Dried Hydrangea Wreath

This is a wreath I made from dried hydrangeas from my garden. The hydrangeas I used are "Limelight", "Annabelle",
"Nikko Blue", and "Peegee".  I pick them when they are firm to the touch not soft or they shrivel when they dry.  Then put them loosely in a vase or several vases in this case in water that is only a third filled. Keep them there for about 2 weeks or until dry and keep them out of direct sunlight.  It's easy to make the wreath, buy a grapevine wreath from any craft store and hot glue the heads all around to make it full or just do some so the grapevine shows through is nice too!  This one measures about 25" across so I used about a 18-20" wreath form.  

Blue Flowering Shrubs

Some of my favorite blue flowering shrubs with their common names in parentheses are: Ceanothus veitchianus 'Julia Phelps' (California Lilac) zones 7-9, Caryopteris clandonensis 'Sunshine Blue' (Blue Beard or Blue Spirea) zones 6-9, Buddleia davidii 'Nanho Blue' (Butterfly Bush) zones 5-9, Hibiscus syriacus 'Blue Satin' (Rose of Sharon) zones 5-8, Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nikko Blue' and 'Blue Wave' zones 4-9.

Hibiscus syriacus 'Blue Satin' Rose of Sharon

Beautiful 'Blue Satin' Hibiscus! Really a gorgeous blue-violet late summer flowering deciduous shrub. It's deer resistant and attracts butterflies. It has 3" flowers, 8-10' tall and likes sun to partial shade.  Space 4-6' apart and is good in zones 5-8.  Another one for my wish list.

Cimicifuga racemosa 'Hillside Black Beauty' (Bugbane)

This is one of my coolest plants in my garden.  This plant stands out with it's black foliage and sweet fragrant white flower spikes. It also attracts bees, butterflies and birds. It likes sun to partial shade and stands about 4-6' tall and blooms in late summer. It can self seed but will not come true, it will have green leaves with a smoky tinge with the same great fragrant flowers though. This plant has been reclassified as Actaea simplex so you may find it listed with it's new name. Good in zones 3-8.

Perennial Blue Flowers

So many people come in asking for flowers that are true blue. Here are some photos of perennial blue flowers, some border on being close to purple/lavender. Common names are in parentheses: Aconitum napellus (Monkshood) zones 3-7, Delphinium Pacific Giants 'Summer Skies' and 'Blue Bird' (Larkspur) zones 3-8, Penstemon heterophyllus 'Electric Blue' (Beardtongue) zones 6-9, Scabiosa causcasica 'Fama' (Pincushion flower) zones 4-10, Tradescantia anersoniana 'Sweet Kate' (Spiderwort) zones 4-9, Agapanthus africanus 'Blue' (Lily of the Nile) zones 7-9, Meconopsis betonicifolia (Himalayan Blue Poppy) zones 7-9, Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' zones 8-9, Lobelia siphillitica zones 5-9, Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' zones 3-8, Ecinops ritro (Blue Globe Thistle) zones 3-9, Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' zones 4-9.  Others not pictured are Centaurea montana (perennial bachelor buttons or cornflower) zones 3-9, Linum perenne (Blue Flax) zones 4-8, Lupinus Russell Hybrids Blue (Blue Lupines) zones 4-9. So far this is quite a list for perennials, I'm working on a list of blue flowered ground covers, annuals, and shrubs too and will post soon.  Think I'll do a list of white flowers eventually because so many people like to have white gardens too.

Door to Secret Garden

This is a very old door that looks so perfect in my garden. The door comes from http://withatwistdesigns.blogspot.com/ and happens to be my neighbor.  I get to see first hand what they have found and what they are creating next from their finds.  They brought it over to take a photograph of it for their blog. This is beautiful, I love it!

Late Summer Early Fall blooming Perennials

Here are some more late summer early fall perennials from the garden. Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue', Echinacea 'Green Jewel', Helenium autumnale, Ligularia, Echinops, Lysimachia 'Gooseneck Strife', Achillea 'Terracotta', Anemone japonica 'September Charm', Hydrangea 'Limelight', Hydrangea 'Annabelle', Persicaria amplexicalis 'Firetail', Oregano flowers, Caryopteris clandonensis 'Summer Sorbet', Lavendula stoechas "Spanish Lavender".

Late Summer Blooming Perennial Flowers

Here are just a couple of late summer blooming flowers.  I am working on a whole list and will post it soon, there are quite a few.  This is Scabiosa Fama also called Pincushion flower , zones 4-10 on the left, one of my favorite late summer bloomers.  Below is Agapanthus Africanus also called Lily of the Nile, zones 7-9.