Blogger Problem

Just a note ... I haven't been "allowed" to leave a comment on many of the blogs I read.
In case anyone is wondering why I am not leaving comments .. I am not sure what the problem is or what to do about it ... BIG sigh !

Revelations in the Dusk

I don't usually start a post in the back of an ally .. too many jokes .. too little time ?
That burst of colour is Strutters Ball .. it always amazes me with how long it lasts and in what ever conditions the season brings.
A rather dark ally way needs a poke of colour to make you stop and enjoy the atmosphere there.

Ninebark Amber Jubilee is at the head of the ally way, in a raised bed.
It has plantings of Massachusett's Barberry on either side .. rather hidden by Black Eyed Susans with Gold Creeping Jenny.
This ninebark is much more colourful in Spring and Fall or when trimmed back with new growth.
Have you heard of this barberry before ? ... I don't see it very often , yet it is a great ground cover that resembles boxwood.

The lily beetles have been HORRIBLE .. but a few lilies have survived the carnage .

Truthfully .. I don't remember what this one is .. but it was bright and beautiful to see the other evening, so I had to get a picture or two before it caved in .
Update ... this is Baferrari ... funny, I just don't remember ordering it .. loss of more brain cells ? LOL

Another bit of the green sea before the BES start to open and bloom.
I planted alot in this area because it is a problem area without enough sun and lots of BUGS !

Stand By Me clematis is just about finished but I love the seed heads so I keep them for a while.
That intense blue really stands out with a few more buds doing their best.

The Honeysuckle vines are going to be a bit of a problem each Spring.
Aphids LOVE the new growth, so I am not sure I am going to keep them (the vines that is .. the aphids can go to !!!) so another wait and see mission to get through.
The shots are dark because I experimented and took them at dusk.

Now for my love affair with my hydrangea !

Bobo

Berry White

Little Lamb

Dusk brings a softness but it washes the colour out too.

The shade side actually dries out as fast as the sun side of the back garden.
My huge Pacific Sunset maple virtually sucks up all the water and leaves the rest of the plants dry.

One last shot of colour for this post .. astilbe Delft Lace

Everything about this astilbe is gorgeous from the stems, foliage and that beautiful flower.
It is on my list of "must get this again" .. it almost glows, especially in low light.
I highly recommend it !

The Sea of Green

You might miss "the tree for the forest" if all the green over takes your view.
Spicy hot spirea flowers can be so amazing with their starry tentacles reaching outwards.

Then there are the screaming oranges and yellows that call for our attention.
Butterfly weed can look deceptively simple from a distance, just think of all the stages it goes through and finally that alien looking seed pod with such fluffy end results.

Stella with "diamonds" watery crystals wearing like jewelry ?

A calm cool pale yellow in Aloha echinacea tamps down the heat and humidity a bit.

Cooler yet are the crocus like Blue Mouse Ears flowers in pale violet after the sprinklers have had their way with them .. can you spot the wasp enjoying the moisture ?

A closer look at the crocus like flowers

This was supposed to be Ruby Stella .. obviously it isn't.
If anyone knows what this day lily is , could they let me know ?

What is a garden without bees ?

This one seemed to be having a nap on the Giant Fleece Flower when I snapped this.

I mind my manners when I bump into a hornet ? not sure.

I have a new garden crane .. I was sad to see the old white distressed one too injured to carry on with it's job posing in the jungle, but this one should last a little longer .. hopefully ?

Yes ... this is the time of year when the garden becomes more of a jungle, so be it.
The sea of green takes over yet again.

Jungle Mode Gardening ?

It is HOT and humid here .. I know other places are hotter and more humid, but it really is a long streak happening here and we are a bit fed up .. so much so I can't wait for Fall.
In the mean time I try to do my garden chores as early in the morning as possible and yet keep an eye out for any special moments that I can capture with my camera.
Some times Garden PA helps me out with that mission.
As in the two gorgeous butterflies he saw on the clematis tower.
Something I just did not consider ! Butterflies upside down, sipping from Mrs. Harvey !

My image search said this is a White Admiral.
The inside of it's wings were so colourful compared to it's outside wings

Image search said this is a Eastern or Canadian Tiger Swallow Tail

The two of them together, after the same nectar.

Why the White Admiral sips upside down compared to the Tiger Swallow Tail sipping right side up is a mystery but as long as they enjoy it .. that is the point !
Mean while .. the garden marches on .. cloudy morning after the sprinklers have done their job..
The ivy takes a bit of pruning but it looks great while covering the water barrel.

Little Lamb, my oldest hydrangea .. leafing out and looking promising with flower heads.

At the foot is Stella day lily .. so very common, but what a work horse !

Speaking of layering .. even I have to say I might have gone overboard.
Some plants are earmarked to be transplanted else where to fill in other gaps.

Big Blue is fed up with too much water .. I'm actually surprised it bloomed for me this year.

I may be sorry I am experimenting with Honeysuckle  .. but I can't help myself right now.

It is rather photogenic .. for now ?

Echinacea "Aloha" ... I hope many more to come .. but it is early yet.

Butterfly weed is ripening ...

The last of the allium "sparklers" will have to go soon.
Rozanne is a pretty back drop for them in the shade.

The plants can be a bit thuggish and it is only early July .. so I better get my pruners sharpened and plan ahead for what has to change as the garden matures .. not me ... the garden !