My grandmother’s mossy front yard held a magical surprise and each summer I was delighted by the appearance of her spider lilies. Finally in 2015 I added some to my own garden and today was the magical day they burst forth into bloom.
Lycoris radiata (Spider Lily)
Lycoris radiata (Spider Lily)
Lycoris radiata (Spider Lily)
Usually there are plentiful zinnias to use indoors butI have left them outside for now, the few zinnias from a second sowing. Finally they are in bloom, six or seven weeks later than normal due to the rabbit “crisis”.
Zinnia
Zinnia
Zinnia
Zinnia
Nearby, asclepias has rebloomed.
Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Plant)
There are other small pleasures.
Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Unknown dahlia
Phlox paniculata ‘Robert Poore’ (Garden phlox)
Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting sweet pea)
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)
Lantana will continue well into October. On any given day it is a popular gathering place for butterflies and skippers. Today there were six Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, yesterday swallowtails and a couple of monarchs.
Lantana camara (Common lantana)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
The oakleaf hydrangea leaves point toward autumn, as do changes in light and pulsating sounds of cicadas, but mostly there is just a knowing deep inside, an inner sense that fall is near. Every time I stepped outside this past week I felt it.
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
pbmGarden 
Oh my, you are having a beautiful August. Thank you for sharing because the color of my day is mostly brown. 🙂
Two inches from every flower I’ve shown is also brown, Judy! I’ve very selective vision but it helps me enjoy the garden. No long vistas here but a spot of color brightens my day.
It brightened my day too, so thank you!
‘Cafe au Lait’ dahlia seems to be a different color in every distinct garden. It is always pretty, but always distinct.
The peas are blooming later here too. I just found a white one, and because it is perennial, I will try to dig up the root (or whatever it is) this winter, so that I can move it to a more prominent situation.
Mine is a sad representation of ‘Cafe au Lait’ but replacements didn’t survive this summer, so I’m just glad for a flower. The perennial sweet pea has bloomed all summer. I think a white one would be ideal.
Sad? It is pretty nonetheless. It might be more fun if you did not know what cultivar it is, or what to expect from it.
White pea is nice, and happens to be my favorite color, but the common bright pink is rad too, and what I expect pea to look like. It is such a perfect color for the flower. I think that if I had the option to grow only white, I would still want some of the pink too, even though I am none too keen on the color. It just looks good.
The colors all look so fresh, not an easy task as we approach the end of August! It’s so nice to see all the butterflies and insects enjoying the flowers as well. I love watching them go about their business.
The spider lilies are cool. I just ordered three for my garden, but I don’t think they’ll enjoy our winter. We will see!
Some recent rains helped lift the flowers this week. My spider lilies have never spread as I’d expected and I find them expensive, but I’d love to add more. Hope yours are happy in your garden.
They do take forever to multiply and then suddenly you have a lot! Take a look at Edensblooms if you’d like to add more. They’re upfront about being slow to put your order together, but the prices are reasonable.
Ok, thanks! I will check them out.
The Lycoris are gorgeous – as are all the rest. I esp. love the blue Salvia with the Lantana in the background. It still looks like high summer in your garden!
Thanks Eliza. The salvia-lantana are the main color right now and attract a variety of insects and hummingbirds, for which I’m grateful.
What a lovely selection of flowers you have. I know what you mean about autumn being so close, it is very noticable here too.
Thanks Pauline. That tug of autumn is real.
Wow, those spider lilies are gorgeous! Your garden is looking so pretty now Susie. I think you must also be ready for some cooler temperatures and autumn-like days before summer really says farewell. Beautiful photos as always!
Thanks Cathy! I’m excited how well the spider lilies turned out this year. Though hot days are not gone, we’ve had a few teasers with milder temperatures recently. But I love summer and hate to see it go.
You have the most gorgeous selection of August flowers, but those spider lilies are fantastic. Enjoy!
Lovely, Susie, my grandmother also had the Surprise Lilies. Thanks for reminding me.
Oh, aren’t they wonderful! Grandmothers and those lilies. I know a lot of people call them Naked Ladies too, but I heard that term only much later.