Salvia forsskaolei...



This is an impatiens......glandulifera -like....do not know the name, came in as a stowaway with leycesteria formosa seedlings. I'm told it is invasive...but I like it, will keep it...

Love that Salvia!

As an individual plant, the s. forsskaolei does not seem to appear all that thrilling...but someone, it may have been Robin (of Robin's Salvias) said that he felt differently after seeing a massed planting. I got two plants out of the seeds I had left and I think I will sow more from this year's seeds and do that, a mass planting....like I have room...lol..

Tropical milkweed for its July 2015 batch of blooms. Thankfully, not yet attacked by the aphids.

I'm so happy to have red clover back in my life...the last time I had this was many years ago in Iowa....



I don't know what this grass is, but I sure do like it...it's PINK. It has already flowered out and been cut back in my wild borders, but this one has come up in a pot in my work area...

That's pretty, but I bet it reseeds lake crazy.

uh huh....I hope so...

Sherry, is your soil naturally acid that the hydrangeas are all blue? I don't have a hydrangea because I don't want a pink one. Our soil is alkaline. Even adding compost it is still alkaline.

This green gladiolius came with the house. It's been a real trooper. The other colors that I planted have died out. On my own I wouldn't have picked a green flower but I like it.

Okay, since you ask.....I took a quick run around town, checking the hydrangeas.

We get a wide variance in coloring, from whites through the palest blues, purple (my favorites), cobalt blues, etc. I think if you're surround by the evergreens, your soil is acid and if your land has been open land for years, the soil is not as acid. My friend in Pistol River has a couple or so acres surrounded by woods...if I'm correctly remembering what she said about hers, she can't do the 'red' hydrangeas, friend barb, here in our area has 640 acres that has been open farmland for many years and her soil is not acid, she can do the 'reds'.

It remains to be seen what my hydrangeas will do without treament, right now I have the white Shooting Stars type, a couple of Paniculata hydrangeas, a couple of Oakleaf, some that are in the lavender to purple range...not really any that are in the large mophead type...may be some but I've yet to pay much attention. I will go up to her property sometime soon to take a lot of cuttings.

These are pics from this a.m. of various hydrangeas close by...

I don't know if this little guy has flowers that will stay this size, or what, need to ask Bex what it is....



I have yellow verbascums that I planted in the front border, then I have one that came up earlier by the front door that I though must have been a volunteer from a white verbascum blattaria that had been planted earlier, some distance away...but it turned out to be yellow...not planted by me and not possibly self sown...it was here at some time in the past. Then this week a small lobelia showed up, leftover from years past I think and just now I found an alyssum by the trash cans...lol..no other alyssum on the property....going for a shovel now....

Changing the color of hydrangeas.....
http://www.hydrangeashydrangea...

My short in length, but tall in height hedge alonside the house is combined escallonia and privet and I'm gald they did that, I like the mixed effect. Escallonia is used a LOT around here...maybe it's a pass along that all originated from one plant years ago, 'cuz everyone has it...in reality most likely that it does well and the deer don't eat it. i don't think I ever in my life before paid attention to escalloni if I ever saw it, maybe just not that into 'shrubs' then.....lucky that I like the scent of privet because there's a lot of that around here also...

We have a wax leafed privet. If the flowers have a smell, you have to get your nose right up to them.

I like the wax leaf privet as a hedge also. I had just gotten a corner hedge going in the back when we sold the fallbrook house...and I've been eyeing some that are planted around here also.......

I hope I love long enoiugh to grow everything I want.....lol..I never thought of that before....

Kell...about the coloring at my place with the hydrangeas.....this one was pinky lavender a week or so ago and now is blue...I'm thinking that even though there have been no acidic tree needles dropping on my yard in many, many years, it is still acidic enough for blue...

Calif_Sue said:It doesn't sound familiar. It could have been one of those package dealies and I didn't bother with names or maybe a mislabeled co-op order. It's not something that I would think I would buy as I don't normally get pinks of anything.

Sue, you and I once shared a Costco bag of Colorado and another lily. That's Colorado, I think.

Lily (Lilium 'Colorado')

Calamondin tree is in bloom..and fruiting as well.

Two people from two different threads, Carol in this one, IDed it as Lily (Lilium 'Anastasia')
and that name does now sound familiar. Not sure where I got it from yet, going through old notes.

I think I saw Colorado bloom recently but I need to move it, it's in a bad spot and bloomed super short and with only a couple of blooms. Not sure why I didn't have it in my inventory, I found my notes, we got them 3/2012

Wow! Notes! You are so organized, Sue. Here, I'm lucky if I get a plant tag put in. I've got a pretty good memory though. I remember that names and sometimes where I got something, but very rarely when.

Tropical milkweed and Pelargonium sidoides looks nice together