Wow, Marian your calidums are awesome! What fun it must be to sit on the glider and enjoy all the lushness of your deck. My cannas are really slow this year due I think to a lack of hot days.

Michelle

Thanks Michelle. All of those Caladiums came from that one packet from Wal Mart, and there are more of them in front of the house, and in with the Elephant's ear in the huge tub on the end of the deck. I sure got a bargain!.
I hardly ever set on the glider because of the deer flys. :-(
But I do enjoy the scene from the utility room window, the kitchen windows, and the dinningroom.

It looks like the hooved rodents still left you some nice stuff in the garden! I tried growing blackberry lilies near the Hot Cocoa rose but they seem to have disappeared....:-( I'm impressed by anyone with the patience to water all those containers of annuals. So nice to have but I simply cannot bring myself to do the necessary care - so I'll just enjoy the pictures from you - and Deanne and others... :-)

Woody, I have a few more Blackberry lilies under the Ernest Markham Clematis, and I am not sure how they got there. I think I transplanted something else, and they went with it. I need to fence the exposed Surprise lilies before the deer get to them. :-( Some of them are in safe areas, but others are not.
I have not had to do much watering this summer, thanks to good rains, and good potting soil. I have containers around the perimeter of the house that catch rain water, so most of the watering is done from them. They are close enough to the potted plants that I don't have to go far carrying the water. I no longer try to carry 2 gallon or larger buckets of water. I mostly use 1 gallon icecream buckets, or margarine tubs.

Michelle, I had that canna in the utilityroom all winter, in that container. It started growing very early this spring...maybe even before spring. I did't put it out until it was thoroughly warm out.

Marian your containers on the deck look great. I love foliage for extended color. Like your Virgins Bower too.

Norma

There are some continous blooming plants on the deck.
Here is one you all convinced me to get:

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And here is one for more blue:

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There are wax begonias, and sultanas:

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Geraniums and petunias:

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And off the deck, below the large elephant ear tub:

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The cosmos has one orange bloom open.

Then there are the pots out front, by the driveway:

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That is enough for now....

Oh..I almost forgot :

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Marian, your Caladiums are looking great and I love that Virgin Bower Clematis. Does that berry? I'm amazed at the growth on your Black and Blue Salvia! You must get a lot of heat and sun there. I see a cute little two tone impatiens in with the caladium and begonias. I haven't seen one like that before. Thanks for sharing your photos. :-)

Pm2, I bought two 4 packs of those impatiens this spring. Hopefully I can at least carry one over this winter. I have some pale pink ones with red throats that I've carryed over for several years.
No, I don't know of any Clem that 'berry's?
I had no idea what to expect from the Salvia. I planted it in a large pot, and put petunias and impatiens with it. It pretty well snuffed out it's companions. The blue petunia is under it. It gets forenoon sun and reflected sun from the 'retired' sliding door behind it.
I wonder if anyone here carrys it over? Deanne? Or do you have it planted in the ground?

I hope I haven't got too many pics here for the slower dial ups to open.....

Marian

Everything is lovely Marian...you really have a great green thumb! It must be very soothing and cheery to sit on your deck with all those lovely plants growing about you. Do you and Nolan sit out there on the swing? I think that's what I'd like to do if I was there.

Is that Salvia Black & Blue? Mine never seemed to really get going until late in the season, so I've just stuck to my Victoria Blue cause it reseeds right in the garden for me. Do you mind me asking...did you start your Salvia in the house? When did you sow it and when did you plant it? I think I'd like to try it again...I love the color!

What is your other blue flowering plant? It's very pretty.

Is the last pic of pickles? Or are they cucumbers? Are pickles and cucumbers the same thing? For some reason I think they are, just at different stages of growth, but what do I know?! I'm not very knowledgeable about growing vegetables. I've really only grown tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and a few pumpkins in my time...oh, and eggplant. This year I'm growing white eggplant in a all white flowering container which includes a white tomato and moonvine flowers to the back that are growing up the deck trellis...I hope it all ends up being as lovely as when I thunk it up in my head...LOL! This year I grew my tomatoes and peppers in big pots and they seem to be doing great. I have white tomatoes, German Pink tomatoes, Roma tomatoes and Kelloggs Breakfast. Only the white tomatoes are ready for eating right now. Next year I'd like to try growing some carrots in the pots too.

Anyway back to your pickles (?)...they made me think of something I've always wondered about. One year I grew what I *thought* were cucumbers, but the outside of them were very prickly! Are cucumbers suppose to be prickly on the outside? I threw them on the compost heap because I thought there was something wrong with them. I mean cucumbers never feel prickly when you eat them... so I'm wondering where the prickles go? Seriously, I'd really like to know. :-)

Anyway, thanks for sharing your Summer Blooms...I always enjoy your gardens Marian and your knowledge of all things that grow!

Eileen

Hi Eileen.
I very seldom set on the deck swing because of the deer flies attacking me. I don't recall Nolon ever sitting there!

Yes, that is Black and Blue Salvia. All the comments that the Idylls made about it prompted me to buy one. It was in gallon pot so was already pretty good sized.

The other blue flowering plant is Evolvulus. It is a member of the morningglory family, but is a bush. The common name for it is Blue Daze. I have had it for years, maybe twenty. I really need to cut it back, but am afraid I will kill it if I do. It would probably have a lot more blooms if I had it in more sun. It puts on a few almost year around. It winters in the utility room.

The cucumbers I am growing are pickling cucumbers. I like them better than the large cucumbers. The word 'pickles' refers to anything that has been pickled...including beets, okra, and any thing else than can be pickled.

I imagine your combo will be lovely. All that I've seen, that you grow, is lovely.

I have only the 2 pots of tomatoes...Sweet One Hundred, and a large fruited variety (I can't remember which right now).I also have a pot of sweet bell peppers. They are my Toyota Top Garden, LOL

Carrots, and other root crops, should do well in pots.

The 'prickly' cucumbers that you grew were just a differant variety of cucumber. Perfectly good to eat. :-)
All you needed to do is wipe the 'prickles' off before peeling them. I have grown them.

I am happy that you enjoy my pics, and I appreciate your comments and questions.

Glad to hear the carrots should work in pots. So you grow your veggies in pots too? Do you find they can do as well as when they are in the ground? This is my first year trying it and I really like growing them that way...leaves the gardens for flowers! :-) The only drawback is that I think I will have to start with fresh soil in those large pots every year to avoid any soil borne diseases? Oh well, I guess even if your growing veggies in the ground you are supposed to rotate them and not grow the same thing in the same spot from year to year.

WOW! I can't believe you've carried that Evolvulus over for so many years...well, actually I can, you're amazing with indoor plants too. :-) I'm terrible with indoor plants...they don't like me. The only indoor type plants I've ever had any luck with carrying over are cactuses or succulents and coleus and geraniums...but no true houseplants. I think it takes a special sense to make houseplants thrive and I don't have it. How are your orchids doing? I have never had any luck with them and always admire all you grow. Well, this year my cerius bloomed, which is kind of like an orchid...what a spectacular sight to see...even if it was only 3 blooms...LOL! I hope it blooms again next year. I think the only reason its done so well for me is because it's in the cactus family.

Thanks for the compliment Marian. :-) Maybe when all is blooming at the same time I'll post a pic of that container...I'm very excited to see it myself...LOL!

P.S. Is Sweet 100 a cherry tomato? I've heard you mention the deer fly problem before. What exactly is a "deer fly"? I know they are large (at least the flies my parents had in Tenn. they called deer flies and they were very big) but what's the difference between them and regular flies? How come you have so many of them?

Eileen

Ei, I tried growing veggies in pots this year so I can place them where the deer do not get to them.The tomatoes and pepper are on top of my old Toyota stationwagon. I just added a volunteer butternut squash in a large pot. ( I hate throwing away perfectly good plants.LOL ) I have them all planted in potting soil. I do not know yet, if I will repeat the experiment next year. (I may not even be around next year, or unable to do it. Who knows?)

Thank goodness I was blessed with the abilty to grow many indoor plants. Not all do well for me, but more than what I plant outside. My orchids are about to wind up their this year's blooming period. The yellow moth orchid, from you, lost it's last bloom last week. I am watching for the purple Dendrobium to put on bloom buds. I have to move it indoors when it does, because something out side eats them off! I never put the Moth orchids out.
I remember pics of your Cerius. Such a gorgeous flower!I have never had one of them. It is as pretty as the Orchid cactus, only white. I know they only bloom at night? Right?
Did you get pics this year?

Yes the Sweet 100 is a cherry tomato.

I am posting a link of the deer fly. There are a lot more sites, and they all stress how damaging their bites are.
I have not seem a horse fly this year, but I don't spend as much time outside as I used too. They are lots bigger, and just as vicious!

Marian

Here is a link that might be useful: deer fly link

Ouch Marian...that sounds horrible! I'm pretty sure that my parent's flies must have been horse flies then *not* deer flies. I feel so bad for you...it seems to me it must be nearly intolerable. So do you have so many deer flies because there are a lot of deer in your area? From the link you posted it doesn't look like there's much you can do about them either. How long do they continue to hang around?

Yes, the cerius did bloom this year, but it was more like late in the day not really night here. But I don't know a lot about them. I bought mine at a neighborhood garden sale and just picked it up on a whim, along with the horsetail plants. I'm so glad I did cause I'm really loving both. Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic of the Cerius and am regretting it now. For some reason I really haven't take very many pics in my garden this year. Partly cause early in the season I was busy with mom and then it seemed for a long time I was just trying to "catch up" if you know what I mean. But, I better get out there with the camera before the season ends!

LOL about the tomatoes and peppers on your car! :-) Is that to keep the deer away from them? Don't *ever* say that Marian! You're going to be around for a good long time! And as far as still being able to do it, I know you, if there's a will...*you'll* find a way! ;-) You are one of the strongest people I know.

I'm imagining what cheer all those beautiful houseplants bring you, especially in winter when everything is quiet outside. Makes me smile to think about it!

Ei

I carried over a big pot of Salvia Black & Blue in our cold front hall over the winter. It looked OK for a while, then terrible by the time it went outside again in early spring. It has long long buds today and will open soon. I also bought other Salvia B&B plants that have been blooming for ages already, but it was an experiment to see what might happen and it did work.
Your color on the deck must really cheer you!

Marian the Surprise lilies are fun aren't they? A friend of mine brought over about 20 bulbs this year and they are just beginning to bloom for me. I was unfamiliar with them, but am really enjoying the pop of color. I scattered them around, not knowing where they would do best. I think I will probably move them to more of a grouping for an impact. Do you know the safest time to do that? My Blackberry lilies aren't blooming yet. Thanks for sharing the pics.
Drema

I deleted some pics, and am adding this one that I am so happy to have starting to bloom:

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Hopefully it will soon be covered with those lovely flowers.