in this photo.  They’re the pop of color in my otherwise green garden.

VINCA POPS OF COLOR IN THE GARDEN

How does your garden surprise you?

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VOLUNTEER VINCA

I always thought that Vinca was an annual, but I've been proven wrong.  I can't believe how over the years the Vinca has been self seeding.  You can see the different colors I planted each year.  This year I decided to just go with the volunteers and they did not disappoint.   I will confess that I did divide them and spread them around the garden.  

DOG PEEKING OUT OF THE VINCA

This purple Vinca grew out of the rock wall.

VOLUNTEER GROWING OUT OF THE ROCK WALL

What "annuals" have self seeded for you?

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BEST BLOOMS EVER ON MY BUTTERFLY BUSH

I planted my Butterfly Bush in front of the chimney last year. and wanted it to spread up and out and fill the space.  I was very disappointed with its performance, but this year it's everything I was hoping for and more.  It has taken over where the Limelight Hydrangea left off, creating a burst of white blooms as a follow up to the fading hydrangea. 

MY VERY HAPPY BUTTERFLY BUSH

A CLOSER LOOK

SIDE VIEW

The bees love the blooms.

BEES LOVE THIS BUSH

Unrelated but I had to share how the Lantana and Vinca have grown around my French Bulldog.

FRENCH BULLDOG HIDING IN THE VINCA AND LANTANA

How does your Fall garden bloom?

MY SUMMER GARDEN

Even though it has been an unbearably hot summer, my garden doesn't seem to mind.  I guess we've had enough late afternoon thunderstorms to keep the flowers happy.   

  

DOG IN MY SUMMER GARDEN

My French Bulldog sheltered on the porch this winter then rejoined the Vinca in the garden once the weather improved.

FRENCH BULLDOG IN THE VINCA

I always mix annuals with my perennials.  Their advantages are that they add color and bloom until frost.  I use Vinca and Lantana because the deer don't eat them.   They also don't seem to mind that I totally neglect giving them any care.

VINCA AND LANTANA ALONG MY GARDEN WALKWAY

Once I discovered Vinca, I never bought Impatiens.   

DEER RESISTANT VINCA

I like my Carly Rose grass, but it really grows quickly.  I have to divide it every other year.  If I had a do over I'd choose Fountain Grass instead.  It looks the same but stays more compact.

CARLY ROSE GRASS

Recently I wrote about my Dragon's Eye Pine and how its spikey branches contrast with the softness of the flowers and add texture too.  The Big Blue Fescue that outlines the stone wall adds sharpness and color.  You can see the Dragon's Eye Pine in the foreground.

BIG BLUE FESCUE FOLLOWING THE LINE OF THE STONE WALL

My Russian Sage never disappoints.

RUSSIAN SAGE

What's blooming in your garden?

To see my post about the Dragon's Eye Pine go here or click on the image below.

DRAGON'S EYE PINE IN MY GARDEN

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I ADDED A FRENCH BULLDOG TO MY SUMMER GARDEN

My perennials have started taking turns blooming in my summer garden.   The annuals that I planted in the Spring are blooming too.   I always have a mix of perennials for variety all summer and the annuals are my constant color.  This year I added a french bulldog to my garden.

FRENCH BULLDOG IN MY GARDEN

I planted some vinca around the rocks.  I like to use vinca because it's deer resistant, unlike its look- alike impatiens.  I add rocks in different shapes and sizes to the flower beds.  

The ones with fossils belong to my geologist husband.

DEER RESISTANT VINCA

You know that all the dogs in my home wear necklaces.  This bull dog wears rhinestones.

BULLDOG WITH A RHINESTONE NECKLACE

One of the early garden bloomers is this fabulous lime green hosta.  The chartreuse color is spectacular and the leaves are huge.  The deer love it, but I have it in a protected section so it won't become deer salad.  It divides easily, so it pops up in different sections of the beds.

MY SPECTACULAR CHARTREUSE HOSTA

This time of year it sprouts bell-like flowers from a stalk.

BELL SHAPED BLOOMS ON A STALK

HOSTA BLOOMS

I found these geraniums on the $1 plant rescue shelf at Lowe's.  

They were droopy and the leaves were brown, but they really perked up.

MY BARGAIN GERANIUMS

The primrose are also blooming near my chippy fence.  They've really taken over the bed.

PRIMROSE SURROUNDING MY CHIPPY FENCE

What do you plant in your garden?  Perennials, annuals, or a mix?

What do you mix in with your flowers?  Found objects, rocks, statuary?

COTTAGE GARDEN SUCCESS PART ONE

For several years I've been tweaking my cottage garden.  I think this year is my favorite.
All the perennials have filled in and my garden is bursting.  This post was bursting too, so I divided it in to two parts.  Link to part two is at the end of this post.  Just click the highlighted words to be directed there.

 The first pictures are of my end-of-the-summer garden.  I've been taking photos all summer as the perennials take their turns blooming.  Some of the later close-ups are from earlier in the Spring and Summer.  There's always something new to enjoy.

Earlier in the Spring my peonies bloomed.
 They're only around for a short time but they're oh so gorgeous.

SPRING-BLOOMING PEONY SURROUNDED BY FERNS

Another Spring fave is my clematis.  It loves to climb the arched pergola.

Once the Black-Eyed Susans get started, they bloom most of the summer and into the Fall.  I originally planted them near the walkway beside the screened porch.  Over the years they've volunteered in almost every garden.

BLACK-EYED SUSANS NEAR THE SCREENED PORCH

The Black-Eyed Susans surprised me last year and appeared in the front yard under the pine.

VOLUNTEER BLACK-EYED SUSANS IN THE FRONT GARDEN

They even managed to work their way into the side garden and mix in with the perennial hibiscus.

PERENNIAL HIBISCUS AND BLACK-EYED SUSAN VOLUNTEER

CLOSE-UP OF MY PERENNIAL HIBISCUS

I have roses on either side of the chimney.  There are two shrubs and one rose topiary.  They bloom, then take a two-week break and then bloom again.  They're around from Spring to Fall.

MINI ROSES

I do add some annuals to my garden.  The vinca came back from last year's seeds.

VINCA VOLUNTEER

I also like to scatter flower pots around the garden.  These white begonias are near the front porch.

BEGONIA IN A VINTAGE PLANTER

My absolute favorite annual is Lantana.  I buy small plants in May and by August they've filled in all the empty spaces in the garden.  There are two kinds of Lantana.  One crawls and spreads.  This purple creeping Lantana started out as two small plants!  You can see my sedum, a perennial, that's about to bloom.  It's at the base of the bird bath.

PURPLE LANTANA COVERING THE GARDEN

Lantana also comes in a shrub form.
 I planted a six-inch high white lantana in this pot in May and in August it's huge, beautiful, and blooms until frost. The butterflies love it.  Did you know that Lantana is a perennial in the South?

SHRUB LANTANA IN A FLOWER POT

I think I'll have to stop here.  The post is getting too long.
Link to part two of cottage garden:  here.

The First Blooms In My Perennial Garden

Last year I created a perennial cottage garden in my front and side yard.  It was late in the summer so this actually is the first time I'm enjoying all the plants as they take turns blooming.

I received these lilies as a birthday gift from a friend.  They surround the mailbox.

LILIES AROUND MY MAILBOX

All but one of the lilies is yellow.

I always think that a yucca plant is not very attractive, but when it blooms,  I totally rethink my opinion.  I couldn't choose just one shot of it.

EVENING PRIMROSE

My lime green hostas near my front porch are my absolute favorite.  The tall blooms are a bonus.

LIME GREEN HOSTA NEAR THE FRONT PORCH

The phlox isn't new to the garden but I always enjoy seeing its color near the screened porch.

PHLOX NEAR THE SCREENED PORCH

I also add some annuals for all summer color.  These vinca are very happy in their vintage cement planter.  How fun is the gargoyle?

VINCA IN CEMENT PLANTER AND GARGOYLE

How is your perennial garden growing?