Saturday, June 11, 2011

Clouds and Cones

It has been hot here, about 10 - 15 degrees above the norm for this time of year.  Hot and humid conditions can produce thunderstorms most every afternoon into the evening hours.  We would welcome the rain, but so far we have been just getting dark clouds and a lot of noise.  These clouds are from last night, producing nothing.  The only outcome from this storm was to put a certain dog I know in the shower stall to hide.

 On our way to dinner we had some magnificent skies.

 We are about 8 inches behind in our rainfall totals. 
Maybe some of the dark clouds rolling in today will bring some much needed rainfall.

In the garden I have a couple different kinds of Echinacea purpurea.  One is 'Magnus' and not sure what the other one is, but it is shorter and a bit darker blooms. 


I love how the petals start off almost pale yellow as they are opening.  I leave the spent flower heads on for the Goldfinches.  They love the seeds.



The smaller ones are a nice backdrop for the tall blooms of 'Magnus'.

What a beauty.  Slowly but surely my newly planted gardens are filling with color. 
©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

13 comments:

  1. Those are beautiful. Wish I had more of them {maybe next Yr}. I do have one that I have in a half whiskey barrel with a mum & Shenandoah grass. It's not blooming yet. \
    Seems your garden is coming along nice.
    So hot here & the humidity is awful.
    Sure need some wet stuff.

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  2. Beautiful photos of the sky and flowers. We finally got a bit of rain this evening. (left a comment before and blogger barfed, so this may be a duplicate)

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  3. Janet,

    Hope you get some of the rain, we managed a trickle last night, tonight it rained more than an hour! It is headed your way my dear!

    My Echinacea purpurea planted from seed two years ago is huge with blooms nearly 3 ft tall ready to open, I'm so proud.

    Oh and during the storm Daisy left us presents in the living room, good thing for hardwood floors.

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  4. these are gorgeous photos! that sky looks like a painting!

    coneflowers are literally the toughest plant I have in my yard. amazing they can be so tough and also so beautiful.

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  5. Janet, the skies are beautiful! I also always pay attention to them. I suspect that my boys are getting tired from my 'Look!', 'Look at those clouds'. 'Look at that sky!', etc.! The blooms are lovely!

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  6. Maybe rain will come this week. They are calling for some here. I thought with all those clouds you surely got some rain. That yellow coneflower is so pretty.

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  7. Threatening skies and no rain for us also.

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  8. Lola, I can't imagine a garden without the Coneflowers, a staple for me.

    Cameron, internet gremlins again? Wish we got some rain....sure could use it!!

    Randy, Well, it ran out before it got here...bummer. The weather radio is going off again today, so maybe we will get some rain from this storm.

    Ginger, it does look like a painting! Yes, coneflowers are sure tough!

    Tatyana, Kids are funny, soon they will be having their kids looking at the clouds.

    Tina, maybe today.....the coneflower is a purple one...the baby petals are yellow as they open.

    Donna, well, here is hoping we all get some rain!

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  9. Beautiful photos, I love coneflowers of all colors and size. :)

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  10. Fantastic sky photos, Janet--I especially like the third one; you really captured the light there.

    Coneflowers are my favorite flower, so I always look forward to coneflower bloom time; mine are blooming early this year.

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  11. Love echinaceas also.
    Our annual rainfall is only around 12 inches!
    Hope you receive some rain soon.

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  12. My echinacea don't even have buds on them yet. We are soooo far behind this year. Wish I could send you some of our rain!

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  13. The smaller coneflowers could be Kim's Knee Highs, a dwarf echinacea that's been around for a while but is still beautiful.....

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