Ahhhh! Vacation or no, it all looks wonderful. And thank you so much for posting pics of my shade garden. Love those astilbe. Mine didn't flower very much at all this year, will have to divide it.

The petunias look good too. I've had a smidgeon of better luck with them than last year, but they still look pitiful. All my stuff is still so small with very few to none in terms of blooms. This heat isn't helping, either.

Sure helps to see blooms in other folks' gardens. Thanks for posting ....

PV

I'm sad I missed the shade garden in its peak. But I guess it's kinda weird not to go on vacation because of your garden?? With the year I've had, it was good to go away, though.
--and I got your wonderful package...I'm very excited about that Cimicifuga :-)
Wishing you more blooms and cooler weather...

Linda

Linda,
Love the pics. the zinnias are beautiful.
Has to be something in the air this year about the zinnias. Mine are blooming with really short stems, not blooming the size they are supposed to bloom either. flower looks right, just not the correct diameter and sure not 3 feet tall on some of them, or 5 inch across flowers either.

My petunias have just started to really bloom the past 2 weeks and it's been really hot and humid too.

PV, funny that you are saying that you think the heat isn't helping. It's made mine take off like a rocket in blooms.

Did you sow named varieties that are supposed to come true to seed?

Mine are collected from plants that a neighbor had last year, dark purple and bright pink. No name tag in the flats with them, and they where not doing well when she got them but, it was a week or so after the 4th and she paid $.50 for all 6 flats. she couldn't resist.
Did not come back any where near the original colors but they are blooming away now.

I have mine in pots with miracle grow potting mix, could it be the soil you are using that might be the problem PV?

Will post some pics of the petunias for you to see.

Fran

Such beautiful flowers! I also had the verbascum growing at the side of the yard until DH the Weedwacker Maniac got to it! I love the red spider zinnias. I had some germinate this year and was amazed at how delicate the blooms were. Not what I was expecting from a zinnia but I love them. I love your blanket flower mixture. It all goes so well together. Thanks for sharing!

Are those WS petunia's? Just so pretty - especially that periwinkle colored one. My reseeded in the pot "wave" petunias are flowering but the ones I WS and put in the bed, not yet.

Thanks for sharing your pictures!
Nancy

I always enjoy your photos, linda - and these were exceptionally beautiful - Whatever happened during vacation was NOT evident in those photos. Thanks for sharing

Carrie

Boy, I wouldn't mind coming home to all of those flowers, they're awsome!

Fran,
I sowed most of my Zinnias from seeds I collected last year. I have one red one where it has no petals, just a center (and that one bloom on the red Zins looks almost like the flower from Spilanthes). I do wonder if the heat is kinda forcing blooms sooner and stunting the growth? I'm probably going to deadhead all the Zins that are blooming this week, just to see if they get taller.

Fran and Nancy,
The Petunias are acting normal for me this year-- as opposed to last year. And I even got a pleasant surprise and have reseeders from the ones that seemed to do nothing last year! But the ones that are blooming now were WSed this year. The white is a grandiflora, the little ones are the milleflora, and the others are a mix of grandiflora and multifloras. I got the seeds from Stokes and Fothergills...I've always had good results from Stokes' seeds and I didn't want any room for error on Petunias this year. I may transfer those millefloras to a basket (they are so cute I don't want to lose sight of them!)

Nancy,
The periwinkle one is Stokes' multiflora "Sky Blue". The dark purple one (you can't really see how deep a lush it is in the pic)is supposed to be dark blue. But I like the looks of them in the colors they turned out too (especially the periwinkle).

Proud,
Hubby was working out-of-town this Spring so I was the one doing the first mowing of the grass...so luckily, I was the one to find the verbascum first and dig it up to give it a new, more permanent home :-) It was also like a gift from God to me, because I'd lost the container of Verbascum "Banana Custard" when I had to run back and forth dealing with my parents' deaths. It was one of the plants I was really looking forward to having, then the container got flooded out while I was away. When I transplanted this little silver plant from the middle of the yard to the garden bed, I thought the plant was just Lambs Quarters. Imagine my (pleasant)surprise when it suddenly shot up and then burst with yellow blooms!

Carrie and Shasta,
Thank you...that makes me feel better :-) I feel better after weeding so I can finally SEE the blooms! lol

Linda

Linda - your gardens are so pretty - your astilbe is so full and lush. My hubby and I are tied to the house with my Mom in hospice care but we have decided that even if we were free to come and go it would be determined by the gardens. We would take vacations based on downtime which is hard for us because we garden year round. lol - I think I would rather fight mosquitoes and weeds than high prices and crowds anyways.

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us - now I must go out and deal with the weeds that grow whether I am home or away - lol.......

Lynne

Those astilbes are lovely. Nice job.

Your flowers are just beautiful.I saw one of the Verbascum a while back and had no idea what it was, so thank yo for the info. I also plant all my annuals from seed each winter. I love playing in the dirt even in the winter. I have a hard time picking a favorite flower so i just plant as many different ones i can. I like the Cottage type gardens. I pack them in all over. lol

Here is a link that might be useful: Flower Gardening

Great blooms and nice combinations. I love your astilbe. I only have white and it bloomed very early this year.

Becky