For the last month these blooms have been brightening up the flower bed directly in front of the house. We have at least two separate plants, one labeled Physostegia correllii and one labeled Physostegia digitalis corellii, but we believe they are both considered to be the Corell’s false dragonhead, which is a rare and endangered plant. I can’t remember where we bought them, maybe the SFA plant sale back in April, but they are in cultivation. The bloom stalks are extremely tall, in the 5-6′ range, though ours are now bent over and winding from rain storms and wind over the last month. I’ve definitely noticed that bumblebees visit the…

I think this weekend I need to find a use for the remaining leeks we have in our garden. Earlier this month I used them in a leek and potato soup, salsa, and just chopping a plant up and tossing it in some beans and rice. Their blooms are almost fading and the plants themselves really need to be eaten. Maybe I’ll toss some into a pasta sauce or have Chris grill some with fish. They really have some magnificent blooms, though! Bigger and bolder than the onions and garlic, for sure. Also, I’m giving some seeds away over at Sprout Dispatch this week. Drop by and put your name…

Somehow these lilies have evaded the deer this season. I’m not sure how or why, but they did. They tempted me for days with their buds, slowly swelling and then opening up to the beauty that they are. My mom was visiting over the weekend and commented that they looked like Stargazer lilies to which I replied that I didn’t really know. You know how it is with plant tags, they end up next to the plant right when you get the plant in the ground and then before long the tag is missing and you have no idea what the plant is. But Mom was right. I Googled ‘Stargazer…

Ok, so the main gladiolus season really was about two weeks ago however there was one plant that just finished blooming and another is about to be my late bloomer in the garden. Like usual though, I’m a little slow in getting around to documenting what’s occurring most currently in the garden. First up is the species plant, the Gladiolus dalenii (you can see last year’s bloom here): Next was a lovely lavender-pink bloomer: And most recently this brilliant red bloomer: One thing I need to do is relocate the gladiolus that I have currently planted near our front porch. They aren’t deep enough for one, and really they should…