Mary -- Love the pictures. That first one looks like an enchanted wonderland.

Thanks, by luck my son and I caught the lunch time free jazz concert. The bright sun on the Picasso, it's like a post card. The splashed red foliage is coleus, never saw that one before. I would not pinch public plants, but on the ground were bedraggled clippings. I got an empty water bottle from someone finishing their lunch, stuck a few in there. Filled it with cold water while we ate and then dumped the water out for the subway ride. I cut the bottle open at home and they look like they will make it! That is a dancing water fountain behind the plants.

That's very cool. I didn't realize that was a fountain in the background. I thought you had done some fancy exposure thing with the camera. It's a great picture.

It's time to get out and see the the Chicago Botanic Garden and I especially like the Merrick Rose Garden near downtown Evanston. The two conservatories I do in cabin fever season.

(click on the pictures to get the full frame--does anyone know what those yellow spiky flowers are called?

Oh that looks like a great day . I love the trio of hosta, coleus, and others. Dont know what the other plants are. You do glow in the pic.

I think the yellow flowers are little rocket ligularia. I bought one this year but it died (so sad). It's really hot here and I think it couldn't survive!

Good morning " So many flowers and so little space." Guess how many flowers in this photo. You will get sunflower and black eyed susan bush seeds. Was out cleaning up the garden last night.

12

Very pretty picture. I'll guess 13.

I am coming up with ELEVEN. Mary

14

10

1. Dahlia not blooming
2. tree lily done blooming
3. feverfew
4. glads ending [ have some green ones starting]
5. black eyed susan bush
6. perrilla
7. beebalm
8. lobelia
9. petunia
10. daylily done
11. borderlily done Mary played the game well. But I love the over guesses. Look below the soil. All the muscari, tulips, daffodils, lily of the valley and hyaithas. Got plenty of seeds. Enough for the finchs and me.
12. 

Beautiful!

Beautiful flower pics everyone. Mary, great shot and lucky thing about the cutting. Those are very pretty. I love Chicago.

I was out doing some long overdue weeding and plant supporting this evening. The rain has made such great foliage but I worry with my clay soil that roots will start rotting. The mosquitoes started bothering me so I was forced inside. I did discover I have some bright pink beebalm I didn't realize I had. I have never seen this shade of pink before. Feeling lucky.

Margo

Now looking at my list. I forgot caldulna. Spelled wrong. The yellow ones that reseed everywhere. . So Bluee I will be sending seeds to you. Oh the sun is out. Get to stay home and landscape . hope everyone is having a productive day.

Susan-How beautiful all your flowers are, great game. I have some beautiful phlox blooming this year and the butterflies just love it. It's so sad to see all the plants done for the year, clean up is not far off.

Mary- Beautiful plants in Downtown Chicago. Thanks for sharing your picture with the group.

Shirley

That is a wonderful picture. went out to get some more sunflower seeds and the finches are taking them now before they ripen. But what a wonderful sight seeing them land on the flowers. Shirley dont rush the summer. I am just getting tomatoes. Anybody know what this columbine is?

Is it Little lantern columbine?

a McKana Giant ??

My sister and I took off for the Chicago Botanic Garden this morning. The Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden were on the agenda. We passed lots of beauties walking through the entrance gardens, salmon shaded dahlias planted with salmon peach zinnias and the Physic Garden of Historic Medicinal Plants. There are so many roses on display and so many of each one. A big swath of Dainty Bess with its maroon stamens or a double row of Easy Does It in its bicolor yellow gold/peach glory. Europeana glowing its perfect red under the overcast sky. After the roses we stumbled into the Chicago Cactus and Succulent Society Show and Sale and entered their raffle. We never made it to the Japanese Garden. The Cactus and Succulent members put on a great display of plants we've only seen in pictures. The info sheets on the display plant state "How Acquired", "Home Depot" on the big blooming Adenium obesum. We both won books, Tshirts and plants!

.

i dont know what this is. . It poped up. Didnt catch my eye till the it started self seeding. I figure it must be some native combine. ill look up both names to see a pic. oh what a great day at a botanial garden. I love walking around where they have the names of the plants. Hope your days are sunny and nights rainy.

Mary, congratulations on the win at the gardens. I would love to go back to those gardens with my hubby. We were there back in February but could obviously only tour the inside building which was outstanding. I could tell by looking outside at the snow covered ground though that the summer gardens had to be beautiful. Margo

They do trial roses there, but it is a long walk to a remote hill. Or you can take their tram. Every year I want to see those new roses, never quite getting there. The big rose show is on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. It is not always at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The Garden can be prickly to deal with, for clubs putting on shows.

The Garden is also hosting a photo exhibit (huge photos, the size of a LR wall) of Great Gardens of the World. Japan, England, everywhere and Giverny (Monet's) was in there, Shirley. This photo exhibit includes a long hall with a moat, the moat overhung with great big hanging baskets of dramatic mixtures of large flowered begonias and others in many shades of pink. Under a skylight. I took some photos for people with their own cameras, standing with their skylit heads in front of the knock-your-socks-off hanging baskets.

hello anybody plant the morning glory seeds I sent for Christmas. They are blooming on both sides.

I received some happy mail today from miss Susan!! Thank you my friend for sending me seeds of sunflower, yellow calendula, black eye susan, mesclun greens, 2 packs of dark green zucchini, english thyme, and swiss chard. I appreciate the thoughtfulness!! You are the BEST :)

Susan! Thank you for the surprise package of seeds. I'm putting those mesclun greens in the ground, ahead of the rain. I will always think of you when I see the black eyed Susan bush.

I had some delays, getting anyone to mow my backyard until a couple of weeks back. This morning when I was working in the yard, my foot found a hole. A hole where baby rabbits had been raised. I do watch the rabbits in the yard and never realized there was a nest by the St Francis statue. Now I'm glad it was a no-mow area. But who do you suppose will eat more of the mesclun greens?