Sunflowers

All my sunflowers in the vegetable garden are volunteers. They are either lemon yellow or golden yellow. Some are 8 feet tall. They are good supports for my climbing beans when they happened to grow in the bean bed. Otherwise, they attract the bees as they bloom, and when they go to seed, the goldfinches come to eat the seeds. I've yet to catch them in a photo though. Today my husband helped me cut off about 8 large seed heads to put away to feed to the birds in the winter. I'll let the goldfinches enjoy the rest now.

Eggplant Blossom

My first eggplant bloomed this week. It is a Long Purple Eggplant.
Isn't it beautiful!

The scarlet runner beans are quite gorgeous too. These are running along the top of our tomato trellis.
I also planted some by my front door to run up and around the porch but they got a later start. I'm hoping they'll be blooming by the end of the summer.

Flowers in the Vegetable Garden

Here's what's new blooming in the vegetable garden. The first zucchini blossoms.The first sunflower, a volunteer. Almost all the tomatoes are blooming. Many of the heirlooms seem to start with a funny double or triple blossom.

A Scarlet Runner Bean which is climbing the tomato trellis The first female buttercup squash. My carrots that I wintered over and moved are going to seed. They look just like queen anne's lace. The pink flowers are from the purple haze hybrid carrots. In the front perennial garden the lavender is in full bloom. And yesterday this self seeded volunteer started blooming all over in the semi-shaded part of the garden. It is only 4 to 6 inches tall, and has feathery foliage. A google image search tells me it may be Nigella, though some of the results have more petals than mine do and the descriptions say they are much taller.

Flower Identification Help?

Can anyone help with the identification of this flower? It is peeking through our picket fence. When the previous owner gave me the garden tour she wasn't sure if it was even an ornamental or a weed. Now it has these lovely pink bells on it. The foliage is in the lower left part of the picture and some red insects seem to be congregating on it.

New Blooms

New flowers are opening up in the yard. This year is all about surprises since it is our first year in the house. These flowers didn't make it in time for Gardener's Bloom Day.
Lupine are one of my favorite flowers. I wanted to pick one to bring in, but they are covered with aphids.
Pretty pink columbine
wondered what colors the irises would be. Here's the first one open. I'll have to wait and see what other colors the previous owner planted.

A Sign of Spring

The warm weather this week almost melted all the snow that slides off the roof into a compacted pile. These crocuses are up next to the foundation of the house. When we move to the new house I want to plant crocuses next to the foundation where they'll warm up faster and bloom first.

July Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

In participation of May' Dreams Garden Blogger Bloom Day, here's what is currently blooming.
In the flower gardens:

Daylilies
Impatiens
Pink Lily Rock Garden Flower

Unknown

Weeds & Wildflowers:

Nettle Leaved Bell Flower

Unknown

UnknownAster Family

In the garden:

Peas
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Arugula
Tatsoi
Broccoli Raab
Onion
Swiss Chard Flowers

Lyman Conservatory Visit

As soon as school was out, I knew the first thing I wanted to do (besides wait for the plumber to come fix our leaky tub). I wanted to visit Webs Yarn in Northampton. I'd heard great things about their deals in the back room from other knitters and had some birthday money that I could spend. When I mentioned to a colleague that I was headed that way, she recommended a visit to the Lyman Conservatory at Smith College. So I made a day of it. I drove down to Webs and found some great deals on yarn. I got enough for two sweaters and three pairs of socks. Then I drove to Smith, found a parking space and walked to the conservatory. I wandered through amazed at the diversity of plant life. I wasn't a careful student of the labels, so in most cases I'm not sure what I photographed, but here is a sampling of the best.

From the outside, the size of the Conservatory was amazing. Inside it was labyrinth-like, with room after room of different growing conditions.
The larger rooms were filled with plants from around the world. I couldn't believe the height of the trees.There was small room filled with ferns with this cute mini-greenhouse in the center.The colors and textures of the foliage were amazing.

In most rooms there were only a few blossoms if that.

My favorite room was the orchid room. It was a lush, humid place. There was a pool in the middle with gold fish. All around the room hung baskets with orchids.

I also enjoyed the semi-arid room with the succulents.
There were these strange plants called Living Stones or Lithops. They almost look like rocks.
There were more flowers in the gardens outside, including these poppies which held their color despite the rain. They also had a rock garden where I found these interesting flowers. I wish I had more time to look around outside, but my stomach was clamoring for lunch so I took a quick walk through and then left to find something to eat. I'll definitely be returning to the Conservatory another time. I hear it's a great place to go mid-winter when you need to see something growing and green.