Summer Flower Round Up

Thank you for all the well wishes both on the blog and in private emails.  I'm feeling much better and I feel that my arthritis in general feels better.  Both R and I have made changes to our diet and it will be interesting to see if in 60 days (my next appointment and blood work) if these changes are making a difference in our health.  I'll let everyone know the out come.  In the meantime get yourself a bottle of Just Tart Cherry juice by Knudsen.  It is not only good for lowering uric acid levels but it helps with inflammation and heart health.

I love it poured over vanilla ice cream (healthy...huh?) or straight up but my brother in law adds it to his Coca Cola.

This is the time of year where I walk around and evaluate which flowers and plants were winners and which ones were losers.

Zinnias.....I was pleased with the ease of planting seeds and the germination rate.  The plant stems were sturdier than when in the past I had bought plants and transplanted them.  Also a big difference between $2.99 for a packet of seeds and $6.99 for a pack of 6 plants.  I'll plant the tall green Envy variety again but I am going to look for a medium height, larger bloom Zinnia instead of the shorter, small Zinnia that I used.  Zinnias are age appropriate for the house and because they have been around for a long time, there are plenty of varieties to chose from in the see catalog.

Cone flowers....I think I have enough pink varieties but I also added a chartreuse green, off white, and orange varieties that I really liked, especially the green one.

Day lilies......I divided a lot of my day lilies this spring.  I am trying to fill in the areas around the fruit trees with day lilies.  Some didn't flower because of the disruption and some of the divisions were small so next year should be a lot better.

Monarda (bee balm).......I divided a dark pink Monarda that was growing in the back yard and it survived but I divided it too late in the spring and it suffered because of it.  I'll continue to add to my Monarda collection because the bees love them, they are very colorful, and once established they are hardy.

Daisies.....I have been buying one or two daisy plants a year for the past 5 years and really do not have much to show for it.  They start out nicely but once the buds open up the stems bend and the center of the entire plant dies.  I might need better soil or more water.  My favorite is Banana Cream Pie which is a very pale yellow daisy.

Asters......The bees need more fall flowering plants so I tried to add asters.  I love the Stokes aster. The bloom are large and seem to be long lasting.  I also planted two smaller aster flowers but they are very short and the flowers are tiny.

Tulips.....I planted 100 tulip bulbs around the bee hive area.  Tulips are a hit and miss thing for me. They always look great the first year and the after that....not so much.  The bulbs were a freebie so it was worth giving it another try.

Roses......I'll continue to buy just Knock Out and Carpet Roses.  They are the only roses that do well when we have a severe winter.  I do not have time to wrap and protect the more delicate roses and both of these roses are own root roses so if the top dies back because of a harsh winter the plant will just regrow.  My climbing roses took a beating after two severe winters.  I had to cut them back quite hard for the second year in a row.  Blooms were sparse and several plants died.  I will not be replacing them.

Hostas....I didn't buy any this year...oh my gosh!!! But they are looking great, require very little attention, and are just about ready to be divided, so they are the plants that keeps on giving.

Today felt more like fall/winter and looking at these flowers already has me yearning for spring.

Tomorrow I'll tell you how R almost ended up in the hospital on Tuesday.  It's always something.