Summer Flowers 2017
Are you ready for Summer? Even if the calendar doesn't officially say it, the summer plants are coming into bloom.
So here we go - fox glove.
GC 
Tracy 
Tracy - Nope, those are the asiatic type of lily (Latin name lilium). The orange double lily I've posted about before called 'Kwanso' is not a true lily at all, but a variety of day lily. (Latin name hemerocallis)
This is a previous picture of what the other type looks like:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/746897#t751874
In the mean time I'm very happy I finally found maltese cross last year. Its gotten nicely established and come back even greater this year.
Oh, interesting, GC. Thanks for the info! I've never had this kind before, and to be honest, I didn't remember planting any of these lilies when they all started popping up this spring. I think they were leftover clearance buys from Lowe's. So far they're all orange, but I have a cluster of taller ones that aren't ready to bloom yet. I'm hoping star gazers; they're my favorite and I had a bunch at the old house.
Exactly Tracy, that's exactly the type of lily stargazer is. The others are native plants you often find along side the road in shady areas.
Today has been a great day for the cats - they got a donation of a very large catnip plant. I split it in three and now I grow my own. Just don't tell the Kat DEA. ;-)
Spiderwort comes and goes. Its was well in bloom, the heat wilted off some buds, now it's back open again.
Nosila 
Nosila - Tickner's does some water fountains but I'm not sure if they have water lilies or not. Water features is one of the specialties at Hoffman's over in Long Valley. I'm sure they have them.
Mean while back at the ranch, I'm very glad to have managed to keep the other plants from encroaching on this globe flower. It didn't do well last year after a good year the one before. So now we're back in business. Have trouble getting the detail to pop out in a picture. The veins of the flower seem to keep resisting me...
Very happy to say I've gotten at least one blanket flower to winter over. That's just starting to show some color in the buds so it will be blooming within a week. Also very pleased to see the cupid's dart just opened the first flower today. That's produced some of the best macro pictures I've taken.
For the past couple years my potted herbs did well, but my hanging flowers did not do well.
I decided to give it another go and bought two hanging Dipladenias. It's been three weeks and so far they are doing well (crossing my fingers).
They bloom from spring to fall, drout tolerant and low maintenance. Such beautiful flowers and leaves.
positive 
I had to look that up positive, I'm not up on a lot of annual plants. Now that I know what they look like, I've seen a lot of those at Home Depot as well as related mandevilla vines. Seems like they're becoming more popular.
They always remind me of a yellow flowering vine in the same family that grew on the side of our house like 9 feet tall when we were lived in the tropics. They definitely do look nice, good luck with them.
My red hot poker seem stunted this year. They're healthy just not nearly as tall as other years. I've seen other HL gardeners have much better ones this year.
White clustered bell flower (scientific name campanula glomerata) in front of butterfly weed. Pollinator's dream. Was very afraid this plant didn't winter over, but with some persistence and faith in the tiny leaf that came up, this is exactly what the beautiful pictures of it say it should be. Bought it at Well Sweep two year ago, did little last year, but now it's exactly what it's supposed to be.
4catmom 
4cat - Well Sweep is first and foremost a wealth of knowledge that beginners and experienced gardeners can take advantage of. They also specialize in plants for variety and specialization. If you want a specific herb like mint they don't just have 2 or 3, they have 30 different varieties. Perennials are the same, each of their staff have a different one they track so hellebore, hens and chicks, and lavender you can get dozens of choices.
That globe flower I posted before in addition to this clustered bell flower are just the type of unusual and different variety that give you something extra beyond other places everyday flowers. Both of them came from Well Sweep as did previous years fanfare blanket flower (Forum search on that and you'll see just what an impact that can make). The maltese cross I posted is something I had years ago at my previous house in Denville. I couldn't find it other places until one year Well Sweep had it. I have a clematis that's just starting to bloom now, later than others. Also from Well Sweep.
There are good plant vendors around, it's not the only place I get plants. And today I really like being able to trade with a number of people. (not just the HL yearly exchange but there's the Facebook group MG started) But Well Sweep continues to be a great source for the unusual and hard to find.
A couple of things I've gotten there haven't turned out, but they are also difficult to grow plants that I bought. More about the plant than anything else. It's definitely a great resource, and one I can say has a reputation in PA. My mom attended a garden class for seniors and it was one of the places suggested for interesting choices.
This is a relative of rose campion. Instead of the typical bright maroon flowers, this is white with a touch of a purple streak. It's "blush campion" instead and off the beaten track. From Well Sweep.
oh and the things I got from the exchanges are doing well too - except the jade - I think someone munched on it - hoping for clematis flowers but since this is it's first real year - who knows...it's growing like a weed though - thanks always for the information and advice
Here's one of my favorites - I unfortunately pruned two bushes and had no flowers last year - one of two are blooming beautifully this year -
4catmom - OMG, clematis growing?? I took my very very first attempt at propagating clematis this year and if it's actually alive then you can be sure it's only a matter of time. I took cuttings of the one I got from Well Sweep that's called "Dutchess of Albany". It has small pink tulip like flowers at first. The eventually open up like a clematis but are smaller than most. It's also almost July which is late for a clematis. I'd be just thrilled if anyone actually gets new plants from that. Mine just started blooming yesterday with the rain. When I have enough for a good picture I'll post in a week or so.
I'm always so thankful for the exchange plants that do well, I have some recently acquired knockout irises. I have daisies from littlelu and bachelors buttons from Colette I got from older exchanges. The best thing is I've been able to give both of those to others after I got them. Plants are great because what you get you pass along. It's not just like having kids, but like grand kids. I've never gotten any recent feedback but I know the whole group gave things to a girl scout group planting at one of the local schools.
Nice to see your hydrangea blooming. Those are problematic for me because of the deer population I get. That plus my mom's good intentions are unfortunately exactly the wrong thing. I have two of them which are healthy, but still recovering enough to be able to bloom. Keep up the good work.
Here's a recent addition of mine that was in the garden before I knew what it was. It got overwhelmed, so now I'm trying to get it back. This is hyssop from Donaldson's.
positive - Love that. Looks great and those should be less maintenance than a typical petunia or impatien. Good plant.
4cat - The name tiger lily applies to more than one plant. The technical name really applies to a specific expensive Asian lily you often see in flower shops. My picture is a day lily, a totally different plant (see the thread Tracy talked about it), but yes also called a tiger lily by some. The deer are a strange group. They've munched on a plant to the side of the house but left this particular plant completely alone. There's another plant next to that the deer have eaten almost to the bone. It's definitely susceptible to deer but also isn't always eaten. Even when they do eat it, it's often not the flowers but the leaves they chow down on. So it's a mixed bag for this.
I've got some white Easter lilies, the real kind, not day lilies, that are about to bloom. Those are much higher on the deer menu from my experience. But who knows why one survives and not the other. So one way or the other, as long as there are like 100 blooms ready to go, at least a few will survive.
Such beautiful flowers on here.
Yesterday I potted two perennials.
Here's a pic of the Phlox. Such a beautiful scent.
positive - wow, I've got similar phlox and they never come out this early. Is that one of the ones that's a shorter size? I've seen three foot ones starting to pop up but mostly are bluish. The cone flower definitely should keep blooming right up until the birds are ready to move south and are picking at it for the seeds.
My cone flowers have not really come out for the most part but I do have one in a sunny area that's all white that just started to open up yesterday. By the end of the day today I can now finally start to see bee balm. Summer is in full swing now...
The blanket flower that managed to winter over is almost ready for a picture. I actually think some daisies opened today. Lavender is about half opened up. I see the very first signs of balloon flower forming a globe or two, and the hostas have flower stems.
This is cupid's dart which now has a half dozens flowers with more to come.
GC, reading from the insert that came with the Phlox..it says that it blooms early summer until fall and full height would range from 24 inches-40 inches. Right now it's about 14 inches.
I've been buying my plants at Home Depot in Pohatcong. Very reasonable prices, big selection and very healthy plants.
Forget about the Walmart over by me, the plants are in such bad shape..every time I make an attempt to look I feel like I'm attending a funeral. Very sad...
That Cupid's Dart is absolutely beautiful! I've never seen anything like it.
Positive - Funny range of 24-40. If it's 24 then it's one of those half height varieties. If it's 40 then it's normal sized. So it's kind of like "which is it"???
The Cupid's Dart is a Godlewsky's special. They had a lot of it the first time I went there and I've bought it without knowing much about it. Now I display it prominently along the front driveway. It definitely is a stand out.
This is the clematis I mentioned, now blooming and only going to get better. It's later than other varieties with a definitely smaller flower. When if first barely starts to open it looks like a tulip. It'll stay that way for a few days and then just open up fully.
That's another beauty GC.
About the Phlox, yeah I know that's a strange range. I'm predicting it won't make it to 40" since I'm growing it in a pot.
Thanks.
This is another one of those that really stands out - blanket flower. The variety is "Goblin" but I wish I could find more of the more exotic ones locally. These are tough to winter over, you have to dead head religiously. And even then a harsh winter period and they don't come back.
If you ever want to see ones that really stand out, search for the varieties "Fanfare" with a circle of little trumpets, or "Reveille" with tri-color pompoms.
I had some of that in my own garden positive, back in 2012. Look at the picture of it I posted:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/413308#t428947
And the next year I managed to sneak a single plant of "Fanfare" from Well Sweep:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/531761
That lasted two years, but unfortunately no more. There are also some called Oranges and Lemons that are less dramatic two toned. And an all red version. I've never seen it at a local shop but there is now an all red version of Fanfare too. They bloom from mid June all the way until early September. So they're a good plant. Just don't last long as perennials go.
Very glad that my bee balm is now fully out. About an hour ago a humming bird was making the rounds and visiting a half dozen before darting off on its way to the next fleeting target.
Really like the Bee Balm..so delicate looking.
Checked out the threads you posted, your plants look better than the pics I posted. I also took a peek at your Gladiolus, that one really got me. Striking!
I'm really getting into this flower stuff. It's uplifting and calming..takes me away from all the negative stuff.
In some ways gladiolus are a pain because you have to dig them up and put them away every year. But the big stalks and variety of color can sure make your house look good when you cut them. I haven't done that in several years now, but should really consider going back to them. Part of the reason for not doing it is you can buy cut ones in stores for pretty cheap $.
They were my grandmother's absolute favorite. Her birthday is early August, the time they start to bloom. So as a flower it was both something she liked and represented her birthday.
Bee balm is great because is spreads like wild fire because a plant that falls over grows roots out of it and you just get it further away next year. The small plants in spring are so overwhelming they crowd each other out to fill a space. And the pollinators that they attract are outstanding. I don't think even butterfly weed or a butterfly bush will attract as much attention from bees, butterflies, or humming birds. Plus if you look close it's such an unusual plant with multiple flowers on each stem.
I have a renter in my place in PA where my mom created the garden. The renter was so excited when summer came and she saw all the plants. She had to take a cell picture of this one plant and ask me what it was. It was the bee balm.
You posted one of those new color cone flowers - there are a bunch of those wild colors besides sombrero like tiki torch, or flame thrower, or tomato soup, or berry punch, or papaya, etc. But this is the exact opposite, it's the purple color bleached out and all white. It's called "White Swan".
Thanks. Balloon flower is getting ready to pop open. I'd have a bumper crop all open by now if the deer didn't like munching them. At least this is one thing that still manages to come back and flower anyway.
lola 
MG 
Lola - I should be clear that only the one plant in the picture at the very front of my driveway was left alone. The deer mercilessly munched balloon flower very close to the house. Why they didn't eat the one closer to when they came down the street I don't know, but that's what they did. But even the ones they made a meal of are starting to show signs of flowering. Even though they eat it, the plant manages to put up side shoots anyway. I figure if I dead head the good ones right away, I should be able to get even more later.
MG - Middle row far left, is that helenium? My mom in PA tried that once because the previous owner of her townhouse was a friend name Helen. Didn't grow very well for her though. Top row middle is an everyday color cone flower but one of the double ruffled ones. Very nice. But most of all, holy crap on the first row first picture - is that a hibiscus with all those veins in it? If so I've lived in the tropical Pacific with 100 varieties and never seen anything even remotely like that.
My stokesia (aster) just came out yesterday but haven't taken a picture of it. Several day lilies are though, the every day orange road side one, some red firecracker and the Catherine Woodbury and Kwanso double orange are in the wings. But this is a very yellow that some take for common Stella D'Oro but is far too light for that. I've always though it had a name like "Lemon Chiffon" but am not certain.
GC - nope the middle far left is that Mexican somethingorother... and the top left is probably one of my MOST favorite I got to Well Sweep for... I never remember the "correct" name I can let you know when I get home... I call it the psychodelic flower... when I see Dave that's what I call it..
GC - looked it up... Salpiglossis -- I also have a blue one too but didn't take a picture of that yet...
MG - OK, I cheated. I took your picture and submitted it to gardenanswers.com (the app discussed last year at the exchange). It came up with Salpiglossis (painted tongue) all too easily. Been to Well Sweep once a year for a while and never seen that ever. It's not in their catalog for the last 3 years either. I think one of the main reasons is that it's an annual, not perennial. In any case, that's quite a visual.
Is the other one a Mexican sunflower variety (tithonia)? It's got a few different possibilities on gardenanswers that I don't know any really match. One of them says "maximilian" - could that be it instead of Mexican?
This is the stokesia that has come out over the past two days.
This is the other Salpiglossis... not as showy, they have also had yellow...also not as showy... the pink is my favorite one.
The cones from before, none of them are the "traditional" purple cone, however are pink. And the other little orange/yellow it's possibly what you said... I don't really pay attention to all of the names... but it's in the back...next to where you took the beardtongue from last year.
The beebalm, I have both red and dark magenta/pink.
Black eye susies are starting to open, still have a Japanese iris that is open.
My black eyed susan is just starting to come around and is probably about a week away from opening.
I have a whole section of almost iridescent magenta bee balm and some additional almost tomato red. But the red isn't so prominent but even if I thought it was gone, some on the side of my house have survived. Over the past three days hummingbirds have positively been prolific visitors. Got the camera out a couple of times that was too late. Today I was persistent and did manage to snap a picture. I believe this is the rufous hummingbird.
Beautiful GC! Yes it is the rufous, it's the only kind we get in NJ.
This year the deer decimated my flowers .. very sad :>( .
Iris 
Jill 
Leave on Thursday to have my son, come home.Sunday my flowers are an explosion of color, and LOTS of busy bees!
This is one of my favorites, has bee since I found it years ago... and the smell is heavenly! They're peacock orchids...they're a bulb...and should probably be pulled for the winter...
Thanks! Still doesn't seem.quite real we're now a family of 4!
SOOO- I have some white iris available if anyone is interested... I'll post a picture with this post... if you'd like 1 or 2 let me know... I'm not cleared to drive yet SO a porch pick-up would be the easiest. If you send me an email that's probably a little easier as well, since I don't pop on here too often.
Need some advice...two of my Sombrero turned black, but the rest are doing well and some new blooms.
My question is, do I cut the black ones off or just leave them be?
Tracy - I have a neighbor a couple of doors down that has the star gazers. Unfortunately around here they're short lived. Bambi sees the "eat me" sign and they're toast.
positive - looks like the hot conditions have gotten to those and a couple dried out and died off early. If you want to feed birds, leave them. Otherwise just for the looks, I'd cut it.
I always knows when the phlox comes out, it's peak season. Sometimes they aren't that healthy, many times because of deer nibbling the tops. Not this year. Maybe a little damage, but not really all that much.
Thanks positive. It's nice to see after some other years have been really rough on the phlox.
GC, thankfully, I don't have any varmints eating my flowers anymore (and I just probably jinxed myself). But there is a bunny in the backyard that I think is eating my basil.
My very first gladiolas are coming up. I will have to try and get a picture later.
My Luna hibiscus are still going... Have a pink and a red..would love another color or 2
I have a mailbox, I really do. You might not be able to tell - I'm told I have a "snowman" instead. The mailman has never complained, but even if he hasn't I do worry that this is so bee & wasp covered he might get stung one time.
Even more out of the ordinary than a late bloom time for a clematis, this is exceptionally fragrant.
Rebecka so I got my clematis from you - It has grown very well but we were hoping for great big purple flowers - ah well - it's very full and pretty for it's first year...
When you see nearby mailboxes in the shape of a locomotive, a purple holstein, or a rainbow trout, you already know humor is a prerequisite part of a delivery person's job. ;-)
Question for flower-knowledgeable people: on Allen Rd, as you are traveling from the Shoprite direction towards Rockport Rd, there are incredible flower bushes in bloom right now, kind of near some apt complexes. Large, tall reddish/fushia flowers. They are gorgeous! What are they?? They look exotic/tropical! I don't think I've seen these in NJ before.
Hoping this doesn't post twice - darn phone and its autocorrect
4cat - Thank you!
GC - the clematis from you is blooming this year - such cute tiny flowers
Rebecka - without seeing them they might be Luna Hibiscus (or something similar) a few posts up I posted a picture of one of mine - they're dinner plate size
Rebecka - I'm with MG on what might be on Allen Road. Next time I drive by, I'll check it out. But particularly when you mention tropical looking, Rose of Sharon are in full bloom right now. They are in the hibiscus family (Latin name hibiscus syriacus) but a cold weather variety that will drop its leaves, be dormant in the winter, and come back. The true tropical hibiscus won't do that and would die in the winters we have. People will keep tropical hibiscus as a potted plant and take inside for cold weather.
If it's the reddish color you describe then it doesn't sound like Rose of Sharon, that's usually blueish or a very light pastel purple. If the flowers are huge like the size of a basketball, then it's the Luna like MG's picture which are mostly red. Otherwise it's likely to be the tropical kind in a container that someone is going to have to take in. Those come in every color combination of the rainbow. Reds, oranges, yellows, doubles, red with a yellow center, yellow with a red center, ones that never open, and on and on.
Thank you. I'm going by today. I'll try to remember to take a pic. Hope the flowers are still blooming. After googling images for both, I don't think it's hibiscus or Rose of Sharon.
Here they are. They're like 5 feet tall! Across from Donaldson's so now I'm thinking they may have planted them.
3wbdwnj Thank you! Wondering if I can get some... going to look into planting them. Then I can pretend I'm in Hawaii. They remind me of some of the plants I saw there!
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