New Blooms

I'm keeping a log of what is blooming and when, as we are weeks ahead of last year, due to the warm winter I'm guessing. This is the first of the fancy daylilies, planted by the previous owner. I hope the current owner of my old house is enjoying my plants as much as I did. The adjacent ditch lilies are also having a wonderful season, and are about 50" tall. Amazing.
The orange coneflower is opening and looks a bit faded. Second year and I am afraid they look like they might be reverting back to pink, which is OK but I paid for the orange.
The Stella D'Oro daylilies are running riot all over the yard and I found a big ol' spider clinging to a bloom. I left him alone. Speaking of bugs, it is Tick Time and we are finding them on us and the dawgs and removing them before they settle in for a meal. I gleefully kill them, no remorse.


The Dutch Iris is also open. So pretty. This is the first time I have had these in any garden. I bought rescued a bag of a dozen half priced bulbs in March, and now here they are! This blue and yellow is the first pretty one of the bunch. Previous blooms were gray/yellow. The blue gene mixed up with the yellow to make them muddy. Then the rain knocked them over. No loss.
The Astilbe I could never grow in my Illinois garden are going great guns here, since I have lots of morning sun/afternoon shade. Most of them were also the half priced roots in a bag from Walmart, but I went for the super hybrid variety in a few spots. This raspberry colored one is blooming for the first time and it shows what vast improvements have been made with hybrids. Stronger stems, fuller blooms and exceptional greenery. You get what you pay for.
The first blooms of the dwarf Delphinium are open. Summer Cloud. I really hope they will be a regular feature in my garden, but usually I get one year and that's it. But I bought seeds and am trying to get them started in peat pots.. still waiting for the first signs of life. I love blue in the garden.


On completely different note...I noticed a comment a few days ago when I mentioned my kitchen abdication and just eating salad as my main meal of the day. The commentor feared we were not getting enough protein in our diet. So here's what I mean when I say salad.
I take my cue from Panera and make a light dressing of olive oil and fresh lemon juice in a big bowl. Toss in the lettuces and get them all dressed nicely. Top them with sliced tomatoes, basil from the garden (doing great amongst the flowers!) and then I add rolled up slices of pastrami, black forest ham, and peppered turkey breast. If that isn't enough protein, on goes two slices of emmenthaler Swiss cheese and for the crowning touch, a bunch of olives. It's a feast!





Chumley takes up residence on the porch, in the shade for most of the day. He know how to keep cool.