Twilight with my Cedrus Atlantica behind

Another June....just can't have too many

Brim Cup. Who says there is nothing to Karma?

Heavenly shades of Twilight

Winter closing in on the Golden Meadows :-{

Blue Angel, could there be a nicer setting?

Frances Williams, that's right FRANCES WILLIAMS for all you of little faith.

Blue Angel in another protected space.

1 of 3 baby Dream Queens, one of my favorites...for sure.

Earth Angel, Earth Angel...

Will you be mine?
My darling dear
Love you all the time
I'm just a fool
A fool in love with you.

Waiting trepidatiously (look that up in your Roget's Thesarus) for the First Frost.

Teeny Sagae

The dark and mysterious Abiqua Drinking Gourd.

Stepping out On Stage to rousing applause

I don't know; this one's a Paradigm wrapped in a conundrum to me.

Sum and Substance. I have some others that I am definitely going to propagate into a mass planting....somewhere.

Well, the rest is somewhat ravaged with Old Man Winter closing in. I thought I would share what is still looking decent with you. I slipped out between the thunderstorms....funny how Spring is heralded in with a thunderstorm and Summer is ushered out with another.

Jon

John, your hostas look very fresh and are holding up well. Do you realize how many folks have had no success with GE!?! I planted Paul's Glory this year. I think it will look glorious in a couple of years. I've really enjoyed your photos this year - and yes, the songs!

Yes, I planted two together 4 years ago and they both are doing very well. One gets just a little more sun and is twice the size of the other....I did step on the one that is larger and crushed one third of it when it was new.

So, my advice to those who haven't had success is 'Step on it'

Jon ;-]

Each one fresh out of the shower! Mine are out here cooking with 100 degree heat (and showing it). My Snake Eyes looked that good just once, then it dwindled. I've tried GE 5 times over the years, and never had one that looked as good as yours. Congrats, well done!

-Babka

bernd, We seem to have missed most of the rain that passed nearby this Summer and we had a lot of 90 degree days. I've gone around 5-6 times and flooded them and the humid weather has kept them from drying out very much. Flash flood warnings now. I am on a hill, so I won't be affected, but there is a serious batch of thunderstorms that will be hitting in an hour or so.

No matter how warm it stays the trees and plants are shutting down for the season. Cold or no cold, rain or no rain.

Jon

Wow! Gorgeous! We certainly need some gully washers here. No significant rain at all in the recent past. Ugh.

Your dry creekbed is beautiful! Ours has filled up with dirt, leaves, etc. so pathetic looking now. Dreading the thought of having to clean it out by hand next year-ours runs from the upper part of our yard, down a hill, and into the lowest part which is about 150 feet total. If you have any tips or tricks to keeping yours so pristine, please share. I am getting too old for this! Ha.

Those are in great shape. I am really looking forward to getting Snake Eyes and Dream Queen in the ground, hope they do as well as yours.

I have faith in Frances Williams, she performs very well here too. Nice Brim Cup. Has it ever torn? I have a Snow Cap that behaves and they both have that potential.

Well cyn, first thanks for the compliments. What I do to keep the Ravine from clogging up is to blast it a couple of times a year with a leaf blower. I think you will be surprised at how much 'stuff' will be dislodged by doing this. Since you are dry right now it would be the best time to try this. Make sure you also go around the edges and blow out the accumulation that settles in there. Really get in there with the nozzle and wear safety glasses. I think you will find it a lot easier than disassembling and re-assembling your creek bed and an effective method to keep the rocks from 'sinking'.

Actually I am planning on getting a backpack blower soon. That should really kick the dirt out of the cracks....besides lugging (2) 100 foot extension cords around to power a plug in is ridiculous and I could surely use something with more power. If I am going to upgrade to a gas blower I will go all the way to a backpack. Vrooom, vroom.

Jon

peren,

Dream Queen is the last hosta to show every year, but it sure makes up for being late. My large one is right next to a huge twin pines and does great. The 3 small ones I added last Fall are in a marginal spot with poor soil and very shady conditions and they are coming along fine.

The Brim Cups never tear. Squirrels will tear up some other hosta here an there and I also get large groups of wild turkeys which dig around a lot although I have never seen them near any hosta. The Buddha statue may be saving them. I know my dog growled at it when I brought it in the house for the first time.

I bought Snake Eyes this year based on how well my Striptease has always done. It has done great and puts Striptease to shame (no pun intended) with it's color and variation.

Jon

Jon, as ever, entertaining! Love, love, love the photos and everything in them!

I'm inspired!

Jo, I really shouldn't be encouraged.

LOL! Btw, I stopped to stare at your ADGourd...not knowing what it was until I read it. The green is just as spectacular as it is when blue! Excited to see these again in spring!

Lookin good Jon! My ABD was new and small, just added this spring. Slugs liked it although it's not the worst one here, just looking forward to next spring.

Sherry

Sherry, I must be lucky, I don't have many slug problems. Every once in a while some of the tender hosta get holes and I spray with diluted ammonia for a while. The ADG, Elegans, Sagae, Rhino Hide, etc. with thicker leaves are just not bothered.

I think the wild turkeys help keep the slugs under control. There was a flock of six in the yard this morning. They do scratch the leaves a little though, I'm sure.

Jon

Thanks for the tip Jon! My son gave me a leaf blower as a gift one year(woohoo), but he keeps it at his house. Hmmm...I will finagle a way to have him take care of the creek bed when he comes to blow leaves in the fall!

Thanks again for sharing your spectacular garden!

Cynthia

cyn, just buy him a leaf blower for Christmas and keep it over your house.

Looks fantastic, Jon. Really great.