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Since we had some rainfall early last week, a few things have come alive again.

happy yellow cosmos


a pink dahlia - had a few blooms early on, then nothing! Thank you rain.


white clematis that literally died down to the ground, then sprang to life all at once.


Mystic spire salvia - love this blue...it's so light and airy, it's hard to get a decent photo


chocolate something or other...blooms are sweet


vinca and wild aster (at least I hope that's what it is)


Texas Star Hibiscis


Plume Celosia and Red Salvia never disappoint!




and since in a previous post we were talking about fall decorations...a couple picture of the front porch with my sparse efforts at decorating. Please ignore the old wicker that DID NOT get painted this year!


and a little closer with the decorations


Hope you enjoy the pictures.

ve

This message has been edited. Last edited by: vera ellen,

Love the pics. So neat that some of the flowers come back to life after a rain.

What a wealth of plants & lovely, lovely porch...so inviting! TFS with us!

gorgeous. tfs

Wow great pics. I want to come sit on your porch it looks sooo relaxing. thanks for sharing it with us.

Wow - so beautiful, VE.
Thanks for posting.

how lovely to see summer hanging on in your neck of the woods. and what a great porch.. so inviting. is that the morning coffee or afternoon sweet tea porch?

OK, Vere ellen...I have a question. How did you get all the pics on a single post??? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks Girls........I was happy to see the late bloomers. BTW - a friend of mine ID'd the mystery plant with the vinca as hardy ageratum, a PITA to remove once established. I guess it's a bird gift since I didn't buy it. She advised pulling and tossing. Bummer and it's so pretty too.

Yes, that's the coffee & sweet tea front porch...we really enjoy our porch. It's also the gathering place for friends and family.

Mgt - the photo's are loaded into a Photobucket album. Then you simply select the photo you want and copy the URL, paste into the body of the message, then repeat. If you have a Photobucket album, PM me and I'll give you step by step directions.

Thanks again everyone. Glad you enjoyed the pictures.

ve

Oh my, great pics & LOTS of pretties!

But you also solved 2 mysteries for me....one was the hardy ageratum which grows wild all over around here. I saw it blooming across the road the other day & "almost" dug some up...now I'm glad I didn't.

http://www.google.com/search?q...QsAQ&biw=730&bih=404

The other is the mystic spire salvia. I got it at the nursery but all they knew was that it was a salvia...no other name.

Oh, what a lovely porch!!! I can see why you'd spend lots of time there. I might just while away the day out there myself!!!!

Wow, you still have a lot of color in your yard. Love the front porch, I'd be out there drinking coffee right now.

I have some tall dark blue salvia too...it's getting leggy but still blooming profusely.

Thanks again girls. The porch is truly a 3 season gathering place.

GaKaren, I pulled the ageratum today...per my friends advice. Sure hated to do it, just don't need anything else invasive.

I'm glad you got an ID on your Mystic Spire Salvia. It was new several years ago. Got mine at Home Depot and it's never disappointed. It does get thirsty, but as soon as it gets some decent rainfall, it's off and blooming again.

z9 - I wonder if yours is Mystic Spire as well. It might not be getting leggy, it might be the growth habit. Mine is at least 3 & 1/2 to 4 ft tall. It does tend to sprawl.

ve

Beautiful pictures, Vera. Love that porch.

BTW, my wildflowers yielded a lot of very tall pink Cosmos, some small yellow flowers, Queens Ann Lace and an unknown small purple flower. Hopefully next year I will get more of a variety.

What delightful pics! So much color! I really like the Texas Star Hibiscus I've never seen one. Your porch is very inviting.

Vera, flowers are very nice, but OMG what a PRETTY PORCH!!! Love it!!! You're in 'the country'? I can sit on that porch, drinking coffee and people-watching forever. (I like people-watching!)
The south is known for 'wrap around' porches, right?

vera ellen, i saw that ageratum and that you said it was wild aster. I have that plant in one of my raised beds. It's not that difficult to remove, once it is established. Like karen, this stuff is everywhere out here and I saw it one year in my pasture. I dug it up and planted in my front flower bed. I regretted that! I pulled it up, all of it and put it in a pot, then buried the pot in my raised bed. It has behaved itself for a few years now. It is sooo pretty that I just couldn't part with it.
BTW, you do have a gorgeous front porch!
The white fluffy flower is Eupatorium Chocolate. its a distant relative to Joe pye weed.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Barb in Mississippi,

Ladies, thanks again!

Hi NYKaren - where you been? I had forgotten about your wildflower garden until you mentioned it...we didn't get any pictures. I'm so glad that you had several varieties of plants, and I bet you get more next year. Don't forget the camera next year.

Paws - the Texas Star is a very hardy here, but they do like water in the summer...they are beautiful plants. I don't know how well they'd do in Ohio. If I get any seed pods, I'd be happy to save you some.

Wavy, you tickle me! Honey you can sit on my porch anytime you want to, but you won't be doing any people watching. You can watch wild turkeys, deer, squirrels and birds...but the only people you'd see would be us unless someone came up the driveway for a visit. When someone comes up the driveway, they are either lost (dead end private drive) or else they are actually coming to see us.

Barb - Bless Your Sweet Heart! Thank you for the info on the hardy ageratum......I have already tossed it over the fence, otherwise I'd do as you and pot it up. Since both you and GaKaren say it grows wild in your pastures, I need to pay attention (unless it's already been bushhogged down). I image that's where the start came from, either the wind or a bird gift. It is really pretty and looked good blending in with the vinca. Also, thank you for the ID on the chocolate something. You are correct, I remembered it as soon as I read your post. Can't pronounce it, but I remembered it - . I did not know that it is in the Joe Pye weed family - how cool is that. It's spreading through my beds and I'm letting it right now...will it eventually become a pest?

Thanks again girls.

ve

Thanks for the photo info, vera ellen. I appreciate that.

Sure wish I was sitting on that porch again. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Getting chilly here, fall's approaching. Too soon. Not many flowers left here. Few roses and stil some phlox. I have that mini joe pye in blue-spreads like wild fire. Thanks foe the pics Vera.

That is so weird, jmchab. I have the old stand by joe pye weed and the hollow joe and they don't spread. They multiply each year and you can take starts and plant them elsewhere. That is interesting.
From what I've read vera, this stuff will not become a pest.
"Unlike other Eupatoriums, this species forms large, bushy mounds that are attractive from all angles. This is a terrific background plant for the summer blooming garden. It is even quite tolerant of dry shade. One of the all-time best purple perennials."

That's from what I googled.

Jan, you have changed your login name!

Barb, thanks for the google info. Since I really like the Eupatorium, I'm glad to know that it isn't actually a nuisance plant....and yes, it is tolerant of dry shade.

ve

quote:

Originally posted by vera ellen:
Honey you can sit on my porch anytime you want to, but you won't be doing any people watching. ve

I know you are out in the 'country', but I would love to steal that porch and bring it up North so I can 'People watch'!! (I don't sit on my porch ever, yours is very decorative & lovely!)

So pretty! I can just imagine sitting on your wonderful porch in one of those old wicker chairs sipping a glass of sweet tea - altho here in the north we just call it iced tea and it's always sweet!

quote:

When someone comes up the driveway, they are either lost (dead end private drive) or else they are actually coming to see us

LOL! Our driveway is the same!

I think your front porch is going to be a wee crowded - I am heading there, also! It is so inviting!

Beautiful pictures!

We get a few lost people too. They drive down the easement then through the gate because some GPS apps say they can. Then all they see is a pond and woods in front of them and hastily turn around. I always see them do this because the alarm goes off when then pass the gate.

DH and I have discussed installing an outdoor speaker on the gate and playing "Dueling Banjo's" when the alarm goes off.

Thanks again girls, and right now is the perfect day to be enjoying the porch! Warming up later this afternoon, so you'd better hurry before that western sun hits it.

z9 - I love the dueling banjo idea.....priceless...and be sure to have a video camera where you can see their expressions!

ve

zone 9 that is so funny!

quote:

z9 - I love the dueling banjo idea.....priceless...and be sure to have a video camera where you can see their expressions!

LOL, LOL, LOL! Me too!

We have a .10 mi. straight driveway...since we are mostly on the hill, we can see traffic go past on the road. Our drive gets used for folks turning around quite a bit. Since it is the worst driveway around...I don't know why they choose it...it's up-hill & washed out every time it rains! BIG wash outs, ruts...ask silly bird!

Thanks for pics and especially welcoming us to your porch....dreamy and large....sigh...enjoy that!!! I would happily sit on your non updated wicker... .

Barb is would that be what I see sellers listing as chocolate joe pye? I have baby joe and regular....but the hues of the chocolate, ok and the fact that it uses my favorite food in it's name, is fun and cute!!!!!

Hi Vera. I'm still around. Didn't get a chance to take pictures because some of these flowers were 10 ft. high(no kidding!!). I'll see what blooms next year.

quote:

Originally posted by GreenAlice:
........I would happily sit on your non updated wicker...

Cool...I got dibs on the swing! LOL!