A Fleeting Joy

I have gotten so much joy from my flower garden this year. I put in quite a few new plants, and have spent many hours weeding, deadheading, and appreciating the glory of nature.

For this post, I'm sharing some close-ups of individual plants, beginning with several stages of an allium. I think I have two types planted, Allium 'Gigantium' and Allium 'Globemaster,' although I'm not certain  which is which. 

Here you can see the globes beginning to open in the front, and in their glory in the back.

Opening a little more

This is an in-between stage. There must be about a hundred little starry flowers on each globe.

I still find them fascinating when they go to seed.

A closer look.

Here they are in both stages, with yarrow, roses, and catmint.

Here are a few more flowers from the garden.

This is a spiderwort that seeded itself. I think it's pretty cool... white, violet center, and stunning purple stems for each flower. It's a droopy, messy plant, but those stems are worth it!

Tradescantia

I'm not usually crazy for daisy-like flowers, and echinacea (coneflower) doesn't usually curl my toes. But check out the color on this one, "Pow-Wow Berry."

 My poor little "endless summer" hydrangea doesn't like it's spot. It's tiny, and after 3 years, this is the first time I've had blooms. But I adore blue hydrangeas, so I will keep coaxing this one on.

 This is an heirloom hydrangea. My dad dug some up from his mom's yard in Philadelphia, and moved it from house to house as he moved to Delaware, Maryland and PA. I dug some of dad's up, and now it's in RI reminding me of sitting on the back steps catching fireflies in my grandmother's tiny city yard.

with self-seeded Feverfew

Below is Coreopsis 'moonbeam', with snapdragons and Gaura lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies.' It's my first year for the gaura, and it hasn't stopped blooming yet. It totally lives up to the name, with flowers flitting in the breeze. I love, love, love it.

 I've enjoyed the garden so much, I just wanted to share. Make sure you take some time to stop and smell the flowers. They are a fleeting joy.