Rose Mallow ‘Lord Baltimore’ Hibiscus

The fight against the Japanese Beetles is ongoing and they are winning I fear.
The Lord Baltimore Hibiscus has it leaves full of holes and the beetles love chewing their way into the buds and blooms.

Rose Mallow,  Hibiscus x Lord Baltimore

Other than the beetles it is almost maintenance free.
I love its bright red dinner plate or 10 inch blooms. The blooms are so large that the leaves look small in comparison.

A hardy perennial shrub in zones 5 to 9 it grows to about 4 to 5 feet in height at maturity. If it is allowed to grow that is. My poor hibiscus has been moved around several times over the years whenever I decided to redo some beds or think it might look better in some other spot. I know I am the only gardener that does this though. Right? LOL!

 

It is adaptable to all types of soil conditions and does stand up to drier conditions than some other hibiscus.  It will bloom from late July through August in our area of zone 5.

 

I saw another hibiscus breed by the same brothers this summer at the Lilyfest, ‘Lady Baltimore’ .

Rose Mallow, Hibiscus Lady Baltimore

  Lady Baltimore is also good in zones 5 to 9, grows from 3 to 4 feet in height but likes rich soil and wet conditions and needs mulching  in winter. I loved her smaller pink blooms with deep rose eyes but it may not do as well in my location because of the soil and water requirements .

As beautiful as it is it may just be worth an effort to test it in my garden or a large container.

 

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Rose Mallow,Hibiscus

Lobelia ‘Monet Moment’ Cardinal Flower

 

I hope everyone had a great weekend.
One of the new flowers that I planted last fall in the garden is now starting to bloom.

Lobelia Monet Moment Cardinal Flower

Breed by Master lobelia gardener Thurman Maness of Pittsboro, North Carolina.
This perennial lobelia has massive heads of exquisite rose pink spiked flowers.

 
Flowers adorn the tops of 36 inch stems which will bloom from 3 to 5 weeks.
A later blooming flower for that hot summer garden.

 
A wonderful pollinator flower that the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are really going after right now.
It is hardy in zones 4 to 9 in full sun to part sun.
Mine gets afternoon shade and is doing very well.
I am loving this new plant already  so I am certain it will be getting some companions like it to be planted elsewhere in the garden for late summer blooming.

 
This one is planted with Raspberry Wine Monarda and pink Coneflowers. It would look lovely with a dark foliage plantings around it.

 
Elsewhere in the garden the Crape or Crepe Myrtle bush is starting to bloom. It is loaded with buds this year.

Everyone have a wonderful week and take care out there in this hot humid weather.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Lobelia Monet Moment,Cardinal Flower,Crape Myrtle Bush

Dripping and the Rushing of Water

 

Dripping, that was me  this morning while I was out checking the garden. I got a few weeds pulled and some dead heading done but I was not wasting any time about it so I could get back into the house.
You can water your plants this week from the sweat dripping off of you.
I know I am still mad at Winter but gang I am just about to cry ‘uncle’ I think. When it is 90 F. at eleven p.m. that is extra hot for here for Ohio. It is all about the humidity here.
Texans I feel so for you with your triple digits.

I do not want to bore you about the weather but this posting is going to be a reminder to myself of the hot summer we had in July of 2011.
I love Echinacea because it does not mind this hot stuff or the heat index of 107 degrees.

 Gruss An Aachen Antique Rose

The roses are dropping some leaves now because of the heat. Poor things. And since it is so hot I am not out drowning Japanese Beetles in soapy water so the blooms are getting shredded.

 
Mesa Yellow Gaillardia

We did get another down pour of rain again Tuesday afternoon after the four inches we received Monday evening.

The Hocking Hills area that I live in is noted for its parks filled with waterfalls, caves, rock formations and trails.
  In fact as many tourist come here every year as visit Yellowstone so it is busy here in the Summer.
After the four inches of rain Monday evening in an hour the water running off resulted in flash flooding going over the fall’s  into streams which caused some of the trails and foot bridges to got washed out. So sections of Ash Cave and Cedar Falls are now prohibited to the public until repairs can be made. It is going to be a disappointment to many at the height of vacation season but they are working on repairing them as fast as possible in this heat.

The couple of rains did give us little cool downs until the sun came back out then it was sauna time all over again.

 
In the garden the Agastache ‘Rosita’ is taking it all in stride.

And the ‘Scentimental’ rose which is part shade gave me a few new blooms.

 
I am still waiting on the Gaura ‘Passionate Rainbow’ to get a bloom going. I may have to wait until next year on that happening.
I guess we all have to take this summer as best we can to get through this heat wave that is spreading over the states and try to laugh about it. Sooner than we know it July will be gone for this year.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend and stay safe.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Roses,Heat Wave,Gaura Indian Feather,Echinacea,Ash Cave,Cedar Falls

A Steamy Walk in the Garden

 

Heat warnings are out all over the state here and it is steamy and hazy for certain. Monday evening we got four inches of rain in an hour and I thought the Hocking Hills Garden was going to wash into the valley below.I could almost picture the name change of the blog to the Hocking Valley Garden. LOL!

My son got the gutters and downspouts cleaned last week and just in time it would seem but even then they could not hold all of the rainwater which was overflowing and smashing flowers all around. The yard looked like a lake and water was running across the road out front.  A lot did make it into the rain barrel and on into the overflow pipe to the cistern but I know so much was lost because it was coming to fast and running out of the top of the barrel.

With the heat index reaching 110 today I have decided to spend the day indoors the rest of the day. The humidity in the air this morning left me walking around the garden in a mist of fog.

The little Mimosa tree is blooming and the bees and butterflies are happy and active around it.

It is loaded with blooms this year. It is considered an invasive tree in many of the warmer states but here it has not proven to be so. There are one or two new sprouts every year but easily pulled up.

And to have these airy blooms in the garden are worth that much.

I noticed on my walk around this morning that the Crape Myrtle bush is starting to bloom. It limbs are sagging from the weight and the heavy rain we had.

This ‘Snow Princess’ white Stargazer lily in the Woodland bed surprised me with a late bloom. The string used as a  deer deterrent kept it from hitting the ground in the storm.

The yellow Lantana is not drawing the pollinators  like I thought it would. While  the pink and red lantana  are always full. Puzzling, but I love the cheery blooms so I will be adding it to the winter hold over’s in the basement in late fall.

 
The Becky Shasta daisies are going strong.

Crimson Bouquet floribunda rose is showing off another flush of blooms.

But the new Flamingo rose is drooping.

I found one bloom on the Summer Gloxinia Cheron grown from seeds in the middle bed.

Wirral Pride chrysanthemum was laying down before the storm so it is flat now. I am wondering if this one is going to be worth it to keep around for its pretty blooms. This is its first year so maybe I will wait to see.

Some varmint is eating holes in the Raspberry Truffle echinacea. I saw little caterpillars' on the white Bright Star echinacea leaves that grows nearby so maybe they were on it too.

Diana Clare Pulmonaria has grown in her big silver leaves now at the corner of the Shade Garden. Too bad the Caladium is not doing as well.

The Raspberry Wine monarda is doing its job.

Alypia ocomaculata – Eight Spotted Forester Moth
Thank You Cher for the Identification of the Moth!

This is a new little moth I spotted resting on the amaryllis that are soaking up the sunshine for the summer.
Everyone stay cool this week and take care out doors.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Monarda,Lantana,Roses,Mimosa,Lilies,Chrysanthemum,Moth

Whimsy From Lilyfest

 

I wanted to get in a final posting of the last of the pictures that were taken at  Lilyfest. So here is some of the whimsy and some of the other flowers that were there this year.

This week looks like it is going to be a scorcher so they may wish there was water in this old  tub instead of salvia.

Now you know what to do with those old shovels and besides it is going to be too hot this week to use them. They could also be there at the ready to dig up the invasive Gooseneck Loosestrife that is growing around them.

If real alliums will not grow for you or you just hate those yellowing leaves before the blooms come on, there is always the metal plant stake versions to stick in the beds.

If your tree bites the dust or the wind topples it just stick it in the ground upside down and plant flowers in the roots.

This Straw Lady was either trying to scare the critters away, stomping down  Mole tunnels, headed to Mardi Gras or has just about stepped onto the same snake as I did that week.

I think this horse needs a bigger head or a smaller rump.

And the feeding of a Parrot in the nude is not recommended.

The Butterflies were faster than I were that day or they were in a hurry to get to as many of the blooms as they could.

Maybe it had spotted the white blooms on the Bottle Brush tree that were so airy and lovely.

Or the yellow daisies that  were there sparkling in the sunshine.
There were many colors at  Lilyfest.

I like the color pink so the shades of pink in the Lady Baltimore hibiscus blooms were one my favorites.

Then there were also pink blooms in the Lotus pond

where pink and yellow Lotus blossoms reached towards the  sun.

If you are into blues in the garden then these Hydrangea’s would have grabbed your attention at the fest.

If not the blue hydrangea then maybe this purple one would suit you better.

A lighter shade of lavender in the Hosta blooms….

and the tall phlox.

 

The reds of Jacob Cline monarda with the sunlight filtering through the trees.

The pinks and burgundies of the coleus growing in the shade.

If you are just prickly on Monday mornings (ahumm) then maybe you would have enjoyed the new Cactus bed they were starting to create.

But most went just to see the lilies.

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone stay safe this week with the heat advisory warnings that are out.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

Technorati Tags: Lilyfest,Monarda,Hydrangea,Hosta,Garden Whimsy,Phlox,Cactus,Coleus,Salvia,Lilies