We’ve really been enjoying our large, main garden this summer. We eat our meals on the deck that overlooks it, so we get plenty of time to appreciate its beauty. The left side is mostly annuals and the right is largely perennial.
Above left, mounds of white Spider Flower (Cleome hassleriana) back a row of variegated ‘Alaska’ Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) on the left and Mealy-cup Sage (Salvia farinacea), Verbena ‘Lanai Peach’ and ‘Peachy Keen’ spreading to the right in front.
In the right-hand photo, Astilbe chinensis x taquetii line the back center with pink and white Cleome on the left and Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ on the right. In the middle, are Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro), red, orange and yellow daylilies (Hemerocallis) and Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). Along the front foreground, are Zinnias, white Nicotiana alata, Lamb’s ears (Stacys byzantina) and Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) further down.
Closer shots above show pink Cleome and double Daylily at left; and right, Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), yellow and orange Cosmos sulphureus and white Cleome, a combination I love. Below are some portraits of flowers that are now blooming in the garden. (Click to embiggen and see as a slideshow.)
Eliza Waters 
Yay!!
Makes me happy to see.
I used to grow zinnias.,
before The Holler.
I grow Hemeocallis at The Holler.
(I thought)
they are daylilies.
And of course,
the sunflowers and sweet peas.
Cosmos I used to grow,
(I thought)
but mine looked more like pink daisies,
yours are more interesting.
Now,
where I live,
The Holler,
chooses what I grow.
I can see why,
you are,
a Master Gardener.
🙂 Thanks so much, Cindy! ❤
Bursting with energy 🌼✨
Thanks so much, Karen! ❤
WHAT a lovely garden!
Thank you, Anne!
I love the flowers. They’re so beautiful.
Thank you very much!
Beautiful.
Thank you, Sandra. 🙂
What a beautiful garden Eliza, I love the colours and can smell the delightful scent of sweet pea across the miles 🤗💖🌺 xxx
Thank you kindly, Xenia! Those sweet peas are pure heaven.
All that and nasturtium too! Are nasturtium becoming respectable again?! I have always grown them.
Never knew that they were unpopular, what with the edible flowers high in Vit.C and our collective love of Monet’s garden at Giverney. 🙂
Perhaps they are not so unpopular as they are merely less popular than they should be. When I grew them in town, my neighbors copped a bad attitude about them once they realized what they were. They wanted me to plants something fancier. I got an even worse response regarding the nasturtium in my downtown planter box, even though they were the most colorful flowers downtown at the time. Well, it is that sort of neighborhood. I enjoy my nasturtiums anyway.
Wow Eliza. Such wonderful colours, and variety of flowers. Love that cosmos sulphureus:)
Thanks so much, Karina. Now if I can only keep the rabbits out of that cosmos!
Do you have to fence them out!
I generally send the dog after them. She is pretty good about staying on the paths and out of the garden, and of course, never catches them. 😉
If I had that view, I’d eat outside too. 🙂 Now, I applaud you for all the effort required to create that view because a beautiful garden like that doesn’t just happen. Your green ‘hands’ are showing. 🙂
🙂 Thank you very much, Judy. When I see this view, all that effort is rewarded many times over!
Thanks for the garden tour! Everything looks great.
Thanks! 🙂
That looks great! What a wonderful view to have while enjoying a meal outside. Your photo of the orange cosmos is great, it’s such an interesting flower and I love all the colors in the bloom and the background.
Thank you, Frank! First I’ve grown orange cosmos in many a year and I’m loving the subtle variations in its petals. Unfortunately, the bunny has discovered them as well. 😦 (Sigh) I’ll have to enjoy them while they last.
So beautiful, Eliza. Joy, indeed!
Thank you, Carrie, it’s a daily booster!
Oh, Eliza!! Your gardens are pure Bliss! They are gorgeous!!!
Thank you so much, Amy! ❤
You deserve high praise, Eliza. I know the work involved to maintain gardens.
🙂 ❤
So much JOY!!
🙂 Yes, indeed. Thank you, Catherine!
Beautiful!
Thank you, Maggie!
What a delight! Not hard to understand why you eat your meals on a deck that overlooks such beauty.
Thank you, Laurie. Same with your patio, nature enhances everything and makes it better. 🙂
You bet! Our happy place.
A deck with a peaceful, gorgeous view…enough to make any cup of tea, glass of wine or meal more enjoyable.
Thank you, Alice. It’s a view we especially love this time of year!
Oh, so nice to see this again this year. It’s really beautiful. I’d be on that deck for every meal I was home and drinks in the evening! I always learn something too, from this. I’m not a fan of cleome as it smells bad to me, but it does look lovely in a distant garden! Do you plot out heights and likely spread of the plants in the spring?
Thank you, Lisa. Most annuals were chosen this year for their slug resistance…I am tired of the disappointment that comes with the dawn. 😦 Cleome stinks, yes, but the deer, rodents and slugs leave it alone, so it is a winner here. A great cut flower, too.
I did plot the height/widths of things with the sunflowers back of the cleome, etc. (The sunflowers to the right were self-sown from last year, so I left them where they sprouted.) Even though it is an annual cutting garden, I tried to avoid long rows in favor of groups for aesthetics.
The groups look really good. I like the plotting!
🙂 Thanks!
What a lovely oasis! I can see why you’d want to spend as much time as possible enjoying it. Blessings!
Thank you, Sarah! The thought of winter enhances my appreciation of the gift of this garden. 🙂
Beautiful Eliza, no wonder you’ve been enjoying it!
Thank you, Andrea. This bed really shines in late summer.
It’s so pretty!
Thank you, Fi!
I may have lots of flowers but my borders have nothing on yours, Eliza. If I had something like that to look at in my back garden, I’d haul my husband outside to have dinner on our patio too (or would when we get our patio back from the construction workers). You have me wondering if it’s too late and too hot to plant some Cleome to fill in a dead space in my backyard border for awhile.
Thank you, Kris, you’re too kind. 🙂 Cleome is a tough plant and flowers from seed in such a short time, it might be worth a try.
Everything looks lovely Eliza. You must be getting lots of rain to be keeping everything looking so lush.
Thank you, Cindy. I’ve had to water a couple of times during dry spells, but generally, the rain we’ve had has been enough.
Oh be still my heart……stunning award winning gardens!
Wow, thanks for that awesome compliment, Donna! 🙂
So richly deserved my friend
❤ 🙂
Summer Joy is right, Eliza! So. Much. Lovely! ❤
🙂 Thank you, Julie!
What a riot of colour. So beautiful!
Thank you, Belinda!
Such a beautiful array of flowers, Eliza. No wonder you spend all your meals overlooking that wonderful garden.
We don’t see sweet peas much in residential gardens any more and it’s such a shame as their delicate blooms and colours really are a joy to behold.
Thank you, Vicki! I would think sweet peas would be a good winter/spring crop for your climate. I’m in love with them!
Why a lovely place to sit and relax for a bit. 😊
Thank you, Irene. It is that. 🙂
Spectacular! 😀
Thank you!
AWESOME!
Thank you, Lonnie!
Fabulous garden Eliza.
Thank you, Jill. So worth the effort! 🙂
So absolutely beautiful. Wonderful that you can sit and admire this beauty from your deck.
Thank you, Sylvia!
Aaah, lovely! (Big sigh) 🙂 I do love seeing your summer garden Eliza and it looks as wonderful as ever! I also have this orange cosmos and think they are much more striking than the pastel ones. Enjoy the rest of summer! 🙂
Thank you very much, Cathy!
Thanks so much, Eliza, for inviting us into your sacred summer garden. It was a true pleasure to see your designs, plants, and the result of your year-long gardening efforts. I really appreciate the designs, with the color combinations, variety of textures, and complementary heights of the plants. And like you, I especially like the sunflower, cosmos and cleome section. Seems like a prairie microcosm. Congratulations on the success of this beautiful living artwork.
Thank you so much, Jet. I feel quite flattered by your sweet compliment! ❤
What a joy to see and experience! Love the cosmos! And, I would love to wander through through tall trees! lol
Thank you, it is a lovely place to wander through, it so energizes me. 🙂
I can imagine! I’ve changed my privacy settings. Can you see my latest post?
I was wondering where you were! Request sent.
I was away from blogging and just returned. I’ll respond soon.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden and flowers that bring such joy! It’s a highlight of summer blogging to see all of your fabulous color and beauty and I love the Cosmos.🙂
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it! ❤
You certainly do have some colour in your garden to enjoy Eliza. Isn’t it wonderful that we can both grow these plants in such different parts of the world.
Thank you, Brian. Our gardens give us such joy and fulfillment. I couldn’t imagine life without them!
You have a lovely garden, Eliza ❤
Thank you, Donna. I have many gardens all around the house, but this is the biggest. It used to be all vegetables 20 years ago, but the flowers kept creeping in. 😉
I grew and enjoyed my first zinnia ever this summer. I did sow quite a few seeds but only one plant came to adult age and just last week it flowered, and it is beautiful. Your garden is looking very lush and beautiful. Much enjoyed being taken on a tour of it.
Thank you so much, Agnes. Zinnias are one of my favorite annuals, and the butterflies love them, too.
I never realise how beautiful they are, next summer I plan to have more.
Your summer flowers are lovely and I really like the beautiful trees as a back drop. I imagine that the summer flowers are rendered even more precious as summer contrasts so strongly with your cold winters, Where I live the contrast is not nearly so dramatic and I try to imagine what it must be like. Anyway, let’s not even think about winter now as you enjoy the summer and your lovely garden.
Thank you, Carol. Winter’s contrast is never far from my mind and it does increase my appreciation of the warm months and the lush plant growth. It can almost feel frenetic at times – ‘gotta appreciate it while it’s here!’ I suppose one can feel that way about life, too. 😉
I understand exactly that almost frenetic feeling, and that feeling that time can be so short. I think I am am still trying to learn from the cycles of life 🙂 Nevertheless, in each season I hope we can find aspects to savour and opportunities to just be …
Your garden is the epitome of summer. Lush and beautiful. 🙂
Thank you, Robin. I’ve really been enjoying my flowers this summer, lots of bouquets in the house!
Beautiful flower! 🙂
Thank you!
Amazing Lovely Beautiful.. Heavly devine…People just think over and over again to have a place like this or to build the one.. But you seems champ in creating and managing.. Just loved it
Thank you!