Looking through the Crocosmia to a Mallow plant.
All you see of the Mallow is it's fuzzy gray-green leaves.
Both are easy to grow tall plants.

This lovely is a Crocosmia, it is an easy to grow
perennial. It spreads slowly, plant it where it can
take up a bit of space. It is tall and ribbon grass
looking but you are rewarded with this vibrant color.

You can also get a red variety!

Johnny Jump Ups, Nasturtium and Lobelia are
all crammed into a planter together.
The Johnny Jump Ups and the Nasturtium are 2 flowers
that I need in my yard every summer. Easy to grow and lovely to see.

It is difficult for me to capture the stunning
colors of the Nasturtium. I think this
photo comes close.

More Hen n Chicks for you!

These are flowering plants I purchased recently from

a local garden center. Can you blame me? Mini daffodils and primrose.

Early spring bloomers when bought this way.

Regardless they brighten my front porch!

This is Daphne Odora, in no way is it the most beautiful shrub one could grow.
The flowers are not highly visible, nor are they the most beautiful.
Why does one grow this shrub then? The flowers. I know, I just told you
it's flowers are not the most beautiful-what these flowers give are the most
beautiful fragrance. My Daphne suffers from frost damage quite often so
the leaves end up looking bad but the flowers are never damaged.
This little shrub requires a bit of protection in my PNW garden but it rewards me
with the most lovely fragrance in the middle of winter. Imagine coming up to
your front door in winter (UGH) and being met by the sweetest scent.
Priceless!  By the way, my Daphne is a treasured plant as it was a weakly
little bugger in its pot when it came home. Not only has refused to die, it has thrived.
Don't always assume that the weak looking plant is a bad choice!

This is a Hen n Chicks, an easy to grow succulent.
I first remember seeing this family of plants in the more
common green when I was visiting my Grandma in Oregon
when I was 9! I was hooked! Try this easy to grow
plant in your yard (or in a pot where mine grow happily)!

Phlox is a most lovely plant for your garden, it withstands the heat of summer (and I do mean HOT) along with the cold of winter (and I do mean COLD),
 it also attracts hummingbirds and the amazing little hummingbird moth.
Phlox rewards you with midsummer blooms
that leave a faint sweet scent in the air.
Growing next to the phlox is my beloved foxglove along
with a little pincushion. 

This is a dandelion. Nothing exciting really but don't you think
it has a lovely sunny color? The bees need dandelions even if
we think we don't. It seems to me if they bees need them, then
so do we.

It’s difficult to decide who steals the show in this picture.
Is it the vibrant red of the Penstemon or the egg-yellow
of the Shasta daisy? I suppose in the long run in my garden
it will be the daisy as the Penstemon doesn’t live more than
a few years while the daisy is ever hardy.

This is a closer view of the Purple Penstemon with
a peek a boo from the Rudbeckia. Too bad
the Penstemon doesn't love my garden as much as I love it.

This is one of my favorite sections of the garden.
It’s too bad the purple and red flowers don’t last.
Penstemon can be hardy but apparently I grow the
wrong ones! There are also some Rudbeckia along
with Shasta daisies, both of which are easy to grow
and are both quite hardy. In between the red and purple
Penstemon grows a Japanese Honeysuckle; while highly
fragrant it is considered to be highly invasive.

Yesterday I introduced you to the Weigela, today I wanted

you to see it next to the green leaves. The leaves actually
belong to the honeysuckle vine growing in the midst of the Weigela.
It seems to be a lovely combination.

The Weigela is a hardy shrub that all variety of bees
in my yard enjoy. The flowers are also frequently
visited by the hummingbirds, its quite enjoyable
to sit and watch the hummers repeatedly return to this shrub.

I really enjoy this picture. The taller plant with purple flowers

is Hyssop, while it isn't the most beautiful flower in the garden

it is a wonderful addition. The scent of the plant is very strong,

like that of anise or licorice, the flowers on the other hand

 are quite attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds.
As if those weren't valid reasons to grow hyssop; it is indispensable

to the herbal garden with many uses. I've always made it into a tea
along with other mints for my kids when were sick.
Hyssop is easy to grow in most climates and loves to self sow
As for the yellow flowers, those belong to one of the Coreopsis family.

Another easy to grow plant and with those vibrant flowers, it's a 

winner in my book!

I like to call this A Sea Of Purple, chives that is.

This is the Orchid one of my sons gave me for my birthday.

I wish I could tell you that I grow Orchids successfully!
They are an amazing flower no matter how brown your thumb is,

you owe it to yourself to grow them at least once.

There are actually 3 plants in this photo although the

orange pretty much steals the show. Do you know
what any of them are?

This little perennial is known as Snow In Summer, a carefree
ground cover. Those white blooms are sweetly scented,
easily filling the summer air.

Meet the borage flower, loved by bees and a bane
to myself. While the flowers are fun and edible and the
plant has this crazy cucumber smell it also is covered
in prickly hairs. So prickly that I cannot touch this plant
without gloves on. It also is a prolific self sower!

My favorite Hosta is in the background of this photo.
 The reason this Hosta is my favorite simply because the flowers
 while brief are the sweetest.

As promised here is a broader view of the Purple Coneflowers

and visitors. Growing next to the coneflowers is Catnip

which didn't attract half the attention of the bumbles.

The bumbles spend quite a bit of time on the

Echinacea during the summer and this one was

too busy to notice me!  Come back tomorrow

for another view of the purple coneflowers and visitors.

Yes you have seen the Foxglove here just the other day.

This is a close up of and its amazing what you can see

when you really look at this photo.

The Butterfly bush aka Buddleia davidii is another plant

considered to be highly invasive. By it's name (and beauty)

 though you can tell why people want to grow it; it is attractive

to butterflies. There are cultivars that are not considered to

be invasive and they are the ones with multi colored flowers,

check with a local garden club to be sure. If you do choose to

grow a Butterfly bush then you must be diligent to deadhead.

This picture makes me laugh but at the same time

reminds me of summer in an intense manner.

These are the bean pods come from a very pretty

little purple flower and produce a mottled purple bean.

I realize that many consider the Foxglove aka digitalis

to be a weed, a weed that should not be grown in one's

garden. It is difficult to erradicate a flower that one loves.

I truly love the Foxglove.

This Dragonfly visited my yard this past summer

and was kind enough to hang out on the rose bush

long enough for me to get this photo.
Beautiful.

Straight up pink fuzz! Queen of the Prairie, (Filipendula rubra)

is quite honestly a plant I must have in my garden.

It is a stately native that will adorn your garden for years,

give it some moisture and you will have quite the planting.

Pink fuzz growing against a black background.

Queen of the Prairie and Black Lace Elderberry, when grown near

each other creates quite a match!