Blooming In My Garden 7/09/09

By MrBrownThumb, July 9, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Lavender double Poppy blooming in my Chicago garden.png
Lately, I’ve been meeting a number of gardeners and when I mention that I maintain a couple of garden blogs they’ve ask: “Do you have a garden or just blog about it?” So, I present to you a few photographs of what is blooming in garden as proof that I actually have a garden.

The photo above is of a lavender bloom of a double poppy that was actually blooming in Chicago in late June. The past few years I grew a nice collection of, double, single and peony poppies but made a conscious decision not to grow them this year because they were attracting too much attention in my neighborhood. Catching this double poppy that reseeded itself in the garden made me wish I had sown seeds this year, but last year a lot of people thought I was growing Opium Poppies and I got tired of explaining to the entrepreneurs that I wasn’t growing those kinds of poppies.

I have a few lilies in bloom now that were clearance purchases a couple of years back. I don’t really like lilies all that much but couldn’t resist buying the bags of bugs for fifty cents.

Yellow Asiatic Lily blooming in my Chicago Garden.png

White Asiatic Lily blooming in my Chicago Garden.png

Orange Asiatic Lily blooming in my Chicago Garden.png

A lot of garden plants you’ll come across are called lilies even though they are not true lilies. The ones pictured above are true lilies from the genus Lilium and grow from bulbs which are eaten in some cultures. I’m not really a big fan of Asiatic or Oriental lilies but they seem to do really good in my garden and other gardens in my neighborhood without much care.

Daylilies are one of those plants that have “lily” in the English common name but are not actually lilies. The organge daylilies are still blooming and a couple more have started to bloom.

Lavender and yellow Daylily in Chicago Gardenr.png

Stella D'oro daylily blooming in my chicago garden.png

I’ll share the pics of the others in next blooming update because I have several and they’d make this post longer.

Yellow bloom Nasturtium in my Chicago Garden.png

I got seeds for a climbing variety of nasturtiums and it has begun to bloom, but it isn’t doing any actual climbing.

Rudbeckias blooming in my Chicago Garden.png

A couple of common Rudbeckias I grow for the butterflies and urban bees that visit my garden. At the end of the growing season I just take the seed heads and burry them in the soil. This year a new one has emerged right next to these two.

Double Rudbeckia blooming in my Chicago Garden.png

This double blooming plant has me looking in front and backyard gardens around the neighborhood for the source of the pollen the bees or butterflies brought in to hybridize my single flowering varieties.

White Flowering Allium.png

Another late June bloom from my garden. These allium bulbs stink like all other alliums but the blooms actually have a perfumed scent to them that reminds me of jasmine.

White hosta blooms.png

Don’t have much of a shade garden myself besides the Bleeding Hearts and a few NOID hostas. This one was blooming late June early July underneath the tree in the front yard. Sometimes called Plantain Lily even though, like the daylily, it isn’t a true lily.

What’s blooming for you in Chicago?

Filed under: Bulbs, Perennials, Starting a Garden

Tags: Flowers, Shade Gardens, Urban Gardening, What to plant in Chicago

Comments

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  • alicetruong said July 9, 2009 at 12:00 am

    What's a garden blogger without a garden? It'd be like having an anorexic food critic.

  • MrBrownThumb said July 9, 2009 at 12:00 am
    In reply to alicetruong:

    Haha,

    Come to think of it, I think some people have garden blogs and websites where they take info and photos from other people and make up a gardening website.

    Your comparison is pretty good, I was trying to think of one but couldn't come up with anything clever. Reminds me that I came across a How-to photography blog, by a famous blogger, the other day with instructions on taking pics of fireworks and all the photos used were from Flickr.

  • naxn said July 9, 2009 at 12:00 am
    In reply to alicetruong:

    I hope you're putting those nasturtium flowers in your salads! Or add them as a garnish with cheese and crackers for a little peppery crunch.

  • MrBrownThumb said July 9, 2009 at 12:00 am
    In reply to naxn:

    Hi Xan,

    So far they've only been there for decoration. Since it isn't doing any climbing I figure I don't want to detract from the one thing is doing right, and that is providing flowers. :0)

  • avidgardener said July 10, 2009 at 12:00 am
    In reply to naxn:

    It's a shame that you have to PROVE that you have a garden. What's this world coming to? But, for you gardening enthusiasts out there, I have found the BEST place to get my garden plants. They arrive in at least 3" pots, with their root systems already well established. I have NEVER had a problem growing flowers, grasses, or vegetables from Garden Harvest Supply. Check them out!

  • OhioMom said July 10, 2009 at 12:00 am
    In reply to naxn:

    Snap! My neighbor tossed some assorted seeds in a pot on the roof (yes I have inspired someone to join me in the garden :) ... but she did not know what they were, well I now can tell her one is a Nasturtium! Thanks for the ID. I love your blooms!

  • MrBrownThumb said July 10, 2009 at 12:00 am
    In reply to OhioMom:

    Hi Ohiomom,

    Glad to be of help even if I didn't know I was helping :0)

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