CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN

I'll be out in the field installing a beautiful new garden today. I hope you'll enjoy this video while I'm out working my butt off. Happy Friday, Y'all.

SEE IF THIS DOESN'T MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A KID AGAIN

The young girl in the video is the spitting image of me at that age.

HYDRANGEA FEVER

Hydrangea Serretta ' Spreading Beauty '

I just realized that I am obsessed with Hydrangeas. One advantage of working at the local garden center is that I get to see the new cultivars that come in. Such is the case of the above : Hydrangea Serretta , or Mountain Hydrangea, which, much to my surprise is hardy to Zone 4.
Zone 4 ! I can do that.

Spreading Beauty was developed in Belgium from a cutting gathered in Korea. Korea has a climate very similar to Chicago and Zone 5 gardens so I always snap up whatever will grow there. I know every species on the Tree and Shrub lot that comes from Korea and I hardily recommend them to customers. They always appreciate my suggestions because anything that will survive the Chicago winters is most welcome.

Hydrangea Spreading beauty is a nice low one that only gets 2 to 3 feet tall so it's ideal for urban gardens. And did I say , hardy to Zone 4 ?

IN THE LIME LIGHT

Hydrangea Paniculata 'Limelight '

I planted Limelight Hydrangea in my garden several years ago and I've really become a fan. In late July or early August she starts her show of huge 10-12 inch panicles that are in bloom until October.

I also like the fact that her stems are strong enough to support the large blooms and don't flop over like other hydrangeas. Being hardy to Zone 4 is another plus.

Her blooms also turn from lime green to a wonderful pink and burgundy color as they fade.

The late Fall color of ' Limelight '

And that's as close to perfect a shrub can get, unless it could be green all year. Oh well.

FAREWELL AND THANKS

" Where Flowers Bloom, So Does Hope " - Lady Bird Johnson
( Dec. 22, 1913-July 11, 2007 )

Every time I see a wildflower I will think of Lady Bird Johnson, our former First Lady who passed away July 11 . She was an environmentalist before the word was even discovered. The highways and byways of Texas are filled with living tributes to her-beautiful Gallardia, Texas Bluebonnets, and thousands of varieties of wildflowers.

The bible says that " Not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of the lilies of the field. "

Farewell, Lady Bird. You've brought such beauty into our world.

LADYBIRD

Ladybird! Ladybird ! fly away home;
The field mouse is gone to her nest
The daisies have shut up their sleepy red eyes,
And the birds and the bees are at rest.

Ladybird! Ladybird !
The glowworm is lighting her lamp,
The dew's falling fast, and her fine speckled wings
Will flag with the close-clinging damp.

Ladybird! Ladybird ! fly away home;
To your house in the old hollow tree,
Where your children so dear have invited the ant
and a few cozy neighbors to tea.

Ladybird ! Ladybird ! fly away home;
The fairy bells tinkle afar;
make haste, or they'll catch you and harness you fast
With a cobweb of Oberon's car.

Ladybird ! Ladybird ! fly away home ;
Good luck if you reach it at last !
The owl's come abroad, and the bee's on the roam,
Sharp-set from their diurnal fast.

-Caroline B. Southey

GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY

The First Water Lily in my Pond

I have to be up at the crack of dawn and out the door on Sunday, July 15 so I'm posting my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day early.

Welcome to Sweet Home and Garden Chicago. Don't you just love July because a lot of things are in bloom ? Here are a few of my favorite things this July 15 :

'Laura ' Phlox

Blackeyed Susan and Veronica

Vintage Wine Coneflower

Red Monardia

Rose of Sharon

A Ruby-throated Daylily

The Plume Poppy

And last but not least , a Korean Bell . Lovely, but " aggressive ". Koreans eat their roots. Bellflowers, anyone ?