This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Friday 15 July 2011

Bloggers Bloom Day

Top two photos - Papaver 'Picotee Mixed' poppy grown from seed.
Above (bottom): Amaranthus 'Pony Tails' grown from seed.
Above L-R: Astilbe, Aquilegia from seed, Astilbe, Rose.  
L-R: Gypsophila Elegans (Convent Garden White) from seed, Wild Foxglove, Geranium, Hosta.  
 Above: Iris, California Poppy Special Mixed from seed. Bottom photo: Climbing Hydrangea flowers.

 Above: L-R Shrub (name unknown), Astilbe, Nicotiana from seed. Bottom Right: Lady's Mantle flowers.
Above: Aquilegia from seed, Sheep's ear.
Delphinium from seed, Iris.
Above: L-R: Antirrhinum (Snapdragon) 'Intermediate Mixed' from seed,  Papaver 'Picotee Mixed' poppy.
Bottom Left: unknown. Rose (think it's Arthur Bell).
 L-R: Courgette (yellow zucchini) 'Soleil F1, Cucumber bush plant.
Bottom: Echinacea with white Gypsophila Elegans (Convent Garden White), Echinacea close up.
L-R: Calendula from seed. Nasturtium from seed. Hypericum St Johns Wort. California Poppy Special Mixed.

More on Bloom Day: http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/

18 comments:

  1. Hi i am new here, this is the first Irish garden i've commented on. It is amazing to see temperate climate gardens as we very seldom see them in person. I am from a tropical clime.

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  2. You have some gorgeous blooms in your garden at the moment, and such a range of colours too.

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  3. If all that lot is flowering at once, your garden must look fantastic, Kelli. Mine is resolutely 90% green (as usual)! Although, having said that the Runner Beans are putting on a display that would rival any set of Sweet Peas.

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  4. Your colours are wonderful. Are your irises and columbine still blooming - if so I've got to get me some of that Irish temperate climate.

    Your Dutch irises - do you plant new bulbs each fall or do they naturalize. I put some in last fall, but only a few survived our harsh Canadian winter (it was also very late in the fall, and the bulbs may have been in the store too long). However I was so impressed with their unusual form and colours. I am going to order a bunch more of the bulbs this fall and give them a proper try.

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  5. Your garden is very colourful and catches summer beautifully.I think I'm needing a bit more of a colour fix in our garden.

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  6. What a wonderful mix of colourful blooms! I'm amazed at how much beauty you've grown from seed - I think I need to try my hand at planting more flowering plants from seed if this is the result! Really lovely.
    Happy GBBD :)

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  7. So many pretty blooms Kelli! I am missing your cat :).

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  8. Wow! So many and varied blooms. They are all quite beautiful and I wish we could have that much variety here in hot Florida! I see your weather is very nice at the moment--oh, for a little cooler here and more rain. Happy GBBD!

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  9. You have grown an amazing collection of flowers from seed. Lovely. V

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  10. I enjoyed seeing all your lovely blooms. I was amazed at all you grew from seeds. Those delphiniums are awesome! Do you plant perennial seeds where they are going to grow, or have an area where you plant them, then move them over?

    Thanks for your nice comment on my GBBD post.

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  11. I am so impressed with all your blooms and that you grew them from seed. Well done and happy GBBD!

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  12. I love your color combinations. Beautiful blooms for GBBD!

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  13. No shortage of beautiful blooms here... love your delphiniums! L

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  14. Wow Kelli, your flowers are just amazing - your place must look glorious! I love that last orange one, the California Poppy. Just beautiful :)

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  15. Mouthwatering montages Kelli. A beautiful bloom day, especially love your blues and whites. Great pic of Astilbe

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  16. Thanks for your comments. There's quite a bit of colour in the garden at present. Some of the plants are just coming into flower, like the Nicotiana, Convent Garden Whites, and Amaranthus. Others like the Delphinium are coming to an end (they seemed to flower later this year).

    Sue - I grow most of the seed in trays around March/April, harden them off in May or early June, and plant them outside in June. I generally don't plant seeds directly into the ground (unless in my veg box) as I have a big slug/snail problem and the seedlings rarely survive. I use large pots as 'holding areas' as well. Most of the plants I've grown from seed are listed in the '2011 Seed List' tab at the top of my blog; this gives the date they were sown.

    Musical Gardener - the Dutch Irises: I planted 30 bulbs in early March this year in tubs. This is the first year I've gown them. They started blooming about 2 weeks ago and still more to come. The Columbine/Aquilegia: I grew from seed last year so this is the first year they're flowering. The seed pack was a mix so lots of varieties. The deep purple ones were short lived (only flowered a couple of weeks). The others seem to be going on and on. I deadhead them regularly. The seed pack says they will flower until July.

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  17. Wow! What a huge display of flowers! Thanks for sharing :)

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  18. Your collection of delphinium is super. And I love the fox glove. Mine are barely a foot high and just little troopers enduring our 90+ temps. You have a lovely collection of flora.

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