Prime Time - Summer!
This stone walkway into the Bling Prairie mimics the color of the blue-grey mounds of switchgrass Panicum 'Shenandoah' scattered throughout. To the left of the path, Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' provides ground cover.
The early morning dew sparkles on the bluish switchgrass. By evening, the yellow Dahlia 'Mystic Spirit' is photographed with that same switchgrass, brilliantly backlit by the setting sun like the garden below.
Sweet, ripe yellow sungold and red cherry tomatoes are eaten by the handful off the vines when our grandchildren visit.
The flamboyant red Crocosmia 'Lucifer' blooms with tubular flowers that hummingbirds love. In 2015, Ken added single dahlias to the garden after seeing some stunning varieties at Bodnant Garden in Wales, one of the Royal Horticultural Gardens. Here Ken stands next to an unknown variety that towers above him. A toast to Her Majesty!
When the garden was young, wide open views offered magnificent sunsets. Three decades later, towering trees provide early afternoon filtered shade, but still allow brilliant sunsets to peek through in the evening.
Take the path through the Departed Bunny garden past daylilies Hemerocallis 'Pandora's Box' and 'Todd Monroe' and sit down on the secluded bench backed by tall barberry and dark ligularia, all partially hidden by the tall white Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegata' grasses.
A member of the Iris family, Pardancanda norrisii unfurls its orange-red multicolored six-petal flowers during the day and wraps them up into the twisted coils when they close.
The towering Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' and its neighboring deep pink Japanese double Anemone 'Pamina' are planted in abundance.
Apples hang over this patio, bordered by a carefully pruned serpentine yew hedge. Many evening meals were eaten at the table, especially when our sons were all in their teens. In the shade grow hydrangeas, impatients, shiny European ginger, and the maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum.
The multiple stalks of Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' reflect a full gradation from white to rose in the soft evening light, and are surrounded by deep purple Salvia 'Victoria', dense pale green sedum, and towering Miscanthus variegatus grass.
At left, blue agastache complement yellow daylilies and golden dahlias. Up close and personal, orange Tiger lilies mingle with purple coneflowers. Above, Orange Lilium henryi lilies bow down to interact with lavender Russian sage, burgundy-throated peach Hemerocallis 'Pandora's box', white ribbon grass Phalaris arundinacea variation picta, Darmera peltata 'Nana' with its large green water holding leaves, supple gray lamb's ears, and burgundy monarda.